Turkey Closer to Allowing in U.S. Troops Parliament Must Vote After Cabinet Approves Troop Deployment
By Loius Meixler The Associated Press Monday, February 24, 2003; 1:38 PM ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's Cabinet agreed Monday to host tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops, a key step toward allowing Washington to forge ahead with plans for a northern front against Iraq. Government spokesman Abdullatif Sener said the measure was being sent to parliament Monday. A vote on Tuesday is widely expected, but passage of the bill is not certain. The Cabinet decision comes after weeks of tense U.S.-Turkish negotiations. Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis warned that final details of a U.S.-Turkish agreement are still being worked out and the motion could be delayed until those negotiations are concluded. In a sign of how contentious a U.S. troop deployment is in Turkey, Sener said that many ministers had reservations. "An important part of our ministers did not find the developments satisfactory. But after negotiations, the decision of sending the authorization to the parliament was made," Sener said. "In the end, the ministers unanimously endorsed to send it to parliament," he added. The Cabinet motion calls on parliament to allow the deployment of U.S. troops and authorize Turkish soldiers to enter Iraq. The deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party, which has a large majority in parliament, said he expected parliamentary approval, but gave no date for a vote. "There will not be a problem," legislator Reha Denemec told The Associated Press. "The government approves it." The announcement comes as U.S. ships loaded with tanks and other armor awaited orders off the Turkish coast. Washington wants to use Turkey to open a northern front to divide the Iraqi army. Other U.S. troops will advance from Kuwait. But for weeks Turkey had been holding out for a better aid package to compensate for any Turkish losses in case of war. The deadlock was finally broken late last week, when Washington offered Turkey $5 billion in aid and $10 billion in loans to cushion the Turkish economy from the impact of any war. But Turkish and U.S. officials were still working out the final details of an agreement. "Negotiations have not been finalized yet," Sener said. A U.S. official said talks are expected to continue throughout Monday. The Bush administration has been putting enormous pressure on Turkey to pass a basing agreement. "Negotiations to reach an agreement on the military, political and economic issues have reached an important stage," Sener said. "However, they are still continuing. But to have kept the process any longer would not have been very healthy, therefore it was decided to send the authorization to parliament today." An overwhelming majority of Turks oppose any war in neighboring Iraq, fearing that it would further weaken Turkey's already fragile economy. As well as aid, Turkish leaders have demanded assurances that the fall of Iraq's Saddam Hussein will not lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. A Kurdish state, Turkey fears, would boost aspirations of Turkey's Kurdish rebels. To prevent this, Turkey wants to send tens of thousands of troops into northern Iraq in case of war. Ankara fears that a war will push hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey. Kurdish groups living in those areas say they strongly oppose any Turkish deployment. Turkey and the United States are also still discussing command of any Turkish troops in northern Iraq, the disarmament after a war of Iraqi Kurdish groups, and the control of two northern Iraqi oil fields, Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development Party, has said that he would not order his lawmakers to vote in favor of the deployment. He said he hoped "his friends would act toward the authorization." On Monday, a NATO mission to help defend Turkey against a potential Iraqi attack got underway with the departure of a planeload of equipment and support units from Germany. Turkey, a member of NATO, fears that Baghdad might launch a counterattack if it supports the United States.
