Turkey Is Prepared To Take Key Role To Help In Afghanistan As Muslim NATO country, it's well-equipped to handle delicate peacekeeping job.(WORLD WAR ON TERRORISM)

Byline: PETER BENESH

When peacekeepers go to Afghanistan, Turkey is ready to send the troops to lead them.

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit made Turkey's position plain on Nov. 1. It would be "unthinkable for Turkey to stand back in the war against terrorism," he said.

No country is better able to do the job than Turkey, experts say. And Turkey has plenty of reasons to want the assignment.

Some are historic, says Sabri Sayari, head of the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. "Turkey has had a long interest in Afghanistan. It goes back as far as the 1930s when Turkey trained Afghan officers, especially Uzbeks, who are of the same ethnic stock," he said.

Turkey has promised to send 90 elite commandos. When Secretary of State Colin Powell visits Ankara Tuesday, the Turks will offer more help, says Sayari. "They're quite willing and able," he said.

The map of the region explains why. Turkey is a bridge and a buffer. A piece of Turkey is in Europe. It borders on Syria, Iran and Iraq. It offers a safe oil pipeline route from Central Asia to the Mediterranean.