US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meets in Ankara Monday with Turkish leaders before flying to Incirlik Air Base to meet with US airmen and get their views on enforcing a no-fly zone against Iraq, said reports.
Rumsfeld, who arrived late Sunday on the first leg of his first extended overseas trip as defense secretary, was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, said a Pentagon statement obtained by Albawaba.com.
His visit to this key NATO ally comes in the midst of a review of Iraq policy by the new US administration, including the campaign of intermittent air strikes in the no-fly zones to keep Iraqi President Saddam Hussein boxed in.
Rumsfeld acknowledged that cutting off supplies that could be used in a weapons of mass destruction program while sparing the Iraqi people hardship "is not an easy task," said AFP.
"It is a complicated task and at its best, it will be done imperfectly," he told reporters traveling with him on the flight to Ankara.
"Even when there were inspectors in there it was practically impossible to really monitor effectively and locate with any high degree of assurance what was going on because he's clever and he's determined," Rumsfeld said.
Turkey has been deeply ambivalent about the use of its territory for air strikes against Iraq, which supplies it with oil and was once an important trading partner.
But Rumsfeld, who said he would be discussing the situation in Iraq with Turkish officials, said, "They have been very, very helpful and we do appreciate them."
US and British air forces use Incirlik Air Base as a staging area for patrols and intermittent retaliatory strikes against Iraqi air defenses in a no-fly zone imposed in the north after the 1991 Gulf War.
Rumsfeld told reporters his visit to Incirlik was an opportunity to thank US airmen for "doing such a terrific job."
"It also gives me a chance to focus on the subject and talk to people who are there on the ground and involved in the flights, and get a sense from them as to their views on it," he said.
“As you know, the secretary is always keen to meet with American servicemen and women when he is abroad, and so it presents an opportunity for him to do that with the folks at the combined joint task force,” a Pentagon official said in the statement.
From Turkey, Rumsfeld goes to Ukraine for an overnight visit. He also travels to Macedonia, Kosovo, Greece, Belgium and Finland before returning to Washington on June 9.
“In Macedonia, the secretary will meet with their new Macedonian minister of defense. He's been there not more than a week or so,” said the official.
“And as you know, they're having their own difficulties at the time, and it will be an opportunity for the secretary to meet with them first-hand, see if he can be of some assistance in helping them through the present time.” – Albawaba.com
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