U.S. Wins Grudging Iraq War Support From Turkey

by Nadire Mater

A relationship going back 50 years appeared headed for a breakup after the Turkish parliament voted against a move to support the U.S. war on Iraq. "We are a part of the coalition," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said during Powell's visit. No one looked convinced.

"Turks have cooperated with the Americans to suit their own interests, but they have never trusted them," says Prof Mensur Akgun at the Kultur University in Istanbul. "The Americans on the other hand publishing humiliating cartoons about Turkey and accuse it of trying to squeeze money out of the U.S. because of the Iraq crisis. This is an unwilling alliance."

The alliance began in 1945 when Turkey joined the Western alliance under pressure of a perceived Soviet threat. It later joined NATO. Turkey became a key geo-strategic member on the south-eastern flank of NATO.

Following the end of the Cold War Turkey and the U.S. increased military and political cooperation. Turkey joined the alliance in the last Gulf War and opened its airspace for allied attacks on Iraq.

The U.S. has become a major supplier of arms to Turkey and has backed Turkey in fighting Kurdish guerrillas despite concerns over human rights abuses raised by the U.S. Congress. The U.S. has also backed Turkey's moves to join the European Union.

Much of the Turkish suspicion of the U.S. goes back to the Cyprus crisis in 1974 when Turkey felt abandoned by the U.S., Akgun says. The U.S. first stopped Turkey from intervening in Cyprus in 1964, and later after the Turkish invasion of 1974 imposed an arms embargo, Akgun says. Turkish forces entered Cyprus following a Greek-led coup attempt. The northern part of Cyprus remains under Turkish Cypriot control.

Relations plummeted again when the Turkish parliament refused permission to use Turkish bases to open a northern front against Iraq. The Turkish government had hoped for cash, loans and a share of contracts in Iraq from supporting the U.S. attack. The parliament vote stunned the government.

With a domestic debt of $85 billion and an external debt of $125 billion, Turkey desperately needs loans from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) for a recovery program. For that it needs U.S. backing.

"From now on, whatever deal we may enter into with the U.S., normalization of relations will take even more time than it did after the 1974 arms embargo," says Tuncay Ozilhan, chairman of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association.

But the two countries have made at least the first moves in restoring ties. "The making up has begun," says analyst Cengiz Candar following Powell's visit. Cooperation in "low intensity military activities" with the U.S. will now begin, he says.

The cooperation will include transportation of food and fuel through Turkey. The wounded would also be transported through Turkey, Gull told media representatives.

Powell announced that the cooperation will be overseen by a joint coordination committee and will include search and rescue operations.

"Turkey is a key country in the U.S. plans for reconstruction of Iraq, both in political and humanitarian terms since it is the only democratic country in the region," Powell said.

But doubts still shadow this uncertain alliance because there is no written agreement yet on the status of Northern Iraq. Turkey has warned of military intervention in case of the emergence of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Turkey fears such a situation may lead to separatist currents among its Kurd population of about 15 million in a population of 69 million.

Powell is believed to have said there is no question of any Kurdish take-over of northern Iraq. He also announced a billion dollars in aid or $8 billion in long-term loans to Turkey. The limited agreements helped the Turkish market recover.