Turkey sends troops east in readiness for war

The plans, however, are still awaiting political approval from Nato. For the second consecutive week, the 19 ambassadors postponed any decision on a US request for the alliance to provide air, ground and sea bases as well as a defence guarantee for Turkey. Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg claim any reply at this stage to the US request would mean Nato expected a war or was prejudging the outcome of the United Nations inspectors’ work in Iraq.

"We are ready to move on the Turkish front once we get the green light from the Nato capitals. The plans are ready," said an alliance official.

Turkey’s decision to send troops followed a meeting between Abdullah Gul, the prime minister, and Hilmi Ozkok, Turkey’s top general.

A statement issued by the armed forces said it was "necessary to increase our troops’ readiness for possible developments in the sphere of regional security". It said the decision did not mean a military operation was imminent or that Turkey would participate in it.

For weeks, the US has been insisting that Turkey, a vital Nato ally, spell out whether it supported a US-led operation against President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.

The Gul government, however, has tried to play for time, exhausting every possible diplomatic avenue to avert a war. Last week, it hosted a summit in Istanbul of moderate Arab states in an effort to find a peaceful solution.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of Ankara’s governing Justice and Development party and Mr Gul know a war would be highly unpopular in Turkey. A majority of Turks fear a war would hurt their economy and destabilise the region. Despite such opposition to a war, Turkey knows it cannot remain on the sidelines. If it withheld support – with the possibility that might increase the risk of US casualties – it would alienate the US.

It would also deprive Turkey of any influence in shaping any post-war period and deny Ankara crucial financial compensation it has already negotiated with Washington in the event of war.

* The US military, preparing for possible war with Iraq, said yesterday it had activated almost 16,000 more reserve troops, swelling the total to almost 95,000, the biggest mobilisation since the 1991 Gulf war, Reuters writes in Washington.

A total of 106,000 US reservists – troops who normally see weekend duty while living civilian lives – served in the Gulf region in the previous war.