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