Top Turkish official blasts U.S. over Iraq
Associated Press
RESOURCES
chron.com
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkey's top politician harshly criticized the United States today, calling its drive to disarm Iraq hypocritical, and said his country would not decide whether support U.S. military action until the U.N. Security Council weighs in.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments came amid a deepening split between the United States and Europe over Iraq. In Istanbul, the visiting German foreign minister, whose country has been one of the most outspoken opponents of military action, said the trans-Atlantic allies should "cool down" the sharpening debate.
Still, Erdogan made the strongest comments yet by a Turkish leader against the U.S. campaign against Iraq. Turkey is under heavy American pressure to allow the use of its bases to attack Iraq, but public opposition to war is strong in the country.
Erdogan, who heads the ruling party and is considered the behind-the-scenes leader of the government, said eliminating nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in Iraq was a worthy goal.
"But let's not kid ourselves," he told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Daovs, Switzerland. "No one is interested in eliminating their own weapons of mass destruction. They're interested in strengthening their own weapons of mass destruction."
Asked if he was accusing the United States of hypocrisy, Erdogan said: "I meant all the countries in the world. The United States is also included."
He said his government would wait for a U.N. decision before deciding whether to support military action. "The decision which is important for us is the decision of the U.N. Security Council," said Erdogan, who is expected to become prime minister after he runs in parliamentary by-elections in March.
Turkey has long said it would prefer to have U.N. approval for any attack on Iraq, but its top ally, the United States, wants it to allow tens of thousands of American troops to use its bases to open a northern front against Iraq. Washington said it does not need U.N. approval to launch a war.
Turkey has been reluctant to give permission and has reportedly asked Washington to scale down its planned deployment.
Erdogan noted the "major price" Turkey paid after the 1991 Gulf War -- a flood of Kurdish refugees, lost lives and economic disruption, which he put at $100 billion. "We do not want to pay the same prices one more time," he said.
The new NATO military commander, U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, met with Turkey's top general today to discuss a possible war with Iraq. NATO has promised military support to member-nation Turkey if it comes under attack from Iraq.
British military chief, Adm. Sir Michael Boyce visited Turkey's Incirlik air base -- the hub of British and U.S. warplanes enforcing the northern no-fly zone over Iraq. Incirlik is expected to be a key attack base if the United States strikes Iraq again.
Hoping to avert a war, Turkey hosted a gathering this week of foreign minister from Iraq's neighbors and Egypt, who on Thursday urged Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors.
Many observers expect Turkey will eventually bow to U.S. pressure and allow use of the bases. But the government is eager to show the Turkish public it has made an effort to prevent conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said today that allowing U.S. troops to use Turkish soil to launch an attack on Iraq puts military pressure on Saddam to comply with U.N. inspectors.
"The more there is military pressure on Iraq, the more it is likely to reach a peaceful solution," Yakis said.
He was speaking at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Joschka Fischer who is in Turkey as part of German efforts to prevent a war. Fischer said Berlin was also concerned by "the risks" of a U.S. military action.
Fischer praised Thursday's declaration by the foreign ministers of Iran, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, calling it a "strong message to the Iraqi government that there must be full compliance."
Russia joined Germany and France on Thursday in insisting there was currently no justification for military action against Iraq and urging Washington to wait for arms inspectors to finish their work.
The split over Iraq grew more bitter after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld offended NATO allies France and Germany this week by calling them part of "old Europe" and "a problem" because of their opposition to military action.
"Cool down, cool down," Fischer said today in response to Rumsfeld's comments. "We are good friends, good allies. We have a discussion now about how to deal with Iraq. But cool down."
Fischer is on a tour of the Middle East as part of Germany's effort to find a peaceful solution to the standoff with Iraq. He met with Turkish officials Friday and was continuing on to Egypt and Jordan. |
