US embassy cable - 04ANKARA7118

UNCLAS ANKARA 007118 
 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD PLEASE PASS TO MNF-I AND TO TASK FORCE OLYMPIA 
FROM CHARGE ROBERT DEUTSCH FOR GENERAL CASEY AND BRIG. GEN. 
HAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MASS, MOPS, PREL, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: THANKS TO OUR MILITARY 
 
REF: ANKARA 7075 
 
1. I want to express my sincere thanks to you and the men and 
women of your commands for your daily heroism and dedication, 
but most specifically for your assistance to Turkey following 
the Dec. 17 insurgent attack against a convoy of Turkish 
officials in Mosul.  Task Force Olympia's soldiers risked 
their lives to assist at the scene of the attack, to care for 
the wounded, to collect the bodies of two of the murdered 
Turks from downtown Mosul, and then to run a convoy from 
Mosul to the Turkish border to deliver the bodies of five 
Turkish officials back home. 
 
2. In addition, your team at our medical facility at Balad 
expertly cared for a Turkish official who was wounded in the 
Mosul attack.  Finally, MNF-I C3 and C5 coordinated on an 
extremely tight time frame to identify assets to fly the WIA 
official from Balad to BIAP to catch a flight home on a 
Turkish military aircraft.  Along the way, everyone at MNF-I 
and TFO responded to Embassy Ankara's requests for assistance 
with professionalism and a "can-do" attitude. 
 
3. The incident in Mosul was a tragedy for the Turkish people 
and their government.  The degree of their emotions was 
marked at the funeral ceremony, where the entire 
establishment from the President on down and thousands of 
Turks participated.  Multiple senior Turkish officials have 
repeatedly told us how important the assistance you provided 
was.  I should add that a number of them have subsequently 
called to express their condolences for the horrific attack 
on our forces in Mosul on Tuesday.  Your people have done 
much to help in our relationship with Turkey and in our 
efforts to encourage their constructive engagement with Iraq. 
 
4. Baghdad minimize considered. 
DEUTSCH