Epress.am News from Armenia
Turkey “let America down” in its decision not to allow US troops to use Turkish soil to invade Iraq at the start of the war in 2003, former President George W. Bush wrote in his recently released book, reports the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
“The only thing that remained unknown was Turkey’s part,” Bush wrote in “Decision Points,” referring to the US administration’s request in 2003 to use Turkish soil to invade Iraq from the north.
“We pressed on the Turkish side for months to give us permission to use their lands, so that we could dispatch 15,000 troops from the 4th infantry division for an invasion of Iraq from the north.
“We promised continued economic and military support, aid in accessing important economic programs at the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and the continued support of Turkey’s accession to the European Union,” Bush stated.
He recounted that then-Prime Minister Abdullah Gül had approved the request but that the Turkish Parliament rejected the proposal by a slight margin on March 1.
“I was saddened and disappointed,” Bush wrote. “Our NATO ally Turkey has let America down in one of the most important requests we had ever made.”
Bush wrote that the 4th infantry division had waited in the eastern Mediterranean in case the “Turkish government changed its mind.”
“We also had plans to deploy 1,000 paratroopers in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq,” Bush wrote.