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Keep out of Kurdish areas, US warns Turkey
Thirteen missile-firing US warships yesterday sailed into the Red sea to obtain a clear line of fire against Iraqi targets following Turkey's refusal to open its airspace to American forces preparing the assault on Saddam Hussein. In a sign that exchanges between the Nato allies have degenerated into political threats, the US warned Ankara to abandon plans to send troops into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. Don't bother scheduling the re-vote. Washington is also reported to have withdrawn war compensation, worth at least $15bn, which had previously been on offer in return for permission to deploy 62,000 troops on Turkish soil. The US soldiers were to have been used to open a northern front against Saddam Hussein. The Turkish parliament's rejection of the package and a decision by the new prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to delay a second vote have exasperated the White House. The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, said yesterday: "We have made it clear that the situation [in northern Iraq] is volatile, and it would be better if there were no Turkish forces in as part of any military operation. They are concerned about that area, but they also know that we don't want to see anything happen that would precipitate a crisis between Turkey and the Kurdish populations in northern Iraq". I guess that means Turkey won't gain the province of Mosul. Turkey, where the population is fiercely opposed to war, appears determined to withhold permission for US overflights, severely restricting options for sending US ground troops into northern Iraq. Nor are Iran, Syria or Jordan likely to allow US military planes to use their airspace. Mr Erdogan told Mr Bush last week that use of Turkish airspace would have to be approved by parliament. The timetable for any further vote on US troop deployments has slipped again; nothing is now expected until next week. I don't get the stalling act. It's as good as a 'no'. As the countdown to war enters its final days, there are only a few US military advisers and members of the special forces operating alongside Kurdish militias in northern Iraq. The enclave could be vulnerable to counter-attack from Saddam's T-72 tanks. Ummmm, T-72s, yummy. The Pentagon may deploy its 101st and 82nd airborne divisions and the 173rd airborne brigade. The troops, most of whom are now in Kuwait, would be flown into Kurdish-run areas and would fight with heavy air force support to make up for the lack of armour. Iraqi opposition leaders will meet US and Turkish officials in Ankara today to warn against Turkish plans to send troops into the Kurdish self-rule area of northern Iraq during a US-led offensive. Zalmay Khlalilzad, Mr Bush's envoy to the "free Iraqis", said: "We oppose unilateral force. Such an action would have a negative effect on US-Turkish relations and Turkey's relations with other countries." Ankara has advanced plans to establish a large-scale military presence in northern Iraq. Although the Turkish army has a few small bases in the Kurdish enclave, it is proposing to set up a buffer zone and scores of refugee camps. Turkey is anxious to prevent Iraqi Kurdistan from taking advantage of the war to become the nucleus of an independent Kurdish state, which it fears could reignite separatist sentiments among its own large Kurdish population. Well then, you should have gone along with us, and we would have made sure. Now you'll be kept guessing. Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-17 |
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