ANKARA, July 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz arrived in Turkey on Sunday, where he is expected to hold talks on Iraq and other security issues despite political turmoil that has shaken the government of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Wolfowitz is stopping first in Istanbul to deliver a speech Sunday and will then return to Ankara for meetings Tuesday and Wednesday after a daylong trip to Afghanistan on Monday.

He will be joined in Ankara by Marc Grossman, the number three in the U.S. State Department and General Joseph Ralston, the commander of U.S. forces in Europe.

"It's hard to see how one would avoid the subject of Iraq," a senior U.S. defense official said last week.

"Turkey borders Iraq. We'll be talking about national security. One can't discuss that subject without discussing Iraq."

U.S. warplanes use Turkey's Incirlik air base to enforce a “no-fly zone” over northern Iraq, and analysts regard Ankara's support as crucial to any U.S. military action aimed at toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The New York Times reported last week that a plan drawn up by the U.S. Central Command calls for a U.S. invasion launched from Turkey, Jordan and the Gulf and involving some 250,000 troops.

The senior U.S. official noted that U.S. President George W. Bush has not approved any war plans but has made it U.S. policy to bring about "regime change" in Iraq.

"These consultations will of course be an opportunity for us to get Turkey's thoughts on Iraq," he said. "I'm sure the topic will come up and we'll benefit from Turkey's views."

U.S. and British warplanes have continuously attacked Iraq in the decade since the Gulf War, with several attacks being carried out over the past months.

On Friday, U.S. and British warplanes carried out as many as 28 military sorties over Iraqi airspace in what many see as a prerequisite to an impending attack on the country. Reports have emerged stating that attacks on Iraq may come as early as September.

In Afghanistan, Wolfowitz will meet with President Hamid Karzai, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and Defense Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim on U.S. military operations, the training of an Afghan national army and the Turkish-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul.