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ANKARA: Turkey hopes its command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan will ensure it a high-profile role in rebuilding the war-ravaged country and help it secure a stronger foothold in the region.
The long-awaited deal has yet to be formalized but Turkey’s military says it has agreed in principal to take over when the British command expires.
The United States is eager to have Turkey — a Muslim nation that runs NATO’s second-largest army — at the helm of ISAF to help fend off charges its “war on terror” amounts to a war against Islam.
Karzai has also said he backs Turkish leadership.
US and British officials have pressed Turkey for weeks to assume the task, with the negotiations being dragged out over Ankara’s insistence it be guaranteed financial and military support.
“The main concern appears to be over whether the other big contributors will stay,” said one diplomat in Ankara.
About 260 Turkish soldiers have joined the 4,800-strong force, set up in Kabul after US-led forces toppled the hardline Islamic Taliban regime in December.
LEFT IN THE LURCH: Some observers in Turkey see ISAF members pulling back some or all of their troops after Britain hands over the reins.
“Turkey wants to stay there as the commander of a NATO force,” said Murat Yetkin, a columnist at Radikal newspaper. “After the British leave, most of the NATO countries want to leave or reduce their numbers.
“There is no guarantee Turkey won’t be left as the tribal chief of a third world force,” he said. “After us there isn’t even a candidate to lead the force. No one is volunteering.”
Already Britain and ISAF’s other NATO powers France and Germany have rejected enlarging the force to 20,000 troops who would keep the peace among warring Afghan factions beyond Kabul.
Washington has said it sees no need to expand ISAF, instead preferring to increase aid and training for Afghan authorities.
As the US casts its eye elsewhere in its global "war on terrorism", Turkish officials fear ISAF could be left in the lurch without American air cover, logistical support and rescue operations — essential if peacekeepers came under attack.
—Reuters
