Turkish Parliament Rejects U.S. Plan to Send 62,000 Combat Troops to Turkey for Iraq War

AP ^

[TheOtherOne]

Turkish Parliament Rejects U.S. Plan to Send 62,000 Combat Troops to Turkey for Iraq War
By Louis Meixler Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 1, 2003

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's parliament dealt a stunning blow to U.S. war planning Saturday by failing to approve a bill allowing in American combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.

The decision, which likely will strain ties with Washington, marked a setback to U.S. efforts to show Saddam Hussein that he is surrounded and his neighbors support a U.S.-led coalition.

The parliament vote was 264-250 in favor, with 19 abstentions. But speaker Bulent Arinc said the outcome fell three votes short of the simple majority required by the constitution. He then closed parliament until Tuesday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul hastily met with top ministers and party leaders after the vote. Before going in, a visibly shaken and angry Gul said, "We will assess all this."

Gul did not speak after that meeting. Private NTV and CNN-Turk television stations quoted unnamed officials as saying the government was not planning to resubmit the motion to parliament.

Officials were not immediately available for comment. The leaders of Gul's Justice and Development Party are expected to meet Sunday to discuss what action to take.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson rushed to the Foreign Ministry after the vote.

"We had certainly hoped for a favorable decision," he said. "We will wait for further information and advice from the government of Turkey about how we should proceed."

Turkish lawmakers had faced overwhelming public opposition to basing U.S. troops on Turkish soil. Yet Washington had been so sure of winning approval from close ally and NATO member Turkey, that ships carrying U.S. tanks are waiting off Turkey's coast for deployment and the U.S. military has thousands of tons of military equipment ready to unload at the southern Turkish port of Iskenderun.

For weeks, the Bush administration had been pressing Turkey to agree to a possible northern front, which would split Saddam Hussein's army between the north and the south, likely making a war shorter and less bloody.

The motion would have empowered Turkey's government to authorize the basing of up to 62,000 troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters. In exchange, Washington promised $15 billion in loans and grants to cushion the Turkish economy from the impact of war.

Besides that funding, Turkey also risks losing Washington's support which was crucial in securing billions in loans that rescued the country during an economic crisis in 2001.

The United States has also pushed Turkey's eagerly sought candidacy in the European Union. And if Turkey does not agree to host U.S. forces, it loses a say in the future of neighboring Iraq if there is a war.

That is a critical issue for Turkey, which fears that a war could lead Kurds in northern Iraq to declare an independent state and in turn inspire Turkey's own Kurdish minority.

Nonetheless, Turkey's governing party had difficulty selling the unpopular measure to the Turkish people and could not push through the motion despite its overwhelming majority in parliament.

Polls show as much as 94 percent of the Muslim-dominated Turkish public opposes a war with Iraq. Before the vote, 50,000 Turks staged an anti-war rally near parliament as 4,000 police stood guard. They chanted "No to War" and "We don't want to be America's soldiers." Some carried banners that read: "The people will stop this war."

After the speaker nullified the vote, hundreds of Turks celebrated in the streets of central Ankara, shouting anti-U.S. slogans.

"We are all Iraqis ... We will not kill, we will not die," they chanted. They also accused the Islamic-rooted Justice party of "collaborating" with Washington.

The Justice party was planning to meet Sunday, said Reha Denemec, the party's deputy chairman. "We did not expect these results, but this is a democracy," he said.

AP-ES-03-01-03 2023EST

[mikeIII]

They have probably blown their chances of joinng the EEC too, by displaying such poor judgement and reliability. We won't be lobbying for their membership anymore, I am sure.

[spokeshave]

Does this imply that the Patriot missiles and the Checkoslovakian chemical warefare teams can now be re-deployed out of Turkey......

or is this a ploy to confuse Saddam....?

[a_Turk]

The house seems has closed the game. Move on to another half assed job:

Korea,
Vietnam,
Cold War,
Gulf War 1,
Somalia,
The Balkans,

Sorry to say it, the world is losing faith..

Our generals are not amused with you keeping two books: one for the terrorist harboring Kurds (I thought this was a war against terror!), and another for us Turks.. That's not how you win.

Too bad it's not your generals we're dealing with. Politicians are liars, wherever they are, and they don't hesitate to lie domestically nor internationally. Leave it to the politicians to muck up the works..

[maestro]

Your#60)..........100% Correct!

Beirut!

[a_Turk]

>> At the end of this business we'll see that America has eaten the toffee apple and left Turkey the stick

That's an excellent quote.

We've burnt our lips on hot milk and are now blowing on the yoghurt.

[what i think]

...To assume this territory would be an appropriate area for staging our troops and equipment would be a lethal mistake.

Our troopers must move into some of the other less murderous areas mentioned in replies upthread.

agreed, the north is now lost to us as ant sort of staging area. i believe this is a bigger deal than people here want to say. this blunder will cost time, tactical ground advantage and the worst of all possibly lives.
very sad...mad at our foriegn bargaining team.

[a_Turk]

>> hue and cry out in the Islamic street

The Turkish street is as Islamic as the American street is Christian.. The concern in the Turkish street is economic.

[Howlin]

I have to admit part of me is glad this happened

You are not alone; it's good to finally see who are friends really are.

[a_Turk]

>> The Turkish military is a shell of its former self. The Ataturk spirit is gone.

Man, you're talking a lot of BS lately.

[Admin Moderator]

knock it off.

[cyberaxe]

.....ok, put on the ole tinfoil hats.....

.....could it be a rope-a-dope?.....

.....a little mis-re-direction?.....

.....where was Whore-aldo's pictures of.....

....."these ships loaded with~".....

.....all I ever saw was a few.....

.....KFOR leftovers.....

.....wishful thinking I guess.....

.....but you gotta know.....

.....ole sadamite is thinking.....

.....he's dodged a bullet.....

.....maybe not.....

[Howlin]

Thank you for that information. I don't want to be doing business with the likes of them anyway.

[Howlin]

They have allowed Islamists bring the Turkish state to ruins. Time is rapidly running out.

And Turkey is not the only country that is happening in. Other countries in the Middle East should look at Turkey and see what happens when you let the fundamentalists take control.

[Torie]

Too bad it's not your generals we're dealing with.

What are you implying? You are a bit all over the map on this one. In any event, do you think what is animating the Turk parliament a dislike that the US won't let Turkey have its way with the Kurds, economic issues (it would seem the economy will be worse if Turkey is cut out of the game and the aid), or simply a general dislike of the US projecting its power into the region?

[paul51]

They have allowed Islamists bring the Turkish state to ruins

Interesting how these countries begin to turn to sh*t as the islamist gain footholds

[Howlin]

The Turkish street is as Islamic as the American street is Christian.. The concern in the Turkish street is economic

Are you trying to imply that these people are economists?

[Ethyl]

Sounds like a country that puts its petty political squabbles ahead of its obvious national interests. Gosh, can you imagine such a thing? Whew.


Well their name is Turkey, what at bunch of turkeys

[eleni121]

I landed at Incirlik on 4 or 5 Aug 90. We flew out of Incirlik during Desert Shield & Desert Storm.

"The Persian Gulf War proved that the U.S. does not need Turkey regarding our use of force against Saddam Hussein. Turkey refused the use of its air space and Incirlik during Desert Shield from August 2, 1990 to January 16, 1991; refused the U.S. request to open a second front against Iraq (Wash. Post, Jan. 16, 1991, at A6, col. 5) and allowed large-scale smuggling along its 206 mile border with Iraq (Wall Street Journal Oct. 30, 1990, at 1, col.1)."

[Torie]

Bashing Islamacists and fowl to explain this bump in the Turkish road is sort of like listening to a symphony where only the percussion section of the orchestra generates any sound.

[Ethyl]

fell three votes short of the simple majority required by the constitution. He then closed parliament until Tuesday.

Holding their cards very close,.....playing later!

F___-em, we don't need their trash anyway, We need to go in to Iraq anyway, forget the turkeys, we never needed them in the first place. Let's Roll.