US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6002

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006002 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, TU, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Pentagon approval required for $8.5 billion - Sabah 
Iraq condition on $8.5 billion - Hurriyet 
Gul: Troop decision won't be delayed until late October - 
Hurriyet 
Cofer Black due in Ankara for talks on PKK - Milliyet 
Britain wants Turkish troops for Iraq - Turkiye 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Troop bargaining in New York - Radikal 
UN Baghdad building a target once again - Cumhuriyet 
New suicide attack on UN building in Baghdad - Radikal 
Barzani wants the Arabs out - Radikal 
Saddam's supporters rally in Fallujah - Yeni Safak 
9/11 accelerated change in Saudi Arabia - Zaman 
IMF praises Turkish economy - Yeni Safak 
Iraq to privatize all sectors except oil - Zaman 
Peres: Arafat deserves Nobel peace prize - Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Turkish troops for Iraq:  Turkish dailies expect the 
government to pass a motion by mid-October authorizing the 
deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq.  Foreign Minister Gul 
said that Turkey can not afford to stay out of Iraq while 
countries like Iran and Israel are attempting to exert 
influence in the region.  A UN mandate might help ease 
Ankara's concerns, Gul said, but Turkey's decision does not 
solely depend on a new UN resolution.  Responding to a 
question, Gul said that the U.S. had offered a loan to cover 
deployment expenses for Turkish troops.  Gul criticized 
TUSIAD chairman Tuncay Ozilhan's statement over the weekend 
in which he opposed a Turkish contribution to the Iraqi 
stabilization mission.  Gul accused `foreign powers' of 
being behind the TUSIAD statement. 
 
 
Gul meets Iraqi interim government officials:  Papers write 
that Iraqi officials are changing their negative attitude 
regarding a possible Turkish military presence in Iraq. 
Foreign Minister Gul met in New York Monday with Ahmad 
Chalabi, head of the Iraqi interim governing council, and 
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hosyar Zebari.  Zebari told Gul that 
his reported objections to Turkish peacekeepers in Iraq were 
misinterpreted.  "Zaman" views Zebari's remarks as an 
apology to Turkey.  "Radikal" believes that Gul has 
bargained with Iraqi officials over sending troops to Iraq. 
 
 
Turkish liaison team in Baghdad:  A liaison team of four TGS 
officers arrived in Baghdad on Monday.  The team will be 
responsible for coordination between Turkish and U.S. forces 
in the north of Iraq.  The Turkish officers will work at the 
headquarters of General Ricardo Sanchez in Baghdad. 
 
 
Cofer Black due in Turkey:  State Department counter- 
terrorism coordinator Cofer Black will visit Turkey during 
the first week of October, "Milliyet" reports.  Black will 
discuss with Turkish officials the elimination of the terror 
threat posed by the PKK/KADEK in Northern Iraq. 
U.S., Turkey $8.5 billion loan agreement:  State Minister 
Ali Babacan and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow signed an 
$8.5 billion loan accord aimed at relieving the negative 
effects of the Iraq war on Turkey's economy.  Babacan said 
the agreement would make a positive contribution to Turkey's 
economic reform program.  Snow stressed at the signing 
ceremony in Dubai on Monday that the loan package and 
Turkey's troop deployment in Iraq are two separate issues. 
"Sabah" notes that that the Pentagon will review the release 
of each loan disbursement.  The approval of the IMF, U.S. 
Treasury, and the State Department will also be required. 
 
 
Iran says Erdogan might visit Tehran:  In a statement to the 
official Iranian news agency IRNA, Iran's Ambassador to 
Ankara Firuz Devletabadi said that Prime Minister Erdogan 
would likely visit Tehran within the next month. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  President Bush at the UNGA 
 
 
"The UN and Legitimacy" 
Sami Kohen wrote in the mass appeal Milliyet (9/23): "The 
upcoming UN meeting aims to achieve legitimacy on the Iraq 
issue and to increase the role of the UN.  Yet at the same 
time, the UN organization is questioning its very existence. 
. The recent Iraq crisis, as Secretary General Annan put it, 
has proven the need for radical reforms within the UN. 
Annan suggests a reorganization of the UNSC as a first step 
in this reform process. . The US ignored the UN and acted 
unilaterally in Iraq.  However, it is now the United States 
that seeks support from the UN.  The truth is that the UN is 
still in need of extensive reform.  This does not mean that 
after the reforms the UN will be able to assume the role of 
a global government authority.  The UN is a union of 
nations, and each nation has its own interest.  UN 
resolutions are produced based on these interests rather 
than on supranational values.  The implementation of UN 
resolutions is in fact another subject for discussion. 
Under the circumstances, it is debatable whether the UN is 
the primary source of legitimacy in resolving international 
disputes." 
 
 
"Bush trembles" 
Ozgen Acar argued in the social democrat-intellectual 
Cumhuriyet (9/23): "President Bush is going to speak at the 
UN General Assembly and is expected to ask for the 
international community's support in Iraq.  This is 
interesting, as Bush has so far ignored the UN role.  US 
policies in Iraq have failed.  Even Secretary Powell has 
admitted that the US underestimated the problems in Iraq.  . 
September 11 and its aftermath, including the situation in 
Iraq, highlighted the weakness of American intelligence. 
President Bush was incapable of finding either WMD or Saddam 
Hussein.  According to various opinion polls in the US, Bush 
is rapidly losing his popular support.  . It seems that the 
Democrats have a fairly strong candidate in the upcoming 
election.  Wesley Clark, despite his military background, 
describes the Iraq war as a mistake.  . The US has become a 
very interesting place, where military figures are the doves 
and civilians are the hawks." 
 
 
EDELMAN