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Location may be everything, but these days Turks are wishing they were not quite so well endowed. Straddling East and West, the Black and Mediterranean Seas, Islam and Christianity, Turkey is once again caught in the midst of a brewing conflict. The Bush Administration has been pressuring NATO's only Muslim member to provide substantial support for its planned war on Iraq — at one point urging the use of five air bases and facilities for up to 90,000 ground troops — while ordinary Turks are overwhelmingly against an attack. More than 85% oppose the U.S.-led campaign, and protests are mounting across the country. Last week, a "peace train" departed Ankara for the Incirlik air base to draw attention to the "bombs that will lead humans to disaster," according to one organizer. "We don't sleep," says a senior ruling Justice and Development (AK) party official. "We have to take care of the national interest, regional peace, and relations with a valued ally. And we are only in office two months!"

The dilemma for the AK party, which won last November's elections, is acute, since its pro-Islamic membership is disproportionately against the war and pro-Arab. While the government staunchly supports the West and doesn't want to damage its strategic alliance with the U.S., it can't afford to be seen as an accomplice in the invasion of another Muslim country.

Ankara's solution so far: avoid a commitment. The Turks insist that authorization to open up territory to U.S. troops must come from parliament, and should follow a vote in the U.N. Security Council, which may or may not take place. Last week Turkey hosted a meeting of six regional Foreign Ministers in Istanbul aimed at averting war. While Iraq's neighbors agreed to call on Saddam to "honor commitments" to the U.N., they stopped short of urging him to step down. Turkish Prime Minister Abdullah Gul sent an envoy to Baghdad to tell Saddam that time is running out. "People in my region want peace," Gul told Time. "But it is up to Iraq."

Ankara has quietly welcomed 150 U.S. military experts to inspect potential bases near the Iraqi border. Senior Turkish and American officials say privately that a tentative compromise on how many troops will enter the country has been reached. "We have agreed to 90% of the U.S. demands," one Turkish official told Time. The details of the deal are still unclear — diplomats say military planners are discussing 15,000 to 20,000 ground troops plus special forces — and the government has yet to decide when to take its case to the Turkish people. How Ankara juggles the opposing demands of its most important ally and its electorate will affect not just the course of the war, should it happen, but relations with Washington for years to come.

The Pentagon began aggressively courting Turkey last August, with the aim of opening up a northern front in Iraq that will pin down three corps of Saddam's army, preventing them from withdrawing to Baghdad when other forces invade from the south. "We argued that the war would be quicker and safer if we came from the north," says a U.S.

official. But Turkey balked. "It's impossible for us to support 90,000 foreign troops in so sensitive a part of the country," one senior Turkish official complains. "Where would our own troops go?" That sensitivity has a lot to do with worries of renewed conflict between Turkish forces and Kurdish insurgents.

The Turks also worry about the economy, which is only now emerging from its worst financial crisis since World War II. The capital flight resulting from war could kill reforms and plunge the country back into turmoil. Turkey says it lost more than $40 billion in trade and tourism revenues after the first Gulf War; it expects this time to be worse. A U.S. aid package valued at between $3 and $15 billion may ease some pain.

The peace initiative launched in Istanbul may have gone nowhere. But Ankara used the meeting to explain to skeptical neighbors like Syria and Iran that they should not feel threatened by the country's relationship with the U.S. The summit also sent a message to ordinary Turks that their new pro-Islamic government is against the war — even though American warplanes and troops might soon be in the country.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the AK party, appeared last week on television calling on the "world's conscience" to ensure that "what started out as the war on terrorism does not get out of control. The world's decision makers should heed this rising call for peace." Turks are listening. Is Washington?

• ANDREW PURVIS / Ankara
• The Turkish government is torn between its U.S. alliance and public opposition to war