US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2947

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE, SA, EUR/RPM 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2014 
TAGS: MOPS, PREL, TU, AF 
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN:  TURKISH CHOD REITERATES TO GEN KUJAT 
THAT GOT'S CHOICE FOR PRT IS TAKHAR 
 
REF: ANKARA 2901 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
(U) Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch. 
Reasons:  1.5 (B and D). 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Turkish CHOD GEN Ozkok reiterated to NATO's Chairman 
of the Military Committee GEN Kujat May 26 that the GOT's 
position on establishing a PRT in Takhar was firm and that 
Turkey would not establish a PRT in an alternate location. 
Ozkok noted a decision to deploy Turkey's HRF in Istanbul to 
Afghanistan to assume ISAF command in February 2005 was a 
political (not a military) decision for the GOT to make.  He 
defended the caveats on the use of the Turkish helicopters 
for ISAF, which are scheduled to arrive in Kabul May 30.  End 
summary. 
 
 
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KUJAT ENCOURAGES OZKOK TO CONSIDER ALTERNATE LOCATIONS FOR PRT 
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2. (C) MFA DDG for South Asian Affairs Aydin Evirgen 
(protect) told deputy pol-mil counselor May 26 that NATO 
Chairman of the Military Committee GEN Kujat had telephoned 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) CHOD GEN Ozkok earlier that day 
to discuss Provisional Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), the 
possible deployment of Turkey's HRF in Istanbul to 
Afghanistan in Feb 2005, and Turkish helicopters for ISAF. 
Evirgen provided the following readout of the call: 
 
 
--PRTs:  Kujat strongly suggested that Turkey establish a PRT 
in the south or the west.  Ozkok responded that after the 
GOT's April recon visit to Afghanistan and respective 
internal studies, MFA/TGS decided that Takhar was the most 
appropriate location for Turkey.  Ozkok said PM Erdogan 
concurs with this position.  He closed by saying Turkey 
cannot establish a PRT in another location and Takhar is 
Turkey's final position.  Kujat advised that the NATO SYG 
would call PM Erdogan and ask him to consider the south or 
the west.  Evirgen told deputy pol-mil counselor that the 
PM's response would be the same as Ozkok's.) 
 
 
--Turkish HRF to Kabul:  Kujat inquired as to Turkey's 
position regarding the possible deployment of the Turkish HRF 
in Istanbul to Kabul from February to August 2005 to assume 
ISAF command.  Ozkok said the decision was not TGS's to make; 
it was a political decision that the Turkish government will 
have to make.  In response to a question from deputy pol-mil 
counselor as to when the GOT intended to make such a 
decision, Evirgen said while the GOT did not have a strict 
timeline, it hoped to make the decision before the NATO 
Summit in late June.  Evirgen understood that the GOT was 
awaiting certain decisions in Brussels before it could make a 
decision, including:   whether NATO would finance part of the 
operation and the rotation schedule among Allies. 
 
 
--Turkish Helicopters for ISAF:  Kujat said that the caveats 
on the use of the helicopters as conveyed to SHAPE by the 
Turkish MNR were too restrictive.  Ozkok explained there were 
legitimate reasons for the caveats and argued that the 
helicopters would be able to meet the existing operational 
requirements. 
 
 
6. (C) Evirgen told deputy pol-mil counselor there had been 
discussions between TGS and the MFA regarding the caveats. 
Evirgen noted that the Turkish military appeared to receiving 
the message that some of the caveats were unacceptable from 
SHAPE's perspective.  Evirgen said the Turkish military 
believes that the caveats will still allow ISAF to carry out 
its duties.  At the same time, Evirgen said there are signs 
that the military appears to be revisiting some of its 
earlier positions.  Evirgen offered the following details: 
 
 
--Hours:  TGS advised the MFA that during the initial 
discussions between the Turkish military and SHAPE, SHAPE 
planners did not object to restricting the helicopters to no 
more than 20 hrs/helicopter/month.  SHAPE is now asking for 
30 hrs/helo/month, in part to support ISAF PRTs.  The Turkish 
military contends that right now, there is only one ISAF PRT 
(Konduz) and it is located beyond the radius that the 
helicopters can cover.  At this stage, therefore, the Turkish 
military's position is that the helicopters cannot provide 
PRT support.  If the situation changes in the future and 
other ISAF PRTs are established, the Turkish military is 
prepared to reconsider its position. 
 
 
--VIP support:  TGS is prepared to provide VIP support to 
NATO personnel on NATO missions and to Afghan officials.  It 
is also willing to consider requests by others on a 
case-by-case basis. 
 
 
--Support for Afghan Elections:  TGS is prepared to provide 
support to NATO during the Afghan elections. 
 
 
--Medevac support:  TGS maintains that the helicopters are 
not equipped to provide medevac support.  They will do what 
they can in cases of emergencies. 
 
 
--Combat support:  in the case of self-defense, when a NATO 
unit is attacked, the helos will provide combat support as 
needed. 
 
 
4. (U) Kabul minimize considered. 
EDELMAN