US embassy cable - 05ANKARA577

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000577 
 
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 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Feith: Saddam's gone, world is a better place - Aksam 
Feith asks for Turkey's support against Iran - Aksam 
FM Gul warns US to carry out `clear' policy in Iraq - 
Hurriyet 
US Kirkuk position disturbs Ankara - Milliyet 
Ankara toughens stance on Kirkuk - Sabah 
Iraq prepares cabinet with three ethnicities - Sabah 
Talabani, Allawi, Pachachi to top Iraqi posts - Milliyet 
Iraqi voters beat Zarkawi - Hurriyet 
EU suspends sanctions on Cuba - Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Feith in Ankara, Incirlik may become logistics hub - 
Cumhuriyet 
FM Gul issues tough warnings on Kirkuk - Cumhuriyet 
PM Erdogan: US turns a blind eye to the PKK - Zaman 
EU warns against excluding Sunnis from Iraqi politics - Yeni 
Safak 
US money for rebuilding Iraq goes missing - Cumhuriyet 
Abbas gets support of Putin for peace, arrives in Ankara - 
Zaman 
Hamas, Hizbullah agree to support resistance against Israel 
- Cumhuriyet 
Israel to `import' Jews from Ethiopia - Zaman 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Undersecretary Feith visits Ankara:  Visiting US Defense U/S 
Douglas Feith met with FM Abdullah Gul and Deputy Chief of 
TGS General Ilker Basbug in Ankara yesterday.  Feith said 
the problem of Kirkuk will be solved within the territorial 
integrity of Iraq, taking into account the sensitivities of 
Turkey.  An `architect' of the Iraq war, as described by 
several Turkish papers, Feith promised that the United 
States would not allow actions in Iraq that would harm 
Turkish interests.  FM Gul complained to Feith about the 
Americans' reluctance to carry out a military operation to 
remove the PKK presence in northern Iraq.  Feith stressed 
that there has been no change in the US determination to 
fight terrorism, adding that the PKK issue will be taken up 
at the appropriate time. Gul said that US policies in Iraq 
should be shaped in order to satisfy all groups in the 
country, and to treat all of them equally.  Feith made an 
indirect reference to Iran by commenting on the growing 
threat posed by nuclear proliferation in the region. 
Reports quote an unidentified official from the MFA as 
stressing that Feith did not raise with FM Gul the issue of 
using Incirlik Airbase as a hub for providing logistical 
support to Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
Ankara welcomes Iraq vote, warns on Kirkuk:  The Iraqi 
elections `reconfirmed the will of the Iraqi people to 
maintain the country's course in a united way towards peace 
and security,' the Turkish foreign ministry said in a 
statement on Monday.  However, `attempts to alter the 
demographic structure in northern Iraq will be taken into 
consideration,' the statement said.  FM Gul has said over 
the weekend that if the Turkmen are subjected to oppression, 
Turkey will not remain a spectator to such a development. 
 
PM Erdogan on Kirkuk, Iraq:  PM Tayyip Erdogan told the 
"Wall Street Journal" in Davos that Ankara is considering 
its own measures on Iraq because the United States has 
ignored the problems of Kirkuk and the PKK presence in 
northern Iraq.  Erdogan complained about US reluctance to 
remove the terrorist presence in northern Iraq and the mass 
migration of Kurds to Kirkuk which, he said, will create 
major problems in the future.  In a separate interview with 
"Newsweek," Erdogan also complained about `insufficient' 
security measures by US forces for Turkish truck drivers 
ferrying goods to Iraq.  Terrorist attacks against Turkish 
truckers have claimed about 100 lives thus far.  The Turkish 
PM also advised the US to set a timetable for withdrawal 
from Iraq after local police and military forces are fully 
established. 
 
Congressman Dodd on Turkey:  US Congressman Christopher Dodd 
said that Turkey made the right decision in not allowing the 
deployment of US troops before the war with Iraq. 
Responding to questions posed by the "Zaman" at World 
Economic Forum meetings in Davos, Switzerland, Dodd said he 
would not have voted for occupation of Iraq if he had known 
that prewar intelligence regarding Iraqi weapons was false. 
Turkey, a model country, will make a significant 
contribution to the resolution of problems between the 
Islamic world and the West, Congressman Dodd stressed. 
 
Palestine's Abbas in Turkey:  Palestinian head of state 
Mahmoud Abbas will arrive in Ankara from Moscow today on his 
first regional tour after winning the elections in 
Palestine.  Abbas will be accompanied by FM Nebil Shaat and 
Transportation Minister Hikmet Zaid on his two-day visit, 
during which the Palestinians will be meeting with President 
Sezer, PM Erdogan and parliament speaker Arinc. 
 
Israeli top commander due in Ankara:  The Israeli Chief of 
Staff, General Moshe Yaalon, is due in Turkey today on a two- 
day visit to discuss the modernization of the Turkish 
military and the sale of Israeli made "Harpy" unmanned 
reconnaissance planes.  Papers cite the Israeli daily 
"Haaretz" as claiming that General Yaalon will bargain with 
Ankara over $1.5 billion in arms sales. 
 
FM Gul to China:  FM Abdullah Gul is to travel to China on 
Tuesday as the official guest of his Chinese counterpart, Li 
Zhaoxing, to discuss cooperation on economic and trade 
issues.  The first Turkish foreign minister to visit China 
in eight years, Gul will also seek the support of Beijing, a 
permanent member of the UN Security Council, to end the 
international isolation of Turkish Cypriots.  Gul is not 
expected to visit East Turkistan, where there have been 
widespread claims of human rights violations against the 
Turkik minority . 
 
Turkish `Hizbullah' may be resurrected:  The Turkish 
fundamentalist terror organization Hizbullah has started 
reorganizing by establishing companies and bookstores in 
Turkey and Europe, "Zaman" writes, citing Turkish police 
reports.  Hizbullah, led by Mehmet Besir Varol, hides its 
members among non-terrorist Islamic groups and seeks 
cooperation with the `Kurdistan Islamic Movement,' a group 
affiliated with the PKK/Kongra Gel, according to "Zaman." 
The Kurdistan Islamic Movement has control over 25 mosques 
in Europe, from where it carries out organizational 
activities.  Although the US Administration has put 
Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations, the 
organization is still able to carry out its activities in 
Europe freely. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq Elections-The Feith Visit 
 
"An American in Ankara" 
Taha Akyol wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (2/1): "US 
Defense Department Undersecretary Feith, with his militarist 
and neo-conservative character, represents a typical figure 
in the Bush administration. He is one of the key men at the 
Pentagon who shapes the military policies of the Bush 
administration.  There were two messages from Douglas Feith 
to Turkey:  First, Kirkuk is the business of Iraqis, and 
Turkey has nothing to do with it.  Second, Turkey should 
side with the US against Iran. . I value the friendship 
between Turkey and the United States.  The strategic 
relationship between the two is a good thing for both the 
region and for world peace.  The American economy, its 
politics, and the freedom embodied in its culture represent 
what should be global values.  However, America is currently 
being ruled by a group of neo-conservatives, meaning a 
collaboration between Evangelical Protestants and militant 
Zionists.  This is why Doug Feith is the `number three' at 
the Pentagon.  The fact of the matter is that the current 
rulers of the US are harming both American interests and the 
interests of the world.  The election in Iraq is a positive 
development.  Iran should not be allowed to have nuclear 
weapons.  But these facts do not justify the aggressive, 
militarist, imperialist policies of the US. . The entire 
world, including Americans, is urgently in need of common 
sense in Washington." 
 
"The Iraq Dilemma" 
Turgut Tarhanli commented in the liberal-intellectual 
"Radikal" (2/1): "It is certainly an important development 
that the people of Iraq are trying to define their future. 
Yet this fact is doomed by another reality -- all of this 
began with a military occupation.  The occupation will 
always cast a shadow over any positive developments. 
Looking at the statements by the Iraqi president right after 
the elections, there seems little hope that the Bush 
administration is going to take steps toward eliminating 
that shadow by withdrawing its forces.  Despite its 
significant success in many international conflicts, the 
United Nations has not had any role in Iraq other than a 
symbolic representation.  Given the current circumstances, 
there is still questions about the credibility of the 
argument that the Iraqi people can define their own future, 
especially when it is taking place under the supervision of 
a big power." 
 
"Waiting for Rice" 
Gungor Mengi commented in the mass appeal "Vatan" (2/1): 
"What are Barzani's intentions?  Is he trying to deepen 
mistrust in the US-Turkish relationship through these 
provocative statements?  Barzani might have been inspired by 
Prime Minister Erdogan's recently increased anti-American 
statements.  It would definitely be to Turkey's benefit not 
to increase the tension, not to continuously issue harsh 
warnings, and most of all, not to damage the `indispensable 
status' of Turkey in the eyes of the US.  The new Secretary 
of State of the second Bush Administration, Condoleezza 
Rice, will be coming to Turkey on February 5.  If the words 
being told to her behind closed doors by government 
officials should somehow leak into the newspaper headlines, 
Turkey will be wasting its chance to resolve these issues to 
its own benefit.  It is not fitting for the state of Turkey 
to allow itself to be deceived into making mistakes by 
Barzani." 
 
"When Will the US Withdraw from Iraq" 
Fikret Ertan observed in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(2/1):  "The length of the stay of US forces in Iraq depends 
on the ability of the Iraqi security forces to establish 
internal security and to protect their borders.  Whenever 
the Iraqi security forces have the power to fulfill its 
duties, then the US can withdraw from Iraq under certain 
conditions and guarantees.  In my opinion, this will take a 
minimum of two years." 
 
EDELMAN