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CNN Live At Daybreak

Paul Wolfowitz Seeks Turkish Support for Attacking Iraq

Aired July 17, 2002 - 06:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Pentagon's No. 2 man, Paul Wolfowitz, has been talking tough in Turkey. He reportedly told the prime minister that U.S. military action against Iraq is a distinct possibility whether or not Turkey, a major U.S. ally in that region, supports the move or not.

CNN Istanbul bureau chief Jane Arraf joining us now live with the latest on the Wolfowitz visit.

What is the latest, Jane?

JANE ARRAF, CNN ISTANBUL BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Catherine, the assistant secretary has met with the ailing Turkish prime minister as well as the new Foreign Minister. Now this is all against a backdrop of a huge political crisis going on here which makes it difficult for the United States to count on any firm support from anyone who's in power right now.

But what the assistant secretary has come here to do, he says, is to find out how Turkey actually feels about a planned invasion. They've said in the past, and they continue to say, that they would be extremely afraid that this would make Iraq essentially disintegrate and come to an end of -- actually lead to severe economic losses for Turkey, which is in the midst of the worst recession in 50 years.

Wolfowitz, though, said that he did not come here to try to talk the country into anything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'd like to emphasize, because I think some of the reporting hasn't quite gotten this, we didn't come here asking any decisions of the Turkish government. We came here to gain the benefit of Turkey's perspectives, to be able to go back to Washington better informed about how Turkey views its interests and what Turkey's views are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARRAF: Now what's at stake here in the midst of this huge political crisis, which is seeing Turks go to the polls almost two years early, is not just the U.S. plans to invade Iraq, but also a lot of other things. Turkey is the lead peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and the only Muslim member of NATO. Wolfowitz emphasized that Turkey's stability and its economic prosperity is extremely important to the United States. That's believed to be one of the things they're talking about. If Turkey does participate in any invasion of Iraq, it wants to make sure that the U.S. will promise to compensate it -- Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you. That's Jane Arraf this morning. Thanks, Jane.

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