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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (160958)	2/14/2003 1:01:54 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574541

Germany to Ship Missiles to Turkey By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, February 14, 2003; Page A23 BRUSSELS, Feb. 13 -- The German government, which is helping block the dispatch of military equipment to Turkey by the NATO alliance, announced today it would soon begin shipping some of the same materiel to the government there. Turkey "can at all times rely on our solidarity to protect it from danger," Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a speech to parliament. The missile shipment was the latest example of Germany helping out indirectly in preparations for a possible conflict that it very publicly opposes. With support from the United States, Turkey had called on the alliance to provide it with the Patriot anti-missile system, surveillance aircraft and biochemical units to defend itself in the event of a strike by the Iraqi military. Germany and alliance partners France and Belgium have vetoed the request, arguing that its approval would endorse the "logic of war." Any formal consideration of the matter should take place only after the chiefs of weapons inspection teams in Iraq issue reports to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, they have argued. All three countries held to that position today at NATO headquarters in Brussels, forcing cancellation of another meeting on the deadlock, which the United States has said is threatening NATO's credibility. At the same, Turkey would get much of what it wants -- although not from NATO, at least not now. "We have, in fact, already met the demands which have been made in NATO," said Schroeder. "In December, I publicly announced that German AWACS [surveillance aircraft] crews were available to protect Turkey. Together with the Netherlands, we will provide Turkey with the most modern missile defense equipment available in Europe, the Patriot system." Germany will provide the missiles, but they will be operated by Dutch soldiers. "This is one of the reasons why we, along with our friends in France and Belgium, do not feel that a formal NATO decision on war plans is appropriate in anticipation of further debate by the Security Council," he said. Schroeder also noted in his speech that since the end of January, German soldiers have been doing special security duty at U.S. bases in Germany. Currently about 1,000 are assigned to that work. Germany also has granted overflight rights to U.S. military planes. France, while joining Germany in blocking NATO agreement, also has declared full support for Turkey in the event of war. On Wednesday, President Jacques Chirac telephoned President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey to make that pledge personally, according to a spokesman for Chirac. U.S. officials, however, have said the three holdouts to joint NATO action have seriously undermined the notion of collective defense and that bilateral assistance is no substitute for acting within the alliance. Turkey is still seeking units for defense against bio-chemical warfare. Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis told the Anatolia news agency, "We believe that the latest developments negatively affect the trustworthiness of the NATO alliance." German Defense Minister Peter Struck predicted today that a solution within NATO was imminent. "We will have a decision in the North Atlantic Council [NATO's governing body] at the latest Saturday, following the discussions in the U.N. Security Council Friday, which will absolutely satisfy Turkey's interests," Struck said. Schroeder's 45-minute address to parliament was his most explicit defense of a policy that has led to major strains with the Bush administration. "We are united by a friendship that is based on mutual respect and the pursuit of common aims and which therefore must withstand differences of opinion on important issues," he said. But he attacked what he depicted as inconsistencies in U.S. policy, contrasting its views of Iraq and North Korea. North Korea is "led by a dictator, has nuclear warheads and throws out inspectors" yet the Americans "propose dialogue," said Schroeder, who got standing ovations from members of his coalition government. He also warned that an attack on Iraq could damage the fight against terrorism. © 2003 The Washington Post Company