THANKS TO OUR MILITARY

UNCLAS ANKARA 007118 SIPDIS BAGHDAD PLEASE PASS TO MNF-I AND TO TASK FORCE OLYMPIA FROM CHARGE ROBERT DEUTSCH FOR GENERAL CASEY AND BRIG. GEN. HAM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MASS MOPS PREL TU IZ SUBJECT: THANKS TO OUR MILITARY REF: ANKARA 7075 ¶1. I want to express my sincere thanks to you and the men and women of your commands for your daily heroism and dedication, but most specifically for your assistance to Turkey following the Dec. 17 insurgent attack against a convoy of Turkish officials in Mosul. Task Force Olympia's soldiers risked their lives to assist at the scene of the attack, to care for the wounded, to collect the bodies of two of the murdered Turks from downtown Mosul, and then to run a convoy from Mosul to the Turkish border to deliver the bodies of five Turkish officials back home. ¶2. In addition, your team at our medical facility at Balad expertly cared for a Turkish official who was wounded in the Mosul attack. Finally, MNF-I C3 and C5 coordinated on an extremely tight time frame to identify assets to fly the WIA official from Balad to BIAP to catch a flight home on a Turkish military aircraft. Along the way, everyone at MNF-I and TFO responded to Embassy Ankara's requests for assistance with professionalism and a "can-do" attitude. ¶3. The incident in Mosul was a tragedy for the Turkish people and their government. The degree of their emotions was marked at the funeral ceremony, where the entire establishment from the President on down and thousands of Turks participated. Multiple senior Turkish officials have repeatedly told us how important the assistance you provided was. I should add that a number of them have subsequently called to express their condolences for the horrific attack on our forces in Mosul on Tuesday. Your people have done much to help in our relationship with Turkey and in our efforts to encourage their constructive engagement with Iraq. ¶4. Baghdad minimize considered. DEUTSCH