Turks told: "Do not pass go, do not collect $6 Billion&

[MKSheppard]

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030304-26550422.htm

Turkey risks losing $6 billion

Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published March 4, 2003

The Bush administration said yesterday that Turkey will forfeit $6 billion in U.S. aid if it continues to withhold staging rights from U.S. forces seeking to mount a northern front against Iraq.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that unless Ankara reverses a decision Saturday to block U.S. troops from using southeastern Turkey to mount an attack, a proposed aid package of $6 billion will be scuttled. The possibility of such a loss threw Turkey's markets into turmoil yesterday.

"As far as this particular package, most of it was predicated on helping Turkey meet the cost of involvement," Mr. Boucher told reporters. "Therefore, I'd have to say that much of that would not occur if there was no involvement."

On the diplomatic front yesterday, the United Nations said Iraq would submit a new report on VX nerve gas and anthrax stocks in a week. Top U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei will report to the Security Council on Friday, in what some U.S. officials consider the last such briefing before a war decision is made.

The United Nations also said Iraq yesterday scrapped six more of its banned al Samoud 2 missiles, whose range violates the 93-mile limit allowed by U.N. resolutions.

The White House expressed "surprise and disappointment" at Ankara's decision on U.S. use of its bases but said American forces would prevail against Iraq even if the Turkish parliament refuses to reconsider.

"There's a plan A and a plan B," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said. "The preferable is plan A, for a variety of geographic reasons, but plan B is also a very militarily viable option.

"There's no question that the Turkish approach would have been the preferable approach, but other approaches are available," he added. "The president has every confidence that those options will be militarily successful, if he so exercises them."

Privately, administration officials expressed hope that Turkey would come around to the U.S. request.

The Turkish stock market plummeted yesterday, losing more than 12 percent of its value on the realization that parliament had closed the door on the $6 billion package that could have been leveraged into $30 billion in loans. Turkey's currency also fell about 3 percent against the dollar yesterday.

But Turkish market analysts said the losses were contained by a Central Bank announcement that it would protect the lira's value, and currency traders said the fall was cushioned by the hope among participants that parliament would approve the U.S. proposal.

"If we see any convincing positive statement from the government regarding the authorization and the United States continues to be patient, I think there's a chance that the market [will] recuperate," economist Tevfik Aksoy told the Associated Press in Istanbul.

Others in the U.S. administration said Turkey will regret having squandered the right to place its troops in northern Iraq after President Saddam Hussein's ouster, which was part of the deal that the Turkish parliament killed Saturday. Iraqi Kurds say such a deployment would threaten peace in a post-Saddam era.

Finally, the administration appealed to Turkey's national security needs by implying that Saddam could lob chemical or biological weapons across the Iraqi-Turkish border.

"This is a threat that if Turkey and others don't deal with today will only grow bigger, will grow worse and will have to be dealt with some other day," Mr. Fleischer said.

"Because Saddam Hussein is not disarming, he continues to have weapons of mass destruction, and it's only a matter of time — as history has shown with Saddam Hussein — between now and when he actually uses them."

Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul told a news conference that his government would wait to "see what happens in the next few days."
Even if the Turkish government changes course, the needed parliamentary maneuvers are likely to take up to two weeks, perhaps too long for the United States.

Unless Ankara reverses its decision, the United States will have to reroute ships that are laden with troops and supplies in the Mediterranean Sea. Instead of unloading in Turkey, the ships could be rerouted through the Suez Canal to open a western front against Iraq through Saudi Arabia or Jordan.

The entire military campaign could be delayed by at least a week if a northern front has to shift west. That would make it more difficult for U.S. forces, clad in jumpsuits to ward off biological weapons, to fight in the hot Iraqi spring and summer.

By asking the United Nations to pass a second resolution, the Bush administration has already delayed hostilities by several weeks past the optimum starting point, which Pentagon planners had established as Feb. 21 to 28.

There are also fears that without a strong U.S. presence in northern Iraq, oil fields could be seized by Kurds or set ablaze by Saddam's forces.

But a top U.S. military official made clear that the lack of a northern front would not prevent the Americans from decimating Iraq's military.

"I don't think it's absolutely a showstopper in terms of whether you have a northern front or not," said Gen. James L. Jones, the head of the U.S. European Command.

"We're going to be successful regardless of what we're limited to," he told reporters in Stuttgart, Germany. "But to have a presence in the northern part of Iraq, we would definitely have an advantage. And they would have to pay more attention to the north."

Meanwhile, the White House said Saddam will be ousted if the United States goes to war with Iraq, but left open the possibility that he could remain in power if he disarms completely.

"Nobody should think, not even for a second, that military action could be possibly taken to disarm Saddam Hussein that would leave Saddam Hussein at the helm to rearm up later," Mr. Fleischer said. "No, that's not an option."

Asked whether a full disarmament by Saddam would satisfy U.S. demands for a "regime change," he said, "Let's first see him completely, totally and immediately disarm, and see if that takes place."

The White House has articulated seemingly different goals since President Bush delivered a speech to the United Nations on Sept. 12. At first, Bush administration officials pushed the idea of regime change — a policy adopted by Congress. Later, the White House seemed to equate regime change to a disarmed Saddam.

"If he were to meet all the conditions of the United Nations," Mr. Bush said on Oct. 21, "the conditions that I've described very clearly in terms that everybody can understand, that in itself will signal that the regime has changed."

But on Friday, Mr. Fleischer was asked whether Mr. Bush's standard for war exceeds U.N. expectations. Said Mr. Fleischer: "It's disarmament and regime change."

Yesterday, the spokesman said the policy on Saddam remains to wait to see whether he disarms.

"What we've always said is that if the regime were to have completely have done what the United Nations called on them to do in Resolution 1441 last November, it would, indeed, be a different type of regime," he said.

•Joseph Curl and Nicholas Kralev contributed to this report.

[Kuja]

Idiots. They're so blinded by religion they don't realize what they're losing out on.

[Wicked Pilot]

They're a sovereign nation, they can do what they want. If they don't want to assist us, then we will simply return the favor.

[irishmick79]

It's a very simple proposition. They fuck us up the ass, we fuck them up the ass. Unlike actual prostitution charges, a federal law enforcment officer doesn't necessarly have to be involved. That's the beauty of the whole deal....

[Darth Garden Gnome]

Well everyone loses here. 'Cept Iraq, of course.

[HemlockGrey]

Well, if they expected us to scratch their back, they can go to hell. It's there right to screw us and our right to return the favor.

[Shinova]

Refusing the financial aid is kinda foolish, but the US appears to be trying to wring Turkey into agreement. Expect more anti-war protests to go up and more nations to go anti-war. Not that it'll make any difference in the long run regarding the Iraqi war, but it could affect relationships after the war and into the future.

[Ted]

Idiots. They're so blinded by religion they don't realize what they're losing out on.

You are the idiot.

Turkey is one of the, if not THE most secular nation in the world.

It is the US if anyone that gets blinded by religion.

[Kuja]

Idiots. They're so blinded by religion they don't realize what they're losing out on.

You are the idiot.

Your not exactly Einstein yourself.

Turkey is one of the, if not THE most secular nation in the world.

It is the US if anyone that gets blinded by religion.

ROTFLMAO! The US blinded by religion! That's a first!

[phongn]

Idiots. They're so blinded by religion they don't realize what they're losing out on.

You are the idiot.

Turkey is one of the, if not THE most secular nation in the world.

It is the US if anyone that gets blinded by religion.

Turkey's government may be highly secular, but their populace is not.

[MKSheppard]

Turkey's government may be highly secular, but their populace is not.

Actually, turkey's government is only secular because of
the threat of a military coup and the throwing of people
against the walls and the shooting, and all that entails if
they really practiced democracy, not a butchered version
of it.

[Ted]

ROTFLMAO! The US blinded by religion! That's a first!

You know the bible belt?

And Asscroft saying liberty comes from THE CREATOR?

And how about the US existing because God allows it, as Bush and Assie have stated?

[Kuja]

ROTFLMAO! The US blinded by religion! That's a first!

You know the bible belt?

And Asscroft saying liberty comes from THE CREATOR?

And how about the US existing because God allows it, as Bush and Assie have stated?

Yes yes, Ted, and of course they are symbolic for all Americans. *still laughing*

Kid, just because the 1st Amendment separates church and state, that doesn't force governenment officials to ditch their religion. Ashcroft is a moron, I'll give you that, but all he's doing is repeating his beliefs.

If Bush or any other official wants to beleive that God will guide their actions, I have no problem with that. But to take that and use it to say that they're blinded by religion is a leap of logic. To date, I have not heard of them calling on all Christians to exterminate the Muslims. To date, I have not heard of any Hindu massacres. To date, I have never heard of any government official calling for a religious war on Bhuddists.

Get the picture?

[Pablo Sanchez]

Well, if they expected us to scratch their back, they can go to hell. It's there right to screw us and our right to return the favor.

They're not screwing us. They don't have to allow us unfettered access to their national territory. The fact is that the people of Turkey responded rather poorly to our attempt to recruit their Government as a enormous-scale mercenary, and their government has to kowtow to public opinion.

More accurately put, they rejected our offer, because of the fact that lost aid packages are a small price to pay compared to total national outrage and potential unseating of the current government. This sort of thing has to be expected when you take the cowboy approach.

[Wicked Pilot]

It is the US if anyone that gets blinded by religion.

<<THREAD HIJACK IN PROGRESS>>


Yes, we all know about America and how it is influenced by religion. There are plenty of other threads dealing with this issue.

[Mr Bean]

More accurately put, they rejected our offer, because of the fact that lost aid packages are a small price to pay compared to total national outrage and potential unseating of the current government. This sort of thing has to be expected when you take the cowboy approach.

Default them on some existing loans however and you send thier Economey into a Tailspin and the Standerd of Living for the Entire nation takes a big dip

If a sane we could then leap atop the Desk in the Oval Office, Laugh Manicly and point out we have Turkey by the kajonies and we can default on the rest and depress their economey for the next fourty years

Or.... we can forget all about that and give you SIX BILLION Dollers worth of Aid


Remebers me when Bush got hammered by African Leaders after he Pledged over 10 Billion towards AIDS research and help, Keep in mind that the sum total of Donations between 91-2002 did not equal Ten Billion dollers and some had the nerver to bitch it was not enough

[The Duchess of Zeon]

They're not screwing us. They don't have to allow us unfettered access to their national territory. The fact is that the people of Turkey responded rather poorly to our attempt to recruit their Government as a enormous-scale mercenary, and their government has to kowtow to public opinion.

More accurately put, they rejected our offer, because of the fact that lost aid packages are a small price to pay compared to total national outrage and potential unseating of the current government. This sort of thing has to be expected when you take the cowboy approach.

We may see a re-vote after the upcoming by-elections; one wonders if that will be soon enough for our government, however. Hopefully. The wait is worth securing the northern front and removing the possibility of disagreement with Turkey, and securing them for our ideal of a post-bellum Iraq.

[His Divine Shadow]

ROTFLMAO! The US blinded by religion! That's a first!

Not an unlikely situation from the POV of people abroad, america has the impression of being rather hardcore christian and semi-fundamentalistic.