Posted on 03/12/2003 12:04:53 AM PST by JohnHuang2
ASHINGTON, March 11 — In a setback to the Pentagon's war plans for Iraq, the American military does not yet have approval to use Turkish air bases or airspace for an attack on Iraq, and may not until later this month, Turkey's ambassador to the United States said today.
That would complicate planning for scores of American warplanes based at Incirlik Air Base, as well as the nearly 100 combat planes aboard two aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean. If the naval aircraft were not allowed to fly into Iraq from southern Turkey, Pentagon officials would have to decide whether to use the more diplomatically provocative route of flying over Israel and Jordan to hit Iraqi targets.
The new disagreement with Turkey emerged in a phone call on Monday from President Bush to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the governing Justice and Development Party, who was asked today by the Turkish president to form a new government after the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. The move had been expected since Sunday, when Mr. Erdogan, who once served prison time for reading an inflammatory poem, won a seat in the Turkish Parliament.
The telephone call turned rocky when Mr. Erdogan declined Mr. Bush's request to help speed approval through Parliament, administration officials said.
"It was not a great phone call," said one Bush administration official. "The Turks weren't as responsive as we'd hoped."
Any air campaign against Iraq would rely mainly on several hundred combat planes now based in Kuwait and other Persian Gulf states, and on three aircraft carriers in the gulf itself. But Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the commander of American forces in the gulf, had also counted on using warplanes based in Turkey or flying through Turkish airspace to attack Iraqi targets from the north.
"Any overflight rights in connection with a military operation against Iraq would be subject to approval of the Parliament," the Turkish ambassador, O. Faruk Logoglu, told reporters today.
Mr. Logoglu said it was unlikely that Parliament would take up any request until next week at the earliest.
Coupled with Parliament's narrow rejection of the United States' request to stage as many as 62,000 American troops into northern Iraq from Turkey, the new Turkish stance is almost certain to increase the strain on bilateral relations.
Mr. Logoglu said any vote on using Turkish bases or airspace could be handled separate from the issue of ground troops, but he said it was too difficult to predict the outcome of a vote in the 550-member Parliament.
"It's not going to be easy," Mr. Logoglu said. "In the mind of Turkish polity, it would be part of the broader issue, because you are still going to be saying yes to something in connection with the war."
American military officials were already exasperated with Turkey for stranding three dozen ships carrying tanks and other heavy equipment for the Army's Fourth Infantry Division in the eastern Mediterranean at a cost to the Pentagon of $1.5 million a day, and they voiced concern.
"It's a big deal," said one military official at the United States European Command, which oversees American military operations in Turkey. "There are many options that are available. But ultimately, we've got to wait to see how the Turks work through this."
Currently, about 50 American and British jets use Incirlik, but only to patrol the northern no-flight zone in Iraq. The planes fly largely defensive missions, and retaliate when fired upon from the ground.
Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said today that just as General Franks had alternatives to using Turkish bases for American ground troops, so did he have other options for attacking Iraq by air.
One option would be to fly carrier-based jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles over Israel and Jordan into Iraq from the west. This is a shorter route than coming down through Turkey, but having American warplanes barreling out of Israeli airspace for attacks on Iraq would almost certainly inflame tensions in the Arab world, a senior Navy official said.
Mr. Erdogan, 49, an Islamic-minded politician, had been prohibited from running for office, and from becoming prime minister, because of a conviction in the late 1990's for inciting religious hatred. In the years since his release, Mr. Erdogan has transformed himself into a pragmatic leader whose religion has taken a supporting role.
When Justice and Development Party swept to power last November, Mr. Erdogan was in the unusual position of heading the ruling party without being able to hold office. Mr. Gul and other party leaders vowed to amend the Constitution to allow Mr. Erdogan to run. After Mr. Erdogan's easy victory on Sunday, Mr. Gul stepped aside.
"A defect of the democratic life was removed," Mr. Erdogan said today.
Mr. Erdogan promised to move quickly to form a government, and some Turkish officials predicted that Mr. Erdogan's new cabinet could be ready as soon as Wednesday.
There was little indication, however, of how quickly Mr. Erdogan might move on motions to the Turkish Parliament granting the United States military overflight and basing rights for any attack on Iraq, or permission to move ground troops through Turkey.
Mr. Erdogan has hinted that he favors granting the Americans access, but also says he would like to see what happens first in the United Nations Security Council, where the United States and Britain do not yet have majority support for a resolution authorizing force to disarm Iraq.
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.