Turkey had been a leading opponent of the NATO mission in Libya. But
officials acknowledged strong U.S. pressure for Ankara to join the operation
against the Gadhafi regime.
"Those who run Libya must step down immediately to ward off looters,"
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said. "Remember Saddam [Hussein's] behavior
and what has unfolded in
Iraq. That might somehow occur again in Libya."
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Officials said the Turkish Navy has been arranging for a naval mission
that would patrol the Mediterranean Sea and stop weapons and other shipments
to the regime of Libyan Col. Moammar Gadhafi. They said the flotilla would
consist of five frigates and patrols boats as well as a diesel submarine.
"We informed the opposition about Turkey's Middle East policy, our
vision and the background of our stance," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu said.
NATO has confirmed the Turkish proposal, which would not include a land
operation. On March 24, parliament, including most of the opposition,
approved the deployment plan.
"We are going through such important times that the steps that we'll
take and the messages that we will give are very important for Turkey’s
global influence," Davutoglu said.
Comments
Are you kidding me? When Turkey was the first country to ask Mubarak to step down (when US was acting all meek) did they also do that with US pressure? Turkey is not at the beck and call of US to make such announcements. As it has proved increasingly over the decade, Turkey's foreign policy is no longer dictated by US. So anyone who tries to draw such a conclusion is doing nothing but indulging in ideogical, dillusional, imperialistic fantasies. Thank you.
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