Setback in Turkey Delays U.S. Attack on Iraq

The United States may have to delay its attack on Iraq until April. Originally, the United States and Britain reportedly intended to strike in mid March.

According to foreign news agencies, the Turkish parliament failed to endorse the plan of Turkey and Washington to base 62,000 troops in Turkey, to open a northern front in any war against Iraq. Thus, a U.S. official said, the planned attack may be delayed until the end of March or early April.

Defense officials say that a new vote would delay the war for at least two or three weeks. Military experts predict that the war might be further pushed back to wage an attack under the bright moonlight, they say, in April.

The Pentagon worries that, if it fails to control the northern front due to Turkey`s vehement opposition to using its territory as a staging area, the Kurds might dominate the oil fields in the region or Iraqi forces might destroy all of them.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department suggested that $6 billion in aid could be off the table unless troops were allowed in the country.

In order to deprive Washington of any justification for starting a war, Iraq, under the inspection of the U.N., additionally destroyed six missiles and two warheads. Thus, the total has risen to sixteen dismantled missiles.

Iraq has also promised to submit a detailed report within one week to the U.N. on anthrax and VA nerve gas. In addition, from Feb. 28th, it began to allow U.N. inspectors to interview Iraqi scientists individually.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer downsized the significance of Iraq`s voluntary destruction of the missiles and said it did not constitute what the United States means by disarmament. Then, he proposed three principles of disarmament: “Completeness, thoroughness and immediateness.”

Meanwhile, thousands of special forces’ troops from the United States, Australia and Britain, including 300 British SAS troops, are conducting military operations in Iraq, reported the Daily Telegraph yesterday.

Rae-Jeong Park ecopark@donga.com