Turkey may accept proposal

WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday "there may be some creative things we can do" to gain acceptance of a proposed U.S. aid package meant to pave the way for Turkey to help in a war against Iraq.\nDuring a State Department news conference with NATO Secretary Lord Robertson, Powell did not elaborate on those refinements but said he expected to hear from Turkey by day's end. As for the United States, "Our position is firm," Powell said.\nMeanwhile, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the deadlock continued.\nImplying the U.S. might deploy troops elsewhere instead, Fleischer said, "We have to deal with realities, and we will."\nFlying to Atlanta with President Bush, the spokesman said the U.S. had no final offer to make to Turkey. "This is not a bluff," he said.\nIn Turkey, Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis brushed aside U.S. warnings that time was running out. He said a vote in parliament to base tens of thousands of U.S. troops there was unlikely before early next week.\nBut Yakis left open the possibility the government could decide in principle earlier and leave the final authorization for next week.\nA senior U.S. official said late Wednesday the United States had not set a deadline. But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "We want an answer now."\nEarlier Wednesday, Powell interceded with Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul in an apparently unsuccessful effort to break a deadlock over U.S. economic assistance. Powell and State Department spokesman Richard Boucher gave no indication the telephone diplomacy produced a breakthrough.\nAt issue is the size of an economic aid package that would allow Turkey's parliament to approve the deployment of U.S. soldiers there. Turkey has delayed a vote on the troops, waiting for approval of a multibillion-dollar aid package that would compensate Ankara for any losses during a war with Iraq.\nA Turkish official in Washington said the country wanted more than the U.S. had offered but the American side was holding firm. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said his government would make up its mind quickly.\n"We are waiting to hear back from the Turks," Powell told reporters. "I think they understand the importance of this issue to us, and to our efforts, and they've got it under consideration now."\nPowell added, "Time is moving, but I don't have a deadline I'd like to announce right now."\nShips carrying equipment for a U.S. infantry division are already at sea. The United States wants to base tens of thousands of soldiers in Turkey to open a possible northern front against Iraq.\nThe dispute with Turkey is one of many problems the Bush administration has as it tries to line up support for an attack on Iraq if Saddam Hussein doesn't disarm quickly.\nA new U.N. resolution demanding Iraq's disarmament -- and testing the Security Council's resolve -- will be introduced "in the near future," Powell said.\nDeclining to say whether the United States had the votes needed for passage, Powell said a headcount now was "academic" because the resolution had not been tabled yet.\nHe said, "all I ask of all the nations is to weigh the facts" of Iraq's failure to comply with U.N. demands that it disarm.\nPowell said "we won't put a resolution down unless we intend to fight for the resolution, unless we believe we can make the case that it is appropriate." \nOn Air Force One, a U.S. official, insisting on anonymity, indicated the resolution would be pushed forward whether the U.S. had the votes or not.\nThe official said the president remains hopeful for the needed nine security council votes and no veto by any of the permanent council members. France has threatened to use its veto.\nIn a speech at Kansas State University, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., urged the administration to keep working with allies to secure a second U.N. resolution. Hagel said a rush to war that damaged U.S. alliances would be a "short-sighted and dangerous course of action."\nIn a half-hour phone conversation Wednesday, Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair plotted strategy for presenting the resolution to the Security Council.\nPowell, in a program scheduled to air Thursday on Black Entertainment Television, predicted that if it comes to war, the United States probably would be in Iraq for a "fairly extended" transition period after the military phase ended.