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Politics : War -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andy Thomas who wrote (19499)	3/7/2003 6:07:21 PM
From: Tadsamillionaire	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 23908

Washington pulls rug from Turks' aid By Roland Watson Richard Beeston in Ankara 08mar03 THE US House of Representatives thinks Pakistani rug-makers are more deserving of American aid than Turkish rug-makers. Without ceremony, Turkey was removed from the list of beneficiaries in a trade bill before it was passed on Wednesday; an act of legislative sabotage that lifts the lid on the furious horse-trading surrounding the build-up to war with Iraq. The bazaar economics that lavished up to $US500,000 ($814,000) of aid on Pakistan, but denied Turkey a cent, has nothing to do with textiles and everything to do with rounding up both into Mr Bush's "coalition of the willing". Not for nothing has the group been dubbed the "coalition of the billing". Pakistan is one of six crucial votes on the UN Security Council that the US, Britain and Spain on one side, and France, Russia and Germany on the other, are furiously courting. Pakistan, along with Chile, Mexico, Guinea, Cameroon and Angola, hold the fate of a second resolution. Turkey is a case on its own, holding the key to the Pentagon's preferred war plan for a northern front against Iraq. Denying Turkish rug-makers any help is designed as an immediate slap for Ankara's decision not to allow 60,000 US troops to launch an attack from its soil, and a warning of more to come if the Turkish parliament does not rethink its stance in the coming days. The country's military has already signalled it would support a US attack. General Hilmi Ozkok, the nation's top military officer, said on Wednesday that war would be "shorter, there would be less pain" if the country backed Washington. General Ozkok said the military respected parliament's Saturday rejection of a resolution to allow in the US troops, but appeared to urge parliament to reconsider, stating that if Turkey did not support the US, the country would have no say in the future of neighbouring Iraq. General Ozkok's statement came a day after Turkey's top political leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, indicated the Government planned to reintroduce a new troop deployment resolution. Mr Erdogan thanked the general for his statement, saying it gave a "good perspective" on what could be expected in the future and fulfilled the Turkish "people's expectations". Pressure from the two men, who are widely considered the most influential leaders in Turkey, seemed to have an immediate impact on parliament. "The conditions are changing fast," said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, a deputy chairman of the governing Justice and Development Party. "Many legislators are saying that they will cast a positive vote if the motion is brought to parliament again." Party officials have said a vote is not likely for two to three weeks. It was unclear, however, if the momentum building in favour of a resolution would push that timetable forward. Many deputies said they voted against the resolution despite the cabinet endorsement because public support was overwhelmingly against an Iraq war dailytelegraph.news.com.au