ANKARA Ñ The United States has reportedly offered Turkey a
long-term aid package worth at least $5 billion in exchange for a long-term
American military presence in the NATO ally.
Turkish government sources said the aid package is comprised of both
economic and military aid and would last until 2020. The sources said the
United States would pay Turkey for the use of six air force bases as well as
facilities along the border with Iraq.
A senior State Department team arrived in
Turkey on late Thursday to discuss the U.S. aid offer, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Turkish daily Hurriyet estimated the amount of U.S. aid being
pledged to Turkey at $5 billion. The newspaper said on Thursday that under
the offer Ankara would also help the U.S. military with Arabic and Kurdish
language skills as well as enable troops and equipment to use Turkey's
railway system.
Estimates of the U.S. aid differ. Some sources place the figure at $20
billion and others at $5 billion.
The Turkish aid would include logistics and supplies to U.S. troops. The
sources said Turkey was also asked to provide communications, information,
intelligence and infrastructure for the American military presence.
The Ankara-based Sabah daily, which estimated the U.S. aid proposal at
$20 billion, reported that Washington wants a quick reply to its request for
the use Turkish bases and ports. The newspaper said on Thursday that the
United States wants Turkey to relay a final decision by Monday.
On Friday, Turkey's National Security Council met to discuss the U.S.
proposal. Officials said the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has
agreed in principle to help the Washington, but has not approved the
proposal for a massive U.S. military deployment in Turkey. They said Gul
wants to wait until UN inspectors submit their report on Iraq's weapons of
mass destruction on Jan. 27.
"Turkey hasn't made any promises to the United States yet," Turkish
Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis. "Our discussions on the issue are continuing.
Turkey can't make any official decisions before seeing the United Nations
Security Council's resolution or UN weapons inspectors' report on Iraq's
weapons of mass destruction."
Turkish government sources said the U.S. proposal calls for the
deployment of between 80,000 and 90,000 soldiers in southern Turkey and
northern Iraq as well as use of the nation's air and sea facilities. The
agreement for the U.S. military presence is meant to last until 2008.
Public opinion in Turkey appears to run counter to the U.S. proposal.
Analysts have pointed out that the extensive U.S. use of Turkey's Incerlik
air force base stems from an agreement from the 1991 Gulf war.
On Wednesday, Turkey's parliament approved the the use of Incerlik for
another six months. The base is used by British and U.S. warplanes to
enforce the no-fly zone in northern Iraq.
"As Turkey can't say no to cooperating with the United States, we should
limit our support as much as we can," columnist Oktay Eksi writes in the
Hurriyet daily. "Even bringing U.S. soldiers in and locating them here for
five years is too much. If the government and parliament decide in favor of
this, God knows what could happen next."
