The Bush administration said on Tuesday it was confident it could bring reluctant Iraqi leaders around to the idea of accepting Turkish troops under a proposal approved by the Turkish parliament.
The Iraqi Governing Council of 24 leaders chosen by the US is wary of Turkish troops because of historic sensitivities, especially among the Kurds in the north, and worries that the Turks might come with ulterior motives.
PHOTO: AFP
But the US needs all the security assistance it can obtain in Iraq and sees Turkish troops as ideal partners because of Turkey's secular Muslim tradition.
The White House and State Department said the US welcomed the Turkish parliamentary vote on Tuesday which gave the government authority to deploy the troops.
In Colorado, where he spoke with reporters ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld welcomed the Turkish offer.
"It is appreciated," he said. "You have Iraqis all across the spectrum -- some who will be very happy, some who will be worried, some who will be neutral. Some won't have an opinion."
"Now, we will simply have to work with the Iraqis. And the [US military's] Central Command will begin the task of seeing how and in what ways that might happen if, in fact, it's going to happen."
"Turkish troops would contribute to stability in Iraq and we will be consulting closely with the Turkish government over the details of Turkish participation," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
The spokesman said the US was aware of the reservations of Iraqi leaders but noted that the Iraqi Governing Council had not made a statement on the subject.
"We believe these things can be worked out [and] should be worked out because Turkish troops can make a contribution to stability. We will be working on all the details ... to make sure that the Iraqis agree with us on that," he added.
But the spokesman declined to say whether the Governing Council had a veto over the Turkish deployment. "The coalition [US occupation authority] is very much in charge of the security situation," a senior US official added.
"Our view would still be that they [the Iraqi leaders] should keep an open mind and try to work this out," said the State Department official, who asked not to be named.
The Governing Council has no military force under its command.
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