Faced with perhaps the most important vote of their legislative lives, 19 members of Turkey’s Parliament weighed the arguments for and against allowing American troops to use the country as a base for a military attack against Iraq. They consulted their constituents. They listened to their hearts. Then, they sat it out.

The failure of Turkish lawmakers Saturday to approve the use of their soil as a staging area for 62,000 U.S. troops was not the result of a vote, but of a non-vote. The final score was 264 votes in favor to 251 against. But the Turkish constitution requires a majority of the lawmakers present, not just of those voting – because 19 who were present did not vote, the measure failed. The confusion over this provision led many lawmakers to head for home assuming the Yanks were coming; initial news reports to that effect had to be retracted.

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis promises a second vote, perhaps as soon as by the end of this week. Mr. Yakis says the government will seek this reconsideration after it assesses the first vote and consults with opposing and abstaining lawmakers on their specific concerns.

U.S. officials need not wait for that assessment to begin mending the rift with our strongest ally in the region and to realize that the failed vote was due to more than a failure of political courage. The fact that more than two American ships were anchored off the Turkish coast waiting to unload troops and equipment as Parliament debated was presumptuous, even pushy; several non-voters cited it as the reason they could not yet endorse a plan they were inclined to approve.

But the real sticking point is not merely a question of manners. As worried as the Kurds in Northern Iraq are that Turkey would use the war to expand its territory, the Turks are even more worried that the Kurds would use the war to create an independent state that millions of Turkish Kurds would strive to join. The United States cannot expect Turkey to participate in a war against Iraq that could lead to a civil war within Turkey.

The $15 billion aid package the U.S. has offered Turkey is ample to compensate Turkey for losses it incur in a war against Iraq. It does not seem to an issue among the opposition and abstainers in Parliament, but it may have gotten too much attention from members of Congress, especially among those who inappropriately characterized it payola instead of reasonable compensation. The core issue is about the Kurds and Turkey in a post-Saddam era. Only U.S. diplomacy can ensure both of their security and only then will those reluctant hands be raised.