Soldiers To Iraq?

The question now is this: Was Saddam Hussein’s retreat to the underground planned, an intentional move? Did he plan to wage guerilla warfare with his people?

Speaking for their government, visiting American generals and the US ambassador to Ankara told us last week that US forces can’t even set foot inside some Iraq cities. Their casualties are rising. The remedy is for them to use Turkish forces in Iraq, soldiers experienced in guerilla warfare, especially in the cities of Týkrit, Felluce and Bakuba, where US casualties are heavy. But while the Turkish chief of General Staff wants to move into northern Iraq to eliminate threats to Turkey, Americans argue that the area is already safe and stable.

The critical point here is that Turkish soldiers in Iraq would behave in a friendly manner and win the hearts of the Iraqi people. If they fail to do so, our soldiers would be considered just another part of the occupation force, a new enemy. This would also cause great injuries, pains and open new fronts. The Americans might even like to eventually hand over the problem to the Turks and go away quietly.

The situation has many dimensions. Our soldiers are being cautious. But our government looks a bit modest. Parliament is thinking of the public reaction. We may face a problem like that surrounding the defeated US troop deployment proposal

In this period we must be very careful. We must measure 40 times, and only then cut. We shouldn’t forget that the Iraqi people are our neighbors, and the country belongs to them. Our respective peoples are not so different from each other.