Turkey set to authorise war preparations

Turkey’s parliament was today expected to authorise the US to begin renovating Turkish military bases – but could hold off for more than a week on whether to allow combat troops to enter the country for a possible attack on neighbouring Iraq.

Turkey’s Cabinet ministers gave their consent to the bill to upgrade military bases, ports and other facilities and sent the bill of parliament for approval, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The authorisation would be valid for a period of three months.

Diplomats have said that if the US were not to use Turkish bases, its war plans for Iraq could be

disrupted.

A legislator from Prime Minister Abdullah Gul’s Justice and Development Party said the authorisation o the bases was “very, very likely”.

But the legislator from Mr Gul’s party said a separate vote to allow in US combat troops was not likely before February 18, after a nine day recess for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

Troop deployment in Turkey would allow the US to open a northern front against Iraq which would join a southern thrust from the Gulf.

Nato-member Turkey has been facing intense US pressure to allow in US troops. US Vice President Dick Cheney called Mr Gul late Tuesday and urged Turkey to move quickly.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday presented tape recordings, satellite photos and informants’ statements to the UN Security Council in a bid to prove his case that Iraq has defied demands to disarm.

It was not clear if the presentation would sway Turkish public opinion which overwhelmingly opposes a war on Iraq.

The opposition has said it will vote against the resolution, but Mr Gul’s party has a strong majority in parliament.

The US is planning to spend several hundred million dollars to modernise Turkish bases. The renovations could start as soon as the resolution is approved.

Turkey fears that a war in Iraq could reverse its fragile economic recovery and has also agreed with the US on a package that would cushion the country from the effects of war.

Turkish diplomats said Turkey and the US were discussing details of a memorandum of understanding delineating the political, military and economic co-operation between the two ahead of a possible war.

The separate vote at the end of the holiday would allow US soldiers to be based in Turkey and would allow Turkish soldiers to move into Iraq if there was a war.

Turkey has repeatedly said that it would move its forces into Iraq to maintain stability in the region and prevent a flood of refugees. Many analysts believe that the main aim would be to prevent the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq if the central government in Iraq collapses.

Turkey, which fought a 15-year guerrilla war with Kurdish rebels, is concerned that a Kurdish state in Iraq would encourage Turkey’s own Kurds.