US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4426

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004426 
 
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 
MONDAY, JULY 14, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gen. Sylvester awaits Washington's approval to release 
statement - Hurriyet 
U.S. will voice `regret,' not `apology' over 
Suleymaniye arrests - Turkiye 
Goodwill visit by `Crazy Arab' - Sabah 
Ankara shows `red card' to Talabani - Turkiye 
The day Baghdad fell declared official holiday - 
Milliyet 
CIA, U.S. Administration's scapegoat - Hurriyet 7/13 
Half of Americans think Bush is a liar - Milliyet 7/13 
Democrats press Bush to reveal the truth on Iraqi WMD - 
Milliyet 7/13 
Incirlik Commander Col. Felman: Turks our best ally - 
Milliyet 7/12 
Blair voices support for Turkey's EU drive - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bremer convenes interim Iraqi government - Radikal 
Bremer ready to share troubles in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
7/13 
Americans launch 4th operation to break Iraqi 
resistance - Cumhuriyet 
Sezer letter to Bush: Suleymaniye raid unacceptable - 
Cumhuriyet 
`Pinocchio' Blair - Radikal 7/13 
Denktas offers Varosha in return for access to Nicosia 
airport - Radikal 7/12 
Greeks cold to Denktas proposal - Zaman 7/13 
Weston: Annan Plan the sole path to Cyprus solution - 
Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Turkish-U.S. commission for Suleymaniye detentions: 
Lieutenant-General John Sylvester paid an inspection 
visit to Kerkuk and Suleymaniye on Friday.  The 
Americans were forced to withdraw their accusations 
against Turkish special forces in the region, including 
the allegation of an assassination attempt against 
Kirkuk's Kurdish governor.  General Sylvester came back 
to Ankara on Sunday, and meetings of the joint 
commission resumed.  A joint statement by the 
commission is expected on Monday.  The American 
delegation is awaiting Washington's approval to release 
the statement, dailies report.  General Sylvester has 
admitted that the methods used by U.S. soldiers in 
detaining the Turks were wrong.  The U.S. side is to 
launch an investigation against its troops involved in 
the raid.  Papers also say that President Sezer will 
send a letter on the issue to President Bush via U.S. 
Ambassador Robert Pearson.  Sezer's letter will 
denounce the mistreatment of Turkish troops.  Prime 
Minister Erdogan said that the U.S. side had fulfilled 
all promises made by Vice President Cheney following 
the arrests.  Meanwhile, papers write that Ankara, 
believing Talabani to be behind the Suleymaniye 
incident, has refused to renew the PUK leader's Turkish 
passport. 
General Abizaid due to Turkey: The new CENTCOM 
Chairman, General John Abizaid, will stop over in 
Turkey on his way to Qatar later this week, "Sabah" 
reports.  General Abizaid will extend an `olive branch' 
to Ankara to repair the strain over the Suleymaniye 
arrests.  The paper quotes an official from the U.S. 
Administration as saying that the Abizaid visit could 
open a new chapter in bilateral relations. 
 
 
Erdogan conveys Bush message to Assad: Prime Minister 
Erdogan conveyed a message by President Bush to Syrian 
President Assad in a telephone conversation on Friday. 
Erdogan reportedly urged Syria to make a reliable and 
convincing effort to combat terrorism.  Assad promised 
decisive action in the fight against terror, and said 
that the Syrian prime minister would visit Turkey on 
July 28 to discuss the matter in detail. 
 
 
Washington Institute report on Turkey: Saturday's 
"Hurriyet" carries excerpts of a report by the 
Washington Institute (WI) drawing attention to rising 
anti-American sentiment in Turkey.  The report urges 
Ankara to work together with the U.S. to eliminate the 
PKK/KADEK presence in Northern Iraq.  Ankara should see 
the Iraqi Kurds as part of the `Turkish family,' the 
report argues.  WI also warns that Congressional 
approval of a resolution on the Armenian genocide would 
worsen ties with Turkey. 
 
 
Cyprus: In a letter to the UN, Turkish Cypriot leader 
Denktas offered a new package of confidence-building 
measures.  Denktas suggests that both Turkish and Greek 
Cypriots should use the abandoned town of Varosha and 
have access to the international airport in Nicosia. 
In exchange, Greek Cypriot vessels and planes will be 
given access to Turkish harbors and airports, and 
Turkey will launch free trade activities with the Greek 
Cypriots.  Papers believe that the Greek Cypriot side 
is unlikely to abandon the UN-sponsored peace plan, 
which has firm EU backing. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: US-Turkish Relations/Iraq 
 
 
"The Day After" 
Asli Aydintasbas wrote in mass appeal Sabah (7/14): 
"The Suleymaniye crisis stemmed largely from US 
commanders in CENTCOM acting on their own initiative. 
This is not the first crisis between the Turkish 
military and CENTCOM.  There is ongoing mistrust on 
both sides.  However, the high-ranking military and 
political authorities on both the Turkish and American 
sides are working assiduously to find a settlement to 
the crisis.  On the US side, very important names 
including Cheney, Wolfowitz and Powell consider the US 
action in Suleymaniye to be a mistake, and take 
Turkey's objections as justifiable arguments.  Of 
course, they don't make these views public.  In fact, 
the parameters of Turkish-American relations have 
changed in post-war Iraq.  Turkey has lost its position 
as indispensable for the US.  The new parameters will 
be developed based on the level of cooperation on the 
Iraq issue." 
"The Wings of Pentagon and Turkey" 
Ali Aslan wrote from Washington in the Islamist- 
intellectual Zaman (7/14): "It is obvious that the 
Pentagon was by-passed in the Suleymaniye incident. 
There are two wings at the Pentagon -- the civilian 
wing and the military wing. . Leaders of the military 
wing are so upset with Turkey because of the its 
rejection of US troop deployments that they don't even 
want to hear Turkey's name mentioned.  This sentiment 
will likely continue for at least another 5 to 10 
years. . The civilian wing, on the other hand, is under 
the control of the `neo-conservatives.'  They seem to 
be willing to move on with Turkey and put their 
disappointment behind them.  Their overall attitude 
about Turkey coincides with the State Department's 
moderate approach.  . Both wings of the Pentagon have 
something in common: They both want to see the Iraqi 
Kurds have more influence and more representation -- 
not only in the north, but throughout Iraq.  They would 
like to keep Turkey out of northern Iraq to the extent 
possible as long as Turkey resists the US vision for 
the Kurds.  The neo-cons, however, do not approve of 
the way the Turkish soldiers were treated in the 
Suleymaniye incident.  So in this particular event, it 
is the military wing of the Pentagon that should to be 
blamed." 
 
 
PEARSON