Last week, US President George W. Bush asked Congress to approve up to one billion dollars in assistance to Turkey, as part of 75 billion supplemental budget to finance the war in Iraq.

As they attempted to reconcile differing House and Senate versions of that supplemental budget on Tuesday, some members of the House Appropriations Committee -- feeling betrayed by Ankara -- said the president's aid request for Turkey should be turned down.

"I'll be damned if I let them get away with costing American lives and blood," said California congressman Randy Cunningham, who offered an amendment to strike the funds in the House Appropriations Committee markup hearing.

Lawmakers were reacting to a vote last month by the Turkish parliament rejecting a Pentagon request to used its border to open a northen front in Iraq in exchange for six billion dollars in US aid. Instead Turkey's parliament granted only permission for overflights.

Several legislators said Turkey's decision has made the joint US and British military mission to overthrow the Iraq regime much harder.

"It would be very hard for me to support loans and grants for Turkey after they've hurt our battle plans," Republican congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia said Tuesday.

The congressional debate came as Washington seeks to repair its relations with Turkey: Secretary of State Colin Powell left Washington Tuesday in a hastily-arranged trip to discuss the war against Iraq with NATO and Turkish officials.

Powell, who has come under some criticism for not traveling more in the run-up to the war, is seeking Turkey's support for US military operations in northern Iraq. Powell was to leave Ankara late on Wednesday.

Both the House and Senate Appropriations committees -- which separately considered the White House budget requests Tuesday -- ultimately agreed to keep the funds for Turkey in, but not without resistance.

Lawmakers feel that Turkey has seriously hampered the US military effort in Iraq, which they say will likely cost billions of dollars more and which may also lead to many more civilian and military casualties.

Several legislators argued that punitive steps taken against Turkey could backfire, saying the funds were needed by Ankara, which by and large has been a stalwart US military ally in NATO and and provides a stabilizing presence in the region as a moderate Islamic democracy.

"The administration made a major mistake in the way they handled Turkey ... We should not compound that mistake," said David Obey, the House Appropriations Committee's top Democrat.

House committee leaders have said that the funds would only be disbursed after Powell reports to Congress that Ankara is cooperating with the United States in the war against Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE