U.S. Military Surveys Turkish Ports

Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, returning from a Middle East tour aimed at averting military action, said Turkey would “strive until the end to end this standoff without a war.”
“Once this box is opened it will be very difficult to re-establish stability. Everyone fears that a lot of blood will be let and everyone fears its aftermath,” he said.

The United States has asked for permission to base up to 80,000 soldiers in Turkey for a possible strike against neighboring Iraq and is impatiently pressing Turkey for an answer. But Turkey has been reticent to commit, caught between the desires of its most crucial ally and a public overwhelmingly opposed to a war.
Turks fear that a war would harm the economy as its struggles to recover from a recession and would lead to instability on the border. Still, most analysts believe that Turkey will at least allow the use of air bases and ports if there is a war.
Some 20 people, including surveyors, arrived by bus in the eastern Mediterranean port city of Mersin early Tuesday. They were briefed by Turkish military officials, then allowed to enter the port.
The United States used Mersin, Turkey’s second largest port, during the 1991 Gulf War. Two other groups from the 150-member U.S. inspection team were examining military air bases in the southeastern cities of Diyarbakir and Batman, officials in the region said condition of anonymity.
The inspectors flew in Monday to Incirlik air base, which the U.S. Air Force already uses for patrols of the no-fly zone over northern Iraq. The inspections are expected to last 10 days. A final decision on stationing U.S. troops would have to come from parliament, where there is likely to be serious opposition.