Turkish forces to join U.S. attacks

By Selcan Hacaoglu

Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey will deploy special forces troops to Afghanistan, the government said Thursday, becoming the first Muslim nation to join in the U.S.-led attacks against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.

Turkey, a member of NATO, said it would send a 90-man unit to northern Afghanistan to combat terrorists, train anti-Taliban fighters and support humanitarian aid operations.

Turkey’s contribution is the latest sign that allied forces are preparing for a sustained campaign of surprise raids by small, elite units. Britain, Australia and Canada are sending special forces to fight alongside U.S. troops, and France is considering a similar contribution.

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the government decided to send troops after becoming convinced that the hard-line Taliban must be unseated.

"The Taliban regime and its archaic practices pose a threat primarily to central Asia, and to the world," Ecevit said at a news conference.

The Turkish force would take on reconnaissance missions as well as protect and evacuate civilians, Ecevit’s office said. CNN-Turk television said an advance group of 15 soldiers will travel through Uzbekistan over the weekend to make the first contact with local forces and U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Turkey’s special forces are experienced in guerrilla warfare after fighting Kurdish rebels for more than 15 years in mountainous southeast Turkey.

However, such deployment could spur protests in Turkey, where polls suggest more than 80 percent of Turks oppose troop deployment in Afghanistan. Some Turks are uncomfortable with attacking another Muslim country, but most fear that the war could spread to Iraq and then to Turkey, deepening an already crippling economic crisis.

Police on Thursday used tear gas and nightsticks to break up a group of university students in Istanbul who chanted anti-U.S. slogans and condemned the attacks on Afghanistan. Police detained 50 students.

"Those who portray this campaign as an action against Islam are contradicting the high values of Islam, which is a religion of peace," a statement from Ecevit’s office said. "The success of the U.S.-led operation is for the good of humanity."

The statement said the decision was carefully evaluated by the military and civilian leadership in light of Turkey’s obligations under NATO and a U.S. request made last week. The Turkish Cabinet approved it on Thursday.

"It is aimed at contributing to the formation of a broad-based government with the participation of all ethnic groups, and at serving our Afghan brothers by helping to install stability in this country," the statement read.

Turkey has sent a military delegation led by a general to operational headquarters in Tampa, Fla., to coordinate Turkey’s military contribution.

Turkey has long had contacts with Afghan opposition groups, especially the forces of Gen. Rashid Dostum, one of the Northern Alliance leaders. Dostum’s fighters are largely Uzbeks, a group that has close ethnic links with the Turks. The Taliban’s members are mostly ethnic Pashtun.

Turkey has offered to train anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and said it could even provide peacekeepers when conditions are right.

A strong Turkish role in future peacekeeping could ease friction between the peacekeepers and Afghans. Turkey has also participated in NATO peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia, which have Muslim populations.

Transport aircraft taking part in the U.S.-led operation are apparently using Turkey’s southern Incirlik air base as a transport hub. The base is also a staging point for patrols above northern Iraq by U.S. planes.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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