Turkey wants deal on U.S. troops in writing-Erdogan

ANKARA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Thursday as saying Turkey would not open its bases to U.S. troops unless Washington gave written guarantees on aid and Turkey's role in any Iraq war.

As Ankara sought to drive a hard bargain with Washington, Turkish military officials said thousands of Turkish troops had entered northern Iraq in the last few days to head off feared incursions by Turkish Kurdish guerrillas encamped there.

NATO ally Turkey has dragged its feet on a parliamentary vote to allow American troops to deploy on its soil, throwing into doubt U.S. plans to launch a secondary northern front against Iraq, accused of building weapons of mass destruction.

"This will not happen without a signature," Erdogan told Yeni Safak, an Islamist-leaning newspaper. "We don't have a date in mind. Only when we reach agreement will we send the (troop deployment) request to parliament."

Washington has expressed frustration over Turkey's delay in accepting a multi-billion-dollar aid package in exchange for U.S. access to bases and sea ports, which could serve as staging posts for a war against neighbouring Iraq.

Turkey wants a formal assurance the U.S. Congress will act quickly to release financial aid, Erdogan said.

He also said fears of social upheaval and instability in the region outweighed Turkey's concerns over whether its crisis-hit economy could withstand the shock of an Iraq war.

"It's ridiculous to call this bargaining for dollars. The political and military dimensions are far more important, the economic dimension comes after these," Erdogan said.

Turkey argues that its economy lost more than $30 billion after the 1991 Gulf War and that it had too little say in the new political order in the area, especially northern Iraq.

The White House said on Wednesday night its latest offer, of $6 billion in grants and up to $20 billion in loans, was final. Official sources here said contacts overnight with Washington had brought some progress, but gave no details.

Later in the day Prime Minister Abdullah Gul was due to meet Turkey's top general and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who argued this week that no parliament vote on U.S. troops was possible without a second U.N. vote authorising use of force against Iraq.

Military officials and local authorities in southeast Turkey told Reuters up to 7,000 Turkish troops, with armoured vehicles and tanks, had rolled into north Iraq in recent days in response to a perceived threat by Turkish Kurdish guerrillas there.

"The intelligence that has reached us in recent days shows KADEK militants moving towards the border and preparing for action. We have been forced to take military precautions," a military official said.

KADEK, formerly called the PKK, is a separatist movement that waged an armed campaign for a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey that killed 30,000 people, mainly Kurds, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The military says a war next door could reignite unrest in the impoverished area bordering semi-autonomous northern Iraq, administered by Iraqi Kurds since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

The Turkish military had also turned back a group of 20 Iraqis trying to cross the border to Turkey to escape the looming conflict, an official told Reuters.

Turkish generals want to send tens of thousands troops into the enclave to stem a potential refugee flow and block any attempts by Iraqi Kurds to establish an independent state there.

"Turkey must express its reservations now so that other things do not develop. They keep saying 'We respect the territorial integrity (of Iraq),' but what degree of respect will they have when it comes to implementation?" Erdogan said.

Erdogan led the Justice and Development Party to a massive victory in a November election, but was barred from the race because of a previous conviction for inciting religious hatred.

His deputy, Abdullah Gul, is prime minister, but a March by-election in which Erdogan plans to run could pave the way for him to take over the top job.

Reuters is not able to print the truth when it comes to Islamofacist/kazi terrorism and the thugs in control of Iraq.

Reuters is controlled by an rich Opecker Prince who will not allow the words terrorism or terrorist to be used in any article where the Islamofacists/kazis are responsible.

The pure bull $ that Reuters has printed since New Years to save their Uncle Soddomite's rear end is massive and like a continuing wet dream by Reuters with little if any basis on reality! This wet dream posing as a news article is a prime example of the BS Reuters puts out posing as news.

This meter should be run with the posting of any Reuters article. Reuters makes the Ny Slimes look all most honest.

Believe nothing that Reuters has to say about the Islamofacists leaders, our allies and our administration. Reuters creates more Bravo Sierra in a day than 1,000,000 cattle do.

Meanwhile, Reuters is taking a beating in the business world. This week, Reuters reported a loss of $631 million, the largest in its 150-year history. In addition, Reuters announced 3,000 job cuts, along with the 3,200 jobs cut over the past two years. Reuters' market capitalization has plunged by almost 90 percent from its peak, and Reuters' stock has fallen to a 14-year low. (Reuters posts record loss, to cut jobs News provider to cut 3,000 workers as part of turnaround plan , Link to how the Reuters lies and BS hits Reuters's bottom line)

Apparently Reuters' dwindling credibility as a media provider is now affecting their bottom line. May Reuters go broke and slide into the Irrelevant Cesspool!

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.