Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ANKARA6002
2003-09-23 14:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

Tags:  OPRC KMDR TU 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006002

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
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2003

THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:


HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
-------------- --------------


HEADLINES


MASS APPEAL
Pentagon approval required for $8.5 billion - Sabah
Iraq condition on $8.5 billion - Hurriyet
Gul: Troop decision won't be delayed until late October -
Hurriyet
Cofer Black due in Ankara for talks on PKK - Milliyet
Britain wants Turkish troops for Iraq - Turkiye


OPINION MAKERS
Troop bargaining in New York - Radikal
UN Baghdad building a target once again - Cumhuriyet
New suicide attack on UN building in Baghdad - Radikal
Barzani wants the Arabs out - Radikal
Saddam's supporters rally in Fallujah - Yeni Safak
9/11 accelerated change in Saudi Arabia - Zaman
IMF praises Turkish economy - Yeni Safak
Iraq to privatize all sectors except oil - Zaman
Peres: Arafat deserves Nobel peace prize - Zaman




BRIEFING


Turkish troops for Iraq: Turkish dailies expect the
government to pass a motion by mid-October authorizing the
deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq. Foreign Minister Gul
said that Turkey can not afford to stay out of Iraq while
countries like Iran and Israel are attempting to exert
influence in the region. A UN mandate might help ease
Ankara's concerns, Gul said, but Turkey's decision does not
solely depend on a new UN resolution. Responding to a
question, Gul said that the U.S. had offered a loan to cover
deployment expenses for Turkish troops. Gul criticized
TUSIAD chairman Tuncay Ozilhan's statement over the weekend
in which he opposed a Turkish contribution to the Iraqi
stabilization mission. Gul accused `foreign powers' of
being behind the TUSIAD statement.


Gul meets Iraqi interim government officials: Papers write
that Iraqi officials are changing their negative attitude
regarding a possible Turkish military presence in Iraq.
Foreign Minister Gul met in New York Monday with Ahmad
Chalabi, head of the Iraqi interim governing council, and
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hosyar Zebari. Zebari told Gul that
his reported objections to Turkish peacekeepers in Iraq were
misinterpreted. "Zaman" views Zebari's remarks as an
apology to Turkey. "Radikal" believes that Gul has
bargained with Iraqi officials over sending troops to Iraq.



Turkish liaison team in Baghdad: A liaison team of four TGS
officers arrived in Baghdad on Monday. The team will be
responsible for coordination between Turkish and U.S. forces
in the north of Iraq. The Turkish officers will work at the
headquarters of General Ricardo Sanchez in Baghdad.


Cofer Black due in Turkey: State Department counter-
terrorism coordinator Cofer Black will visit Turkey during
the first week of October, "Milliyet" reports. Black will
discuss with Turkish officials the elimination of the terror
threat posed by the PKK/KADEK in Northern Iraq.
U.S., Turkey $8.5 billion loan agreement: State Minister
Ali Babacan and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow signed an
$8.5 billion loan accord aimed at relieving the negative
effects of the Iraq war on Turkey's economy. Babacan said
the agreement would make a positive contribution to Turkey's
economic reform program. Snow stressed at the signing
ceremony in Dubai on Monday that the loan package and
Turkey's troop deployment in Iraq are two separate issues.
"Sabah" notes that that the Pentagon will review the release
of each loan disbursement. The approval of the IMF, U.S.
Treasury, and the State Department will also be required.


Iran says Erdogan might visit Tehran: In a statement to the
official Iranian news agency IRNA, Iran's Ambassador to
Ankara Firuz Devletabadi said that Prime Minister Erdogan
would likely visit Tehran within the next month.




EDITORIAL OPINION: President Bush at the UNGA


"The UN and Legitimacy"
Sami Kohen wrote in the mass appeal Milliyet (9/23): "The
upcoming UN meeting aims to achieve legitimacy on the Iraq
issue and to increase the role of the UN. Yet at the same
time, the UN organization is questioning its very existence.
. The recent Iraq crisis, as Secretary General Annan put it,
has proven the need for radical reforms within the UN.
Annan suggests a reorganization of the UNSC as a first step
in this reform process. . The US ignored the UN and acted
unilaterally in Iraq. However, it is now the United States
that seeks support from the UN. The truth is that the UN is
still in need of extensive reform. This does not mean that
after the reforms the UN will be able to assume the role of
a global government authority. The UN is a union of
nations, and each nation has its own interest. UN
resolutions are produced based on these interests rather
than on supranational values. The implementation of UN
resolutions is in fact another subject for discussion.
Under the circumstances, it is debatable whether the UN is
the primary source of legitimacy in resolving international
disputes."


"Bush trembles"
Ozgen Acar argued in the social democrat-intellectual
Cumhuriyet (9/23): "President Bush is going to speak at the
UN General Assembly and is expected to ask for the
international community's support in Iraq. This is
interesting, as Bush has so far ignored the UN role. US
policies in Iraq have failed. Even Secretary Powell has
admitted that the US underestimated the problems in Iraq. .
September 11 and its aftermath, including the situation in
Iraq, highlighted the weakness of American intelligence.
President Bush was incapable of finding either WMD or Saddam
Hussein. According to various opinion polls in the US, Bush
is rapidly losing his popular support. . It seems that the
Democrats have a fairly strong candidate in the upcoming
election. Wesley Clark, despite his military background,
describes the Iraq war as a mistake. . The US has become a
very interesting place, where military figures are the doves
and civilians are the hawks."


EDELMAN