The US is still trying to normalize its relations with Turkey after the rejection of a March 1, 2003 decree by Parliament that would have allowed US forces to use Turkish soil for their war in Iraq. Similarly Turkey has also been attempting to normalize ties with its close ally as the July 4, 2003 arrest of Turkish officers by US forces in northern Iraq has continued to humiliate many Turks, be it right or wrong.
According to a Western source, while the US is desperate to rebuild its relations with Turkey, the Bush administration has been worried about the possible adoption of an Armenian genocide bill by the Democrat-controlled Congress in the coming months.
Turkey has denied the definition of the World War I events as genocide but has been left little room for maneuvering, mainly because of its longtime negligence of pursuing policies to reverse the belief around the world that the events were in fact genocide.
The Bush administration, understood to have a limited effect in changing the opinions of Congress, is now seeking to limit the possible damage of the genocide bill for relations between the two nations.
US concern to limit possible harm derives mainly from the importance of İncirlik and İskenderun for its forces in nearby Iraq. For the US, İncirlik is outside the theater, making it safe. Furthermore, it is large and discreet in the sense that it provides a quiet way of doing business.
The US also has a very large presence at İncirlik and İskenderun, with around 5,000 men in total, including some engineers and workers. US C-17 cargo planes have been flying in and out of İncirlik carrying military equipment to Iraq while using the base as a depot for various goods to be carried to the region.
Remarks made by an aerial port operations officer with the 728th Air Mobility Squadron, Capt. James Burnham, at İncirlik on Nov. 14, 2006, in the US Air Force Print News (AFPN) explain how vital Turkish facilities are for the US in its war in Iraq: "By flying critical supplies via C-17 Globemaster III from this eastern Turkey airbase directly to service members at remote locations in Iraq, more than 3,300 convoy truck missions are taken off the Iraqi roads each month."
"During around-the-clock operations at the Cargo Hub here (İncirlik), supplies such as essential add-on humvee equipment or repair parts and medical supplies are examples of critically needed items that are loaded onto C-17s destined for Iraq," said 2nd Lt. Ryan Randall, the officer in charge at the Air Terminal Operations Center. (Michael Tolzmann, AFPN, Nov. 14, 2006, İncirlik Air Base, Turkey)
Close to 60 percent of all air cargo destined for Iraq passes through İncirlik Air Base, said Col. Tip Stinnette, commander of the 39th Air Base Wing. "İncirlik is a strategic center of gravity for the US and Turkey in this region," Colonel Stinnette remarked. (Ibid)
"The greatest accomplishment of this airlift hub is that every time we fly a sortie, we keep a convoy of trucks and drivers off of the dangerous roads of Iraq," said Col. Mike Cassidy, the 385th Air Expeditionary Group commander. Since the inception of the Cargo Hub mission in June of 2005, more than 103,000 tons of cargo has moved through İncirlik, reported the AFPN.
No matter who says what, the US officers' explanations of the vitality of İncirlik are themselves proof to justify the US administration's concern over the adoption of the genocide bill. Another reason the US has been trying to pursue a policy of damage control is that a possible adoption of the bill could impact relations with Turkey -- among the leading nations in terms of US defense sales.
It is also true that the US has been vigorously lobbying the European Union to allow Turkey to come closer to this democratic club of nations, but current realpolitik dictates that the US attitude controls the potential harm from the bill. Those immediate relations influence a current focus on not jeopardizing US usage of İncirlik and İskenderun or threatening defense sales.
I think the US Congress, for the sake of its country's national interest, should also weigh up the importance for the US of its Turkish facilities and forget about adopting the bill.
