| | | | It is also reported that more than 500 US military and information gathering personnel are currently in Northern Iraq.
The Turkish government will have a busy time this week as it is expected to respond to American requests for access to military airbases at İncirlik, Diyarbakır, Batman, Muş and Malatya Erhaç as part of the build up towards a possible operation against Iraq. An US technical delegation examined the bases recently.
According to diplomatic sources, Washington has also requested permission to station an additional 30,000 troops on Turkish soil and to be allowed to ship a further 60,000 troops to Northern Iraq via Turkey. It has also been reported that the Pentagon has requested to be allowed to make use of the Mersin and Iraq railway and the land road on the same route.
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