US embassy cable - 03ANKARA934

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000934 
 
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 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Powell: Iraq hid weapons; Iraq: Claims fabricated - Turkiye 
Powell: Ankara within new Iraqi missiles' range - Vatan 
Gul: Saddam lacks the capacity to attack us - Vatan 
Gul: Turkey did all it can, now we're with the U.S. - 
Milliyet 
Saddam caught red handed - Sabah 
Powell puts up evidence show - Hurriyet 
Gul: We are with the U.S. - Hurriyet 
Gul: Patriots are coming - Aksam 
Gul asks for money, U.S. sends Taylor - Milliyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Nothing new from Powell - Cumhuriyet 
Don't drag Turkey into war - Cumhuriyet 
No evidence, just claims and threats by U.S. - Yeni Safak 
Parliament will say `yes' or `no' to massacre - Yeni Safak 
Powell: Iraq deceived inspectors - Zaman 
Powell wants war - Radikal 
No forward movement on Cyprus - Radikal 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
TUSIAD: Rising unemployment might stall economy - Dunya 
Merrill Lynch: Ankara's Iraq decision will relieve markets - 
Finansal Forum 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Iraq: Papers give extensive coverage to Secretary Powell's 
address to the UNSC in which he disclosed evidence regarding 
Iraq's WMD program.  Powell demanded a UN decision for 
military action, but other UNSC members prefer to continue 
weapons inspections after analyzing the evidence put forth 
by the U.S..  "Vatan" reports in a front-page banner 
headline that almost all of Turkey is within the range of 
new missiles developed by Iraq.  "Hurriyet" describes the 
evidence given by the U.S. as `like a horror movie.'  Prime 
Minister Gul said on Wednesday that Turkey, in line with its 
national interests, should act together with its strategic 
ally, the United States.  Gul stressed that Turkey has 
exerted all efforts for peace, and since all peaceful means 
have been exhausted, has decided to join the U.S. in a 
military action against Baghdad.  The government is expected 
to submit to Parliament a draft authorizing modernization 
work on Turkish bases by U.S. experts.  Gul said that 
Ankara, in order to secure parliamentary approval on 
February 18, would ask the U.S. for solid guarantees about 
compensation for Turkey's economic losses in a possible war. 
Papers speculate that Vice President Cheney, after speaking 
to Gul on the phone on Tuesday, ordered Treasury U/S Taylor 
to fly to Turkey to ease Ankara's concerns about war losses. 
Dailies comment that Taylor was coming to Turkey to bargain 
over the cost of a war, which Turkish economic ministry 
bureaucrats estimate at $23.2 billion in a short-term 
conflict.  Papers also claim that Turkey and the U.S. have 
set up a subcommittee to discuss the restructuring of a post- 
war Iraq.  Ankara is insistent that Turkomen should be 
represented in a future Iraqi central administration, which 
should be formed by the Iraqi people.  President Bush's 
advisor on Iraq, Zalmai Halilzad will meet with MFA and 
Northern Iraqi Kurdish and Turkoman representatives in 
Ankara on Thursday.  The U.S. and the Northern Iraqi Kurds 
want a federal Iraq, while Turkey demands a concrete 
guarantee that the disintegration of Iraq will be prevented 
after a war. 
 
 
Cyprus: U.S. Special Cyprus Coordinator Tom Weston said in 
Ankara on Wednesday that Iraq and Cyprus are separate 
issues, and that Turkey should make a clear distinction 
between the two.  MFA Spokesman Buluc disagreed with Weston, 
saying that Iraq and Cyprus are strategic issues linked to 
each other for both the U.S. and Turkey.  Meanwhile, papers 
carry Greek Cypriot leader Clerides' `shocking announcement' 
that the Greek side is ready to sign the UN plan and maps 
without further changes.  Denktas, however, strongly opposed 
Clerides, and said that the Turkish Cypriots would not 
accept the plan without changes.  Denktas added that the 
Greek Cypriots' willingness to accept the agreement showed 
their `true intentions.' 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Powell's presentation to the UNSC 
 
 
"Powell's presentation" 
Mehmet Barlas commented in mass appeal Aksam (2/6): 
"Powell's presentation to the UNSC is a serious development 
in itself, and reminds me of previous actions by Washington. 
The US has always acted unilaterally whenever it felt it 
necessary and urgent.  . Secretary Powell's presentation 
about Iraq is similar to the Libya case.  The US 
administration presented the phone records between Tripoli 
and the Libyan Embassy in East Germany, and then-president 
Reagan ordered the US bombing of Libya, including the 
residence of Qaddafi. . The phone records and other 
documents presented by Secretary Powell are a clear 
indication of the upcoming US strike." 
 
 
"The effect of the evidence" 
Sami Kohen wrote in mass appeal Milliyet (2/6): "The 
presentation by Secretary Powell to the UNSC stirred a 
debate in many countries about clarifying their positions in 
the event of a war.  First of all, there are some question 
marks which range from the validity of this proof to the 
issue of legitimacy for conducting a military operation 
based on them. . It remains to be seen what the reaction 
will be, particularly by France and Russia but also in NATO 
and the UN.  They all have to define the nature of their 
support in case of a US military action against Iraq based 
on the facts presented by Powell. . If a war is going to 
happen - and most probably it will - Turkey should be 
provided with a defense system prior to the strike.  This 
requires a NATO decision.  NATO has failed to reach a 
consensus on the issue thus far because of France and 
Germany.  This has caused a serious weakness within the 
Alliance.  We'll see whether they will change their attitude 
following Powell's presentation.  If they don't, it will not 
only harm NATO's credibility but also damage Turkey's trust 
in the Alliance." 
 
 
PEARSON