U.S. Awaits Turkey's Response to Aid Deal
on Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:42 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Colin
Powell said Thursday ``there may be some creative things we can do'' to gain
acceptance of a proposed U.S. aid package meant to pave the way for Turkey
to help in a war against Iraq.
During a State Department news conference
with NATO Secretary Lord Robertson, Powell did not elaborate on those refinements
but said he expected to hear from Turkey by day's end. As for the United
States, ``Our position is firm,'' Powell said.
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White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said,
meanwhile, that the deadlock continued.
Implying the United States might deploy
troops elsewhere instead, Fleischer said ``we have to deal with realities,
and we will.''
Flying to Atlanta with President Bush,
the spokesman said the United States had no final offer to make to Turkey.
``This is not a bluff,'' he said.
A senior U.S. official said late Wednesday
the United States had not set a deadline. But the official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said, ``We want an answer now.''
In Ankara, foreign minister Yasar Yakis
said a parliamentary vote on basing U.S. troops in Turkey is not likely before
next week, but the government could decide in principle earlier than that
and save final authorization for later.
Earlier Wednesday, Powell interceded with
Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul in an apparently unsuccessful effort
to break a deadlock over U.S. economic assistance. Powell and State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher gave no indication the telephone diplomacy produced
a breakthrough.
In Ankara, Turkey's economy minister said
the dispute should be resolved ``within the coming days.''
The remark by Ali Babacan was initially
reported by CNN-Turk television and confirmed early Thursday by a spokesman
at his office, Halit Ertugrul.
At issue is the size of an economic aid
package that would allow Turkey's parliament to approve the deployment of
U.S. soldiers there. Turkey has delayed a vote on the troops, waiting for
approval of a multibillion-dollar aid package that would compensate Ankara
for any losses during a war with Iraq.
A Turkish official in Washington said the
country wanted more than the United States had offered but the American side
was holding firm. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
his government would make up its mind quickly.
``We are waiting to hear back from the
Turks,'' Powell told reporters. ``I think they understand the importance
of this issue to us, and to our efforts, and they've got it under consideration
now.''
Powell added, ``Time is moving, but I don't
have a deadline I'd like to announce right now.''
Ships carrying equipment for a U.S. infantry
division are already at sea. The United States wants to base tens of thousands
of soldiers in Turkey to open a possible northern front against Iraq.
The dispute with Turkey is one of many problems
the Bush administration has as it tries to line up support for an attack
on Iraq if Saddam Hussein doesn't disarm quickly.
A new U.N. resolution demanding Iraq's
disarmament -- and testing the Security Council's resolve -- will be introduced
``in the near future,'' Powell said.
Declining to say whether the United States
had the votes needed for passage, Powell said a headcount now was ``academic''
because the resolution had not been tabled yet.
He said ``all I ask of all the nations
is to weigh the facts'' of Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. demands that
it disarm.
Powell said ``we won't put a resolution
down unless we intend to fight for the resolution, unless we believe we can
make the case that it is appropriate.''
In a half-hour phone conversation Wednesday,
Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair plotted strategy for presenting
the resolution to the Security Council. Sean McCormack, a White House spokesman,
would not comment on whether the leaders made decisions about language, timing
or the sponsor of the resolution.
Boucher dismissed two days of speeches
by other governments at the council disapproving of force to disarm Iraq.
``It's a matter of the Security Council
taking its responsibility,'' Boucher said. ``I know that a lot of speeches
are being made by a lot of people.''
The support of Turkey, a Muslim country,
would be in sharp contrast to repeated statements by France, Germany and
other NATO allies that further U.N. inspections -- not war -- are the best
remedy.
Powell, in a program scheduled to air Thursday
on Black Entertainment Television, predicted that if it comes to war, the
United States probably would be in Iraq for a ``fairly extended'' transition
period after the military phase ended.
``It's not going to be a matter of weeks
or months,'' he told a group of Washington-area teenagers gathered for the
question and answer program.
Powell denied that the United States wanted
to take control of Iraqi oil. ``The oil will belong to the people of Iraq,''
he said. ``The United States will not take it.''
Bush praised NATO for its action in providing
radar planes and defensive military equipment ``to help protect our Turkish
ally from a potential attack from Iraq.'' But he did not mention the latest
dispute in a brief statement to reporters during a meeting Wednesday with
NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson.
Robertson said, ``That's what the alliance
of free nations is all about.''
Apparently referring to the sharp disagreement
among the allies on whether to bolster Turkey's defenses, Robertson said,
``The alliance had a bad week last week.''
But, he said, ``Turkey under threat will
now get the protection that it wants and deserves.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-US-Iraq.html
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