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American Morning
Turkey, Reluctant Ally
Aired December 04, 2002 - 07:03 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get right now to Turkey's latest reservations now about the possibility of hosting U.S. forces in the event of a war with Baghdad. The reluctance of the NATO ally that shares a border with Iraq to the northwest could complicate the preparations for the potential for war.
Jane Arraf in the Turkish capital of Ankara, watching and listening to the developments there.
And we say hello to Jane -- good afternoon.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Bill, you know, it sounds pretty confusing at the surface, and the foreign minister, in fact, seems a bit embarrassed about this. But the bottom line, according to U.S. officials and Turkish officials as well, is that basically Turkey is on board. There does seem to be an agreement in principle to use those bases, as well as other things.
Now, Paul Wolfowitz, the U.S. deputy defense secretary, came here for a day of talks with this new government. And again, the emphasis is, this is a new government. It's also the first time they've been in government, this pro-Islamic party.
And here's what he had to say. He said he came away pleasantly surprised and pleased.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The attitude that we encountered was very encouraging, not surprising actually, but very encouraging that we find this new government is even more committed, if anything, than the last government to the idea of the Turkish-U.S. partnership and alliance, that they have said they will be with us in very clear and strong terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, the complication in this, of course, is that although this is a country that is very keen to show it's not a threat to the West, this is still not a wildly popular thing, coming out and saying that Turkey, a Muslim country, a neighbor of Iraq, will agree to let American soldiers in and essentially do what they need to do to launch a war against Iraq.
Now, one of the things that U.S. defense officials were saying here today, just before they left, was that Turkey is in a unique situation. It offers a range of possibilities for any U.S. effort on Iraq that is greater than any other coalition member, and that's part of the reason that the U.S. is so keen to do what it seems to be doing, which is basically courting Turkey. And part of the reason why Turkey also is keen to be seen being friends with the United States while, at the same time, not cutting its ties completely with Iraq or the rest of the region -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jane, thank you -- Jane Arraf again in the Turkish capital.
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 December 4, 2002 - 07:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to get right now to Turkey's latest reservations now about the possibility of hosting U.S. forces in the event of a war with Baghdad. The reluctance of the NATO ally that shares a border with Iraq to the northwest could complicate the preparations for the potential for war.
Jane Arraf in the Turkish capital of Ankara, watching and listening to the developments there.
And we say hello to Jane -- good afternoon.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Bill, you know, it sounds pretty confusing at the surface, and the foreign minister, in fact, seems a bit embarrassed about this. But the bottom line, according to U.S. officials and Turkish officials as well, is that basically Turkey is on board. There does seem to be an agreement in principle to use those bases, as well as other things.
Now, Paul Wolfowitz, the U.S. deputy defense secretary, came here for a day of talks with this new government. And again, the emphasis is, this is a new government. It's also the first time they've been in government, this pro-Islamic party.
And here's what he had to say. He said he came away pleasantly surprised and pleased.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY DEFENSE SECRETARY: The attitude that we encountered was very encouraging, not surprising actually, but very encouraging that we find this new government is even more committed, if anything, than the last government to the idea of the Turkish-U.S. partnership and alliance, that they have said they will be with us in very clear and strong terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARRAF: Now, the complication in this, of course, is that although this is a country that is very keen to show it's not a threat to the West, this is still not a wildly popular thing, coming out and saying that Turkey, a Muslim country, a neighbor of Iraq, will agree to let American soldiers in and essentially do what they need to do to launch a war against Iraq.
Now, one of the things that U.S. defense officials were saying here today, just before they left, was that Turkey is in a unique situation. It offers a range of possibilities for any U.S. effort on Iraq that is greater than any other coalition member, and that's part of the reason that the U.S. is so keen to do what it seems to be doing, which is basically courting Turkey. And part of the reason why Turkey also is keen to be seen being friends with the United States while, at the same time, not cutting its ties completely with Iraq or the rest of the region -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jane, thank you -- Jane Arraf again in the Turkish capital.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
