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Troop decision unlikely before October: Turkey

* Bush administration may not seek UN support on troops

ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the government had no plans to recall parliament early, signalling that a decision on sending Turkish troops to Iraq was unlikely before October.

NATO-member Turkey has yet to decide on a US request to contribute troops to an international security force in war-torn Iraq, and any such decision needs to be approved by the parliament, which is in recess until October 1. Asked whether MPs would be summoned for an extraordinary session in September, Erdogan told reporters: “No. Parliament will start work as scheduled.”

His comments were widely interpreted to mean that there would be no formal decision on sending troops to Iraq before October.

Recent press reports had suggested that the government would recall parliament in mid-September.

A parliamentary group chairman for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) also confirmed that the government would wait until October to decide on troop deployment. “The motion (on troop deployment) will be evaluated when parliament opens,” Faruk Celik told reporters.

Both the Turkish government and some army commanders have already said that they favour extending military assistance to the United States, but the idea has attracted opposition from the public and several MPs.

Meanwhile, Bush administration, encountering UN Security Council resistance, may not seek a resolution giving the UN’s blessing for the deployment of additional foreign forces in Iraq, US officials say.

Four days after Secretary of State Colin Powell made a pitch for council backing of his call for more forces, UN Ambassador John Negroponte acknowledged on Monday, “We’re nowhere near a resolution on Iraq.”

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the administration had not yet determined whether to seek a resolution.

A State Department official, asking not to be identified, said it was a difficult sell for the administration, given that many council members believe Washington is to blame for continuing security problems in Iraq.

The official noted that the United States ignored council wishes last March by deciding to go into Iraq without council support.

The administration’s case may have been weakened by contradictory signals it has been sending about whether a larger force is needed in Iraq.

Two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told CBS Tuesday that the United States must turn to the international community for assistance in Iraq. “This is complicated, it’s difficult, it’s dangerous, all the reasons why we need help,” said Sen Chuck Hagel, R-Neb “This country cannot carry the burden, sustain this burden over a long period of time.”

Sen Joseph Biden of Delaware, top Democrat on the committee, said another 5,000 international police are needed on the streets just to train Iraqis. There’s a narrow window of time to convince the Iraqis that they will be assured of essential services and self-rule, he said. “If we lose that opportunity we may lose the support of the vast majority of the Iraqi people.”

Negroponte said that, in addition to seeking a broadening of coalition forces in Iraq, the administration wants more countries to provide financial assistance and to help with police training. —AFP/AP

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