Gen. Abizaid in Turkey to Seek Expanded Access to Air Base

The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command arrived here Tuesday for a two-day visit aimed at easing tensions with this key American ally and sounding out Turkish officials about expanding the use of an air base for operations in Iraq.

The Incirlik base in southern Turkey “is a Turkish base, not an American base. We look forward to use the facilities there as an ally,” Army Gen. John P. Abizaid said, acknowledging that use of the base for Iraq operations was discussed. “It is good for us [and] it is good for Turkey if we can use those facilities.”

U.S. forces have used the base for decades, during and after the Cold War, but its role in supporting the Iraq war has been limited by the Turks.

Abizaid’s talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul also touched on U.S.-Turkish cooperation in Afghanistan, about which, the general said, “we are very satisfied.”

Next month, Turkey will assume command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan for six months and is expected to contribute more than 1,400 soldiers to the force.

A senior Turkish official who requested anonymity said Abizaid “was not too specific” during an hourlong discussion with Gul about what additional logistical support the U.S. was seeking for efforts in Iraq.

However, Turkish security sources said Abizaid would meet today with Turkey’s deputy chief of staff, Gen. Ilker Basbug, and probably would raise the possibility of moving cargo into Iraq from the Incirlik base. Abizaid was also expected to brief the Turks on the security situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Incirlik base was used by U.S. and British warplanes to patrol the “no-fly” zone over Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, however, Ankara largely has limited use of the base to medical and humanitarian purposes, refueling of aircraft and the rotation of troops into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

An American official who asked not to be identified by name said no cargo was flown directly out of Incirlik into Iraq by U.S. forces.

The U.S. request for broader use of Incirlik comes amid occasional tensions between Ankara and Washington following Turkey’s refusal to allow thousands of American troops to use its soil to open a second front against Iraqi forces in March 2003. A large majority of Turks opposes the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Relations sank further in November when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a public speech, called Iraqi insurgents killed by U.S. troops “martyrs.”

Turkish officials say it is unlikely the government will accept any U.S. demands concerning Incirlik. Last year, Ankara rebuffed an unofficial request to redeploy 48 F-16 fighter jets based in Germany to Incirlik.

“These are all demands that require approval from the Turkish parliament,” the senior Turkish official said. “In the present circumstances, you can be sure they will be rejected.”

Anti-U.S. sentiment in this predominantly Muslim nation has been sharpened by the fact that Washington so far has not moved against a Turkish Kurdish rebel group in northern Iraq that fought a 15-year insurgency in Turkey’s heavily Kurdish southeastern provinces.

The group, known as PKK/Kongra-Gel, called off its campaign for Kurdish independence after the 1999 capture of its leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and withdrew to bases in the mountains separating Iraq from Iran. It ended its unilateral truce last summer, citing Turkey’s refusal to negotiate a lasting peace. Scores of rebels and Turkish troops have died in sporadic clashes that have resumed across the southeastern region.

Washington says it cannot afford to open a second front in Iraq when its forces are fighting insurgents there.

In a bid to appease Ankara, top U.S. and Iraqi officials met Tuesday with their Turkish counterparts in that capital to discuss possible measures against the guerrillas.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Bayati said after the talks that agreement had been reached to share intelligence on PKK/Kongra-Gel and to cut off its logistical and financial support.

Bayati indicated, however, that military action against the group was not imminent and that his government’s priority was to ensure that elections for a transitional government take place as scheduled Jan. 30.