Confusion Over US Request to Use Incirlik Base

Abizaid said that the US will fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization and added: "This issue is important for us too. We will keep the promises that we made earlier." The General first met with The Turkish National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan then with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. After a one-hour meeting, Abizaid answered a question about potential US use of the Incirlik base saying, "We discussed the issue. Incirlik is a Turkish base, not an American base. We want to use the facilities there as an ally. If we can use [it], we think that this will be good for both Turkey and the US." Turkish diplomatic sources, however, said: "There were no new demands. There has not been a single demand." The sources disclosed that the US had spoken of using the Incirlik base for logistic purposes within the frame of the United Nations (UN) regulations and added: "They want this use to be continued." The US used the Incirlik Base from the Gulf War in 1991 to the Iraq invasion in 2003 for controlling the no-flight zone.

Concern about Kerkuk and the Election

After the invasion of Iraq, Turkey limited the use of Incirlik base to only logistic and humanitarian purposes. The US uses this base for refueling and rotation of its troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Iraqi elections were another topic of the Gul- Abizaid meeting. The US General said that they give great importance to the territorial integrity of Iraq and added that the Sunnis should participate in the elections as well. Abizaid voiced his anxiety about a country controlled by Shiites near Iraq and added that Sunni Arabs will be represented in Iraq’s government even if they do not participate in the elections. Gul emphasized that the Sunnis should not feel themselves excluded from the election process.

Ankara voiced its concerns about the developments in Kerkuk (Kirkuk) in the meetings with Abizaid. The cooperation between the two countries in Afghanistan was also discussed. Turkey will take over the administration of International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) next month.