Wolfowitz Talks Turkey
HAYES, STEPHEN F.
Wolfowitz Talks Turkey The serious war planning is under way. BY STEPHEN F. HAYES Ankara THE INSIDE of an Air Force C-17 is like a warehouse. The cavernous dark green plane that shuttled Deputy...
...officials had proposed to Turkish leaders at their meeting two hours earlier...
...On the right sat his translator...
...He finished his answer before I finished writing, so to buy time, I asked him how he felt U.N...
...We're talking potentially about tens of millions, probably several hundred million, dollars of investment in various facilities that we might use...
...Clearly what [the Iraqis] do or don't declare on December 8 will be crucial," says a senior administration official...
...Some other members of NATO, too, are expected to be supportive...
...9 Dec - TGS briefs new government on U.S...
...troops on Turkish soil...
...Government sources later confirmed that the notes did, in fact, reflect the timeline U.S...
...That approval will be granted...
...Eighteen hours after leaving England for Turkey we had come to interview Omer Celik, a top adviser to AK party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan...
...The inside of the pod has leather seats, a CD player, television, VCR, and secure cable and phone lines...
...Among them: Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and Spain...
...MID TO LATE DEC - site surveys conducted EARLY JANUARY - U.S...
...To that large end, the trip aims to accomplish several particular tasks: demonstrate U.S...
...Secretary Wolfowitz is in Ankara to deliver an important message: We need to know where Turkey stands, and we need to know it soon...
...Early last month, in what many observers described as a "political earthquake," Turkey's Justice and Development party— known here as the AK party—won control of the government...
...Turkey has been with us always in the past and will be with us now...
...That claim, President Bush said late last week, contradicts the "solid evidence" the United States has amassed...
...military will spend a month in Turkey assessing the suitability of sites in southern Turkey for U.S...
...allies important for the coming war in Iraq...
...Although the delegation has a police escort—three white Suburbans and a small fleet of euro-style Matchbox-sized cars—we're soon caught in chaotic midday Ankara traffic...
...The drive to the ministry takes 45 minutes...
...Once the aircraft takes off, it buzzes with activity...
...The Turkish government would have to consult with both the parliament (controlled by the AK party) and the military before allowing U.S...
...How much time...
...It's important that he see that he is surrounded by the international community, not only in the political sense, but in a real, practical military sense...
...We were exhausted...
...engineering forces on Turkish soil 15 JANUARY - construction would begin Celik was in the middle of a lengthy explanation of why Turkey favors a second U.N...
...resolution expressly authorizing the use of force in Iraq when I began copying the information on the piece of paper...
...Our driver apparently knows only two speeds, too fast and stopped...
...The immediate focus of our planning efforts needs to be to identify how much investment we've got to make in various bases if we are going to use them...
...support for Turkey's bid for admission to the European Union, reconfirm with the newly elected government a deal Wolfowitz negotiated with its predecessor back in July, giving the United States use of Turkish air bases for military intervention in Iraq, and push for permission to base U.S...
...The change in government wasn't itself surprising...
...The U.S...
...So despite the fact that Turkey, a NATO member, granted us the use of its airbases in the Gulf War, winning the use of airbases there this time wouldn't be a slam-dunk...
...The first thing you notice upon landing in the Turkish capital is an acrid smoky odor that hangs like a blanket over the entire city...
...write stories they'll file upon landing...
...The Bush administration will use the next several weeks to seek further commitments...
...Turkish voters were ready for a change...
...Security Council resolution that would give several allies the political cover they could use in managing public opinion...
...Rival parties were tainted after years of trading accusations of corruption...
...There could be two reasons for having U.S...
...Most of us had gotten no more than three hours of sleep in London the night before...
...Late Tuesday night, the journalists traveling with the delegation gathered in a conference room at the Ankara Hilton...
...troops...
...Putting U.S...
...The military timetable Wolfowitz discussed with the Turks suggests that momentum might crest in February...
...He explained his ruling party's view of U.S...
...As the journalists bent over their notebooks recording the response, the Turks shared a quiet chuckle...
...Turkey's support is assured...
...It's a step that we want to tee up for a political decision quickly, because it's an important step to take...
...All of this, of course, assumes a false declaration by Saddam...
...A newspaper reporter who has been very quiet throughout the drive finally speaks up...
...Resolution 1441 to make that "full, final and complete" declaration of his arsenal...
...After the initial briefing, the U.S...
...TGS" is short for the Turkish General Staff—the Turkish military...
...But I think that's an immediate military task...
...Wolfowitz, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman, and the other "principals," as the big-wigs are called by their handlers, traveled inside a shiny silver pod that sits in the middle of the aircraft...
...Even if that weren't a safe assumption given his long record of deception, it's a virtual certainty based on what his government has said over the past week...
...Military support staff set up computer terminals and printers where they'll rewrite speeches, tinker with talking points, or draft debriefing memos after a visit...
...Enough for inspectors to show that Saddam is lying, and perhaps enough time for a second U.N...
...Turkey, however, with its recent change in government and its shared border with Iraq, presents a bigger challenge...
...Celik, who serves as a member of the Turkish parliament in addition to his duties advising Erdogan, came to the meeting with two advisers of his own...
...When he was done answering, I asked whether the U.S...
...But if approval were granted, construction would begin January 15...
...Anyone have a plastic or paper bag that you don't want back...
...Known as the "Silver Bullet," this chamber looks like a 1960s-vintage trailer...
...The cavernous dark green plane that shuttled Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and his delegation to England, Turkey, and NATO headquarters in Belgium last week logged more than 10,000 miles over four days, stopping for meetings with representatives of most of the U.S...
...troops on the ground would be an even greater challenge...
...plan" will take place on December 9, one day after Saddam Hussein is required by U.N...
...Six bunk beds are available on a first-come, first-served basis...
...I was sitting directly to the left of Bagis, at one of the corners of the rectangular seating arrangement, when I noticed a piece of graph paper about the size of a 3 x 5, facing my direction...
...Wolfowitz said Wednesday that his delegation "got very strong affirmations of Turkish support for the United States in this crisis with iraq," from all levels of government...
...The effort marks a dramatic shift in the Bush administration's public war planning— from discussing the Iraqi threat in general terms, to taking specific steps to eliminate it...
...Thankfully, he's just being cautious and the delegation arrives without incident...
...delegation spent all day Tuesday trying to gain assurances on both fronts...
...We took off Sunday night, December 1, and after a brief stop in London for a speech, mostly about Turkey, and a few hours of sleep on the ground, we flew to Ankara...
...But even as diplomacy continues, says a senior Pentagon official, reiterating a message delivered to Turkey, "we're developing military plans that have a certain momentum of their own...
...presents results on site surveys to government, pending approval of U.S...
...And on the left, Egemen Bagis, a corpulent fellow with big hair and a mustache who represents Istanbul in parliament and also advises Erdogan on foreign policy...
...So it's not a small step...
...And Turkey has a very important role to play in that regard...
...troops to be based on their soil...
...As Celik gave a meandering, evasive answer that amounted to "no," Bagis slid the piece of paper with the timeline across the table so that Celik could see it...
...Celik, sometimes described as Turkey's Karl Rove, was coming to us directly from a meeting with Wolfowitz and other top U.S...
...That they turned in large numbers to the new pro-Islamist AK party, though, was a bit startling...
...Iraqi officials indicated last week that the declaration would include "dual use" materials—equipment that could be used to make chemical and biological weapons, but that also has practical, non-military applications...
...He is Army green...
...officials about potential Turkish cooperation in the coming war...
...After Wolfowitz makes a short, so-happy-to-be-here statement at the airport, we're whisked to a waiting motorcade— sedans for the principals and a small purple Hyundai van for the rest of us...
...Our party's last choice is a war...
...But, the official adds, "We don't have a lot of time beyond this...
...Still, the pod is luxurious only by comparison with the spartan accommodations provided for the rest of us...
...resolution...
...The more support we get from Turkey, the more chance, the better our chances are, of avoiding war...
...The contents are revealing, but require some interpretation...
...ground troops on Turkish soil...
...The first briefing on "the U.S...
...At NATO on Wednesday, nine of the nineteen member countries indicated that they were likely to support the United States no matter what...
...Wolfowitz wouldn't comment on a timeline, but he spoke in general terms about planning...
...Daily print journalists—there were five of them on this trip—transcribe interviews or Stephen F. Hayes is a staff writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...inspections were going...
...There are two rows of commercial-airline-style seats, each seating five, and seats for everyone else lining the walls of the plane and facing the middle...
...One is to show some determination to Saddam Hussein to get him to clean Iraq of all weapons of mass destruction...
...The Wolfowitz trip comes just one week before Saddam Hussein is required to give a "full, final and complete" declaration of his weapons of mass destruction, and is the first in a series of similar delegations intended to solidify support for removing the Iraqi dictator...
...Wolfowitz explains that presenting Iraq with a serious threat of force is the only way to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict...
...delegation had provided the Turks any kind of a timeline on war planning...
...military positioned in Turkey," he told us, speaking through a translator...
...But an increasing number of allies have indicated their willingness to support regime change in Iraq even without a second U.N...
...It contained notes in English...
...The two lanes in each direction are clearly marked, but judging from the automotive anarchy around us, the signs have the force of mere suggestions...
...if you have to be on a plane for 30 hours over the course of a few days, it's not a bad way to fly...
...Air Force personnel in green one-piece suits dart about with the seriousness of purpose of a brain surgeon...
...Britain, of course, has long been with us...
...The second is a possible operation against Iraq...
...But those same officials continue to insist that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction...
Vol. 8 • December 2002 • No. 14
