'We could sink in the swamp of
Iraq'
Ankara tests Washington's patience
Tuesday March 25, 2003
The
Guardian
Sabah Turkey, editorial, March 22
"US-Turkish relations are ... drifting towards very dangerous waters
... The US has revealed that it is fiercely opposed to Turkish soldiers
entering northern Iraq ... Iraqi Kurds' threat [to take Kirkuk] ... shows
that the aim of sending forces into northern Iraq has gone way beyond
[providing] humanitarian aid. In other words, in the same way that the US
has sent soldiers to Iraq as a 'pre-emptive war' strategy, Turkey must
enter northern Iraq for a 'pre-emptive intervention'."
Fikret Bil Millyet, Turkey, March 23
"The US is placing its emphasis on negotiations with the groups in
northern Iraq and ... has left Turkey's worries in the background. This
is why [the Turks] distrust the US so much ... Acceding to all US
requests by instantly saying 'with pleasure' is the sort of thing only
seen in banana republics ... It is not realistic to be this afraid of
America ...
"The foreign minister, [Abdullah] Gul ... has explained under what
conditions and with what aims Turkey will enter northern Iraq ... [to
maintain] border security, prevent large waves of refugees, and to
intervene when confronted with attempts to massacre the Turkmens."
Mensur Akgun Hurriyet, Turkey, March 24
"The rejection of the motion [to allow US troops to be stationed in
Turkey] ... gave the Kurds in northern Iraq a new hope ... If America
cannot, or does not want to, obstruct the Kurds then Turkey could sink in
the swamp of northern Iraq. Not only will our relations with America and
Europe break down, we could also inadvertently help in the creation of a
Kurdish state."
Mahmut Sakar Ozgur Politika, March 24
"Until Turkey changes its approach and comes to an agreement to
integrate with its own Kurds, then [the situation] will become even more
painful. Turkey must ... adopt a new political perspective that has peace
and a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem at its core."
· Ozgur Politika is a European-based Kurdish newspaper
William Safire New York Times, March 24
"The Turks ... insist that Iraqi Kurds plan to set up an independent
state, which would then supposedly cause Turkish Kurds to secede and
break up Turkey.
"That's strictly [Tayyip] Erdogan's cover story for an oil grab,
undermining the coalition's plans for an Iraq whole and free. Even
America's severest critics recognise Turkey's move as venal ... The
novice wheeler-dealer in Ankara [has] succeeded in alienating both the
transatlantic coalition of the willing and old Europe's union of the
unwilling."
Jordan Times Editorial, March 24
"To be sure, Turkey has legitimate national concerns about the war
against Iraq. But taking a unilateral decision to move troops into a
neighbouring country is no way to deal with them. If all of Iraq's
neighbours started taking international law into their own hands and
began a process of direct military intervention in the Arab country, the
result would be disastrous for regional stability and security. It would
mean a breakdown of law and order in the region."
Alon Liel Maariv, Israel, March 24
"America's acceptance of a Kurdish state would be ... fatal for the
historic alliance between Washington and Ankara, a heavy blow to the
integrity of Nato, and imperil Israeli-Turkish relations ... The key is
with Ankara, not Washington. Turkey will have to withdraw its objections
to an independent Kurdish state, even if that seems impossible at the
moment. The US will need Europe's help in this. Only the prize of full EU
membership will make it possible for Turkey to agree to the formation of
Kurdistan. But it is hard to see the Bush administration's clumsy
diplomacy resolving this soon."
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