US CONGRESSMAN WARNS COLLEAGUES ON ESSENTIAL TURKEY TIES
Today’s Zaman
March 4 2009
Turkey
A member of the US Congress has warned other congressmen to heed
the importance of cooperation with NATO ally Turkey for achieving US
objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a letter to 434 members of the House of Representatives, Rep. Bill
Shuster (R-Pa.) said Turkey had a critical role in helping the US
reach its goals in these two troubled countries. Shuster attached
a Feb. 18 article, published in the Christian Science Monitor, that
outlines how Turkey can help in the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
The US administration plans to pull out combat troops from Iraq
by Aug. 31, 2010, while a complete withdrawal is slated for the
end of 2011. Turkey is one of the possible exit routes for this
pullout. Turkish officials say they would assist the US in an Iraq
withdrawal, although they have not yet received any formal request
from the US to that effect.
Shuster’s letter comes as some congressmen speed up efforts to
introduce a resolution recognizing Armenian claims of genocide at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I era. Ankara has warned
repeatedly that strategic ties will be dealt a heavy blow if such a
resolution is passed. Rep. Adam Schiff, one of the main advocates
of a "genocide" resolution, vowed at a meeting in Fresno, Calif.,
on Monday to introduce such a resolution and said he was hopeful that
it would eventually pass.