As america and Britain keep up their war against Iraq, the finger of blame is turning towards one country for the higher risks being run by the coalition forces. By denying thousands of American troops the use of Turkish soil as a launching pad for a second northern front, Turkey stands accused of throwing Pentagon war plans into disarray and, with them, more than 50 years of strategic partnership with the United States. "In tatters", is how Morton Abramo-witz, the American ambassador to Ankara during the 1991 Gulf war, described the strategic partnership between America and Turkey in a recent editorial. "The Turks were until last week Saddam's allies, now they are just about neutral," says another American official, referring to Turkey's belated decision, after much wrangling, to allow coalition planes to use Turkish airspace in raids against Iraqi targets. Much of the blame is being piled on Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK): a party new to power, whose lack of experience, critics feel, has done much to cause the current mess.
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