MASS APPEAL Bush asks money from Congress, divides Iraq into three - Hurriyet Ankara reacts to Bush's Northern Iraq remarks - Sabah Bush vows not to withdraw from Iraq - Milliyet Bush asks for $87 billion for Iraq - Aksam Bush asks for $87 billion, a brigade, and UN support for Iraq - Vatan Northern Iraq corridor a rough spot between U.S., Turkey - Sabah Iraqi interim government delegation in Turkey September 11 - Milliyet More sabotage on Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline - Hurriyet Iraqi tribes want Turkish troops - Sabah Shiites turn down U.S. order to abandon arms - Turkiye Ocalan's brother threatens Syria - Vatan
OPINION MAKERS Bush admits defeat - Cumhuriyet Bush asks for patience, money - Radikal Ankara angry at U.S. emphasis on Northern Iraq - Radikal Bush praises autonomy of Northern Iraq - Zaman Bush signals Kurdish state - Yeni Safak Mukhtada Al-Sadr militia refuses to give up weapons - Yeni Safak UK to deploy 1,200 additional troops in Iraq - Cumhuriyet Arab League to welcome Zebari - Radikal Uzan family owes $7 million to Jordan - Zaman Ilham Aliyev asks Erdogan for support in Azeri elections - Zaman
BRIEFING
Ankara uneasy with Bush address: Ankara is upset with President Bush for referring to increasing `self-governance' in Northern Iraq in his speech Sunday night. Papers expect the MFA to warn Washington about Turkey's concerns. Nationalist and Islamist papers view the President's comment as a signal for the establishment of a Kurdish state. Foreign Minister Gul said President Bush did not imply a separate state, but was only referring to the various sectors in Iraq. Dailies interpret the Bush statement as a message to Turkey to speed up the process for a troop deployment in Iraq. Papers quote American sources as reassuring Turkey about the strong guarantees that had been given by the U.S. regarding Iraq's territorial integrity.
Iraqi delegations to Ankara: Representatives of the Council of Iraqi Tribes as well as a delegation from the interim Iraqi government are due in Ankara later this week for talks with the MFA about a possible Turkish peacekeeping mission in Iraq. "Aksam" reports that tribal leaders and Sunni clerics in Iraq are expressing gratitude for the humanitarian aid extended by Turkey. Tribal chiefs would welcome Turkish troops within the framework of an Iraqi peacekeeping mission, according to "Aksam."
Turkish troop deployment in Iraq: The U.S. is favorable toward a Turkish proposal for a Turkey's peacekeepers to work in a separate zone in Iraq, under Turkish command. However, the U.S. is uncomfortable with Ankara's suggestion that it will deploy additional troops to safeguard the transit of peacekeepers through Northern Iraq. "Sabah" writes that the U.S. will soon send a delegation to Ankara to discuss the PKK/KADEK presence in Northern Iraq. The U.S. has offered three different zones to Turkey, papers report. Ankara is not willing to deploy troops in and around Baghdad under American command. "Radikal" quotes diplomatic sources as saying that the areas near Al-Ambar and Ninova are the most likely destinations for Turkish peacekeepers.
PKK/KADEK threatens Syria: PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's brother Osman has threatened the Syrian Administration for the recent handing over of eight senior PKK officials to Turkey, "Hurriyet" reports. Ocalan said that the Syrian Kurds would not remain silent to the arrests. In a statement to the PKK/KADEK media outlet Medya TV, Ocalan said the organization would wait for three months for another cease-fire proposal from Turkey. Ocalan denounced the repentance law for PKK defectors, saying his group is not seeking an amnesty.
EDITORIAL OPINION: State of the Union/Iraq
"State of the Union" Fehmi Koru evaluates the President's speech in the Islamist- intellectual Yeni Safak (9/9): "President Bush acknowledged the failure of the war-mongering lobby in Washington. He basically called on Americans to be prepared for more troubled days ahead. . Despite Turkey's picking on the part of the speech mentioning northern Iraq, Bush has actually made more important remarks, including the US intention to give the UN a greater role in Iraq. Moreover, President Bush for the first time touched on the subject of `leaving Iraq.' . In the US public, the fiscal burden of the Iraq operation and the additional USD 87 million will be the main factor to cause growing disappointment. . Bush is losing serious ground because of his handling of the Iraq issue. President Bush's State of the Union address also proved once again the correctness of Turkey's decision to stay out of the war, which was based on lies and false claims in the first place."
"A dual game" Zafer Atay criticized in economic-politic Dunya (9/9): "The anti-Turkish, pro-Kurdish remarks by northern Iraqi Kurdish figures are not just ordinary comments. Turkey should not underestimate these remarks, because they could not be possible without US backing. The US is very much aware of Iraqi Kurdish sentiment about Turkey. On the one hand the US overlooks the anti-Turkish statements by Iraqi Kurds, and on the other hand Washington knocks on Turkey's door for the deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq. . There are two ways to explain this odd situation. Either the US administration is not influential enough on the Kurds, or the US is playing a double game by working with Turkey and giving concessions to the Kurds at the same time. Both possibilities are very bad."
Home
Cables mirror and Afghan War Diary
Privacy
how-to