Troops Requested for North-west of Bagdat

During the meeting, Rumsfeld reminded Gul that it took 1.5 years for Turkey to take command of the International Security Assistance Force

(ISAF) peace force in Afghanistan. He added, “There’s no need for you to rush on this decision, but it should not take one year as well”.

Praising the professionalism of Turkish soldiers, Cheney said that he personally gave much importance to Turkey. Diplomatic sources stated that the issue of troop deployment would be taken up after Gul returned to Turkey and reported to the government.

Foreign News Services / Istanbul / TURKEY