Washington: Even as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on February 19 cleared
the deployment of sophisticated response equipment in Turkey ahead of a possible US
war with Iraq, Ankara said it was unsatisfied with the $ 6 billion aid America was
offering for keeping its troops on Turkish soil to open a new front against Baghdad.
"The US has offered Turkey $ 6 billion cash and $ 20 billion in loan guarantees.
Ankara is demanding $ 12 billion in cash and $ 40 billion in loan guarantees to
compensate for the losses it will suffer when the US invades Turkey's chief
commercial partner," media reports said.
US Ambassador Robert Pearson has made a new proposal for increasing the aid to
Turkey but it is far short of Turkish demands, a report in 'The Washington Post'
said.
The actual proposal has not yet been made public. Turkey has made permission to use
Turkish bases by the US for the invasion, conditional on a financial aid agreement
in advance.
The bargaining threatens to scramble the Bush administration's plans to open a
Northern front against Iraq.
The delay in Turkish approval for the use of
Turkish bases, the paper said, has left four US ships carrying tanks and other
equipment for the US Army's 4th Infantry Division stranded off the Turkish
coast.
Turkey's refusal to grant timely approval for the presence of US troops, said
the 'Post', is yet another element of the Bush administration's march to war that
has not fallen into place as expected.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon on February 18 ordered the deployment of an additional 5,000
troops in the Persian Gulf region, where about 150,000 troops are already
stationed.
PTI
