TGS QUESTIONS ON GME

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001230 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2029 TAGS: MARR PGOV PREL TU XF SUBJECT: TGS QUESTIONS ON GME REF: STATE 35891 (U) Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In response to questions from the Turkish General Staff regarding the Greater Middle East Initiative, on February 27 deputy PolMil counselor met with TGS/J5 staff officers and, drawing on reftel, briefed them on the GME concept. They had already seen the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative paper circulated in Brussels. The TGS officers posed a number of questions during the discussion: -- Which countries are included in the GME? Why is Syria not included in list of countries in reftel, while Iran is (both are state sponsors of terrorism)? Is Syria included or not? If not, why not? -- Are the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus included? If not, why not? -- What if any relationship is there between GME and the Global Force Posture Review? (TGS suspects that they are related: perhaps the reason that the US has so many forces in the region -- and wants to move more of them to the east as part of the posture review -- is to be able to have the capability to use mil force to further the objectives of the GME.) -- What if any expectations does the US have for Turkey as far as the GME is concerned? What does the US mean when it says that it wants countries like US to support the GME? What type of support is the US looking for from a country such as Turkey? -- By including Turkey as one of the countries in the GME, does this mean that the US sees Turkey's future more in the Middle east than in Europe? (Deputy PolMilCouns argued that Turkey could be both squarely in Europe and still play a leading role in the Middle East, but it was clear that the military officers saw it as "one or the other.") -- TGS would welcome more information/details on the security dimension of the GME. -- What, if any, criteria is there for countries to be part of the GME initiative? What does "self-selecting" mean? -- Beyond policy pronouncements, is there programmatic content to the GME? -- Will the GME continue to be a high priority if President Bush loses in November? (Deputy PolMilCouns argued that the initiative has bi-partisan support, as witnessed during PM Erdogan's meetings on Capitol Hill while in Washington in January.) ¶2. (C) Comment: Under Secretary Grossman will visit Ankara this week to discuss GME with the GOT, and we expect he will face similar questions. We would welcome guidance to respond to these questions before his arrival on March 4 if possible. EDELMAN