OK Of US Troops In Turkey Nullifed

Turkey's parliament dealt a stunning blow to U.S. war planning Saturday by failing to approve a bill allowing in U.S. combat troops to open a northern front against Iraq.

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul hastily met with top ministers and party leaders after the vote. Gul did not speak after that meeting but private NTV and CNN-Turk televisions quoting unnamed officials as saying that the government was not planning to resubmit the motion to parliament. Officials were not immediately available for comment. The leaders of Gul's Justice and Development Party are expected to meet Sunday to discuss what action to take.

"We will assess all this," Gul said, before the ministers' meeting, looking shaken and angry.

The vote in parliament was 264-250 in favor with 19 abstentions, but speaker Bulent Arinc said the bill did not pass because it was four short of the simple majority required by the constitution. Arinc then closed parliament until Tuesday.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Pearson rushed to the Foreign Ministry after the vote.

"We had certainly hoped for a favorable decision," he said. "We will wait for further information and advice from the government of Turkey about how we should proceed"

Washington has been pressing Turkey for weeks to agree to a northern front, which would split Saddam Hussein's army between the north and the south, likely making a war shorter and less bloody.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth says the vote also threatens Washington's hope that having Turkey on its side would be a signal to the Muslim world that a war against Iraq doesn't amount to a war against Islam.

"President Bush has no chance now of carrying out his war plans," said Sedat Ergin, a commentator for Hurriyet newspaper. "These plans will be pushed back."

When asked about a possible U.S. reaction, Arinc, who is strongly against allowing in U.S. troops said: "Big Brother is watching, as far as I know. This is the decision, sir. Everyone should take their hats off to it."

The lack of approval is almost certain to increase tensions with the United States.

Washington has been counting on Turkish support.

Hundreds of U.S. trucks and jeeps line a port in southern Turkey, waiting for parliamentary approval.

The motion would have empowered the government to authorize the basing of up to 62,000 U.S. troops, 255 warplanes and 65 helicopters.

Washington had offered Turkey $15 billion in loans and grants if it accepted a basing deal to ease the impact of any war on the Turkish economy. That money will now be lost.

"Thank God it's the weekend and the markets are closed," said Mehmet Agar, the leader of the opposition True Path Party.

The Justice party was planning to meet Sunday, said Reha Denemec, the party's deputy chairman.

"We did not expect these results, but this is a democracy," he said.

The vote shows serious splits in the Justice party, which was not able to push through the motion despite its overwhelming majority in parliament.

In central Ankara, a few hundred people took to the streets to celebrate the vote in parliament.

"We are all Iraqis...we will not kill, we will not die," they chanted.

Before the vote, 50,000 Turks staged an anti-war rally near parliament as 4,000 police stood guard. They chanted "No to War" and "We don't want to be America's soldiers." Some carried banners that read: "The people will stop this war."

They also accused the Islamic-rooted Justice party of "collaborating" with Washington.

That street pressure is strongly felt in the party, which fears alienating its voters if it agrees to base U.S. troops. Polls show that up to 94 percent of Turks are against a war.

But Saturday's rejection of the agreement could have a devastating impact on Turkey if a new vote is not taken.

Turkey depended on Washington's support to help secure billions in loans that rescued the country during an economic crisis in 2001.

The United States has also pushed Turkey's candidacy in the European Union.

If Turkey does not approve the basing agreement, Turkey will also lose a say in the future of neighboring Iraq if there is a war.

That is a critical issue in Turkey, which fears that a war could lead Kurds in northern Iraq to declare an independent state, a move that could inspire Turkey's own Kurdish minority.