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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (471681)	10/6/2003 4:04:17 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 769670

washingtonpost.com Turkey's Cabinet Agrees to Contribute Troops to Iraq Parliament Must Approve Troop Deployment By Suzan Fraser The Associated Press Monday, October 6, 2003; 1:12 PM ANKARA, Turkey –– Turkey's government on Monday voted to ask Parliament to send soldiers to Iraq, a move that could ease the burden of U.S. operations there and help mend frayed relations with Washington. If Parliament agrees, Turkey would become the first predominantly Muslim nation to contribute troops to U.S.-led coalition. But many lawmakers reject the idea of sending troops to aid reconstruction after the ouster of Saddam Hussein — particularly when they opposed the war that ousted him. Hoping to win over critics, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was to address members of his party Tuesday ahead of a Parliament vote that could come as soon as later that day. Government spokesman Cemil Cicek would not disclose how many soldiers the government hoped to send, but officials have said the United States requested about 10,000. The number "will be assessed according to needs," Cicek said. The United States also has been seeking soldiers from India, Pakistan and South Korea to bolster 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Turkey is NATO's only Muslim member, and Washington is keen to see troops from Muslim countries in an Iraq peacekeeping mission. Cicek said troops would be deployed for one year, adding: "We hope that they stay for less than one year." He said the government wanted lawmakers to debate the issue Tuesday. Asked whether parliament could reject the deployment, Cicek said, "We have no such concerns." Erdogan has been in favor of contributing troops to help improve ties with the United States, strained since March when the Turkish parliament narrowly turned down a U.S. request to station 60,000 U.S. troops. The move would also give Turkey a say in the future of Iraq and a part in the reconstruction of its potentially rich southern neighbor. "We cannot remain aloof to events" in Iraq, Cicek said. But Turks, who overwhelmingly opposed the war, doubt whether their soldiers — consisting mainly of conscripts — should risk dying for a mission they don't support. A recent opinion poll indicated that 64.4 percent of Turks oppose sending troops. On Monday, anti-war demonstrators staged protests outside the prime minister's office and parliament, with one splashing red paint on the street. The Cabinet decision came days after Turkey received assurances from the U.S. State Department's counterterrorism chief, Cofer Black, that the United States would remove the threat posed to Turkey by Turkish Kurdish rebels of the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, based in northern Iraq. U.S. officials did not rule out the use of military force against the group, designated by Washington as a terrorist organization. The rebels fought a 15-year war for autonomy that left some 37,000 people dead. Turkey has been seeking the assurances hoping this would help the government win support for the deployment. It was not clear when the troops might be dispatched. "Authorization doesn't mean that troops will leave immediately," Cicek said. Private CNN-Turk television reported however that the military had ordered troops to prepare for deployment. Issues that still have to be negotiated include where troops would be stationed. Reports have suggested that they could be deployed in the Sunni Arab areas, west and north of Baghdad. Iraqi Kurdish groups and members of Iraq's U.S.-backed Governing Council are reluctant to see troops from Turkey and other neighboring countries in Iraq, worrying that they may have territorial designs and may destabilize the country. Turkey is especially problematic. Turkish officials have in the past spoken in favor of sending troops to northern Iraq, over concerns Iraqi Kurds may be trying to carve out a separate homeland in the region which could inspire Turkey's own Kurds. Sadi Ahmed Pire, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan official in Mosul, said his party had informed coalition forces of its reservations about the introduction of Turkish troops. "We told them how we're concerned about the participation of neighboring countries because they have their own agenda," he said. "We're afraid that they're not in a position to follow the same instructions given by the allied forces."