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UK seeks military help in Turkey
LONDON, England -- UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has flown to Turkey for talks aimed at persuading Ankara to allow its bases to be used by U.S. and British forces in any attack on Iraq. Turkey, at the gateway to the Middle East and a member of NATO, is of strategic importance and Hoon's trip is part of a U.S. and UK initiative to persuade Turkey to allow a possible invasion to be launched from its soil. Hoon said during his trip on Wednesday that the international community had to show Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that it was serious about enforcing U.N. resolutions on weapons of mass destruction. "We need to demonstrate to Saddam Hussein that we mean business, that we're not simply going to pass resolutions and not see them enforced," Hoon was quoted by Reuters as saying after his talks with his Turkish counterpart Vecdi Gonul. He also discussed European defence and NATO with Abdullah Gul's new Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. The AKP's grassroots would be deeply opposed to a war in Iraq and opinion polls show the majority of Turks feel the same. Asked about British troops using Turkish facilities in any U.S.-led war against Iraq, Hoon noted that Ankara was already providing support to British and U.S. warplanes patrolling a no-fly zone over northern Iraq set up after the 1991 Gulf War, when a U.S.-led coalition expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. "There is excellent cooperation between our two countries in that respect. It's something that obviously we want to build on," Hoon added. "It's important that we continue to work together... that we understand each other's political difficulties."
The visit comes a day after Hoon told the British parliament that 1,500 reservists will be called up, adding to the task force already under way to the Gulf region. (Full story) Hoon is the latest defence secretary to visit Turkey, following in the footsteps of the U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. (Full Story) But Ankara wants to avoid a war, fearing economic and regional turmoil. It has resisted pressure to commit itself to military support, saying it will wait until January 27 when U.N. weapons inspectors make a preliminary report on their findings. The British defence secretary has played down the chances of war, saying it is not inevitable even though it is likely further forces will be sent to the region in the coming weeks. He was also terse when questioned about comments made by his fellow Cabinet member Jack Straw. The foreign secretary said on Monday that prospects of military action against Iraq were 60-40 against. Hoon replied that such comments were unhelpful at this stage.
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