Friday, Oct. 10, 2003 | 9:20 a.m.
DON'T WISH TOO HARD: you might just get what you wished for. This bit of caution should be given some deep thought by the White House occupants and advisers.
The full-court press has been put on Turkey to contribute troops to the coalition now occupying Iraq. In September the United States added some sugar, in the form of an $8.5 billion loan, to the request for Turkish participation. This week the parliament of Turkey voted 358-183 to allow the government to send troops into Iraq for the occupation and reconstruction of that country.
This is the same parliament that earlier this year wouldn't allow our troops to come through their country to catch Saddam Hussein's army in a pincer military move. Because of this lack of cooperation it was necessary for a whole division to be diverted by water to Kuwait. Only later, because of Kurdish cooperation, we had a division of paratroopers dropped into the north.
This whole mess came as a shock to many Americans because of our long years of friendship and military cooperation with the Turks. During the Cold War our country had radar and other units in Turkey where they kept track of the USSR military operations.
In 2003 we have found Turkey far less cooperative and this has resulted in additional costs and time for us. However, this week the White House press secretary is happy and declared, "We welcome that decision and we will be working with Turkish officials on the details of their decision." The addition of a large number of Muslim troops to the coalition should be welcome.
The troops from Turkey may not be as welcome as the American troops in the northern part of Iraq dominated by the Kurds. In fact, past experiences have most Iraqis on edge over Turks returning to their country. Also, there has to be lingering memories of 1991 when President George Bush told the Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein. They did, and we sat on our hands as the Iraqi army unleashed armed helicopters and tanks on the poorly armed Kurds in the north and the Shiite Muslims in the southern swamps. Desert Storm had already ended and we declared victory, but allowed large numbers of Saddam's Republican Guard to return home unscathed and butcher the Shiite and Kurdish dissidents.
British Prime Minister John Major, along with the rest of the world, had a twinge of conscience. Then, with the cooperation of the United States, fighter planes began to overfly the north and provide a reasonably safe haven for the Kurds to exist and eventually develop self-rule. I remember Hussain Sinjari, a Kurdish fighter, telling me that he loved Major because he "saved our lives." That was in 1992 and was despite the good work of American troops providing food and air cover. There still remained much distrust of American policy makers. This wasn't the first time the Kurds had been betrayed by other countries but they hope it was the last. The British had betrayed them following World War I when they refused to keep promises made when they needed the Kurds help against Turkey.
The Kurds have no doubt that the Turks are their enemy because of military and political acts against them in both Turkey and northern Iraq. In recent years the Kurdistan Workers Party, called the PKK, hid in Syria-controlled Lebanon and attacked Turkey with acts of terror. This resulted in 35,000 troops from Turkey entering Iraq when chasing the PKK. Then they threatened Syria and the PKK leader was eventually captured and convicted. Nevertheless, several thousand Turkish troops have remained in northern Iraq. Turkey was back again doing business with Saddam because of his oil reserves.
The United States had better make certain that when the Turks arrive they don't go through the Kurdish countryside and cities. We don't want to be put in the position of choosing sides in any resulting conflict between the Kurds and Turks. Too often the Kurds have been betrayed and for too long, until recently, the Turks have been our friends. Any conflict between them will only make us the losers. Right now, there are several good reasons that we cannot allow the Kurds to be pushed aside by either Baghdad or Ankara. They have suffered terribly at the hands the Iraqi regime, have been bullied by the Turks and betrayed by the United States. Now the whole world is watching to see if U.S. policy will sacrifice them again.
The White House staff and advisers have bought the Turkish military help. It's now up to them to make certain more harm than good doesn't result from this purchase.
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