US embassy cable - 04ANKARA3136

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003136 
 
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, 
MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Reagan, the man who changed the world - Milliyet 
The world won't forget Reagan - Turkiye 
Bush lands in Normandy - Sabah 
D-Day commemoration unites Europe - Milliyet 
Bush, Chirac agree on peace for Iraq - Sabah 6/6 
Karamanlis: Turkish culture will enrich EU - Milliyet 
Joschka Fischer: Turkey the locomotive of modern Islam - 
Hurriyet 6/6 
Barghouti receives five life sentences - Sabah 
Israeli cabinet approves disengagement plan - Aksam 
Iraqi resisters hunt for collaborators - Turkiye 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Reagan, the exemplary leader of the American right, dies - 
Cumhuriyet 
The actor who ended the Cold War exits the stage - Zaman 
US mourns for the `Cowboy' - Radikal 
Chirac thanks US, gives message of cooperation - Zaman 6/6 
Bush challenges terrorism in Rome - Aksam 6/6 
Thousands protest Bush in France - Cumhuriyet 
Bush coming to Ankara with package of demands - Cumhuriyet 
6/6 
US blocks opening of new Turkish border gate with Iraq - 
Cumhuriyet 
Verheugen: A Turkish troop withdrawal from Cyprus will 
please all - Radikal 6/6 
G-8 Georgia Summit to reshape Middle East - Cumhuriyet 
After Tenet, dark clouds over CIA - Radikal 6/6 
Israeli minister sacked by Sharon goes missing - Referans 
6/6 
Richard Gere exhibits photos in Ramallah - Yeni Safak 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Washington blocks new Turkish border gate with Iraq:  The US 
has not responded to Turkey's long-standing request to open 
a new border crossing into Iraq, Monday's "Cumhuriyet" 
writes.  The Turkish General Staff (TGS) and Turkish 
government have long been working on the project in an 
effort to end diesel smuggling and to deprive the KDP of 
transit fees that amount to $350 million annually.  The new 
crossing would be a 50 km route from Turkey's Ovakoy to 
Mosul.  The US has not responded to the application made by 
Turkey two months ago due to the close relationship the US 
has with Kurdish peshmerge, "Cumhuriyet" claims. 
 
 
Turkish, US `standoff' in northern Iraq:  The TGS on 
Saturday denied press reports claiming that US troops had 
been detained by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the 
border with Iraq.  The report, which appeared on Saturday in 
the newly-established "Referans" newspaper, claimed that the 
US troops had been hooded during their detention in revenge 
for the incident involving Turkish special forces in 
Suleymaniye on July 4, 2003.  The TGS statement said that on 
May 19, a team of US troops and Iraqi border guards 
approached a Turkish military team stationed near the border 
but inside Iraqi territory.  The Americans talked with the 
Turks for a while, then left the area.  Press reports 
claiming that American troops had been detained by the Turks 
are false, TGS announced. 
 
 
Turkey, Egypt at odds over OIC post:  Egypt has rejected 
Turkey's request to support the bid of the Turkish candidate 
for the post of Secretary General of the Organization of 
Islamic Conference (OIC) because of a disagreement with 
Ankara over the Greater Middle East initiative.  Egyptian FM 
Ahmad Maher said last week that Egypt recognized only the 
Greek Cypriot state as the legitimate representative of 
Cyprus.  FM Gul went to Cairo on Sunday to resolve the 
disagreement.  The OIC had been expected to upgrade the 
Turkish Cypriot representation within the organization to 
the `State of Turkish Cyprus' without granting official 
recognition to the northern Cypriot enclave. 
 
 
GME `institutionalizes':  In the most recent draft of the 
Greater Middle East (GME) initiative, the US has proposed a 
`Forum for the Future,' a consultative structure to include 
regional foreign ministers which will work as a permanent 
forum for open dialogue.  According to the draft, the GME 
will be renamed as the `Broader Middle East and North 
Africa.'  Ankara will join the forum only if it invited as a 
`democratic partner,' "Cumhuriyet" claims.  G-8 members will 
cooperate with GME countries under a proposed `Partnership 
for the Future and Progress' in an effort to `redesign' the 
region. 
 
 
US wants to deploy F-16s in Incirlik AB:  Weekend papers 
cite a New York Times report in claiming that the Pentagon 
wants to deploy 72 US F-16s currently in Spangdahlem, 
Germany to Incirlik Airbase.  Foreign Minister Gul said the 
US  has not made any such request.  According to the NYT, 
Secretary Powell and General Myers believe it is unlikely 
 
SIPDIS 
the Turks would allow unrestricted US military operations 
from Incirlik.  President Bush will discuss the issue in 
Ankara during his upcoming visit in late June, papers 
speculate.  In his meeting with PM Erdogan, President Bush 
is expected to press for acceptance of the US demands, 
Sunday's "Cumhuriyet" claims, and to encourage the Prime 
Minister to ensure that the demands are not put to the 
Turkish Parliament for a vote. 
State broadcasts in minority languages:  Turkey's state 
broadcaster TRT will begin regular programs in minority 
languages on Monday in a reform long demanded by the EU. 
The first program of news and sports is to broadcast in 
Bosnian, with broadcasts in Arabic, Kurdish, Circassian and 
Zaza to follow later in the week.  Each broadcast, which 
will include both news and cultural reporting, will last 30 
minutes. 
Turkey cancels Aegean exercise:  Turkey will cancel its 
regular `Sea Wolf' exercise in the Aegean Sea in a goodwill 
gesture to Greece.  Greece is expected to respond by 
canceling the `Nikiforos' exercise held in cooperation with 
the Greek Cypriots, weekend papers report. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Reagan Dies; Iraq/Mideast 
 
 
"Reagan was a revolutionary" 
Erdal Safak wrote in the mass appeal Sabah (6/7): "Ronald 
Reagan's electoral victory in 1980 was not an unexpected 
success.  When he lost to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican 
primary campaign, Reagan launched an ideological campaign 
for the next four years.  Thus the 1980 election victory 
came as no surprise.  It also led to an ideological 
revolution in US politics.  When Reagan took charge, he 
found a symmetrical world with two competing superpowers. 
When he left office eight years later, an asymmetrical, 
unipolar world had been established.  Reagan's team 
contributed a great deal to his election victory, but also 
helped to end the cold war.  Today, we call them `neo-cons.' 
But now the neo-cons are in despair as they try to find a 
way out of Iraq, a problem created by the asymmetrical 
nature of world politics today." 
 
 
"Bush dreams of being Reagan" 
Ali Aslan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman (6/7): 
"When President Bush declared his mission for the 
democratization of the Islamic world in November 2003, he 
was drawing a significant parallel between his vision and 
that of former President Reagan with regard to the Soviet 
Union.  Similar to Reagan's mission to democratize the 
communist world, President Bush is determined to bring 
democracy to the Islamic geography regardless of the 
potential consequences.  There is, however, one major 
different between his time and the Reagan era.  Western 
Europe acted together with the Reagan administration to 
fight against communism.  At this point, Western Europe has 
differences on how to fight against the fanatical terrorism 
emanating from the region.  The goals are the same, yet the 
methods for addressing the problems are different. .  The G- 
8 summit and the NATO summit will be very important venues 
what could help to shape the future of transatlantic 
cooperation.  It will take a long time to see whether 
President Bush will be proven right in his policy choices as 
Reagan was in his." 
 
 
"Turkey, the US and the Middle East" 
Coskun Kirca commented in the mass appeal Aksam (6/7): 
"There is a belief among the majority of Americans that 
democracy is the best regime for every country in the world. 
In a democratic system, the opposition allows the government 
to rule the country and continues its activities peacefully 
with the aim of taking power in the future.  The Iraqi 
people do not have such an understanding.  Moreover, this 
American belief has another unrealistic corollary - the idea 
that every democracy is in favor of peace.  There are many 
examples in history that show that democratic regimes have 
not brought peace to their countries.  We see such examples 
even in 21st-century Europe, particularly in the Balkans. 
That being the case, how can Iraq establish a democratic 
regime with its primitive cultural level?  It is not 
possible for Iraq to become a democracy in the near future. 
If the US withdraws from Iraq without leaving a military 
force there to establish and maintain security, a real chaos 
could erupt that would lead the country into a new Somalia. 
The US should stop focusing its efforts on democracy and 
find an international solution to the Iraq issue by seeking 
the support of other countries in the region." 
 
 
EDELMAN