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U.S. angers Turkey, won't disclose war plans, deals with Kurds

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, October 28, 2002

ANKARA Ñ Turkish officials said the U.S. refusal to discuss war plans has angered both the military and government in Ankara. They the lack of details provided in recent talks has increased Turkish suspicion of U.S. intentions concerning the future of Iraq and whether a Kurdish state will be established in northern Iraq.

Ankara wanted a discussion of details of the U.S. war plan during military talks over the last week with the United States. The talks included Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks and Defense Department officials, Middle East Newsline reported.

But Turkey was not provided with any documents or significant details of the expected U.S. offensive. Officials said Ankara wants to know what role Turkish military bases would have in the offensive, the role of the Kurdish allies of the United States in northern Iraq and the operation of Iraqi oil fields after the toppling of the Saddam regime.

"We have not been briefed about this in the past and we are frustrated," a senior Turkish military source told the Ankara-based Turkish Daily News.

A Turkish official said the U.S. delegation kept assuring Ankara that its interests would be considered and that any compensation request would be examined. But the visiting U.S. delegations did not detail the Pentagon's use of Turkish air bases or acknowledge that war against Iraq is a certainty.

"On the one hand, President Bush states that the United States might carry out a military operation at any moment," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said. "On the other, he says that according to the United Nations, an operation will be the last alternative."

The officials said Franks and his delegation sought to ensure Turkey's contribution toward any war effort. They said they hope the level of details will increase when Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok arrives in Washington on Nov. 4.

Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said neither Franks nor his aides requested anything specific from Ankara. "The meetings were not political in nature," Cakmakoglu said. Instead, the U.S. commanders discussed military and technical issues with our officials."

Meanwhile, Turkey and the United States have continued joint training of their air forces. On Thursday, the two countries, along with the United Arab Emirates, conducted the "Anatolian Eagle" exercise in the central province of Konya. Turkish sources said 54 warplanes participated in the exercise.

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