Turkey to allow air strike bases if UN sanctions war

Turkey’s foreign minister said today that his country would allow the United States to use military bases in the country for a strike against Iraq, but only if the United Nations approved such military action.

The move boosts pressure on Iraq and comes just before Iraq’s Sunday deadline for declaring all of its banned weapons of mass destruction to UN weapons inspectors.

US president George Bush has threatened the use of force if Iraq does not disarm.

The announcement by foreign minister Yasar Yakis came as US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in Turkey lobbying for support in an Iraq operation and represents a partial victory for the United States in building a coalition against Iraq.

Turkish leaders have previously refused to say publicly whether they would allow the United States to use bases in a strike against Iraq and have long spoken of the need for international approval for military action.

Turkey’s condition, however, might not be that easy for the United States to meet.

Turkey has opposed a war in Iraq, but politicians have always indicated that if a conflict started, the country would have little choice but to back Washington.

“There should not be left any stone unturned before resorting to a military solution,” Yakis told reporters. ”But if it comes to that, then of course, we will co-operate with the United States because it’s a big ally and we have excellent relations with the United States.”

When asked to define co-operation, Yakis said “the opening of air space, first of all, and the utilisation of facilities in Turkey”.

“The military authorities of the two countries are consulting on the assumption that such a co-operation may be necessary one day,” Yakis added.

Turkey has repeatedly said any action in Iraq must have UN approval.

When asked if the United States would have to seek a new UN resolution to use force against Iraq, Yakis said: ”Yes, yes, yes. The Turkish understanding (is) that the present resolution, 1441, does not allow automatic resorting to armed intervention.”

Ankara’s support is crucial to any war.

Turkey already hosts some 50 US aircraft patrolling a no-fly zone over northern Iraq and was a key staging post for US air raids against Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.

Turkey, however, puts restrictions on aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone.

A Turkish military officer monitors all flights over the no-fly zone from Incirlik air base, sitting next to the US and British officers who command the missions.

The Turkish military must also approve any strike in northern Iraq and must also approve the deployment of allied aircraft to the base and which weapons they use.

Although the United States is looking at the possibility of sending ground troops into northern Iraq, Yakis said Turkey would have trouble supporting a large US military presence.

“It may be difficult to see tens of thousands of American forces being transported through Turkish territory into Iraq or being stationed or deployed somewhere in Turkey and their carrying out strikes inside Iraq,” he said.

Wolfowitz did not answer directly earlier when asked if the United States had asked for permission to base US troops in Turkey during a war.

“Military and diplomatic planning must proceed because Saddam Hussein must see that we are serious,” he said.

Yakis’ statements follow intense lobbying by the United States to win Turkey’s support and comes just a week before a crucial EU summit in which Turkey is hoping to gain a date for starting EU membership talks. The United States has been pressing European states to agree to that request.

A possible war in Iraq is extremely unpopular in Turkey, Nato’s only Muslim member. Many Turks fear that a war will devastate the lucrative tourism industry as Turkey is struggling to recover from its worst recession in decades.

Wolfowitz said the United States was “determined to support Turkey, whatever comes, to make sure that the Turkish economy continues to recover. If there is a crisis in this region, we know that Turkey is going to be one of the countries most affected and we want to make sure we deal with that”.

The Turkish military, which wields tremendous political power, is fearful that a war might lead to the collapse of the central government in Iraq and lead Kurds living in an autonomous zone in the north to declare independence. That might encourage autonomy-seeking Turkish Kurds, who battled the army for 15 years, a fight that left 37,000 dead.