The New Anatolian
Sept 2 2006
Opinions
Unrealistic to say ‘no combat forces’
Ilnur Cevik
We keep on hearing from everyone that Turkish forces to be sent to
Lebanon on a peace mission should go there for humanitarian purposes
and thus should not include combat units … Is this realistic?
Yes, of course, our soldiers should be given missions like in Bosnia
where they will be out of harm’s way but let us not forget that
Lebanon, or any other spot like that, will always have its risks and
our non-combat units should not be left to the mercy of local security
forces or United Nations soldiers from other countries …
Turkish combat forces should go to Lebanon to accompany our soldiers
who will shoulder humanitarian missions but they should be protected
by our own combat units.
Any decision by Parliament to send the forces to Lebanon should not
include restrictions on combat units. Our forces should not be sent to
Lebanon to directly confront Israeli troops or any other Lebanese
militia forces like Hezbollah. But our hands should not be tied from
protecting our own soldiers against all eventualities. If our forces
confront any obstacles or even threats while undertaking their
humanitarian missions, our own forces should be there to protect them.
We are told the Lebanese government, the Israelis and several other
Arab countries, as well as the U.S. and the European Union want to see
Turkish participation in the Lebanese peace mission but we are also
aware that there are some circles against, like the Armenian minority
living in Lebanon who oppose a Turkish presence. These people have
financed the killings of Turkish diplomats in the past and have even
collaborated with Kurdish extremists against Turkish interests in
Lebanon. So Lebanon will not be a bed of roses for our soldiers.
However, despite this, Turkey’s presence is needed in Lebanon and we
feel Turkey should be there.
While we feel the debate on the issue of sending troops to Lebanon is
healthy and should be conducted at all levels of society, we also feel
the debate and the controversies should not drag on and Parliament
should convene as soon as possible to authorize the government to send
troops to Lebanon.
Before the aborted attempt to send troops to Iraq, Turkey was plunged
into a lengthy and very harmful debate which hurt our international
credibility. This should not be repeated.
From: Baghdasarian