Doubts Grow on Sending Turkish Troops to Iraq

[Spazito]

ANKARA (Reuters) - Washington looks likely to drop its request that Turkey send troops to Iraq (news - web sites) to back up harried U.S. forces, a decision that could be something of a relief for the Ankara government, Turkish officials and analysts say.


Turkey's troop offer, sanctioned by parliament this month, has provoked strong protest both inside and outside Iraq and is deeply unpopular with the Turkish public.


Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend he preferred not to send troops if Iraqis did not want them there, although the decision rested with NATO (news - web sites) ally Washington.

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"I said before that Turkish soldiers would not go because the government and the General Staff are not that mad. Now it is clear the U.S. is not mad either," said Baskin Oran, a political science professor at Ankara University.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=16&u=/nm/iraq_turkey_dc

[Zero Gravitas]

1. "U.s. is not mad"

phew I was begining to wonder. Having Turkish troops in Iraq would be madness, but then again invading and occupying Iraq is also madness. Maybe von Rumsfled, Cheney and their dispicable, undignified little puppet are back on their meds again?

[GainesT1958]

2. "See? We've got a MUSLIM nation helping us out in Iraq!"

Yeah, right! Turkey's only interested in one section of Iraq--the northern section--Kurdistan! They want to control what was once theirs, and it looks like everybody knew it--except for us, of course.:eyes:

It's about time those Neo-Con chickenhawks started reading somebody's books other than their own...like, maybe, HISTORY books!x(

B-)

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Turkish soldiers won't be seen in Iraq

All this talk about international support is just a distraction. This is our war and it will remain that way forever.