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US works on alternative to Turkey supply
route to Iraq
17.10.2007
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October
17, 2007
WASHINGTON, -- The US military is looking for
a second route to supply troops in Iraq in case
Turkey shuts its borders in reprisal for possible
adoption of a US resolution on
genocide in Armenia, a Pentagon
official said Tuesday.
"There is planning going on," the official said.
"It's just looking at what other options are
available because there are serious operational
impacts" if the Turks deny passage of US military
supplies bound for Iraq.
The White House Monday urged Turkey to show
"restraint" as Ankara moved closer to a possible
incursion against Kurdish PKK rebels sheltering in
Kurdistan region in 'northern Iraq' that could
further complicate the Iraq war.
Under strong public pressure over the Iraq war, the
White House is concerned a Turkish incursion might
derail one of the few areas in Iraq enjoying
relative stability and spread unrest to nearby
countries home to ethnic Kurds.
Ankara's saber rattling also comes at a time of
tense US-Turkish relations over a pending vote in
the House of Representatives for a resolution
calling World War I mass killings of Armenians by
Turkey's Ottoman Empire a genocide.
Flatly refusing the term and strongly opposed to the
US resolution, Turkey has threatened to withdraw its
logistical support for the Iraq war if US lawmakers
approve the measure.
Fearing the loss of Turkey's Incirclik airbase,
which provides a crucial staging ground for US
supplies headed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the White
House has urged House speaker Nancy Pelosi not to
bring the resolution to a vote.
The Pentagon says loss of Turkish cooperation could
cause slight increases in delivery time for supplies
and "may add an increased risk of insurgent attacks
on deliveries."
If Turkey were to end access to its territory, "of
course it will have an impact," said Pentagon
spokesman Bryan Whitman, "Is it insurmountable? I
would tell you I have seen the United States
military plans for just about every possible
contingency that one can imagine," he said.
"But this is an important relationship," the
spokesman stressed. "This is an important logistics
hub for our operations in Iraq, and it is our strong
desire to maintain that relationship to be able to
get the kind of support we are currently receiving
from Turkey."
Army General Carter Ham expressed concern about the
potential costs that could be incurred if Turkey
were to restrict access, but said the US military
was confident it could blunt the impact.
"If the flow of those materials would be disrupted
it would have not only a significant effect on the
US military operating in Iraq but it would have a
significant effect commercially on Iraq as well," he
said.
"There are likely to be some increased costs, some
other implications for that. And obviously we would
prefer to maintain the access that we have."
AFP
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