US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4397

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004397 
 
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, 
THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US warns: Don't be afraid of killings, stay in Iraq - 
Hurriyet 
Vietnam veterans see Kerry `Unfit for Command' - Sabah 
Lyndie England tortured Iraqis `for fun' - Hurriyet 
British police crack down on terror suspects - Hurriyet 
Extensive terror operation in Britain - Aksam 
Oil prices go wild - Turkiye 
Oil's $50 nightmare - Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Turkish hostages freed in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
US `unhappy' with Turkish truckers leaving Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Al-Jazeera's positive role in release of Turkish hostages - 
Zaman 
Turkish nationals involved in abductions, killings in Iraq - 
Radikal 
Mosul a battleground: 12 killed - Cumhuriyet 
Iraqi police fights with local militia in Mosul - Radikal 
Orange alert scandal divides Democrats - Yeni Safak 
Al-Qaeda may strike the US in September - Cumhuriyet 
Guantanamo inmates subjected to systematic torture - Zaman 
Saddam wants to serve prison term in Sweden - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Security of Turkish truckers in Iraq:  Two Turkish truck 
drivers held hostage by fundamentalist militants in Iraq 
were released on Wednesday following a decision by the 
Turkish transporters' association (UND) to halt the shipment 
of goods to coalition forces in the region.  In a videotape 
sent to al-Jazeera TV, the "Tawhid wa al-Jihad" group, 
affiliated with terrorist leader al-Zarqawi, said the two 
drivers had been freed after their employers `agreed to stop 
sending trucks to American forces in Iraq.'  Insurgents on 
Wednesday warned all truck drivers delivering goods to US- 
led forces in Iraq that they faced death.  At least 23 
foreign hostages, most of whom are truck drivers, are being 
held by different groups in Iraq, papers report.  Around 
10,000 Turkish drivers are currently in Iraq.  The UND 
welcomed the release of the two drivers but said the boycott 
of deliveries to US forces would remain in place `until the 
Iraqi authorities take necessary measures to ensure safety 
in the transport sector.'  "Hurriyet" reports that US 
Embassy officials yesterday paid a visit to the UND to 
discuss measures for securing the safety of Turkish truckers 
in Iraq.  On Wednesday, it was reported that a Turkish truck 
driver carrying fuel for US troops in Iraq from Turkey's 
southern province of Mersin was killed by insurgents on his 
way back home.  The incident reportedly took place on 
Monday.  Another Turkish driver was reportedly kidnapped 
near the Iraqi city of Samara.  Turkish papers quote US 
State Department Spokesman Boucher as saying yesterday that 
Americans are outraged by the execution of a Turkish driver 
held hostage by Iraqi militants earlier this week.  `But 
this event and other murders should not stop our assistance 
efforts in Iraq,' Boucher stressed.  Boucher added that 
companies and individuals should decide on their own to what 
extent they can take the risk: `Companies should make their 
own decisions. The US will continue to support the 
reconstruction of Iraq.  We think it's important for 
everybody to remember the big goal, which is to help the 
people of Iraq establish themselves as a safe and stable 
society,' Boucher concluded. 
 
Istanbul Bombers not Yuce's Killers:  Papers report that 
speculation that Habib Aktas and Azad Ekinci, suspected as 
key figures in the terrorist bombings in Istanbul last 
November, carried out the murder in Iraq of Turkish worker 
Murat Yuce turned out to be incorrect.  Unnamed intelligence 
sources are quoted as saying that the voices on the Al- 
Jazeera tape of Yuce's murders do not match recordings of 
Aktas and Ekinci in tapes recorded following the Istanbul 
attacks. 
 
Person Arrested at Habur not a US Soldier:  "Hurriyet" 
issued a correction to its claim on Wednesday that a US 
soldier had been arrested at the Habur border crossing for 
attempting to bring ammunition and other military supplies 
into Turkey from Iraq.  The paper reports that the person 
detained was a US citizen working for a private security 
firm in Iraq.  "Aksam" and "Radikal" reported the US Embassy 
statement refuting the claim that a US soldier had been 
arrested. 
 
High Military Council to Announce Decisions Today - No 
Surprises in the Cards:  Papers report that Turkey's High 
Military Council has decided to appoint General Yasar 
Buyukanit as the new Land Forces Commander, thus putting 
Buyukanit in position to become the next chief of the 
General Staff in 2006.  Final decisions from the Council are 
expected today.  Press reports suggest that General Fevzi 
Turkeri will become the new Jandarma Commander and General 
Hursit Tolon will move to head the First Army Command. 
 
AKP blocks move to censure transport minister:  In an 
extraordinary parliamentary session, members of the ruling 
AK Party voted down a proposal by the main opposition 
Republican People's Party (CHP) to debate a censure motion 
against Transport Minister Binali Yildirim for alleged 
negligence in the fast-train accident last month.  The CHP 
had recalled the parliament from summer recess to debate the 
July 22 accident, in which a newly-inaugurated fast train 
derailed in Turkey's northwest, killing 38 people and 
injuring 80 others.  PM Erdogan's government has come under 
fire for launching the project despite warnings from experts 
that the country's aging tracks would not withstand high- 
speed trains. 
 
HSBC poll on Turkey/EU:  According to an opinion poll 
conducted by the HSBC Bank with 105 finance organizations in 
Europe, the US and Turkey, 58 percent of the respondents 
expect Turkey to be granted a date for accession talks at 
the EU summit in December this year.  Only 13 percent 
believe that the EU will deny Turkey a date by putting 
forward new conditions.  58 percent expect Turkey's credit 
ratings to improve by the end of the year. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  US Elections, Iraq 
 
"In Any Case, Kerry is Better Than Bush" 
Sahin Alpay commented in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(8/5): "The upcoming presidential race is one of the most 
important elections in American history.  It is certain that 
President Bush will try every possible means to be re- 
elected, but Kerry might still emerge as the winner.  I do 
not go along with the argument that Kerry and Bush are 
almost identical.  First of all, Kerry has a very different 
electoral base.  His supporters are more freedom-oriented, 
more tolerant, better educated and more opposed to 
militarism.  Kerry's supporters represent more openness to 
the world, while the Bush supporters espouse more 
fundemantalist, conservative and militarist ideals. ... It 
may seem that Bush and Kerry are defending similar ideas, 
but after the elections this will change too.  If Kerry 
wins, he will take lesson from the Bush administration's 
mistakes which blackened the US image abroad.  Kerry will 
then make adjustments to US policy, including new efforts to 
reinvigorate the Western alliance, efforts for regain 
prestige at the UN, and steps to eliminate the root causes 
of international terrorism.  In this context, it will not be 
a surprise to see Kerry launch a new initiative on the 
Palestinian issue." 
 
"What will Happen in Iraq?" 
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative "Turkiye" (8/5): 
"What is going to happen in Iraq?  I cannot think of any geo- 
strategic expert who can answer this question, because Iraq 
is moving toward an unknown future.  It is hard to make any 
assumptions about Afghanistan's future either, but the 
situation in Iraq is far more critical.  Who is the US 
fighting against in Iraq?  It seems that they are fighting 
against international terrorist organizations, including Bin- 
Laden's Al-Qaeda.  When I look at Iraq, I don't see an 
independence or liberation movement against the US, because 
most of the real activists are not Iraqi citizens.  They are 
enemies of the United States who poured into Iraq right 
after the fall of Saddam.  The picture is very clear: 
terrorism, which had already spread globally, including to 
Turkey, will haunt the US at home and abroad in an effort to 
erase the US presence in the world.  It looks as if 
international terrorism, and particularly Al-Qaeda, is 
fighting against the US for world hegemony.  This sounds 
rather exaggerated,  but US incompetence is the reason we 
are in this situation today." 
 
DEUTSCH