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Military Part of U.S.-Turkey “Deal” On Iraq Complete: Ankara
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Gul (R) listens to Erdogan (L) as he whispers to him during a meeting in parliament
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ANKARA,
February 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As yet another
indication of the closeness of an attack on Iraq, the United States
and Turkey
have agreed the military part of a deal to deploy U.S. troops here for
an Iraq war, the defense ministry said Thursday, February 27, ahead of
a debate by MPs on Ankara's full approval.
Defense
Minister Vecdi Gonul, quoted by the Anatolia news agency, said the
military track of the deal was "complete" but gave no
further details on when it would be signed, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
said.
The
new sealed deal comes a day after Turkey withdrew its last diplomat in
Iraq and on the same day Turkey called on its nationals in Iraq to
leave the country.
Turkish
lawmakers are set to vote later Thursday on a government motion on
whether to allow thousands of U.S. troops to use the country as a
launch pad for attacks on neighboring Iraq.
A
guarantee of Iraq's territorial integrity is one of the core issues of
negotiation between Ankara and Washington, along with a
multi-billion-dollar aid package to ward off the fallout of a war on
the crisis-hit Turkish economy.
A
simple majority in the 550-seat parliament is enough to adopt the
government motion and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP),
which has over 300 seats, is expected to muster the necessary support
despite open opposition to the request among several of its MPs.
AKP
leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to convene his parliamentary
group ahead of the vote in a bid to ensure that deputies do not
deviate from the government line.
"Once
we hold the necessary consultations, no opposition will come out of my
group," a confident Erdogan said in a live interview with Kanal
D television late Wednesday.
The
motion, submitted on Monday under intense U.S. pressure, calls for
"the temporary deployment in Turkey...
of a maximum of 62,000 military personnel and air elements of no more
than 255 planes and 65 helicopters for a period of six months."
It
also requests authorization for Turkish troops to be dispatched to
northern Iraq, a Kurdish-held area which has enjoyed virtual autonomy
since the 1991 Gulf War when it was wrenched from Baghdad's hands.
Turkey
urges nationals to leave Iraq
Turkey
on Thursday called on its nationals in Iraq to leave the country as
the parliament braced for a vote on whether to allow U.S. forces to
use Turkish soil for attacks on Iraq.
"Taking
into account the developments in the region, we recommend, with a view
to their security, that our citizens do not travel to Iraq and that
those who are there leave the country as soon as possible," said
a foreign ministry statement carried by Anatolia news agency.
The
statement said Turkey could not be responsible for the safety of Turks
who stayed in Iraq.
Turkey
withdrew its last diplomat in Iraq on Wednesday.
20,000
U.S. Troops to Enter Iraq from Turkey
Erdogan
told Kanal D that some 20,000 of U.S. troops to be deployed in Turkey
would cross into northern Iraq to open a second front against Iraq
while the rest would stay on Turkish soil to provide logistical
support.
The
motion does not specify the number of Turkish troops to be sent over
the border, but the AKP leader said that twice as many Turkish
soldiers as American soldiers would enter the Kurdish-held enclave.
Turkey
fears that Iraqi Kurds might take advantage of a war to break free
from Iraq and declare an independent state, setting an example for
their kinsmen in Turkey's
southeast.
Turkey,
which backed the U.S. in the Gulf War, says that it incurred a
financial loss of up to 40 billion dollars due to the trade embargo
slapped on its southeastern neighbor, and dreads a repetition.
"We
are going to take our steps very carefully because we were once burnt
in 1991 and now we are twice shy," Erdogan told Kanal D.
The
United States has offered Turkey
a grant of six billion dollars, four billion of which could be used to
obtain commercial loans of up to 30 billion dollars, Economy Minister
Ali Babacan said on Wednesday.
In
Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell appealed to Turkey
to “quickly” agree pass the motion in parliament.
Turkey
closes border crossing into Iraq
Turkey
has also closed its sole border crossing for traffic going into Iraq,
a television station said on Wednesday.
Authorities
made the decision to close the crossing, at Habur, after the foreign
ministry warned state institutions to take measures relating to the
possible arrival of U.S. troops in Turkey, the NTV news channel
said.
The
border has not been closed for traffic heading from Iraq into Turkey,
it added.
First
Radar Planes Head for Turkey
Meanwhile,
two AWACS radar surveillance aircraft Wednesday left a NATO base in
Germany for Turkey, as the alliance requested further aid to protect
its member state bordering
Iraq in the event of a war.
A
NATO spokesman would not say how many more AWACS would be deployed to
Turkey, but alliance officials said the number was expected to double
in what Major General Johann-Georg Dora, commander of the AWACS fleet,
described as a "purely defensive" deployment.
Meanwhile,
NATO confirmed Wednesday it has sent a list of specific demands to its
members for further assistance for Turkey, which goes beyond what the
alliance had already agreed to send.
"A
statement of requirement was sent... last night to all partner nations
asking for responses on what nations are willing to contribute to the
operation," said a spokesman at NATO's military headquarters in
Mons, Belgium.
"The
statement of requirement asks for more than is already provided on a
bilateral basis," the spokesman added.
German
government spokesman Thomas Steg said that a list with general
requests had arrived at the German defense ministry Wednesday morning,
but declined to provide further details.
"The
requests are being examined but Germany has already fulfilled its
obligations as an ally with Patriots and the AWACS," he said,
adding that "no other aid is foreseen".
German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also said Wednesday evening in a
television interview the 46 Patriot missile units to be sent to Turkey
and soldiers aboard the AWACS aircraft "are sufficient from our
point of view".
"We
have already promised our aid within the scope of our
capacities," added Fischer in an interview with the ZDF German
public channel.
Fischer
also emphasized that the German army soldiers aboard the AWACS
aircraft are not supposed to open fire "in an offensive way, but
only in a defensive way."
Beyond
the AWACS, NATO is also sending Patriot missile systems from Germany
and The Netherlands and chemical-biological response units to Turkey.
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