Turkish Parliament to vote on support of possible war against Iraq

Turkey’s parliament could vote as early as next week on two amendments clearing the way for the United States to deploy large numbers of troops to Turkey for an attack on Baghdad through northern Iraq. There are currently about 7,000 U.S. troops in Turkey, assigned to either NATO operations or in support of Operation Nothern Watch.
Sources in Turkey’s National Security Council, who asked to not be identified, confirmed there is an embryonic plan for where U.S. troops could be based.
U.S. and Turkish officials are surveying Turkish military bases in southeast Turkey near the Iraq border including Diyarbakir, Mardin Nusaybin and Batman. Use of these bases would put U.S. soldiers about 400 miles closer to Iraq than those stationed at Incirlik Air Base, near Adana.
Plans also call for the U.S. Army’s Military Traffic Management Command to use the port of Mersin, about 50 miles southwest of Adana.
Those plans could still be scuttled when Turkey’s legislature holds a secret vote on two amendments to change Turkish law and allow a large number of U.S. troops on Turkish soil. If neither passes, only 1,000 U.S. troops at a time will be allowed to transit through Turkey into Iraq.
Also, Turkish media reports said that what is believed to be Turkish armored units have deployed into northern Iraq. The Turkish Daily Hurriyet said that on the night of Dec. 28, a convoy consisting of 110 military trucks with registration plates painted black crossed into northern Iraq.
The paper also reported a “flurry of activity” at Incirlik. In addition to revealing the proposal to let U.S. troops use Turkish bases, Gul told the newspaper editors that he’ll travel to Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and Iran in an attempt to find a way to defuse the Iraq situation.