Turkey planning for troops in Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to give the government permission to send troops to Iraq, a move that could lead to the first contingent of Muslim peacekeepers being sent to Iraq.

But the Iraqi Governing Council, set up by the United States, underlined its opposition to any Turkish troops – reflecting many Iraqis’ fears that its neighbor to the north is sending troops to grab territory or dominate Iraq.

Turkey’s prime minister has pressed hard for parliament approval for the deployment, which will help patch up damaged ties with Washington and give Turkey a say in ruling Iraq.

Turkish lawmakers voted 358-183 in a closed-door session in favor of dispatching troops. The motion gives the government the authority to send troops for a year, but does not specify how many troops would be deployed or when. Washington has asked Turkey to contribute some 10,000 soldiers.

The vote does not mean that soldiers will immediately be dispatched. The government is still negotiating the terms of deployment with the United States, which could take weeks or even longer.

Parliament’s vote was a victory for the Turkish government, which had sought to avoid a repeat of the debacle before the Iraq war. In March, after months of talks with Washington, the government asked Parliament to let U.S. troops deploy in Turkey for use in the Iraq war. That motion failed by just four votes despite the government’s huge majority in parliament, sparking tensions with the United States.

Turkish officials have said their country could send 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers and that the troops would largely be based in the Sunni Muslim section of central Iraq that has been a hotbed of anti-American violence. Turks are overwhelmingly Sunnis.

The United States has made a worldwide call for money and troops to help rebuild Iraq. Washington hopes that having a Muslim nation in its coalition in Iraq will ease opposition to the U.S.-led occupation.

But Turkey would come to Iraq with a lot of historical baggage.

The Turkish Ottoman Empire ruled today’s Iraq for about 400 years until World War I. For the past 15 years, Turkey has been fighting Turkish Kurdish separatists who have bases among their Kurdish brethern in northern Iraq.

Iraq’s 15-member Governing Council met Tuesday to debate the prospect of a Turkish deployment “and after long deliberations we reached consensus on issuing a statement opposing the arrival Turkish troops,” said councilmember Mahmoud Othman, a Kurd.

He said issuance of the statement was delayed, he believed, because of pressure from the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority.

“We believe any interference from a neighboring country, either north, south, west or east, is unacceptable. This interference is unacceptable. This interference will jeopardize Iraq and that country,” said Mouwafak Al-Rabii, a Shiite councilmember and longtime human rights activist.

Turkey, meanwhile, is demanding that the United States help Turkey crack down against Turkish Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and has made that support a virtual condition to the deployment of peacekeepers.

A U.S. counterterrorism delegation met with Turkish officials last week and came to an agreement on countering the rebels that could include military force. Parliamentary approval of the deployment could strengthen Turkey’s hand in negotiations with Washington.

Just before the vote, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party to rally support for dispatching troops. The public is strongly opposed to sending soldiers.

Government officials have been emphasizing that Turkey needs to have a say in Iraq and instability in Iraq could affect Turkey in the future.

Turkey is also worried that Kurds in northern Iraq are gaining influence and could in the future break away from Iraq and form a separate state. Turkey fears that that could influence Turkish Kurds. Some 37,000 people have been killed in Ankara’s 15-year war with Kurdish separatists in southeastern Turkey.

The United States agreed to lend Turkey $8.5 billion to support its economy, but has made clear that the loan hinges on Turkey’s “cooperation in Iraq.”

A majority of Turks opposed the Iraq war and are against sending peacekeepers to Iraq.

“It is unacceptable that our children’s lives will be put into danger for the United States’ dirty interests,” said Suleyman Celebi, the head of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions. The union has some 300,000 members.

To help deflect opposition, Turkey’s government has been trying to distance itself from the unpopular occupation of Iraq.

“Those who go there must go there to help bring peace to Iraq,” Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said. “Turkey will definitely not be part of the occupation.”