Turkish Policymaking Body Indicates Support for U.S. Troop Deployment

This nation appeared Friday to take a step toward allowing U.S. troops to be stationed on Turkish soil to open a northern front against neighboring Iraq in the event of war.

The influential National Security Council, which unites Turkey’s generals and political leaders, urged the government to win parliamentary approval for “military measures” if war breaks out, but it stopped short of an explicit call for bases to be opened to U.S. forces.

Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is nervous about the economic and political fallout at home from a possible war and has dragged its feet on outright support of an operation the U.S. says is needed to rid Iraq of banned weapons.

In a statement issued after a lengthy meeting, the council said it had “decided to recommend that steps be taken to secure a decision from parliament directed at taking military measures seen as necessary to defend Turkey’s national interests in the face of possible unwanted developments.”

“There is no doubt that recourse to a military option would produce worrying results for countries of the region,” the statement said. It also said Turkey’s efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff should continue.

The council made specific mention of the constitutional article allowing foreign troops to be based on Turkish soil or the deployment of Turkish troops abroad. But it said the measure requires that international legal standards be met, a likely reference to United Nations approval.

Turkey already has a few thousand troops in semiautonomous northern Iraq, and the council could also be seeking parliamentary approval to shore up the status of those forces.

Washington has pushed hard for permission to use Turkey as a staging post to open a northern front in Iraq to relieve the pressure on an invasion force expected in the south of Iraq and to secure oil wells in the north of the country.

But the Turkish government is unwilling to see large numbers of U.S. troops deployed in Turkey and is seeking the smallest presence with which a second front would still be feasible.

U.S. officials said Thursday that they were considering a staggered deployment that would keep the U.S. presence in Turkey down to around 15,000 to 20,000 military personnel at any one time.

To offset Turkey’s fears of economic upheaval, Washington is discussing a multibillion-dollar aid package.

Ankara also worries that war could lead to the breakup of Iraq and foster violent Kurdish nationalism. Turkey is home to the largest population of ethnic Kurds in the Middle East.