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| Iraq |
| A Military Consensus with Turkey |
| 2003-02-20 |
| Columnist Murat Celik comments on a military consensus reportedly reached by Turkey and the US. A summary of his column is as follows: Turkey and the US have reached a consensus on military matters concerning Iraq because Ankara got what it wanted from the US in this area. Now a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is ready for their signatures concerning the war that is likely to come. While hard bargaining is continuing on the political and economic fronts, let me tell you how the MoU was shaped, some of its details and how the consensus was reached. Contrary to what many in the public thought, there was never any ‘crisis of command’ between Turkey and the US. No proposal for ‘bringing Turkish soldiers under US officers’ command’ was ever made at any of the tables sat at by the two countries’ military officials. Actually, the US leaked such news to the press in order to see how Ankara would react. When Turkey basically said ‘don’t even consider such a thing,’ the issue never came to the table. Thus, the MoU contains the sentence, ‘The forces of the two countries will carry out their duties under their respective national commands.’ Turkish and US units will work only in ‘coordination.’ What is the content of the MoU? In brief, everything but the number of soldiers and the period of their deployment. As these two issues depend on proposals yet to be passed by the Parliament, they aren’t covered by the MoU. The MoU does cover principles of military activities in detail. One of the most important issues is the status of US soldiers coming Turkey. The consensus that was reached is as follows: ‘US soldiers will be subject to Turkish law within Turkey’s borders and in terms of their relations with citizens of the Turkish Republic, and they will be subject to US law within themselves.’ The highlights of the principles in the MoU can be listed as follows: points that soldiers will land on, routes they will pass through, conditions to be obeyed in the process of passage and dispatch, legal conditions, and methods for mutual briefing. Certain important signs concerning the timetable appear in US military planning. If Parliament authorizes and the government accepts the US soldiers, a settling period of 15 days will start after US ships anchor at the Port of Mersin. The US units need two weeks to be ready to cross over the border. This is the period envisaged so the soldiers and equipment can reach their places through highways, railways and by air. The timetable of US military planning implies the first week of March for a political and economic consensus. Of course the US has to meet the Turkish government’s expectations on the minimum level, and the US’ proposals on the economy as of yesterday were very far from what Ankara could accept. SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION The US and Turkish military sound like they are working well together. It all comes back to the economic package. |
| Posted by:Steve |