US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6340

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006340 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/NGA 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2013 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, MOPS, MARR, PINR, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: NORTHERN IRAQ: KDP'S SAFEEN DIZAYEE - TURKISH 
TROOPS WILL UNDERMINE OUR ASPIRATIONS; KDP WANTS TO SEE 
PKK/KADEK OUT OF IRAQ, NEED A MECHANISM TO GET THEM OUT 
 
(U) Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch.  Reasons 1.5 b and d. 
 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official Safeen 
Dizayee called on DCM, PolMilCouns and PolMilOff Oct. 7. 
Dizayee described the situation in Baghdad as improving.  He 
said the KDP did not believe that Turkish troops in Iraq 
could be neutral, that Turkey would use their presence to try 
to be part of the re-shaping of Iraq, that the Turks would 
oppose the idea of federalism and suggest to CPA that the US 
oppose it as well, and that this was not in the interest of 
Iraqi Kurds.  "How can we support undermining what we have 
achieved?" he asked.  Dizayee said that the majority of 
Turkish PKK/KADEK elements in Iraq (he estimated there to be 
3,000)  wanted to return home, but the Reintegration Law was 
not sufficient, and a concrete mechanism needed to be 
established to facilitate their return.  If there were such a 
mechanism, Dizayee said, the KDP would help encourage their 
return.  He said Iraq leaders were considering a general 
amnesty for PKK/KADEK members who were Iraqi citizens, and 
that Iran and Syria might follow Iraq's lead in this regard. 
End Summary. 
 
 
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KDP Remains Opposed to Turkish Troops in Iraq 
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2. (C) On Oct. 7, KDP Baghdad rep (formerly KDP rep in 
Ankara) Safeen Dizayee called on DCM, PolMilCouns and 
PolMilOff.  Dizayee emphasized that Kurdish forces had helped 
liberate Iraq from Saddam, and now were contributing to 
stability in many parts of Iraq.  The Turks, he said, chose 
not to help liberate Iraq, but now wanted to be part of its 
"occupation."  The KDP's position on Turkish troops, Dizayee 
said, remains the same as it was before the war.  The KDP 
does not believe Turkish troops can be neutral or impartial 
or disinterested.  The Turks, he said, want to play a part in 
the re-shaping of Iraq.  They object to federalism, which the 
Iraqi opposition agreed upon and discussed with the US for 
years before the war.  It is, he said, what Kurds fought for 
over 80 years.  A Turkish presence in Iraq, no matter where 
or under what circumstances, would not serve Iraqi Kurdish 
interests.  "How can we support undermining what we have 
achieved?" he asked. 
 
 
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Kurds Fear Troops Give Turks Say in Iraq's Future 
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3. (C) Dizayee noted that from the day after the war, Iraqi 
Kurdish leaders rushed to Baghdad to contribute to the change 
in Iraq and ensure that federalism was entrenched in the view 
of the future.  The KDP, he said, was disenchanted by the 
discussion with CPA having turned to one of mere 
decentralization along old administrative boundaries.  He 
implied that the CPA's reluctance to agree to federalism was 
a sop to the Turks to improve chances of getting Turkish 
troops for the stabilization force and noted that Turkey 
would oppose federalism.  A Turkish troop1 presence will 
advance Turkey's argument and undercut Iraqi Kurdish efforts. 
 "What guarantee do you have that they will not intervene in 
local affairs as they have in the past?" he asked.  DCM 
explained that the Turks would serve under unified CJTF-7 
command within their sector and that Turkish operations 
beyond that sector would be inappropriate.  Turks had served 
responsibly in Kosovo, for example, where early suspicions 
were that they might not, and we expected them to serve 
responsibly in Iraq as well.  As for the future political 
shape of Iraq, that was for the Iraqis themselves to decide, 
not the US or Turkey.  Dizayee replied that despite the new 
situation, all the ingredients for problems were present.  If 
a Turkish convoy gets attacked, the Turks, Dizayee feared, 
would seize a land corridor leading to escalations of 
tensions.  DCM explained that would not happen, as Turkey 
would not have area responsibility for sectors through which 
it only transited. 
 
 
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Use Peshmerga For Stabilization Force 
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4. (C) Dizayee said that the concept of Iraqis providing 
their own security had not been adequately explored.  The KDP 
and PUK, he said, lost people fighting with the coalition 
during the war.  "We were partners at war and should now be 
partners at peace," he said.  Dizayee noted that the KDP had 
60,000 armed peshmerga and the PUK had over 40,000.  These 
forces could and should contribute to the stabilization 
force.  There would, he contended, be less sensitivity among 
Iraqis to using peshmerga than there will be to stationing 
additional foreign forces inside Iraq.  The peshmerga, he 
said, were better trained than the new Iraqi police, whom he 
viewed as unreliable.  The KDP was already proving security 
guards for a number of Governing Council members at their 
request, and could do more, including relieving coalition 
forces, which had not even been discussed, Dizayee added. 
"We want to be part of the force.  This needs to be more 
fully explored," he said. 
 
 
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KDP Will Help on PKK if There is Mechanism 
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5. (C) DCM asked for Dizayee's views on persuading the 
PKK/KADEK elements in northern Iraq that they had no future 
there and should take the opportunity offered by the 
Reintegration Law to return to Turkey.  Dizayee replied that 
the Reintegration Law was insufficient, and that Turkey 
should have been more generous.  Of the 4,500 PKK in northern 
Iraq, Dizayee said approximately 1,500 were not Turkish 
citizens.  Iraqi leaders, he said, were considering granting 
a general amnesty for those who were Iraqi citizens and that 
Iran and Syria might follow suit for their citizens.  Dizayee 
said the KDP's understanding was that the majority of the 
3,000 or so Turks wanted to return home.  If there were a 
concrete mechanism for them to safely do that, he said, the 
KDP would help the coalition deal with the PKK/KADEK.  "We 
want to see their backs," he said.  Dizayee noted that 
although Turkey says it wants the Makhmour refugee camp 
dissolved, no Turkish Parliamentary or Red Crescent 
delegations had visited. 
 
 
6. (C) Dizayee told us that he hopes for a diplomatic posting 
outside Iraq.  For now, he will continue to help run the KDP 
operations in Baghdad, represent Masoud Barzani in Governing 
Council committees and assist Roj Shaways in representing 
Barzani in the Governing Council itself. 
 
 
7. (U) Baghdad Minimize Considered. 
EDELMAN