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| Europe |
| Decision on expanded US access to Incirlik expected soon |
| 2005-03-25 |
| The government is close to making its decision on a Washington proposal to use the southern air base of İncirlik as a cargo hub for U.S. forces operating in the region, said a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). "A decision on the issue will be made very soon. I cannot tell you when exactly since I am not in the government but it will be very soon," Murat Mercan, AKP's deputy chairman told a meeting in Washington, called, "Can the U.S.-Turkish Relationship be Repaired?" Other attendees of the event, hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, were influential "neo-con" intellectuals: Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Richard Perle, Robert Pollock, who wrote the Wall Street Journal op-ed painting Turkey as rapidly turning into a hotbed of vicious anti-American attitudes, and Michael Rubin, who recently questioned AKP's links to Islamic capital. The proposal to use İncirlik, located in the southern city of Adana, as a cargo hub for U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq has been on the table for several months. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith said during a visit to Ankara in February that Washington was discussing the issue with Turkey with a view to finding an agreement. Turkish officials have avoided commenting on the U.S. proposal publicly but the government, eager to mend strained ties with Washington, is widely expected to respond favorably. Private NTV television said the government might officially reply to Washington over the İncirlik proposal in the coming weeks, before the 90th anniversary of an alleged Armenian genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire arrives on April 24. A powerful Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress is expected to push for a resolution recognizing the alleged genocide as part of an anniversary campaign. U.S. administrations have opposed such attempts in Congress in the past but observers say this year the George W. Bush administration may not be as willing to prevent such a move as it was in the past, given the growing mistrust of the Turkish government. A positive response to the U.S. proposal for İncirlik would be part of a charm campaign that the Turkish government is apparently planning to undertake to put ties with the United States back on track, deteriorating over Turkish criticism of U.S. policies in Iraq and U.S. concerns over rising anti-Americanism in Turkey. Erdoğan is planning to visit the United States in late May to attend the graduation ceremony of his daughter and is hoping to meet with President George W. Bush during his stay. The prime minister is also expected to visit Israel. Mercan said in his American Enterprise Institute speech that Turkish-U.S. ties were not as bad as depicted in both countries media, as both sides had the will to improve the relationship. "We should focus on the big picture," he said and warned against paying too much attention to radical and extremist comments seen in the media comments of both countries. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |