Turkey's powerful military said today it backed a government motion, rejected by parliament at the weekend, to allow in US troops for a "northern front" for war against Iraq.
"The Turkish armed forces' view is the same as the government's and is reflected in the motion our government sent to parliament," Chief of General Staff Hilmi Ozkok said. "The war will be short if a second front is opened from the north," he told reporters in a rare public statement.
The government has signalled it could put forward a second motion after the first, which would have also sent Turkish troops to Kurdish-run northern Iraq, was narrowly defeated by lawmakers at the weekend.
A meeting last week of the National Security Council, where generals advise elected officials, did not result in a strong statement of support for the US deployment, raising questions over support for the motion from the military, which wields considerable influence over elected officials.