Retired Maj. Erdal Sipahi has claimed that the reason behind the parliamentary rejection of a motion that sought permission to deploy Turkish troops in Iraq and to allow US troops to use Turkish soil for deployment in Iraq in 2003 was the General Staff.
"The motion was rejected due to the hesitation of the General Staff. There was a serious problem of trust between Turkey and the United States during negotiations at the time. We would not have entered northern Iraq even if the Turkish Parliament had approved the motion," Sipahi, also a Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy, told Today's Zaman.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government prepared a motion that would cover a period of six months and which sought permission to deploy Turkish troops in Iraq as well as allow US troops to use Turkish soil for deployment in Iraq. The motion was rejected in Parliament on March 1, 2003 because it failed to receive the vote of the required majority. Out of the 533 deputies who attended the voting, 250 voted against the motion while 264 deputies voted in favor; 19 deputies cast a blank vote.
The rejection of the March 1 motion led to disappointment in the United States, prompting the US Army to enter Iraq from the country's south because they were not allowed to use Turkish soil or airspace, causing more US casualties.
Sipahi said he would have been in charge of troops to be sent to northern Iraq if the motion was approved in Parliament, adding that he understood the reasons behind the rejection of the motion after an exchange of views with Deniz Bölükbaşı, a former ambassador and now an MHP deputy who conducted the negotiations at the time.
According to Sipahi, there were four apparent reasons that led to the rejection of the motion in Parliament, the most prominent of which was the uncertainty of the General Staff on prospective cooperation with US forces in northern Iraq.
"The first problem between Turkey and the US erupted due to weapons brought into Iraq by US Special Forces. Weapons taken out of the country were fewer than those brought. When we asked US authorities where the rest of the weapons were, they got angry," Sipahi remarked.
The second crisis of confidence between the two countries emerged, said the retired major, after troops loyal to Massoud Barzani -- the president of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq -- began to dig trenches in mountains just opposite the Habur border crossing. "Turkey did not receive a clear answer from US officials to questions regarding why these trenches were being dug," Sipahi noted, adding that the meetings between the US Adana consul and outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leaders in Turkey stretched the patience of Turkish authorities to its limits.
Sipahi went on to say that the third reason behind the quashing of the motion was a secret meeting between US and Iraqi officials held on March 1, 2003, in Arbil on the future of Iraq. This meeting was, according to the retired ambassador, kept secret from the Turkish and US public.
"As the Turkish Parliament was voting on the motion on March 1, the new Iraqi administration was being decided on in a meeting in Arbil. Turkey's only demand from the new administration was to include a Turkmen representative, a demand which US officials first agreed to. The officials, however, refused during the meeting to accept a Turkmen representative in the new Iraqi administration. When this information reached Ankara, the General Staff and Foreign Ministry contacted US officials after to say that their stance during the meeting in Arbil was unacceptable. The motion in Parliament was narrowly rejected," Sipahi remarked.
The fourth factor behind Turkey's dismissal of the motion was strong signals from a number of countries that expressed disturbance over Turkey's presence in northern Iraq.
"The Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] was willing and prepared to enter northern Iraq. We should have entered to have a role in the new structure there. But, no one except Turcomans were willing to see Turkey in northern Iraq. The US and peshmerga forces in Iraq did not want us there -- nor did the EU or the Arab League. Even if Turkey had entered northern Iraq, they would not have let us proceed," Sipahi went on to say.
Turkey retreated from verge of war with US
Sipahi also said Turkey retreated twice from the verge of war with US forces in Iraq soon after the rejection of the motion. "The first incident was when buildings belonging to Turks in northern Iraq were plundered by peshmerga forces. Ankara warned us to be ready for a sudden clash with Iraqi and US forces in Iraq. We were all ready. The tension was lowered following diplomatic contacts between Turkey and the US," he noted.
The second incident of high tension between Turkey and the US was due to the "hooding incident." On July 4, 2003, dozens of US soldiers raided an office used by the Turkish Special Forces in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya and took 11 Turkish soldiers into custody over allegations that they were planning to assassinate the governor of Kirkuk. The soldiers were led out of their headquarters at gunpoint with hoods over their heads, leading the media to dub the affair the "hooding incident."
Sipahi also expressed concern that US forces would leave some of their weapons in Iraq to the Iraqi army when it withdrew US troops from the country.
"The US will send Iraq new troops even if it withdraws from that country. I mean, things will get messy there once more," he said, adding that Turkey would be in an advantageous spot if the US were to withdraw from Iraq.
06 March 2009, Friday
ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA
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