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Joint Chiefs Chairman in Turkey Drumming Up Support
Aired January 20, 2003 - 06:30 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If there is a war in Iraq, neighboring Turkey would be strategically crucial to the U.S. military. The Pentagon's top general is in Ankara to push for U.S. use of Turkish bases.
Our Jane Arraf joins us now by phone from the Turkish capital with more on that.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
General Myers has just left on his Air Force plane, after a morning of meetings with Turkish generals. Now, no details from those talks yet as to whether they reached an agreement in principle, as is widely believed, but asked about U.S. irritation and possibly impatience that Turkey really isn't jumping on board to allow large numbers of U.S. troops in Turkey, General Myers said that Turkey indeed has continued to be a very cooperative partner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Turkey has been a very cooperative partner in all this. I would expect them to be in the future as well. We discussed a lot of that, and I would never characterize it as I think as a lack of cooperation. Turkey has been very cooperative. I would let Turkey -- the government of Turkey, the Turkish general staff, to characterize the details of that cooperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, the way that Turkish officials have characterized that cooperation and their ability to provide it is that they will be able to provide only limited assistance.
Now, what that seems to mean is that the U.S. doesn't get to base 80,000 troops that it wanted to, but it probably will be able to base some U.S. soldiers here in any war on Iraq, and which it would have plans to attack from the north as well as the Gulf -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jane Arraf, thank you so much for the update there.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired January 20, 2003 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If there is a war in Iraq, neighboring Turkey would be strategically crucial to the U.S. military. The Pentagon's top general is in Ankara to push for U.S. use of Turkish bases.
Our Jane Arraf joins us now by phone from the Turkish capital with more on that.
Good morning -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
General Myers has just left on his Air Force plane, after a morning of meetings with Turkish generals. Now, no details from those talks yet as to whether they reached an agreement in principle, as is widely believed, but asked about U.S. irritation and possibly impatience that Turkey really isn't jumping on board to allow large numbers of U.S. troops in Turkey, General Myers said that Turkey indeed has continued to be a very cooperative partner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Turkey has been a very cooperative partner in all this. I would expect them to be in the future as well. We discussed a lot of that, and I would never characterize it as I think as a lack of cooperation. Turkey has been very cooperative. I would let Turkey -- the government of Turkey, the Turkish general staff, to characterize the details of that cooperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, the way that Turkish officials have characterized that cooperation and their ability to provide it is that they will be able to provide only limited assistance.
Now, what that seems to mean is that the U.S. doesn't get to base 80,000 troops that it wanted to, but it probably will be able to base some U.S. soldiers here in any war on Iraq, and which it would have plans to attack from the north as well as the Gulf -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Jane Arraf, thank you so much for the update there.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
