Turkey may train Pakistani military
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 06, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - Turkey’s military may use its longtime experience in fighting terrorism to train Pakistan’s army in counterinsurgency, Turkey’s top military commander and a senior U.S. official said Thursday.
In recent weeks, the Pakistani military has been fighting radical Islamic Taliban militants in the country’s troubled northwest. The United States views the situations in Pakistan and war-torn Afghanistan as the worst threat to its security Ğ and that of the world. "Pakistan’s armed forces are capable of overcoming the country’s security issues successfully," said Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ.
"But if the brotherly Pakistan armed forces directly request our assistance with training and other matters related to countering terrorism, we will gladly do this, using all our capabilities, in the shortest possible time," the general told a news conference for Turkish reporters at the end of a visit here. Turkey has been training security forces in Afghanistan since the early 2000s, but if a massive training program starts for Pakistan, it would be a first. "Turkey has major fighting experience," said U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jim Jeffrey.
Quick deployment capability
He told reporters that at times of heightened military action against terrorism in Turkey, the military was able to quickly deploy conventional forces located in the country’s western regions to the southeast, where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, operates, and transform them into a configuration suitable for counterinsurgency fighting. He said that if all sides agreed, the United States would support more Turkish training for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Başbuğ said that in one recent case of anti-terrorist cooperation, he ordered the delivery of night-vision goggles produced in Turkey that were urgently needed by the Pakistani military.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is due to visit Pakistan and Afghanistan early next week, and the potential for Turkey providing counterinsurgency training for Pakistan’s military is expected to be a topic of discussion.Başbuğ added that Turkey was grateful to the U.S. military for sharing intelligence with its Turkish counterparts that has boosted Turkey’s fighting capability against the PKK’s presence in neighboring northern Iraq, but that more should be done against the terrorists.
The general has been in Washington since the beginning of this month, meeting Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other defense officials, and visiting military facilities.
"But if the brotherly Pakistan armed forces directly request our assistance with training and other matters related to countering terrorism, we will gladly do this, using all our capabilities, in the shortest possible time," the general told a news conference for Turkish reporters at the end of a visit here. Turkey has been training security forces in Afghanistan since the early 2000s, but if a massive training program starts for Pakistan, it would be a first. "Turkey has major fighting experience," said U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jim Jeffrey.
Quick deployment capability
He told reporters that at times of heightened military action against terrorism in Turkey, the military was able to quickly deploy conventional forces located in the country’s western regions to the southeast, where the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, operates, and transform them into a configuration suitable for counterinsurgency fighting. He said that if all sides agreed, the United States would support more Turkish training for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Başbuğ said that in one recent case of anti-terrorist cooperation, he ordered the delivery of night-vision goggles produced in Turkey that were urgently needed by the Pakistani military.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is due to visit Pakistan and Afghanistan early next week, and the potential for Turkey providing counterinsurgency training for Pakistan’s military is expected to be a topic of discussion.Başbuğ added that Turkey was grateful to the U.S. military for sharing intelligence with its Turkish counterparts that has boosted Turkey’s fighting capability against the PKK’s presence in neighboring northern Iraq, but that more should be done against the terrorists.
The general has been in Washington since the beginning of this month, meeting Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other defense officials, and visiting military facilities.