US embassy cable - 05ANKARA7031

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 007031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2015 
TAGS: MARR, MASS, TU 
SUBJECT: 2005 DECA: MOVING THE BASING RELATIONSHIP WITH 
TURKEY FORWARD ONE INSPECTION AT A TIME 
 
REF: ANKARA 7038 
 
Classified By: Political-Military Counselor Timothy A. Betts, reasons 1 
.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The 2005 DECA inspection was incrementally 
more positive and productive than the remarkably productive 
2004 inspection (reftel).  The Turkish delegation was 
generally constructive in its approach, and efforts by the US 
delegation to immediately resolve some issues and to question 
several Turkish requirements helped to contain the list of 
Turkish demands.  Several unresolved issues of contention 
during the 2004 meetings, including the lack of an APO 
agreement, were not even raised by the Turks this year; 
potentially contentious issues related to armed guards and 
patrols at the Bayrakli installation in Izmir were defused; 
and the Turkish delegation went to great pains in their 
outbrief to list areas of demonstrable progress by the US to 
resolve outstanding issues and to list several issues the US 
had raised.  Nonethless, the process remains one-sided, with 
the Turks interpreting the DECA's povision of an annual 
"inspection" literally. The Mission will continue the 
efforts begun in2004-5 to question unreasonable requirements 
and to press for equal Turkish consideration of US 
operational concerns.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) The annual inspection of U.S. military facilities 
located in Ankara, Izmir and at Incirlik Air Base as required 
under the bilateral Defense and Economic Cooperation 
Agreement (DECA) was held from Nov. 14 to 18.  Major General 
Sefer Ozturk, who took over as chief of the TGS J-5 
Agreements and Operations Division in 2004 and led the 
Turkish delegation, set a positive tone for the inspection, 
as he did in 2004, by calling it a "joint compliance visit" 
and urging both sides to work constructively to resolve 
outstanding issues (reftel). 
 
425th ABG - DEFUSING ISSUES AS THEY AROSE 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) As in 2004, the US Detachment 1 inspection at Balgat 
Base in Ankara was uneventful.  At the Bayrakli installation 
in Izmir -- home to the 425th Air Base Group which supports 
US troops at NATO's Component Command Air Izmir and US 
military operations in Eskisehir, Istanbul and Ankara, and 
administers the Cigli Air Base turnover agreement -- TGS 
identified three concerns: 1) Armed U.S. military personnel 
guarding the Bayrakli entrance, 2) Armed roving patrols of 
residences, 3) No US request to TGS for approval to change 
the base name from Air Base Squadron to Air Base Group. 
 
4. (C) GEN Ozturk explained the TGS concern with the first 
two issues as the possibility of an accidental weapons 
discharge in public areas.  The Bayrakli compound is located 
on a main road with regular commercial traffic and 425th 
housing units are located in the heart of Izmir.  Despite the 
historic use of armed guards at the Izmir Hilton Hotel which 
previously housed the 425th, the first issue -- a carry-over 
from 2004, was resolved with a US decision for guards to wear 
civilian clothing and to consider use of a Turkish contractor 
to provide security.  The second issue was defused with a 
decision for roving patrols to travel unarmed.  On the third 
issue, the US side disputed TGS interpretation of the DECA 
provision dealing with name change but agreed to submit a 
letter of notification to TGS regarding the base change from 
a squadron to a group. 
 
"ENVIRONMENTAL" ISSUES DOMINATE INCIRLIK TALKS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
5. (SBU) At the 39th Air Base Wing on Incirlik Air Base, TGS 
did not raise the two most contentious topics of the 2004 
DECA inspections: 1) APO Agreement: the need for an Armed 
Services Post Office (APO) agreement, 2) Dependent Hires: the 
demand that the US determine a fixed number of job slots in 
defined categories for dependent hires and to apply for work 
permits for each.  The US side effectively ended discussions 
on these issues in 2004 by providing samples of US APO 
agreements with other countries, clearly identifying our red 
lines on both issues and offering dates for a meeting to 
discuss a mutually-acceptable solution.  The MFA is charged 
with pulling together a consolidated GOT position but has 
 
rejected our repeated offers to meet because it cannot gain 
agreement from other relevant ministries on a position that 
will meet our terms. 
 
6. (SBU) Instead, TGS and the MFA representatives stressed 
the importance of the environment to Turkey, possibly driven 
by EU acquis requirements since Turkey began accession talks 
on Oct. 3. 
 
Landfill: TGS has called for the US to close and cap the over 
40 year old joint-use base landfill.  The US side explained 
that the $8-9 M required to cap the landfill had been 
requested, and if approved, would not be received until 2010 
at the earliest.  TGS could attempt to accelerate the 
timetable by notifying EUCOM at a high level that closing the 
landfill is a priority for Turkey.  If so, TGS would need to 
demonstrate a rationale for its concern, e.g. documented 
health risk. 
 
Trash Separation:  TGS lamented the unhygenic conditions 
under which trash separators collect base recyclables and 
called on the US to provide running water.  (Note: Under the 
DECA the US is responsible for both US-only and joint-use 
base services.)  The US contract for trash disposal does not 
include trash separation.  The lack of a US directive for 
trash separation was confirmed at the dump site, where 
workers were visibly nervous and vague in their responses to 
questions about who hired them.  The US side agreed that the 
worker conditions are unhygenic and, given the lack of a 
directive for them to work on base, will rewrite the contract 
to specifically exclude trash separation.  If the Turkish 
base command insists on keeping this facility on base, the 
39th ABW command will consider in-home recycling options for 
American personnel, making the recycling effort Turkish-only. 
 The TGS outbrief stated that hot water and shower facilities 
should be provided to the trash separators but did not assign 
responsibility for this action. 
 
Completed Actions: The most striking aspect of the TGS 
outbrief was the credit it gave to the US for actions 
completed, some of which had been done months or even one 
year earlier. 
 
SETTING THE TONE FOR 2006 
------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) COMMENT: Mission has noticed a definite improvement 
in both the tone and conduct of the DECA inspections over the 
past two years.  That said, we consider problematic TGS' 
insistence on conducting the outbrief only in Turkish and not 
allowing the US the opportunity to formally outbrief our 
issues.  Mission will review options to further level the 
playing field during the 2006 inspection, possibly to include 
development of suggested rules of engagement for inspection 
conduct to ensure fair and accurate representation of both 
Turkish and US concerns.  END COMMENT. 
 
MCELDOWNEY