Military Seeks Alternatives In Case Turkey Limits Access

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
October 12, 2007
Pg. 12
By David S. Cloud
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — Loss of access to military installations in Turkey would force the United States to send more supplies for Iraq through other countries and could cause short-term backups in fuel shipments and deliveries of critical equipment, senior officers said Thursday.
The officials said they had a contingency plan in case Turkey followed through on threats to shut off the United States military’s use to its territory if the full House approved a resolution condemning the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as an act of genocide. That could mean the loss at least temporarily of Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkey, a key resupply hub for Iraq, and the closing of the Turkish-Iraq border to fuel trucks for the American military.
It could take months to increase operations in other logistical hubs, including Jordan, Kuwait and at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr in the northern Persian Gulf, the officials said.
“Turkey has been a tremendous hub for us, and if we didn’t have it that would increase time lines and distances,” said a senior military officer involved in logistical planning and operations. “But it would be a short-term impact.” The officer spoke on condition of anonymity, as did other officials, because he was discussing matters of military planning.
Turkey signaled its displeasure by recalling its ambassador to Washington on Thursday, the day after the House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the resolution. Meanwhile, Bush administration officials stepped up their warnings that passage of the measure by the full House could have dire consequences.
For the second day in a row, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned about the “enormous implications” for American military operations in Iraq if Turkey limited flights over its territory or restricted access to Incirlik Air Base.
“All I can say is that a resolution that looks back almost 100 years to an event that took place under a predecessor government, the Ottomans, and that has enormous present-day implications for American soldiers and Marines and sailors and airmen in Iraq, is something we need to take very seriously,” Mr. Gates told reporters in London.
In public, only Turkish legislators have explicitly warned of limiting the American military presence, though other members of the government have also warned of consequences.
“This is an issue where the Turkish officials have made clear their very strong concerns about this and have raised questions about potential consequences in the event that this resolution passes,” said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.
Though a NATO ally, Turkey has proved a roadblock to American military actions before, especially in March 2003, when its Parliament refused to authorize movement of American ground troops through its territory during the initial invasion of Iraq.
Mr. Gates and other military officials have said that 70 percent of the military cargo sent to Iraq is flown through Incirlik or on routes over Turkey.
To drive home the potential impact of the House action, American officials have warned that delivery of new heavily armored trucks, known as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, could be disrupted. Senior military officials said Thursday that the roughly 400 such vehicles delivered since July have been flown in over Turkey but not landed on its territory. Those flights could avoid Turkish airspace, if necessary, they said.
 
Back
Top