US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2099

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2015 
TAGS: MARR, MOPS, PREL, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: TURKISH DCHOD TELLS USTRANSCOM ANSWER ON CARGO HUB 
COMING SOON; OPTIMISTIC ON IRAQ 
 
REF: ANKARA 1952 
 
Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION ROBERT S. DEUTSCH FOR REASONS 1. 
4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1. (S) Summary: DCHOD Gen Basbug told USTRANSCOM Commander 
Gen Handy that he saw no insurmountable problems in the 
US-Turkey military-to-military relationship.  To repair other 
parts of the relationship, Basbug thought the US should take 
action against the PKK/Kongra Gel in northern Iraq (something 
SACEUR hinted might be in the works in a recent conversation 
with the Turkish CHOD) and senior leaders in both countries 
should be more careful about their public statements.  On 
Iraq, both generals were optimistic about the future.  Basbug 
did not give Gen Handy an answer on the long-standing US 
request to establish a cargo hub at Incirlik, repeating that 
he thought an answer would come soon.  He also reported that 
Turkey could not agree to DSACEUR's request to keep a C-130 
in Afghanistan beyond its deployment period due to 
maintenance issues, and that he hoped to have a long 
conversation with VCJCS Gen Pace when Basbug goes to 
Washington in June for the HLDG and ATC meetings.  End 
summary. 
 
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Iraq Key to Bilateral Relationship 
---------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) USTRANSCOM Commander General John Handy met with 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) Deputy Commander GEN Ilker Basbug 
on April 11.  After discussing Gen Handy's impending 
retirement and some of the difficulties Turkish senior 
officers have with the transition to civilian life, Basbug 
raised the state of US-Turkey relations.  He said that TGS 
was very happy with the numerous senior US military leaders 
who have visited since December.  He was also pleased by his 
exchanged with EUCOM Deputy Commander Gen Wald.  Basbug noted 
that in June he planned to be in the US to attend both the 
High Level Defense Group (HLDG) and the American Turkish 
Council (ATC) annual meeting.  (Comment: Basbug may have been 
confused -- the HLDG is scheduled to be held in Ankara in 
June, but we expect this date to slip.)  While in Washington, 
he hoped to have an extended opportunity to discuss various 
issues with VCJCS Gen Pace. 
 
3. (C) One recent visitor to Turkey was SACEUR Gen Jones, who 
had lectured at the Turkish staff college two weeks earlier. 
Basbug recalled his meeting with Gen Jones there when Basbug 
opined that the relationship suffered from "misunderstanding" 
in public opinion, fed by speculation in the media in both 
countries.  In his opinion, military-to-military cooperation 
was at a "good level."  The bilateral relationship is "a 
unique one, and a very comprehensive one" which should be 
viewed from a long-term perspective, he said.  Disagreement 
still occur on specific issues, of course, and the two sides 
need to reach agreement on them. 
 
4. (C) Basbug said that he told Gen Jones that the issue of 
the PKK/Kongra Gel in northern Iraq most upset the Turkish 
public.  To change public opinion, "you need to do 
something."  The next most important factor shaping Turkish 
public opinion was events in Iraq itself.  He explained to 
Jones that the military is "sensitive" in what it says in 
public, but politicians are "not so careful."  He illustrated 
by referencing SECDEF's comments last month that if Turkey 
had permitted a northern front in March 2003, then the 
insurgency might not be as great as it is now.  Basbug 
observed that such statements cannot create a good feeling 
about Turkey in the American public.  "Sometimes our 
politicians don't speak properly either," he quickly added. 
 
5. (S/NF) Basbug informed Gen Handy that after Gen Jones' 
visit, SACEUR called TGS Chief GEN Hilmi Ozkok to propose 
that a joint CENTCOM/EUCOM planning team visit TGS to discuss 
possible operations against the PKK/Kongra Gel in Iraq. 
"Maybe this time they will touch on real issues...I don't 
know," Basbug mused. 
 
------------------------- 
Cautious Optimism on Iraq 
------------------------- 
6, (C) Basbug asked Gen Handy for his impression of Iraq. 
Gen Handy replied that during his last visit there in March, 
he was more enthused about developments than one can be from 
reading the media from Iraq.  GEN Casey was very optimistic 
and morale among US troops was high.  Basbug stated that 
post-election developments also made TGS optimistic about the 
future in Iraq.  This doesn't mean fighting will stop 
tomorrow, but there is hope.  He saw two factors as important 
to the outcome:  1) The Iraqi people's acceptance of the new 
government which must be effective to succeed; and, 2) the 
Iraqi people seeing their own armed forces taking 
responsibility for security from the coalition.   The only 
other hurdle is the constitution drafting process.  If no big 
problems emerge among the ethnic groups, then "there is 
nothing left (to do)."  If they don't agree on some "special 
articles" in the constitution (a reference to the status of 
Kirkuk), "then I don't know what will happen," he concluded. 
The DCM told Basbug that the Iraqis were already beginning to 
address constitutional issues in their negotiations on the 
new ITG.  One problem will be determining who represents the 
Sunni community.  Nonetheless, he was also cautiously 
optimistic about the future in Iraq. 
 
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Incirlik AB Issues 
------------------ 
 
7. (S) Gen Handy responded that it was important to maintain 
an honest and sincere military-to-military relationship. 
From USTRANSCOM, he wanted to relay to Basbug appreciation 
for the good treatment of US personnel at Incirlik AB and for 
Turkey's accommodation of US overflight requests, air 
refueling operations and other airlift operations in and over 
Turkey.  Basbug noted that there were a few outstanding 
issues awaiting resolution: 
 
-- Logistics Hub:  TGS agrees to this proposal in principle 
and has conveyed its views to the government. While 
emphasizing that mil-mil talks to work out details could only 
occur after the government grants approval, he expected an 
answer "soon" and thought a clarification as to what "lethal 
cargo" would be included might accelerate the approval 
process.  ODC-Turkey Chief Maj Gen Peter Sutton assured 
Basbug that the US side was working on a thorough response to 
this question.  Gen Handy told Basbug that, while a hub would 
facilitate operations, the US could look for other options if 
it were a problem for Turkey to host it.  Basbug replied that 
he understood that the issue was "crucial" for the USG, that 
he saw it as "workable," and that TGS had been pushing MFA to 
extract an answer from the politicians ASAP.  Later in the 
conversation, Basbug asked whether airfields in Iraq could 
accommodate C5 aircraft; Gen Handy responded that major 
airports could, but not all.  Gen Handy also noted attacks on 
aircraft in Iraq, making the point that only USAF aircraft 
with defensive systems were permitted to fly to/from Iraq. 
 
-- Italians to Afghanistan:  Basbug said TGS had had to turn 
this request to move Italian equipment destined for Herat 
around in a day, but that the problem was now solved. 
(Comment: In fact, the issue had been in discussion between 
ODC and TGS for awhile; ODC submitted the formal written 
request that Basbug was referring to only after receiving a 
verbal approval for the mission.) 
 
-- UK Use of Incirlik to support flights to Afghanistan and 
Iraq:  Basbug didn't provide any details, saying only that UK 
operations through Incirlik have not yet started.  (Comment: 
The British Air Attache told our DATT last week that while FM 
Gul had informed Foreign Secretary Straw that the way was 
clear for UK use of the base, TGS had not yet engaged the 
British on the modalities.) 
 
-- Weapons Training Deployments (WTDs): Basbug said that this 
proposal (temporary deployment of fighter aircraft to 
Incirlik for training) was still under discussion and that 
the ball was in the US court to call the next meeting. 
------------ 
ISAF Airlift 
------------ 
 
8. (C) Basbug reported that DSACEUR had requested that Turkey 
keep one C-130 aircraft in Afghanistan beyond its term of 
deployment, but that would not be possible due to maintenance 
difficulties.  A more serious problem for ISAF, he noted, was 
the Dutch intention to withdraw three "armed helicopters." 
He understood that the US had already declined to fill that 
requirement. 
 
 
9. (U) Gen Handy did not have an opportunity to clear this 
cable. 
 
10. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
EDELMAN