U.S. Will Decide on Troops From Turkey

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031008/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_turkish_troops&cid=540&ncid=1480

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's Governing Council told the chief U.S. administrator Wednesday that Iraqis oppose the deployment of Turkish peacekeepers but would continue discussing the issue with coalition authorities, the council's spokesman said.

But chief administrator L. Paul Bremer reminded the council, which serves as Iraq's interim administration, that the final decision on whether to accept Turkish troops rests with the coalition and not the Iraqis.

The Turkish Parliament voted Tuesday to approve a government request to send peacekeepers to Iraq to help the U.S.-led coalition, a move applauded in Washington. But the decision is likely to increase strains between the United States and its Iraqi partners because of Turkey's often-controversial past role here.

Council President Iyad Allawi told The Associated Press that "important sensitivities" were involved in deploying Turkish troops in Iraq. He said the council would not take a confrontational line on the issue with the U.S.-led occupation authorities.

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[Maine-i-acs]

1. "Iraq is now a Free Nation," quoth Shrub.

He sold this liberation to us. For the love of pete, let the Iraqis govern themselves. That's what they want, that's what the world wants. We should want it too.

[lindashaw]

2. The Kurds will end up bearing the brunt of suffering for this...

and they have helped our forces from day one.

[damnraddem]

5. I'm not so sure the Kurds will bear the brunt of this --

it may be the Turkish troops, and any American troops that remain in the north. In a stupid occupation following a stupid invasion, this ranks right down there as one of the stupidest decisions.

[bowens43]

3. Hilarious, the idiot and his toadies

broadcast this great 'diplomatic victory' all over the world only to get the tar beat out of them by their appointed puppets in the Iraqi interim administration.

Can't these freaking bozos do anything right?

[damnraddem]

4. Well, who else would decide?

No one else would consider it an option, so there would be no need for a decision.

[Sufi Marmot]

6. Am I the only person who thinks that this is a negotiating ploy by the US?

I am thinking that the threat of Turkish "peacekeepers" in Iraq is a stick which the US Administration can use to browbeat recalcitrant Iraqi leaders into cooperating with their policies - For all I know this could include Chalabi, if he got out of hand. I have a hard time understanding the reasoning that the introduction of Turkish troops would have any positive effect on Iraqi security, or Turkish, for that matter...

-SM

[lovedems]

7. We were suppose to free the Iraqi people from a dictator

all we did was replace him with another dictator...Dictator Bush. We went to save the Iraqi people from Saddam, who is going to save them from us?

[reprobate]

8. And this after the council decided against US cell phone companies.

If I understand the convoluted politics of the area, everyone hates the turks because of their past domination of the area. Could it be that this will unite the iraqis and the kurds against the turks and us?

And wouldn't that bring iran into it?

Good move, george. The stage is now set for the perfect conflagration.