Turkey's four-star generals protest Turkish-US meeting
Turkey's four-star generals, including Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, have reportedly declined to participate in the annual four-day American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting, which started in Washington yesterday, in reaction to US criticism of the Turkish military's ground offensive into northern Iraq in late February.
Well-informed sources have told Today's Zaman that the Turkish military will be represented at the three-star level and below, including Lt. Gen. Hilmi Akın Zorlu, the head of the Planning and Principles Department of the Turkish General Staff, who is in charge of military procurement planning.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will also not be taking part in the meetings, during which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the keynote speech on April 15.
This is the first time a US secretary of state will deliver a speech to an ATC meeting. During these meetings, Turkish-US relations on military, economic and political issues are discussed with the aim of furthering cooperation between the two NATO allies, the same sources said.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan should have attended the meeting with Rice delivering a speech, said a government source.
Amid mounting US criticism of its incursion into northern Iraq in pursuit of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists, the Turkish General Staff announced that, as of Feb. 29, it had withdrawn its forces back inside the Turkish border.
The announcement of the Turkish withdrawal, not expected for another week or so, followed soon after US President George W Bush's call on Feb. 28 for Turkey to "move quickly, achieve [the] objective and get out."
The General Staff said the timing of the operation had been governed by military requirements and was not subject to any external influences. However, the proximity of the Turkish withdrawal and the US criticism triggered a bitter war of words between the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the opposition parties, which criticized the former for acting under US pressure.
Full story
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=138907&bolum=102
Turkey's four-star generals, including Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun, have reportedly declined to participate in the annual four-day American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting, which started in Washington yesterday, in reaction to US criticism of the Turkish military's ground offensive into northern Iraq in late February.
Well-informed sources have told Today's Zaman that the Turkish military will be represented at the three-star level and below, including Lt. Gen. Hilmi Akın Zorlu, the head of the Planning and Principles Department of the Turkish General Staff, who is in charge of military procurement planning.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will also not be taking part in the meetings, during which US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the keynote speech on April 15.
This is the first time a US secretary of state will deliver a speech to an ATC meeting. During these meetings, Turkish-US relations on military, economic and political issues are discussed with the aim of furthering cooperation between the two NATO allies, the same sources said.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan should have attended the meeting with Rice delivering a speech, said a government source.
Amid mounting US criticism of its incursion into northern Iraq in pursuit of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists, the Turkish General Staff announced that, as of Feb. 29, it had withdrawn its forces back inside the Turkish border.
The announcement of the Turkish withdrawal, not expected for another week or so, followed soon after US President George W Bush's call on Feb. 28 for Turkey to "move quickly, achieve [the] objective and get out."
The General Staff said the timing of the operation had been governed by military requirements and was not subject to any external influences. However, the proximity of the Turkish withdrawal and the US criticism triggered a bitter war of words between the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the opposition parties, which criticized the former for acting under US pressure.
Full story
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=138907&bolum=102
