Turkey: The Rocky Road to Northern Iraq
I S T A N B U L, Turkey, Feb. 6, 2003 -- Turkey's Prime Minister, Abdullah Gul, says his country won't fight in anyU.S.-led war in Iraq, but the NATO member is in the process of gradually opening its bases to U.S. forces.
Turkey's Cabinet ministers gave their consent Wednesday for U.S. troops to upgrade Turkish military bases in preparation for a U.S.-led war in Iraq, but a second parliamentary decision on whether to allow U.S. combat troops to enter the country isn't expected to come until Feb. 18.
Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has been facing intense U.S. pressure to allow U.S. troops to open a possible northern front against Iraq.
Earlier this week, Vice President Dick Cheney asked Gul that Turkey move quickly on the decision.
The U.S. is looking to base tens of thousands of soldiers in Turkey. If war with Iraq broke out, the troops would open up a northern front and divide Iraq's army between U.S. forces in Turkey and the Persian Gulf.
Gul told ABCNEWS' Diane Sawyer that Turkey is trying to decide just how many U.S. troops they would allow in Turkey.
"Talks, as I said, are going on and I'm sure both sides will be satisfied at the end," Gul said.
The Rocky Door to Northern Iraq
Turkey's cooperation is key in a possible U.S. war with Iraq and diplomats have said that if the U.S. is not allowed to use Turkish bases, its war plans could be disrupted. The U.S. is looking to spend up to several hundred million dollars to expand Turkish bases for use in an Iraq war.
U.S. and Turkish generals agree that a two-front war would be quicker, but retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold said the trail from Turkey to Iraq won't be an easy physical task.
"Any movement into Northern Iraq from Turkey has to cross through roughly 100 miles of very mountainous terrain in which logistics and general movement is very restricted and difficult," Newbold told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America during the show's special broadcast from Turkey today.
An invading American force would need to make their way through the winding mountain roads of the Zagros mountains. Vehicles would be able to travel only at very low speeds — 15-30 miles per hour — through the rough terrain.
"What you would see is several large movements of troops on different avenues consisting of mechanized vehicles — which means tanks and armored personnel carriers," Newbold said. "Over top of that you would see things like helicopter gunships flying along, ensuring your routes are protected, and you'd see aircraft far above them, covering their movement in striking enemy forces out in front of them."
Turkey is also a key location for American troops because of a possible need for medical care. If any soldiers are shot down from the air or hit in ground combat, one of the best chances of medical help is in Turkey.
Turkey's Incirlik air base houses a large hospital that could treat the wounded. The 39th Wing's medical center is designed with an underground ward that is capable of withstanding a major blast and able to sustain operations for a full 30 days without outside contact. It includes a sealed decontamination area, four flours below the ground.
Gul's efforts to figure out the extent to which Turkey is willing to help the U.S. in a possible war with Iraq has not been easy. Most of Turkey's citizens are against the possibility of war in their own back yard.
Mehmet Alialabora, a Turkish actor and activist involved in the anti-war movement in Turkey, says that the war would be over "blood money" and that the U.S. is blackmailing Turkey into helping. "Why isn't it doing anything to solve the matter peacefully? As a idealist, I still say we can stop the war," Alialabora said.
Turks: ‘What About the Kurds?’
Turkish forces are already inside northern Iraq and more are expected to join them in the coming months, but Turkey says the deployment is aimed at providing for any refugees and preventing the break-up of Iraq.
During the Iran-Iraq war, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launched gas attacks against the Kurds, and in1991 his regime attacked its own citizens again. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds and Turkomans from northern Iraq fled to neighboring Turkey
Turkey, a poor country that says it can't afford the economic burdens refugees bring, is worried that may happen again. Turkey's Red Crescent, the Islamic Red Cross, is already constructing makeshift housing in tents along the border.
Peter Galbraith, the former U.S. Ambassador to Croatia, said Turkey is even more concerned about Kurds in the north of Iraq whomight use a war to stake a bid for their own independent state.
Kurdish independence in Iraq could fuel violent separatism among Turkey's own Kurdish population in the southeast.
"Turkey's No. 1 concern is that the Kurds of Iraq might break away from Iraq and form their own state, which in turn would seek to unite with the Kurds of Turkey for a greater Kurdistan that could break apart Turkey," he said.
Meanwhile, Turkey's prime minister said the U.S. has already assured Turkey that it would not allow a separate Kurdish state.
"Yes the Americans, they are telling us that Iraq is not going to be divided so there will not be any new state in Iraq," he said.
The U.S. case against Saddam is now entering a critical 10-day period in which top weapons inspectors will visit Baghdad and make a key report to the U.N. Security Council. Their comments could help decide whether there will be war in Iraq.