US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7297

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007297 
 
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 
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Al-Killer - Hurriyet 
Bush: terrorists hate free nations - Milliyet 
Bush: Now is the time to show our might - Sabah 
British demonstrators hold Bush responsible for Istanbul 
bombings - Hurriyet 
Secretary Straw: Evidence points to Al-Qaida - Sabah 
 
SIPDIS 
PM Erdogan: terrorists will be damned forever - Sabah 
Time for unity - Sabah 
Jason Burke: Turkey the target of Islamist terror - Milliyet 
British government warns nationals not to travel to Turkey - 
Milliyet 
Isareli military says Turkey a `soft target' for terror - 
Milliyet 
Consul General Short was fan of Istanbul - Sabah 
Terror once again targets humanity - Turkiye 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Al-Qaida in war with Turkey - Radikal 
World decries attacks as barbaric - Cumhuriyet 
Bombs shake Turkey - Cumhuriyet 
Bush: Terrorists aim to demoralize nations, intimidate 
freedom - Zaman 
Wolfowitz: Istanbul bombings will bring civilized world 
together - Zaman 
Teror hits Turkey and Britain - Cumhuriyet 
Turkey united in the face of terror - Yeni Safak 
Dirty trap: International terror takes the stage - 
Cumhuriyet 
Blair, Bush: No compromise with terror - Yeni Safak 
Analysts believe attacks on Turkey will continue - Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
New terror attacks in Istanbul:  27 people were killed and 
455 wounded in twin suicide attacks on the British consulate 
and HSBC bank headquarters in Istanbul on Thursday.  The 
bombings came five days after suicide car bomb attacks on 
two synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 and injuring 
hundreds.  The British Consul General, Roger Short, who 
began his diplomatic career in Ankara in 1969, was killed in 
the attack on the consulate.  The van that exploded at the 
gate of the consulate was disguised as a catering vehicle, 
witnesses reported.  FM Gul noted that yesterday's attacks 
targeted British interests in Turkey, and he called on the 
world to cooperate with Turkey in the fight against 
terrorism.  `Al-Qaeda is waging war against Turkey,' 
"Radikal" claimed.  All papers agree that the attacks are 
aimed at intimidating the nation.  "Hurriyet" reported that 
the bombers in both attacks had been identified, and that 
both were Turks.  Seven suspects have reportedly been 
detained.  President Bush and Prime Minister Blair voiced 
support for Turkey in the fight against terror at their 
joint press conference in London.  `The nature of terrorists 
is in evidence once again - we see their utter contempt for 
innocent life.  They hate freedom, they hate free nations,' 
President Bush said.  Dailies speculate that Al-Qaida may 
have been trying to cast a shadow over the historic visit by 
President Bush to the UK.  UN Secretary General Annan and 
other world leaders extended condolences to Turkey.  US 
Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz said the attacks would 
not drive a wedge between the US and Turkey, but rather 
reinforce solidarity between the two countries and with 
Israel.  British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in 
Istanbul Thursday evening, and Scotland Yard is to send a 
team of terror experts to Turkey.  The council of ministers 
convened an extraordinary session to discuss the bombings, 
but rejected a proposal for declaring martial law.  The 
temporary head of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), Jalal 
Talabani, said that Saddam Hussein had been providing 
financial support for such terror attacks.  CHP leader Deniz 
Baykal criticized the AK Party government for releasing some 
Hizbullah militants through a recent amnesty law.  Analysts 
expect Istanbul to lose at least 50 percent of its tourism 
potential in 2004.  Most scheduled tours to Turkey were 
being cancelled in the wake of the attacks. 
 
 
US to launch operations against the PKK:  Deputy Chief of 
TGS General Ilker Basbug, in Washington for the high-level 
joint defense group meetings, said the US and Turkey have 
agreed on a comprehensive military operation against the 
PKK/KADEK in Northern Iraq.  General Basbug said Turkey 
would discuss the details of the operation with his American 
counterpart, General Peter Pace, who will visit Turkey in 
during the first week in December.  Basbug stressed that 
Turkey's military presence in Northern Iraq would end once 
the PKK is eliminated. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  New wave of terror in Istanbul 
 
 
"Turkey's 9/11" 
Sedat Ergin analyzed in mass appeal Hurriyet (11/21): "There 
seems to be a close relationship between the spiritual mood 
of the suicide bombers and their preference to choose Turkey 
as an operations area.  This fact is related to the vision 
of the terrorist organization behind the bombings and its 
peculiar interpretation of Islam.  Let's be clear and bold: 
The gist of the issue stems from an interpretation of Islam 
which legitimizes bloody terror acts in the name of Allah. 
This interpretation has supporters in the vast Islamic 
geography, including in Turkey. . It does not come as a 
surprise that these fundamentalists have chosen Turkey for 
their terror attacks.  They have attacked synagogues and 
British interests in Turkey, and by doing so they are 
killing two birds with one stone.  They are not only sending 
the message to their target countries, but also striking a 
blow against Turkey, which stands as the complete antithesis 
of this fundamentalist approach to Islam." 
 
 
"A Brutal Message, and We Know What It Means" 
Mehmet Ocaktan argued in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
(11/21): "There is a clear message to read in these events. 
This is a vicious plot against Turkey.  It does not matter 
any more whether Al-Qaida or some other terrorist 
organization actually carried it out.  It has almost been 
two years that we are dealing with Bin-Laden and Al-Qaida, 
which is an organization designed by the US.  We see neither 
the capture of Bin-Laden nor anything happening against Al- 
Qaida.  It is very likely that it will continue like this. 
Yet we are aware of the fact that America is occupying 
countries, killing women and children, and stealing others' 
democratic ideals on the pretext of a war against terrorism. 
The gang which is turning the world into a hell is now free. 
The evil policies of Bush and Sharon have caused terrorism 
to grow and to spread." 
 
 
"The Istanbul Bombings" 
Sami Kohen wrote in mass appeal Milliyet (11/21): "The 
attacks yesterday in Istanbul indicate the fact that Turkey 
is facing a terror campaign which has many international 
dimensions.  This is a very critical situation.  Turkey must 
act as quickly as possible to respond.  One response is 
through more solid security measures, efficient intelligence 
and better coordination.  The second response is to make an 
objective analysis of the reasons behind these events and to 
make necessary fine-tunings in both foreign and domestic 
policies.  Results in the fight against terrorism can only 
be achieved by following these two channels simultaneously." 
 
 
"Why Turkey?" 
Rusen Cakir opined in mass appeal Vatan (11/21): 
"Immediately after asking the question, `Why Turkey?' it is 
also necessary to ask, `Why Istanbul?' If Al-Qaida had 
targeted only Turkey's foreign policy establishment, then 
probably it would have chosen Ankara. But by striking 
Istanbul, it also targeted to a great extent the culture and 
civilization of the Islamic world, and all of the values 
created by the Islamic world throughout history. It is 
necessary for Turks, as the subjects of these values, to 
stand up and be counted in the fight against global 
terrorism. The society -- not the state -- can be the 
catalyst for this response." 
 
 
EDELMAN