On Monday, 24 March, US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Ankara and Istanbul as part of his Middle East tour.

He met President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the content of the meetings was not revealed.

No demand for soldiers 

However, newspapers did report that Cheney has not asked Turkey to send soldiers to Afghanistan.

Cheney also met Chief of General Staff Yasar Büyükanit. While Büyükanit also declined to comment on the meeting, he said, “It is a state decision whether to send soldiers to Afghanistan.”

Members of the Turkish Communist Party (TKP) organised protests in Ankara and Istanbul, and members of the left-wing “People’s Houses” also protested in Istanbul.

The Global Peace and Justice Coalition (Küresel-BAK) demanded that the government refuse Cheney’s demands and give a full account of what was discussed at the meetings.

According to CNN Türk, which cited White House sources, Cheney also did not reveal what was discussed in Ankara. He accused Iran of enriching uranium in order to obtain nuclear weapons and of sabotaging peace efforts in the Middle East.

Cheney on Iraq 

When he was reminded that the number of fallen US soldiers in Iraq has reached 4,000, Cheney expressed his sorrow but pointed out that the US had an army of volunteer soldiers.

He further criticised that promises of Democrat party chair candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to withdraw soldiers from Iraq without considering the consequences.

Cheney said, “I had the opportunity to go to Kurdistan for the first time. I spent time with Kurdish Regional Government President Mesut Barzani. It was an extraordinary and interesting opportunity to see what has happened in this area of Iraq freed from Saddam Hussein’s influence after the US formed the area with Operation Poised Hammer after the Gulf War and later created a no-fly zone.” (EÜ/AG)