New Turkish Chief Of Staff Amid Threat of U.S. Strike On Iraq
 |
|
Gen. Hilmi Ozkok |
ANKARA,
August 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Turkey has named a new
army chief of staff and reshuffled other top military posts amid
mounting concern over a possible U.S. military operation against
neighboring Iraq, military officials said Saturday, August 3.
General
Hilmi Ozkok, 62, who has been the commander of the ground forces for
the past two years, will replace chief of staff General Huseyin
Kivrikoglu, who is set to retire at the end of August after a
four-year term, the army said in a statement carried by Anatolia news
agency.
The
post left vacant by Ozkok will be taken over by General Tahir Aytac
Yalman, the 62-year-old commander of Turkey's paramilitary forces
since 2000, it added.
The
second-in-command of ground forces, Mehmet Sener Eruygur, was promoted
to head the paramilitary forces, the statement said.
Turkish
newspapers had forecast that Washington's determination to oust the
regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would play a major role in
any reshuffling of NATO member Turkey's top army brass at the annual
meeting of the country's Higher Military Council.
Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit chaired the three-day session, which ended
Friday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Turkey,
a key U.S. ally hosting a major U.S. air base, is opposed to any
military moves against its southern neighbor, fearing this could have
grave economic consequences and spark unrest in its southeast at a
time when Ankara is already grappling with a severe economic crisis
and heading into snap polls in November.
The
council also decided to expel 46 soldiers for "disciplinary
reasons", the statement said, a term the army uses to describe
affiliation with pro-Islamic movements, AFP said.
A
council ruling on expulsion is irreversible and cannot be appealed
through either civilian or military courts.
The
powerful Turkish army, the self-appointed guardian of the mainly
Muslim country's strictly secular system, has carried out three coups
in the past and led a harsh secularist campaign that forced the
country's prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, to step down in 1997.
Ecevit
has earlier urged the U.S. to keep up intensive consultations with
Turkey, a key NATO ally, if it is to carry out a military operation
against neighboring Iraq.
“We
told them that we expect them to act in a very close dialogue with us
if they decide to launch an operation,” Ecevit told STV television
Wednesday, July 17, a day after talks with U.S. Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in Ankara.
“Iraq
is our neighbor. We have good relations with them. We told them [the
U.S.] that we expect them to show the necessary caution so as we do
not suffer any damage,” Ecevit said.
His
remarks appeared to point at a softening stance on the Iraqi issue in
Ankara, which has earlier expressed vehement opposition to any
military move against Baghdad for fears of economic and political
fallout, AFP reported.
Nevertheless,
Ecevit said he had tried to persuade Wolfowitz that the Iraqi issue
could be resolved without a military operation.
He
added, however, “the American administration is not hiding that it
is determined on a military intervention against Iraq.”
Engulfed
in a severe government crisis and battling economic woes with IMF
loans that Washington had encouraged, Turkey hardly has any room to
maneuver against U.S. plans, observers say.
The
mainly Muslim but staunchly pro-Western country is of crucial
importance for U.S. moves against Iraq.
It
is home to an American military base, from where U.S. jets launched
strikes against Baghdad in the 1991 Gulf War and which they still use
to enforce a no-fly zone over mainly-Kurdish northern Iraq. 
|
|
|
US Seeks To Split Sudan: Egyptian Press
Iraq's UN Inspectors Offer Came Under Russian Pressure
New Turkish Chief Of Staff Amid Threat of
U.S. Strike On Iraq
Investors Remain Shaky Despite Assurances From U.S. Officials
Deadly West Nile Virus Threatens U.S. As Four People Die, 88 Infected
New Online Payment Solution Avoids Riba, Enhances E-Commerce
360 Killed, 320 Missing In Wartorn Chechnya Since January
India’s Politicians Close Ranks To Derail Poll Reforms
Nawaz Sharif Nominates His Brother As Successor
U.S. Seeks to Reduce Military Presence in Sinai, Pentagon
Report: Ex-Costa Rican Leader Likens Israel to South African Apartheid
Thousands Rally In Indonesia for Islamic Law
Saudi, Iran Repeat
Opposition to U.S. Strike on Iraq
Remains in Srebrenica Grave Hit 207, New Mass Ground Found
UN Building in Southern Afghanistan Under Attack
Clinton: I’d Get In a Ditch, Grab A Rifle And Die For Israel
U.S.-ASEAN Anti-Terrorism Pact May Threaten Human Rights: Watchdog
Turkey Passes Taboo-Breaking Reforms to Come Closer to EU
U.S. Senate
Passes Defense Appropriations Budget
U.S. Federal Judge Says Names of Sept. 11 Detainees Must Be Released
Nablus Standstill As Israeli Army Collectively Punish Residents
Canadian Terror Suspect Extradited to United States
Russia, France Welcome Iraqi Move, Britain, U.S. Skeptical
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
