February 06, 2003
Now Turkey is with us!
Turkey agrees to aid US war
Turkey's parliament has agreed to allow the United States to upgrade Turkish military bases in preparation for a possible war with Iraq.
Deputies passed a motion on Thursday authorising US personnel to start "renovation, development, construction, expansion and infrastructure work at military bases".
The BBC's correspondent in Istanbul, Jonny Dymond, says the vote is Turkey's first step on the road to war.
A vote on allowing Turkish troops to be sent abroad and foreign troops to be stationed in Turkey is expected in about 10 days' time.
[...]Our correspondent says the Turkish Government resisted as long as it thought conflict could be averted. [This means that Colin Powell's message got through to them!--J.T.]
But before Thursday's vote Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said Turkey had no choice but to back Washington on Iraq.
We have to act together with our strategic partner and ally the United States for our national interests," the daily Milliyet quoted him as saying, echoing remarks by his party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
[...]Many Turks fear war with its neighbour would lead Kurdish groups in the north of Iraq to break away, correspondents say.
Such a move could re-ignite tensions among its own Kurdish population who fought a 15-year guerrilla war for independence.
There are also concerns that as in the previous Gulf war, Turkey's fragile economy will be hit severely by a campaign against Baghdad.
The United Nations refugee agency predicts that thousands of Iraqis are likely to flee to Turkey in the event of a conflict.
The US Government has promised Ankara financial assistance - ranging from between $4bn and $15bn - to help alleviate the war's economic impact.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
The smart money, including mine, always said the Turks would be on board when the time came...
OK, maybe we had to sweeten this deal with promises of lots of aid and trade and maybe we also had to guarantee that a post-Saddam Iraqi government, led by us, would keep the Kurds on the Iraqi reservation and out of Turkish borders, but we really need to be able to use our base at Incirlik.
And Turkey's not thrilled having a poisonous neighbor like
Ba'athist Iraq next door anyway, Islamist-led political establishment or not.
Onward!
Baghdad (et Dimocrats, Liberals and Leftists) delenda est!
