Turkey to get paid if there's war in Iraq

By Bradley Graham (The Washington Post)November 20, 2002

The United States has begun discussions about compensating Turkey for economic losses and other costs likely to be incurred in a U.S.-led war against Iraq, according to American and Turkish officials.

Both sides described the discussions as still at an early stage and marked by a wide gap in what the Turks would like to receive and what the United States was willing to pay. But the mere existence of the talks, which participants said had been initiated by the United States within the last two months, reflects the importance that U.S. officials place on Turkey in any war with Iraq.

Turkey, a longtime NATO member, borders northern Iraq and is in position to serve as a crucial base for U.S. military operations. Its bases and airfields are likely to be prime staging areas for American forces, and Turkish troops could play a significant role policing the flow of refugees from Iraq or guarding prisoners of war. At the same time, U.S. officials have expressed concern that Turkish forces may attempt to take advantage of a war and occupy northern Iraq to block the creation of an autonomous Kurdish region, which could serve as a base of operations for Turkey's own separatist Kurds.

Preparing for possible military conflict with Iraq, the Bush administration has initiated a number of diplomatic and military moves to secure basing, overflight rights and other crucial assistance from countries in the Gulf region and elsewhere. But U.S. officials described the offer of economic assistance to Turkey as unusual, saying similar discussions have been initiated with only one other ally in the region - Jordan.

"We've told them that if there is military action against Iraq, we would recognize that Turkey would have some losses and we would have to move in some fashion to help them," a senior administration official said.

As another sign of the high-level attention that Turkey is receiving within the administration, President George W. Bush got involved Monday in furthering Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

He phoned the current EU president, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark, and stressed the importance of "advancing Turkey's evolution toward" membership when EU leaders convene in Copenhagen next month, according to a White House spokesman. Bush also plans to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey on Wednesday during the NATO summit meeting in Prague.