US embassy cable - 04ANKARA7038

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007038 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2029 
TAGS: ECON, ECPS, ELAB, MARR, TU 
SUBJECT: DEFENSE AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT 
INSPECTIONS, NOVEMBER 23 AND DECEMBER 6-10, 2004 
 
REF: 2003 ANKARA 7157 
 
Classified By: Political Military Counselor Tim Betts, Reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
1. (C)  Summary: The annual Defense and Economic Cooperation 
Agreement (DECA) inspections occurred on November 24 in 
Ankara and the week of December 6-10 in Izmir and at Incirlik 
Air Base outside of Adana.  Due in part to new leadership and 
attitude on the Turkish side and a new US strategy, and in a 
noted contrast to previous years, the talks were cordial and 
cooperative, even during discussions on historically 
contentious issues.  At Incirlik, it was agreed that many 
small issues could be resolved by the local commands, and 
exchanges on the top three issues were limited.  Discussion 
on the Turkish request to formalize an agreement on dependent 
hires and the Army/Air Force Postal Office (APO) was deferred 
to a later meeting and Turkish authorities expressed 
satisfaction with informal arrangements made to address their 
concerns regarding Air Force Office of Special Investigations 
(AFOSI) officers carrying weapons off-base and liaising 
directly with the Jandarma.  Progress was noted on issues of 
hiring the disabled and landfill clean-up.  To address 
discrepancies between the Turkish and US ammunition 
accounting methods, the US team offered to assist in the 
upgrade of the Turkish computerized system.  In Izmir, the 
relocation of 425th AB offices from the Hilton Hotel to 
Bayrakli Park for Force Protection reasons raised Turkish 
concerns regarding the carrying of weapons by U.S. personnel 
at Bayrakli.  Turkish authorities characterized all of these 
issues as minor but urged both sides to cooperate to resolve 
them in a timely manner.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) New TU Leadership: Major General Sefer Ozturk, who 
took over as head of the Turkish General Staff (TGS) J-5 
Agreements Department in September, set the tone for the 2004 
DECA inspections during the Ankara inspection of the Office 
of Defense Cooperation (ODC) facility and the Ankara Support 
Facility at Balgat Army Base when he said that the meetings 
were not part of an inspection but rather a cooperation visit 
to discuss progress.  He repeated this characterization at 
Izmir and Incirlik.  His staff, led by Col. Yasar Karacoban, 
appeared to have gotten the message, were generally courteous 
and showed greater flexibility in resolving issues such as 
the APO agreement and the AFOSI weapons usage than previously 
offered.  None of the top three issues - 1) Dependent Hires 
(American dependents working on base), 2) an APO agreement 
and 3) AFOSI personnel carrying weapons off-base and talking 
directly to the Turkish Jandarma without permission from the 
Turkish Base Command at Incirlik - were discussed at length 
and none were referred for more senior consideration. 
 
3. (C) US Strategy: A change in the US strategy may also have 
contributed to the success of the 2004 inspection.  While 
agreeing to accept the Turkish olive branch offered by 
General Ozturk, the US team brought a list of US concerns to 
the table -- a departure from past practice.  These included 
Turkish constraints on Incirlik base access; cost 
implications of the Buy Turkish First provision; requirement 
for original signatures on NATO orders; Host Nation approval 
requirements; theft of US property from the base; AAFES 
concessionaire rental requirements; and use of Incirlik's EOD 
range.  Another request, to base the US C-12 at Esenboga 
Airport in place of Guvercinlik was deferred to a separate 
meeting in Ankara at Turkish request.  This strategy allowed 
the US to hold the floor for a good portion of the inbrief 
and diverted some Turkish energy to researching the issues. 
Additionally, the US side took the Dependent Hire and APO 
issues off the table at the inbrief by requesting separate 
meetings on each issue in Ankara and offering specific 
meeting dates in early 2005. 
 
4. (C) The Big Three:  While there had been little progress 
to resolve the Dependent Hire, APO and OSI issues since the 
2003 DECA inspection (reftel), the expectations of the 
Turkish side appear to have slightly softened.  On the 
Dependent Hire and APO issues, Col. Karacoban and MFA Second 
Secretary Ali Riza Guney said the Turkish government was not 
 
SIPDIS 
looking to impose new restrictions on the US operation but 
only to place these operations within a legal framework as 
required by Turkish law.  Guney was particularly interested 
in the US APO operation, including the route for items 
entering and leaving Turkey and the security precautions 
taken during transit from Istanbul to Adana and other 
locations.  A discussion of the process at the Incirlik APO 
clarified that APO items all enter Turkey through Istanbul, 
not through multiple entry points as Turkish officials had 
assumed.  Guney commented to Deputy PolMilCouns that the APO 
issue should be easy to solve.  He acknowledged, however, 
that the Dependent Hire issue was more intractable since 
Turkish law requires all foreign workers to have approved 
work permits.  The US is unwilling to cede authority to the 
Turkish government to determine whether or not the base can 
employ an American.  On the OSI issue, an informal system in 
which AFOSI notifies the MFA in advance that it plans to 
carry weapons off-base in support of a protective detail has 
met with tacit Turkish approval and AFOSI efforts to deepen 
relations with the Jandarma have been well-received.  While 
the Turkish working group members agreed to consider this 
issue closed, others in the Turkish delegation commented that 
the issue had been raised to a "higher level" and was out of 
TGS hands.  However, neither the Embassy nor ODC has been 
contacted by other officials regarding this matter. 
 
5. (C) Bayrakli Park: Following the November, 2003 Istanbul 
bombings, a decision was made to move the 425th Air Base 
offices from the Hilton Hotel in Izmir to Bayrakli Park. 
Security precautions at Bayrakli were correspondingly 
increased.  During the inspection, Col. Karacoban and others 
expressed surprise at seeing US armed security guards at the 
entrance of the compound.  They further questioned the US 
rationale for keeping the US security threat level at Charlie 
when the TGS threat level was at Alpha.  LTC Ozan Ozken from 
TGS Security questioned whether the US was withholding 
intelligence that might cause the Turkish side to change its 
threat level.  Col. Karacoban stated that, under DECA 
Supplementary Agreement 3, Number 5, which pertains to 
activities outside of the specific Turkish installations 
covered under Article One of the agreement, the Turkish 
government must give approval for US personnel to carry 
weapons.  The US side disputes this point and will respond 
accordingly to a TGS complaint, if submitted. 
 
6. (C) Final Report:  In its final report of the meetings, 
TGS acknowledged the "positive approach of the US side on 
carrying weapons off-base and contacting TGS."  While noting 
some other steps taken by the US side to address local 
concerns at Incirlik and Izmir, the report gave scant 
acknowledgment to the concerns raised by the US side and, in 
the case of base access, suggested that US personnel needed 
additional training on the rules and rights pertaining to 
base access under the DECA.  In no case, did TGS take full 
responsibility for identifying a solution.  While the report, 
as read, did not give as accurate an accounting as the US 
side would like, General Ozturk ended the session on a 
positive note by saying that none of the issues presented 
were big problems but they shouldn't be left unresolved and 
calling on both sides to be constructive and open to 
dialogue.  Additionally, Col. Karacoban expressed his 
pleasure with the cooperation and coordination shown during 
the inspection. 
 
7. (C) Comment: The significant shift in tone during the 2004 
DECA inspection was likely the result of a confluence of 
factors.  The first sign of change may have been the TGS 
decision in September to take the bilateral High Level 
Defense Group (HLDG) process away from the J-5 Agreements 
Department, which was very focused on perceived US 
non-compliance with the DECA, and give it to the Strategy 
Department headed by MG Cengiz Arslan.  As a result, the DECA 
discussion during the HLDG Political Military Working Group 
meeting on September 24 was marginalized, which could signal 
a TGS decision to elevate and broaden the bilateral security 
relationship and put the DECA issues in the appropriate 
context.  General Ozturk's concerted effort to reach out to 
the US delegation during the DECA meeting was welcome, and 
appeared to have had a positive impact on Col. Karacoban who, 
in the past, appeared almost bitter about what he perceived 
as US neglect of its DECA obligations.  His agreement to meet 
in early 2005 to discuss the APO and Dependent Hire issues is 
hopeful.  However, the outcome of those meetings will better 
indicate whether the positive tone set at the DECA 
inspections reflects a genuine interest in resolving 
outstanding DECA issues and moving our security relationship 
to a higher plane. 
EDELMAN