US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1882

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001882 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR INR/EU SCOTT EDELMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2015 
TAGS: PINR, TU 
SUBJECT: CHOD OZKOK'S SELF-IMAGE 
 
 
Classified By: Political Military Counselor Timothy A. Betts for reason 
s 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) A flag officer in the Turkish General Staff (TGS) 
recently passed to us a Turkish translation of an article on 
TGS Chief GEN Hilmi Ozkok that ran in an Egyptian publication 
during Ozkok's late February visit to Cairo.  Our contact 
reported that Ozkok thought this article portrayed him much 
more accurately than anything written in Turkey.  Ozkok 
passed it out to his senior staff.  Our contact said that he 
gave it to everyone in his department.  The article describes 
Ozkok as a strong, pro-reform general who is neither afraid 
to stand up to the US (on Iraq and Iran) nor to weather 
criticism within his own ranks.  It provides a glimpse as to 
how Turkey's senior-most military officer sees himself. 
 
2. (SBU) The following is an informal Embassy translation of 
the Turkish translation of an Al Ahram article about General 
Ozkok: 
 
 
Ozkok... Reformist not Accepting Politicization of Turkish 
Army 
Al Ahram, 02/21, by Abdulhalim Gazali 
 
 
Chief of TGS General Hilmi Ozkok, who will visit Egypt today, 
seems to be very different from his Turkish counterparts. 
Ozkok has a rational, realist, peaceful personality far from 
being haughty or a show-off. Ozkok, who is bound to 
democracy, believes that the army should stay away from 
political life as long as principles of the Turkish Republic 
- established by the leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk based on 
secularism - are not threatened. In this respect, General 
Ozkok has supported huge reforms in the last 2 years within 
the context of Turkey's EU accession process. He has given 
the impression that the army would keep the country's 
interests above considerations like its dissatisfaction with 
some tendencies of the governing Islamic AKP.  He has also 
established a positive synergy despite overt disputes between 
state institutions and the government. Some believed that the 
army would either reject or hinder the political reforms. 
However, Ozkok even openly supported reform programs 
restricting the government's - and the military's - authority 
over the public. This restriction is reflected in the 
reduction of the representation of the Turkish Army at the 
National Security Council (MGK). 
 
Other relevant changes include the following: assignment of a 
civilian head of the MGK for the first time over the history, 
eliminating confidentiality and adopting transparency, and 
letting Turkish and foreign media cover these changes. 
 
Press conferences organized by army commanders, whose names 
do not cause fear anymore, were allowed to be broadcast as 
live programs in a country that has experienced military 
coups within the last 40 years. The widespread image of 
having generals above the law and the state institutions does 
not exist anymore. This is a very important fact from a 
psychological and social point of view. In this respect, 
Ozkok accepted scrutiny of the army budget - the budget of an 
entity that was as strong as a government within a government 
-- by the legislative body and court. 
 
Probably Ozkok's most important message since he was assigned 
as the Chief of the TGS was his declaration that the era of 
military coups was over. He proved this idea by evading 
conflicts with the government a few times. It is already 
clear that Ozkok is quite different from other generals and 
commanders about whom everyone has had a common idea for many 
years. As a matter of fact, Ozkok did not hesitate to 
apologize for the attempt by the Jandarma, a security 
organization, to commit espionage against Turkish and foreign 
individuals. The General, who is known for his honesty and 
loyalty, launched a struggle against corruption, which is 
something not to forget. The names of dozens of military 
officers and generals were mentioned in the corruption cases. 
One of these persons was previously the Naval Forces 
Commander who was charged with abusing his position for 
personal interest. Because trying a retired Naval Forces 
Commander overtly could not be even imagined until recently, 
some Turkish writers took courage from the situation and 
started pressing the government to follow the army's lead by 
lifting the immunity of parliamentarians, many of whom have 
been accused of corruption. Ozkok is also in favor of peace 
and good relations with neighboring countries. Despite being 
against using force to solve disagreements and unnecessarily 
threatening the use of force and increasing tension, Ozkok is 
attentive to resisting any type of threat to Turkey's 
national interests. 
 
In this respect, while Ozkok supported Turkish-Syrian 
relations and cooperation with other Arab countries in any 
field, he suggested that the US not launch a war against 
Iraq. For this reason, the Turkish Army refused to show a 
clear attitude on the request for deployment of tens of 
thousands of American troops through Turkish territory to 
open the Northern Front during the war against the Saddam 
regime. Therefore this issue was left to the decision of the 
government and the parliament, which irritated the Bush 
Administration. The Turkish parliament, with an unforgettable 
historical decision, rejected the US request. From the 
beginning Ozkok has been showing an attitude that the army 
has only an implementing role for political decisions with no 
right for decision-making in the political process within the 
context of respect to constitution. A few months after the 
war was launched, American Forces arrested a group of Turkish 
military officers on the grounds that they were preparing for 
an assassination attempt against Kurdish Governor of Kirkuk 
Abdurrahman Mustafa. Ozkok expressed his anger against the US 
by declaring that confidence in the relationship between the 
two allies was badly affected. 
 
During the period when tensions between the US and Iran on 
the latter's nuclear program were increasing, Ozkok warned 
the US about the dangers of a military intervention against 
Iran while expressing his concern about the possibility 
Iran's producing nuclear weapons. He called on all countries 
in the region, including Israel, to sign agreements against 
WMD. About the Cyprus issue, Ozkok's attitude not to accept 
interfering with the government to deter its support of the 
Annan Plan despite the Turkish Military's reservations on 
some articles of the plan, had surprised many people. As a 
result of this, Ankara was not labeled the uncompromising 
party for the first time in the history of this issue. After 
the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan Plan in last 
April's referendum, Ankara - having 30,000 troops in Northern 
Cyprus - proved that it had put aside its position of 
supporting a fait accompli that it had been accused of for 
many years.  This plan foresees withdrawal of these troops 
from the island gradually. During the Ozkok period, which 
began when he was assigned on 08/28/2002, the popularity of 
the Turkish military has increased, as the military is at the 
top of the list of trusted institutions in Turkey, i.e. 
presidential office, government, parliament and judiciary. 
The Turkish military has also launched a reconstruction 
process. It is obvious that Ozkok, who lived in Europe while 
serving at NATO Headquarters, will carry on with his 
reformist method in the army and will support the huge 
changes Turkey is going through within the framework of its 
accession to EU membership. It seems that Ozkok will follow 
up his current policy despite the fact that the EU touches 
upon sensitive issues like separating the military from 
politics and public life. The EU is not aware of the 
historical role of the military in protecting the Republic, 
Turkey's independence and territorial integrity in the face 
of many threats including the Kurdish issue. Therefore, it is 
expected that Ozkok will choose mid-way solutions, allowing 
the military to protect its position and to pull out from 
politicization. It is believed that the first hot issue the 
Turkish Army will have to face is the current situation in 
Iraq, because Turkey has serious concern that the Kurds are 
inclined to separate from Iraq. In such a case, it will be 
very difficult for Turkey to accept it.  It is understood 
that the experienced and sapient Ozkok has the power to lead 
his army both in Turkey and outside the country through mine 
fields as well, because he is a very open-minded general, far 
from being swept away by the flood of heroism, which has 
gotten the Turkish military into trouble. Using force and 
conflict, methods that were commonly used by the Turkish Army 
in the past, causes a tense atmosphere that is difficult to 
control and brings criticism; while calm and quiet solutions 
would bring benefit to Turkey, as they do elsewhere. 
 
End Text. 
EDELMAN