| | | | Speaking to Turkish television Tuesday, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz also said that the US had been disappointed in the failure of Ankara to support allied efforts in the war against neighbouring Iraq.
In particular he singled out the Turkish armed forces for not being more decisive when Turkey was debating whether or not to allow US troops to be deployed inside the country as part of efforts to open a second front against Iraq.
“I think for whatever reason, they did not play the strong leadership role,” Wolfowitz said.
The Deputy Defence Secretary said that Turkey should now work to rebuild its ties with the US and give greater support to Washington’s position regarding both Syria and Iran, which it claims give aid to terrorism and, in the case of Iran, may be trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.
“… let’s have a Turkey that steps up and says, ‘We made a mistake, we should have known how bad things were in Iraq, but we know now. Let’s figure out how we can be as helpful as possible to the Americans’,” Wolfowitz said.
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