US embassy cable - 05ANKARA7099

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 007099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Rice: Turkey is of Critical Importance for the US - Sabah 
Rice: Turkey among Countries with which US Has Strategic 
Ties - Vatan 
Ambassador Wilson Chooses Turkey, an `Interesting, 
Difficult' Post - Milliyet 
Barzani: Kirkuk Will be Annexed to Kurdistan in 2007 - 
Milliyet 
Israeli Troops Train Northern Iraqi Peshmerge - Aksam 
NYT: CIA Planes Landed in Turkey Twice - Sabah 
55 Percent of Americans Believe Bush Has No Policy for 
`Victory in Iraq' - Sabah 
Peres: Sharon Will Bring Peace - Sabah 
Sharon: For Iran, All Options are on the Table - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Ambassador Wilson Sworn in After Approval by US Senate - 
Zaman 
Rice: Turkey, US Have Strategic Ties - Yeni Safak 
Mottaki: Tehran, Ankara, Baghdad Can Prevent Iraq's 
Partition - Zaman 
US Urges All Countries to Pressure, Sanction Iran - Radikal 
Northern Iraq Becomes a Base for MOSSAD - Yeni Safak 
EU Agrees on Strategy to Combat Terror - Radikal 
Sharon: We Won't Give Up West Bank for Peace - Radikal 
Livni: Security Fence Will be the Border Between Israel, 
Palestine - Cumhuriyet 
Al-Qaida Recruits `White' Militants for Attacks in Europe - 
Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Ambassador Wilson Sworn In:  The new US Ambassador to 
Ankara, Ross Wilson, was sworn in during a ceremony at the 
State Department after being approved by the US Senate 
earlier this week, Turkish papers report.  Secretary Rice 
said during the swearing-in that Turkey was among the few 
countries with which the US had a `strategic relationship.' 
`That's why we send to Turkey our most experienced 
diplomats,' Rice said, and stressed the importance of ties 
with Turkey.  Wilson said in response to a question that he 
chose Turkey and believes it will be an `interesting and 
tough post.'  Papers report that Ambassador Wilson will 
arrive in Ankara on Saturday. 
 
Mottaki Visits Ankara:  Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister 
Manouchehr Mottaki said on Thursday that Iran, Turkey and 
the central government in Iraq should cooperate to prevent 
the partition of Iraq, papers report.  Mottaki said there 
was a small chance that an independent Kurdish state would 
be established in Iraq.  During a call on Parliament Speaker 
Bulent Arinc Mottaki discussed the expansion of Tehran- 
Ankara ties.  Arinc described as positive Mottaki's visit to 
Turkey, and invited the speaker of the Iranian parliament to 
Turkey in early 2006.  The Iranian FM was also received by 
PM Erdogan, and met with the main opposition CHP leader 
Deniz Baykal, and former PMs Bulent Ecevit and Necmetin 
Erbakan.  During the Mottaki-Erbakan meeting, women 
 
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correspondents were kept outside of Erbakan's house where 
Turkey's banned Islamist leader hosted the Iranian FM.  CHP 
leader Baykal and Mottaki discussed the situation in Iraq, 
Syria, and Lebanon.  Baykal reportedly told Mottaki that all 
countries in the world should abide by international law, 
particularly UN resolutions.  Mottaki told Baykal about 
Iran's dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA), adding that Tehran expected an experts' meeting 
would be held soon on the issue.  "Radikal" comments that 
Turkey, parallel to its ties with Russia, will create mutual 
dependency in ties with Iran.  Iran has been given the 
message that Turkey and Iran ought to respect each other's 
different regimes.  The two countries share common regional 
interests and they need each other, the paper says. 
 
Barzani: Kirkuk Will be Annexed to Kurdistan in 2007:  The 
president of the regional administration of Kurdistan, 
Massoud Barzani has infuriated Ankara by saying that in 
2007, the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq would 
acquire the control of Kirkuk, papers report.  Foreign 
Minister Abdullah Gul reacted strongly to the KDP leader's 
statement, saying that Barzani was not entitled to make 
decisions with regard to Kirkuk.  "Cumhuriyet" says in a 
news-commentary that the president of the regional 
administration of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, is seen as 
source of encouragement for Kurds in Turkey as well as in 
Syria and Iran.  Receptions at the highest levels given by 
Western statesmen to Barzani are seen as serious 
developments regarding the establishment of a Kurdish state 
in Iraq.  The wide interest seen in Turkey in Barzani is due 
to social, political and economic factors, and at the same 
time, was influenced by the moves of legal and illegal 
organizations in the region.  People in southeast Turkey are 
scared by the violent actions of the PKK, and are pleased to 
see that the reputation of the Kurdish phenomenon is 
improving, thanks to the maneuvers of Barzani, says 
"Cumhuriyet." 
 
CIA Planes Land in Turkey Twice:  CIA planes have landed at 
Turkish airports not once but twice, the Transportation 
Minister Binali Yildirim revealed on Friday.  Yildirim 
confirmed that CIA planes had landed twice at Sabiha Gokcen 
Airport in Istanbul.  On Saturday last week, Yildirim had 
admitted that a CIA plane had landed on November 15 at 
Sabiha Gokcen `due to technical reasons.'  The plane had 
remained on the ground in Istanbul for 27 hours. The plane 
had arrived at the Istanbul airport from Baku on November 
15, left for Amsterdam's Schipol Airport on November 16, and 
later traveled on to Iceland.  Suspicions are now growing in 
Turkey that Incirlik Air base in southern Turkey could have 
been used by US forces for illegal transportation of terror 
suspects, dailies comment. 
 
Patriarch Bartholomew I on Halki Seminary, Mosque in Athens: 
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual head of 
300 million Orthodox Christians around the world, said in an 
interview with "Milliyet" that he wanted Turkey to reopen 
Halki Seminary in Istanbul.  Bartolomew I also urged Greece 
to allow a mosque to open in Athens. 
 
Private Israeli Military Firms Train the Kurds in Northern 
Iraq:  Private Israeli military firms have been training 
Kurdish peshmerge forces in northern Iraq, Turkish papers 
citing the leading Israeli daily "Yedioth Ahronot" report on 
Thursday. 
The Israeli daily claimed that dozens of Israelis 
specialized in elite military combat training were employed 
by private Israeli companies in northern Iraq to train Kurds 
in the establishment of elite anti-terror units.  Last year, 
 
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Turkey issued a strong warning to the Israeli authorities on 
the subject.  Israel later denied the reports.  "Yedioth 
Ahronot" named Motorola Israel and Magalcom Communications 
and Computers as two companies contracting with the local 
the Kurdish government to train Kurdish security forces and 
provide them with advanced equipment.  The paper said that 
tons of Israeli made equipment, including motorcycles, 
tractors, sniffer dogs, systems to upgrade Kalashnikov 
rifles, and bulletproof vests, have been shipped to a secret 
training camp in Iraq's northern region.  The Israeli 
instructors entered Iraq through Turkey using their Israeli 
passports, undercover as agriculture experts and 
infrastructure engineers, the Israeli daily added. 
 
YAS Expels Four Turkish Officers from Military:  Turkey's 
Supreme Military Council (YAS) expelled four officers from 
the military for `reactionary activities and lack of 
discipline' -- a reference to Islamist tendencies seen by 
the Turkish General Staff (TGS) as a threat to Turkey's 
secular regime, papers report.  Prime Minister Erdogan, who 
chaired the YAS meeting, and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, 
expressed `reservations' to show that they do not 
necessarily endorse the decision. 
 
Erdogan Due in Australia, New Zealand:  Prime Minister 
Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by a large delegation of Turkish 
businessmen, kicks off his December 2-11 visit to Australia 
and New Zealand on Friday.  Erdogan will be the first 
Turkish prime minister to pay a visit to Oceania countries. 
 
Turkey Wants National Afghan Army, Police Force Established: 
Turkey's Permanent Representative to UN Baki Ilkin said on 
Thursday Turkey believes that it was essential in assuring 
the long-term security and unity of Afghanistan to form  a 
national Afghan army and police force, the semi-official 
"Anatolian News Agency" (AA) reported Thursday.  Ilkin 
reminded the UN General Assembly in a debate on Afghanistan 
that Turkey assumed the command of ISAF for 14 months, and 
that it was determined to assist Afghanistan to achieve 
permanent peace and stability.  A draft resolution submitted 
to the UN calls on the international community to support 
war-ravaged Afghanistan to complete its political transition 
within the framework of the Bonn Process.  The draft also 
wants the international community to encourage the Afghan 
government to prepare a temporary national development 
strategy.  The strategy will be debated at a London 
conference in January. 
 
AKP Wants to Open 15 New Universities in Turkey:  A motion 
by the ruling AK Party on the establishment of 15 new 
universities in 15 provinces across Turkey was discussed and 
accepted at the  parliamentary education commission on 
Thursday, papers report.  Rebuffing the AKP's motion on new 
universities, the Higher Education Board (YOK) decided on 
Wednesday that only four cities out of a list of 15 meet the 
criteria for hosting a new university.  New universities are 
to be established in the provinces of Kirsehir, Kastamonu, 
Duzce, Burdur, Usak, Rize, Tekirdag, Erzincan, Aksaray, 
Giresun, Corum, Yozgat, Adiyaman, Ordu and Amasya, according 
to the bill.  2,000 new academic staff and 15 rectors will 
be needed at the new universities.  Only 250,000 out of 1.7 
million of students have a chance to enter Turkish 
universities through an exam held every year.  There are 53 
state and 24 private universities in Turkey. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  US-Turkey; GWOT; Iraq 
 
"The Growing Importance of Turkey" 
 
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Hasan Mesut Hazar commented in the conservative "Turkiye" 
(12/2): "During Ambassador Ross Wilson's swearing-in 
ceremony, Secretary Rice made a strong statement about the 
strategic importance of Turkish-American ties.  She referred 
to Turkey as one of the most important countries for the US. 
Her remarks serve as a rebuttal to conspiracy theorists who 
continuously claim that the strategic partnership between 
Turkey and the US has died. The new American Ambassador to 
Turkey is a senior diplomat who put a great deal of effort 
into the realization of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project. 
US support for the project -- especially when oil companies 
characterized it as nothing but a dream -- has now been 
justified.  It is equally important for Turkey that the US 
is sending an experienced diplomat like Ross Wilson to 
Ankara." 
 
"Who Cares?" 
Haluk Ulman commented in the economic-politic "Dunya" 
(12/2): "In the absence of a counter-power, it seems the 
Bush administration has been acting as if there are no 
binding rules.  The global war against terrorism has become 
a pretext for the violation of international law.  According 
to global opinion, torture is a crime against humanity. 
There are numerous international conventions to prevent it, 
but that does not seem to bother the Bush administration. 
Torture camps in East European countries are clear examples 
of this behavior.  And let's not forget the other ones in 
Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  The US seems to be 
engaging in piracy as well, abducting terror suspects from 
the Middle East and holding them in torture camps. The use 
of white phosphorus against Iraqi civilians also proves that 
the Bush administration not only ignores international rules 
on torture, but also violates every international convention 
regarding the laws of war." 
 
"Barzani Is Comfortable About Kirkuk" 
Fikret Bila wrote in the mainstream "Milliyet" (12/2): 
"Developments in Iraq also impact regional relations.  Iran 
is under threat from the US due to its nuclear program, as 
is Syria due to the Hariri assassination.  Turkey, on the 
other hand, is working with both the US and KDP leader 
Barzani to uproot the PKK in the Kandil mountains.  Iran, as 
it moves closer to Turkey while the US threat grows, has 
offered to cooperate with Turkey in the struggle against the 
PKK in Iranian territory.  The Iranian Foreign Minister said 
to Turkish authorities in Ankara that Iran will not allow 
the establishment of an independent Kurdistan in northern 
Iraq.  He signaled that both Iran and Syria will stand with 
Turkey against such a development.  Content with this 
approach, Ankara still warned Iran about its nuclear 
program.  Meanwhile, it seems that KDP leader Barzani has 
focused on Kirkuk and its status.  In a recent speech, he 
said that Kirkuk will belong to the Kurdish region in 2007, 
citing article 136 in Iraq's new constitution. The status of 
Kirkuk used to be an alarming issue for Ankara.  Turkey 
still wants to see Kirkuk remain as part of Iraq.  But such 
efforts seem doomed, because Barzani appears to have gotten 
a promise on Kirkuk from the US." 
 
MCELDOWNEY