Powell to visit after Bush's stern warning to Turkey
Turkey-USA, Politics, 4/1/2003

US Secretary of State Colin Powell will travel to Ankara and Brussels this week to discuss post-war issues with Turkish officials and members of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said.

During the March 31 daily State Department press briefing, Boucher said that although the liberation of Iraq is not yet complete, "it's a moment where we should be looking forward, looking not only at the current situation but also the post-war situation." "It's a chance at a critical moment -- obviously, for both us and Turkey -- to talk about what's going on in Iraq, talk about the effect on Turkey, talk about many of the things we're doing together with Turkey in the war on terrorism," he said.

High on Powell's agenda will be discussion of "post-war scenarios," including a representational government and territorial integrity for Iraq, the spokesman said.

The Secretary also will discuss proposals for monetary compensation to Turkey for the economic impact of the Iraqi hostilities, Boucher said.

Powell is also planning to discuss the situation in northern Iraq and how the United States and Turkey can cooperate to deal with refugees, he said.

The US has tried to give Turkey financial incentives to support the US military operations against Iraq. Having failed to do so, the US President George Bush nine days ago gave a stern warning to Turkey. He said "We're making it very clear to the Turks that we expect them not to come into Northern Iraq. We're in constant touch with the Turkish military, as well as Turkish politicians. They know our policy, and it's a firm policy. And we've made it very clear to them we expect them not to go into Northern Iraq."

Having failed with financial incentives, and later with firm warnings to Turkey, in of what Turkey sees as critical issues that relate to its security, and with the war proceeding badly for the US, and the US needing to project beforehand that the war will inevitably succeed against Iraq, Turkey's role is once again of great importance to the US. As such, some see the US as trying to pacify Turkey long enough for the US to be able achieve its goals on the ground, which will give the US defacto say afterwards on north Iraq regardless of what Turkey's position is or will be in the future.

Previous Stories:
  Turkey's parliament rejects US troops deployment on its soil   (3/3/2003)
  New York Times: Turkey's parliament wants legitimacy to position Iraq   (2/24/2003)
  New York Times: On US demands for Turkey's cooperation regarding Iraq   (2/20/2003)

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