U.S.-Turkish Tension Over Iraq Mounts
Additional Reporting By Sa'ad Abdul Majid, IOL Turkey Correspondent
ANKARA, My 8 (IslamOnline.net) - Turkey and the United States exchanged accusations concerning the war against Iraq in a new sign of mounting tension characterizing relations between the two allies. Ankara rejected a call from Washington to admit it made a mistake by denying the United States support in the war against neighboring Iraq. "From the very beginning, Turkey has never made a mistake on this issue and has taken the necessary steps with its utmost sincerity. It has followed this path without expecting anything in return," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday, May 7. He was responding to remarks made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. "To me the disappointment is that the country, that I admire so much... was prepared to seemingly do deals with one of the worst dictators," Wolfowitz said in an interview with CNN-Turk television. "If we are going to have a new page, then let's have a Turkey that instead of looking with suspicion at everything that goes on in northern Iraq ... steps up and says we made a mistake," he said, according to a text of the interview released by the U.S. embassy in Ankara. Wolfowitz' sharp comments underlined tensions that have characterized U.S.-Turkish relations since Ankara refused to allow the deployment of U.S. ground troops to open a northern front against Iraq or the use of Turkish bases for the invasion of Iraq. Wolfowitz said the powerful Turkish military, which wields significant influence in political decision-making, did not play "the strong leadership role" on Iraq that Washington "would have expected". But Erdogan retorted that there had been "no discord among the institutions which made the decisions," according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Wolfowitz called on Ankara to review its decision to oust U.S. forces from the Incirlik air base, saying Washington was told that the operation monitoring the no-fly zone in northern Iraq was over, "so leave." "We don't want to be in places where we are not wanted, and we don't want to be in places where we may be wanted but we are no longer needed," he said. The Turkish chief of Air Forces said that the U.S.-British forces from Incirlik should have withdrawn after the 11-year-old use of the base and after the end of war against Iraq. The U.S. official said Turkey would not join the U.S.-led peacekeeping forces in Iraq, noting that Kurds in northern Iraq reject any Turkish military presence in the country. NATO member Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the United States, dealt a major blow to U.S. war plans in Iraq when its parliament refused to allow U.S. troops to deploy in the country to invade neighboring Iraq from the north. Turkey's plans to send troops to Kurdish-held northern Iraq during the war also strained transatlantic ties. Ankara refrained from intervening only after strong pressure from Washington. Many analysts believe Turkey's military did not feel Washington was taking its security concerns into account, including fears that the strengthening of Iraqi Kurdish groups could inspire Turkey's Kurds. Official Apology The Turkish opposition Republican People's Party leader asked Wolfowitz for an official apology for his comments, calling on Washington to respect "the Turkish democracy standing behind Turkey's decisions". A parliament leader also called on the government to take a more tough response to Wolfowitz's statements. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell attempted to cool the row, saying Turkey was a good ally and cooperative partner. Asked if he agreed with Wolfowitz, Powell told reporters, "we had been disappointed by Turkish actions earlier in the year, but Turkey is a good friend and a good ally, and they are working with us now in a very cooperative way." "Notwithstanding that disappointment of a couple of months ago, it remains a strong friend and ally. We have a good partnership with Turkey and I am sure it will continue to grow in the years ahead," he said.
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