US OFFICIAL: WASHINGTON HAD GOOD REASON FOR SACK CRISIS.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 10 2007

The US may have been too harsh in its response to its ally Turkey
in the July 2003 "sack crisis" in Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq, but
it had "good reasons," according to the account of a U.S. official
published Friday.

The crisis took place when 11 Turkish Special Forces soldiers were
arrested by U.S. troops and sacks were put over their heads.

The Turks were released after two days, but their arrest unleashed
a torrent of criticism in a country where the military is a revered
institution. Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, Turkey’s former chief of staff, said
the arrests had "led to the biggest crisis of confidence ever between
Turkish and U.S. forces."

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs Matt
Bryza, in a interview with Sabah daily, stated that the relationship
between Turkey and U.S. continues to go on the right path.

When asked about former State Department official Henry Barkey’s
statement that the Turkish Special Forces troops detained by the U.S.

were plotting to kill the governor of Kirkuk, a city whose status
is in dispute, he replied, "He’s a smart man. Maybe the U.S. was too
harsh in its response to its ally Turkey in the sack crisis, but we
had good reasons."

When asked why the 11 Turkish soldiers were treated "like al-Qaeda
militants," he said, "As I said, he’s a smart man. But we had good
reasons. Is there any reason to antagonize one of our most important
allies in Iraq, as well as in the world, Turkey?"

He also stressed that the U.S administration would continue to block
the so-called Armenian genocide resolution, adding that Washington
knows it would damage Turkish- U.S relations.