US hopes for U-turn on deployment of troops as new leader prepares to take power in Turkey
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer summoned MR Erdogan and asked him to form a government only hours after Abdullah Gul, prime minister since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) stormed to power in November, handed in his resignation.
Mr Erdogan’s path to power, a long struggle involving numerous court cases, a conviction for Islamist sedition and four months in prison, was cleared by a change in the constitution and his election to parliament in a by-election at the weekend.
Mr Erdogan was expected to present a cabinet list today. Barring any objections, Mr Sezer will approve it and the former Istanbul mayor will immediately take office.
“There may be (cabinet) changes of a limited degree, a few revisions; nothing serious,” Mr Erdogan said after his brief meeting with Mr Sezer, a staunch secularist.
The handover will be watched closely by Washington, which seeks quick clarification on a request to deploy 62,000 troops here for a possible attack on Iraq.
Such a plan was rejected by parliament on March 1, but the US hopes deputies will reconsider after Mr Erdogan takes over.
Military experts say a “northern front” launched from Turkish soil could speed a victory, forcing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to fight on two fronts.
America’s main invasion force is massing to the south.
Mr Erdogan, 49, is viewed very warily by the powerful military and hardliners in the political establishment for the Islamist roots he now renounces.
