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Germany threatens to withdraw from Turkey if troops enter Iraq
Germany said Saturday it would withdraw its crew members from NATO surveillance planes that are patrolling Turkish airspace if Turkey moves its troops into Iraq. The threat was announced by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and Defence Minister Peter Struck following a meeting of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Security Cabinet. It came as the Turkish military denied reports that some 1,000 Turkish commandos had crossed into northern Iraq.Did the Germans think this one up on their own, or did we prompt them to do it? Germany has staunchly opposed military action in Iraq, and has said that it will not participate in a war. Schroeder has said the AWACS flights over Turkey are covered by Germany's obligations to defend a NATO ally and would not be used to support a war. Fischer said that Turkish participation in a war would produce an "entirely new situation," given Germany's refusal to take part in the war. However, he said Germany's foreign intelligence service currently has no information that Turkish troops have entered Iraq. Struck said the withdrawal threat also applied to German Patriot missiles that were handed over to the Netherlands for use in Dutch Patriot batteries in Turkey. On Friday, an opposition party unhappy that parliament was not consulted on allowing German soldiers to man the surveillance flights along Turkey's border with Iraq said it would take its complaint to the supreme court. The centrist party Free Democrats said they would file the complaint next week. Question is, do the Turks need the Patriots and AWACS any more? Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-22 |
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