US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4559

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004559 
 
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 21, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Turkey's 28th Brigade to Iraq - Hurriyet 
Amb. Pearson: N. Iraq should not be a fault line 
between the U.S. and Turkey - 
Hurriyet 7/20 
Ankara bargains on Iraq with U.S. Generals - Sabah 7/20 
Amb. Pearson: We'll use force against the PKK if 
necessary - Aksam 
Abizaid, Jones happy with Ankara visit - Milliyet 7/20 
Blair won't resign - Milliyet 
Tenet blames Wolfowitz for false info on Iraqi WMD - 
Hurriyet 
75 percent of Britons want Blair to step down - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Gul to bargain in U.S. over Turkish troops for Iraq - 
Cumhuriyet 
U.S. commanders asked for Turkish troops for Iraq - 
Zaman 7/20 
U.S. to form army of Iraqi collaborators - Cumhuriyet 
Iran tests Shahab-III missiles - Radikal 
Dr. Kelly latest victim of Iraq war - Cumhuriyet 7/20 
25,000 protest U.S. troops in Najaf - Yeni Safak 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
FM Gul due to U.S.: Foreign Minister Gul said before 
his visit to the U.S. this week that his meetings in 
Washington will help to repair strains between the two 
countries following the Suleymaniye incident.  Dailies 
predict that Gul will discuss the issue of Turkey's 
contribution to Iraqi peacekeeping, and the terrorist 
presence of the PKK in Northern Iraq.  Weekend papers 
quote Gul as denying press reports that Turkey had 
agreed to pull back troops from the region.  Gul said 
his visit will open a new chapter in strategic 
cooperation with the U.S. 
 
 
Turkish contribution to Iraqi peacekeeping: The Turkish 
military's 28th Peace Brigade has started preparations 
for an Iraqi peacekeeping mission, Monday's "Hurriyet" 
reported.  The GOT is positive in principle about 
joining the peacekeeping mission in Iraq, but wants 
clarification of the status and location of its troops. 
The ruling AKP is expected to submit to the parliament 
a motion in late July to deploy about 5,000 troops in 
Iraq. 
 
 
Ambassador Pearson's farewell interview: U.S. 
Ambassador to Ankara, W. Robert Pearson, gave an 
exclusive interview to "Hurrriyet" on Sunday.  Pearson 
voiced regret over the Suleymaniye incident.  He said 
the U.S. was waiting to see the impact of the 
Repentance Law for defectors from terror organizations. 
`PKK/KADEK terrorists will either surrender or face the 
alternative, which is removal of their presence in 
Northern Iraq through military force,' Ambassador 
Pearson stressed.  Pearson said the GOT had given U.S. 
assurances last year regarding a northern front for 
Iraq.  `The refusal of the related motion by the 
parliament was a big disappointment for all sides,' 
Pearson noted. 
 
 
In a statement following the departure of visiting U.S. 
Generals Jones and Abizaid on Saturday, Ambassador 
Pearson said the visits were a reaffirmation of the 
close ties between the militaries of the two NATO 
allies.  Pearson confirmed that Turkey's contribution 
to Iraqi peacekeeping activities was discussed 
`informally' during the meetings in Ankara. 
 
 
U.S. Generals' Turkey visit: EUCOM Commander General 
James Jones, and CENTCOM Chairman General John Abizaid 
came to Ankara on Friday to take the pulse of the 
Turkish leadership and strengthen mutual confidence in 
the wake of the Suleymaniye incident.  The generals 
reportedly asked Ankara to send at least a brigade to 
Iraq to help in infrastructure work and to assist in 
the training of an Iraqi army and police force.  The 
sides have also discussed the possibility of a joint 
operation against the PKK.  Dailies believe the U.S. is 
working on a formula acceptable to Ankara and the 
Kurdish groups in Northern Iraq in order to remove the 
PKK/KADEK presence from the region. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq and US-Turkey relations/WMD 
controversy 
 
 
"Repair of US-Turkey relations goes through Iraq " 
Yasemin Congar commented on the upcoming visit by FM 
Gul to Washington in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (7/21): 
"Turkey needs a new policy for northern Iraq to ensure 
that incidents such as the one in Suleymaniye will not 
occur again.  It should also make sure that Turkey 
would never be involved in improper acts in the region, 
which were depicted by US authorities as `paramilitary' 
activities.  All of this can only be achieved if new 
policies are made and implemented not only by the 
military, but also under the supervision of Turkey's 
political authority.  The upcoming visit of Foreign 
Minister Gul to Washington will provide an opportunity 
to deepen the bilateral dialogue.  Yet a solid basis of 
trust in the bilateral relationship can only be 
achieved once Turkey takes steps to change its policy 
in Iraq.  The way to heal the Turkish-American 
relationship goes is to deal directly with the wound - 
that is, in Iraq." 
 
 
"The change of US thinking after 9/11" 
Tufan Turenc argued in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" 
(7/21): "It is becoming more obvious every day that 
both Bush and Blair lied to the whole world as well as 
their own people in order to justify the Iraq 
operation.  President Bush may have been acting in a 
rather irrational way because of the "September 11 
psychology," but there is no way to understand Blair's 
position. President Bush is likely to lose the upcoming 
elections for having led the United States into the 
"Iraq swamp." . The incident in Suleymaniye and the way 
the Turkish soldiers were treated is another example of 
the post-9/11 syndrome.  . The normalization of Turkish- 
American relations can only come once Bush and the neo- 
conservatives leave power in the US." 
 
 
PEARSON