Turkish parliament authorizes troops to be sent to Afghanistan

Associated Press WriterANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Despite strong public opposition, Turkey's parliament approved a bill Wednesday allowing the government to contribute troops to the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.

Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, has not offered combat troops, but officials have said that Turkish soldiers are available to train fighters of the northern alliance, the main anti-Taliban force in Afghanistan. Turkey has close ethnic ties to the Uzbek minority in northern Afghanistan, a key part of the opposition to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia.

Turkey is also willing to help distribute humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.

"The struggle in Afghanistan against the archaic regime that hosts terrorism must be carried out until the end," Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said in an address to parliament.

But he added that "there has been no request from the U.S. for troops so far."

Ecevit said three Turkish officers, including a general, have traveled to the United States at the request of the U.S. government to coordinate Turkey's contribution to the campaign.

Turkey could be asked to send troops to Afghanistan under NATO's Article 5, which was activated last week at the request of the United States. It says that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all.

The bill, approved Wednesday by a vote of 319 to 101, empowers the government to decide how many soldiers to send and where to send them.

Turkey's Incirlik air base plays host to U.S. and British warplanes that enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq. The base is also apparently being used as a transport hub for flights in support of the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan.

Although polls indicate that up to 80 percent of the public is against U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan, Turkey's government feels obliged to help the United States, especially as Turkey suffers from a severe economic crisis.