Turkish Parliament
Refuses to Accept G.I.'s in Blow to
Bush
By Dexter
Filkins
New York Times
Saturday 01 March 2003
ANKARA, Turkey, March 1 - The Turkish
Parliament today dealt a major setback to the Bush administration's plans
for a northern front against Iraq, narrowly rejecting a measure that would
have allowed thousands of American combat troops to use the country as a
base for an
attack.
More Turkish lawmakers supported the measure than opposed it, but the resolution
failed because the total number of no votes and abstentions exceeded the
numbers of favorable votes. Under the Turkish Constitution, a resolution
can become law only if it is supported by a majority of the lawmakers present.
The final tally was 264 to 251, with 19 abstentions.
The defeat stunned American officials, who were confident that Turkey's leaders
would be able to persuade the members of their party to support the measure.
American ships had already begun unloading heavy equipment at Turkish ports
in anticipation of a favorable vote, and more than a dozen vessels were idling
off the coast.
In the turmoil after the parliamentary session, American diplomats said they
were requesting a "clarification" of the vote.
The vote today came after weeks of negotiations between American and Turkish
officials, largely over the economic assistance for Turkey in the event of
a war with Iraq.
The defeat posed immediate military problems for American officials, who
have been counting on Turkey's support to help with a northern front. A senior
Pentagon official said today that the American military would be able to
stage the operation without Turkey's help.
The defeat of the resolution was a stunning political blow as well. Turkey,
one of the America's closest allies and a member of NATO, is a secular Muslim
democracy whose support in the region the Bush administration has craved.
Indeed, American officials have called Turkey a model for the type of system
they are hoping that an invasion of Iraq would help bring about elsewhere
in the Middle East.
The defeat was not expected by Turkey's leaders, who only hours before the
vote had predicted that the Parliament would approve the measure. Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul, and the chief of the governing Justice and Development Party,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had endorsed the measure, and both men had urged their
party, which controls are large majority of the Parliament, to support it.
The resolution failed in large part because nearly 100 members of the party
apparently voted against the measure or abstained. The American request had
placed Turkey's leaders in a difficult situation, as polls here indicate
that an overwhelming majority of the Turkish people oppose their country's
involvement in a war against Iraq.
In an interview after the vote, Mr. Gul said Turkey's democratic system had
spoken with finality. "Turkey is the only democratic country in the region,"
he said. "The decision is clear. We have to respect this decision, as this
is what democracy requires."
The vote casts a shadow over the American-Turkish relationship, which Turkish
officials said had come under great strain during the negotiations. As the
discussions wore on and tales of American high-handedness spread, Turkish
lawmakers and the Turkish public appeared to become more and more alienated.
"The relationship is spoiled," said Murat Mercan, a member of Parliament
from the majority party. "The Americans dictated to us. It became a business
negotiation, not something between friends. It disgusted me."
In Ankara, the United States Embassy said American ties with Turkey would
not be threatened by the parliamentary vote, calling it democratic and one
that would be respected by Washington. "We respect this as a democratic result
~W we will live with that," said an embassy spokesman. "We worked together
as allies and we will continue to work together as allies."
The Turkish vote throws into question the ambitious military strategy that
had been devised to overwhelm the forces of President Saddam Hussein. American
military commanders wanted to begin an attack from Turkey in order to pin
down Iraqi forces in the north, thus keeping them away from the main American
force driving from the south.
A senior Pentagon official said today that the Turkish Parliament's vote
would not alter the military's plans to try to stage tanks and other heavy
equipment for the Fourth Infantry Division through Turkey into northern Iraq.
"I don't think it's that big a deal," the Pentagon official said. "As Secretary
Rumsfeld likes to say, democracies aren't very tidy."
Even before the vote, American officials signaled that they were confident
that American forces would probably be allowed to stage through Turkey. When
asked on Friday whether the Pentagon was past the point where it needed a
definitive answer from the Turks, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "No." Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld added,
"We'll be all right."
Pentagon officials have said that Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the commander of
American forces in the Persian Gulf, has backup plans for moving American
forces into northern Iraq. "General Franks, as we speak, is looking at lots
of options," General Myers said on Friday.
It was unclear tonight if there was an immediate impetus to the resolution's
defeat, but several issues were still outstanding between the Turks and the
Americans. The main sticking point was the American insistence that the Turks
continue to adhere to a two-year-old agreement with the International Monetary
Fund, which has imposed strict conditions on Turkish lawmakers to reform
their economy in exchange for billions of dollars in loans.
With the Americans promising $6 billion in direct aid, Turkish officials
wanted to be able receive the money before striking any new agreement with
the fund. American officials were worried that Turkey, armed with the American
cash, would walk away from the fund, thus defeating the purpose of the American
aid, which was to maintain confidence in the Turkish economy in the event
of war. The United States has insisted that Turkey adhere to strict standards
maintaining its credit worthiness.
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.
Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research
and educational
purposes.)
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War
with Iraq - Again?
Introduction and Overview. Reading this first will put the other items in
this section into perspective. Jackie
Hussein Did NOT
Gas the Kurds!
New York Times: "The United States Defense Intelligence Agency
investigated and produced a classified report, which it circulated within
the intelligence community on a need-to-know basis. That study asserted that
it was Iranian gas that killed the Kurds, not Iraqi gas."
Zionist Campaign
for War with Iraq
In Revisionist Perspective by Paul Grubach
"Why should the U.S. go to war to serve Israeli-Zionist interests? Why should
mostly non-Jewish White, Black, and Hispanic Americans who make up
the vast majority of the U.S. armed forces have to risk their lives
for the Jewish state of Israel?"
America's
Ultra-Secret Weapon
- "dial-a-hurt"
HPMs are man-made lightning bolts crammed into cruise missiles. The Directed
Energy Directorate at Kirtland has been studying how to deliver varying but
predictable electrical pulses to inflict increasing levels of harm: to deny,
degrade, damage or destroy, to use the Pentagon's parlance. HPM engineers
call it "dial-a-hurt."
The Mother
of All Wars - SHOCK and
AWE
MUST READ!
"Ullman is ready to use every kind of weapon to create shock and awe. He
once said it might be a good idea to use electromagnetic waves that attack
peoples' neurological systems, "to control the will and perception of
adversaries, by applying a regime of shock and awe. It is about effecting
behavior."
Pentagon
Eyes Mass Graves (for U.S.
Soldiers)
Denver Post: "The bodies of U.S. soldiers killed by chemical or biological
weapons in Iraq or future wars may be bulldozed into mass graves and burned
to save the lives of surviving troops, under an option being considered by
the Pentagon."
View from
Baghdad
This following article is the reality that 99% of the world sees about the
Iraq situation and the U.S. role. This war is not over oil. It's about
ownership and control of Earth's resources. . . this proven technology
could provide an ABUNDANCE of cheap, clean energy worldwide, virtually overnight,
if it was not ruthlessly suppressed with inventors bankrupted if not
murdered.
War - No
Matter What!
Dr Richard Perle stunned MPs by insisting a "clean bill of health"
from UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix would not halt America's war machine.
Evidence from ONE witness on Saddam Hussein's weapons programme will be
enough to trigger a fresh military onslaught, he told an all-party meeting
on global security.
Saddam's
Bodyguard Warns of Secret
Weapons
A source close to Mr. Sharon said, "Sharon intends to shatter the growing
anti-war movement. He plans to call all those European leaders who are wavering
. . ." Is this the ONE witness Richard Perle needed to trigger a
fresh military onslaught?
Seeds
of Destruction
What keeps Bush from planting evidence of WMD in Iraq?
Think about it. Bush is willing to lie, cheat and steal in order to forward
his agenda to destroy Iraq. To his disappointment, inspectors have found
NOTHING thus far except some crated-up, 20 year-old warheads. Hardly evidence
of an active program for WMD.
U.S. Demands
Iraq Show Cooperation by This
Weekend
What can we make of this convoluted and contradictory piece?
The headline says 'this weekend' (2-15/16). In the body of the article we
read: "Mr. Bush did not mention Friday as a turning point. Ms. Rice said
he had set no deadline for action by the Security Council." Much of what
we read in the controlled media is designed to 'shape public opinion' and
generate fear and anxiety. Stay close with God in peace and love.
Jackie
U.S. Documents
show embrace of Saddam Hussein in early
1980's
From the National Security Archive
"The declassified documents posted today include the briefing materials and
diplomatic reporting on two Rumsfeld trips to Baghdad, reports on Iraqi chemical
weapons use concurrent with the Reagan administration's decision to support
Iraq. . . "
Book: Saddam
Hussein
Book
about Saddam Hussein, which tells a side of the story that you will not get
from the major media.
Note: This link requires Acrobat Reader from Adobe.
Turkish
Parliament Refuses to Accept G.I.'s in Blow to
Bush
ANKARA, Turkey, March 1 - The Turkish Parliament today dealt a major setback
to the Bush administration's plans for a northern front against Iraq, narrowly
rejecting a measure that would have allowed thousands of American combat
troops to use the country as a base for an attack.
Bush and 2
Allies Seem Set for War to Depose
Hussein
N.Y.Times - 3-17-03
BUSH: "Saddam Hussein can leave the country if he's interested in peace.
You see, the decision is his to make, and it's been his to make all along
on whether or not there's the use of military."
Bush Planned Iraq
Regime Change Before Becoming
President
Sunday Herald, United Kingdom, September 15, 2002
"A secret blueprint for US global domination reveals that President Bush
and his cabinet were planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime
change' even before he took power in January 2001...'This is a blueprint
for US world domination -- a new world order of their making. These are the
thought processes of fantasist Americans who want to control the world. I
am appalled that a British Labour Prime Minister should have got into bed
with a crew which has this moral standing.'"
Rebuilding
America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New
Century
Written
in September 2000, before George W. Bush was President, and prior to September
11th, this document is the report the Sunday Herald (U.K.) called, "A blueprint
for US global domination." Among other things, the report establishes missions
for U.S. military forces to:
-
"defend the American homeland
-
"fight and decisively win multiple, simultaneous
theatre wars
-
"perform the 'constabulary' duties associated
with shaping the security environment in critical regions
-
"transform U.S. forces to exploit the 'revolution
in military affairs'"
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U.S.
Awards Deals for Post-War
Iraq
"A USAid spokeswoman said that the companies were chosen because of their
proven ability, and that it was a policy to use US companies for projects
funded by the American taxpayer." U.S. soldiers will bomb the Iraqis
to hell, then the "American taxpayer" will pay, and pay, and pay to rebuild
what they destroyed. Except, you can't rebuild or re-animate dead babies
and men and women, not even one, nor the half-million Iraqis expected to
be murdered. Oh, yes. . . the sanitized war-term for murder now is "collateral
damage."
Just
Another Staged Baghdad
Rally?
They told us that the Iraqis were dancing in the streets, celebrating at
the thought of being "liberated." Could it be they lied to us again?
Sham
Saddam Scam
An analysis of the allegation that Saddam
Hussein was captured.
Saddam Was NOT
Captured
"The Pentagon spin machine is trying to dupe us all by telling us that this
photo was taken in December. It shows two American soldiers lifting the lid
off that elaborate 'spider hole', where they claim they have found Saddam
Hussein."
Who Writes Letter(s)
to Editors for
Soldiers?
Many Soldiers, Same Letter
Newspapers around U.S. get identical missives from Iraq. ". . . appear
to be part of a campaign to present a positive picture of the U.S.
occupation."
Army to Recall
Former Military Members
CNN News 6.29.04
"The Army is preparing to notify about 5,600 retired and discharged
soldiers who are not members of the National Guard or Reserve
that they will be involuntarily recalled to active duty for possible
service in Iraq or Afghanistan. . . "
Pick Your Price:
Your Blood
or Your Soul
By John Kaminski
Demonic demagogues like Joseph Farah, Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh all
have recently recommended killing large numbers of innocent Iraqis "to teach
them a lesson." . . . it's not cool to mess with Uncle Sam and mutilate his
hired killers, the highly paid mercenaries he hired to assassinate Iraqi
intellectuals. . . "
Thousands
of US troops evacuated from Iraq for unexplained medical
reasons
September 2003
"At no point in the last six months have the American people been told that
for every soldier who has been killed in Iraq, at least another 15 have fallen
so ill that they had to be flown back to the United States." |
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