US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4563

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004563 
 
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, AUGUST 13, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Sarp border gate to be opened - Sabah 
Final attack on Najaf - Aksam 
Shiite resistance stuns Americans - Hurriyet 
Karamanlis: Turkey a part of Europe - Hurriyet 
Business Week: Iraq war ended Turkish-Israeli friendship - 
Milliyet 
Arrest warrant for Chalabi suspended - Milliyet 
Bush forgets Iraq, criticizes Kerry - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Saakashvili: Georgia, Turkey parts of a whole - Zaman 
Erdogan's peace message for Georgia - Yeni Safak 
US launches offensive, Shiites flee Najaf - Zaman 
US launches offensive against Shiites in Najaf - Cumhuriyet 
US operation to `crush' Shiite resisters - Zaman 
US destroys Najaf - Yeni Safak 
Muslim world reacts to US attack on Najaf - Radikal 
Rumsfeld points to Iran threat - Cumhuriyet 
Karamanlis on good terms with Erdogan - Yeni Safak 
UN: Israel has killed 3,553 Palestinians over four years - 
Cumhuriyet 
Castro turns 78 - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
PM Erdogan visits Georgia:  Prime Minister Erdogan, in 
Tbilisi for an official visit, attended a meeting of the 
Turkey-Georgia Business Council on Thursday.  Erdogan told 
the Council that Georgia should accelerate construction of 
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project.  Erdogan 
also noted that the strategic Shah Deniz natural gas project 
from Baku to Turkey through Tbilisi would ease Georgia's 
energy problems.  Georgian President Saakashvili agreed with 
Erdogan, saying the Shah Deniz project was essential for the 
economic independence of Georgia.  During his meetings in 
Tbilisi, Erdogan also pointed to developments in south 
Ossetia as posing a threat to regional peace.  Turkish 
dailies regard Erdogan's remarks in support of Georgia's 
territorial integrity as a covert message to Russia.  `We 
will have a chance to discuss these issues with the Russians 
during the visit to Turkey by President Putin in early 
September,' Erdogan told reporters.  Saakashvili and Erdogan 
later visited the Sarp border crossing, which Saakashvili 
said should be a `gate of friendship, and Georgia's window 
to Europe.'  PM Erdogan agreed with the Georgians' request 
that the border post be opened to visa-free travel between 
the two countries. 
 
Rumsfeld supports Baku on Nagorno-Karabakh:  On a one-day 
working visit to Baku, US Secretary of Defense Donald 
Rumsfeld voiced hope for a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh 
problem within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial 
integrity, Turkish papers report.  Responding to a 
reporter's question, Rumsfeld said the US has been 
supporting a solution to the problem through the mediation 
efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, which the US co-chairs. 
Rumsfeld also said that Iran's nuclear program is a threat 
to its neighbors and a risk for the further proliferation of 
nuclear weapons.  Meanwhile, "Hurriyet" reports that Armenia 
has been conducting a military exercise with 2,000 troops in 
the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh. 
 
US Adana Deputy Consul visits Diyarbakir:  US Deputy Consul 
to Adana, Alicia Allison, paid a visit to the governor's 
office in Diyarbakir and offered condolences over a 
policeman who had been killed in fighting with PKK militants 
late July, papers report.  Allison later called on the 
Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, who had been 
fiercely criticized for offering condolences to the family 
of a PKK militant killed in the same clash. 
 
Business Week: Turkey in Transition:  Turkish dailies give 
extensive coverage to a "Business Week" article claiming 
that Turkey's ties with Israel and the United States have 
been damaged as a result of the US war in Iraq.  `It wasn't 
so long ago that Israeli PM Sharon called Turkey the most 
important nation in the world to Israel, but the friendship 
between these two Middle Eastern democracies has cooled,' 
Business Week claims.  Former US Ambassador Mark Parris 
asserted that Ankara has cancelled some business contracts 
with Israel.  `Unlike Israel, Turkey would like a strong 
central government in Baghdad to keep the Kurds in check, 
and Turkey is outraged at reports that Israel is training 
Kurds in northern Iraq,' the article said.  `The Sharon 
government's denial of those charges ring true because it 
doesn't make sense to choose a handful of Kurds over a 
country with Turkey's size and clout,' the commentary 
continued.  Business Week also speculates that although 
Turkey had been uneasy with the US for `doing nothing' 
against the PKK in northern Iraq, Ankara has refrained from 
launching an operation against the Kurds for fear that such 
an action could disrupt Turkey's dialogue with the EU. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
"The Strategy that Creates Enemies" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (8/13): 
"Yesterday's assault on Najaf by US troops reminded me Dale 
Carnegie's famous book `How to Win Friends and Influence 
People.'  If we need to describe yesterday's assault in one 
sentence, we should change the name of Carnegie's book to 
`How to Create Enemies and Earn Hatred.' There is a certain 
military logic behind this latest assault against the Shiite 
resistance.  The Shiite militants, under the leadership of 
Mukteda El-Sadr, have declared war against the US and the 
occupation.  The US felt it necessary to launch a major 
military operation in order to suppress the revolt.  If you 
look at it from the military angle, it is inevitable that US 
forces will be able to take Najaf.  The problem is that the 
military logic is in contradiction with the political 
reality.  By taking control of Najaf, the US will also earn 
the hatred of the Shiites and many other Iraqis as well. 
Reactions against the Najaf attack have been coming in from 
around the Arab world.  Strangely, the US had been hopeful 
that the Shiites would support the Iraq operation.  In fact, 
coalition forces had some Shiite support at the beginning, 
when Shiites believed the US would help free them from 
Saddam's cruel regime.  The majority of Iraq's population is 
Shiite, and the Shiites believed that a change of regime was 
an opportunity for them to establish their own sovereignty. 
With this in mind, they declared war against the US and the 
interim Iraqi government.There was an interesting article in 
the `Boston Globe' yesterday.  During an interview with US 
troops, one soldier responded the journalist's question 
saying that `we came here to topple Saddam and pass the 
administration to Iraqis.'  He then added `what is left now, 
just to win more enemies and more hatred?" 
 
"The Massacre in Iraq" 
Ergun Babahan commented in the mass appeal "Sabah" (8/13): 
"The waters are heating up again in Iraq.  Yesterday's 
assault on Najaf is proof that the war in Iraq continues 
long after President Bush announced the end of major combat 
operations.  The occupation of Iraq was based on false 
information about the presence of WMDs in Iraq.  Secretary 
Powell and regional leaders stressed continuously that such 
a war would cause serious problems for other countries in 
the region.  There isn't a single day that goes by without 
news of innocents being killed in Iraq.  Yesterday, US 
planes poured death over Najaf without any consideration for 
civilians, including children.  These are the real owners of 
Iraq, and they are resisting with all their power against 
the occupier of their land.  These developments in Iraq 
spell danger for Turkey as well.  The US administration, 
which has transformed Iraq into a terror center, never stops 
threatening Iran and Syria.  The world remains quiet to this 
human drama.  Every day, tens of thousands of people flee 
their homes and innocent people become targets for bombs. 
But still no one is questioning the US.  During the bloody 
counter-terrorism process in Turkey, Washington's stance was 
overly sensitive.  But now, with torture and executions 
without trial, the US is writing a bloody history in the 
Middle East.  Launching the operation with the promise of 
bringing democracy to the region, they can now offer nothing 
but starvation, torture, and death.  Like the Palestinians, 
the Iraqis are paying a heavy price for a war not of their 
own choosing." 
 
EDELMAN