Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ANKARA2332
2005-04-25 14:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

ISAF: TURKS SAY CAVEATS ARE BASED ON NATO PLANNING

Tags:  PREL MARR AF TU NATO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

251457Z Apr 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002332 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR AF TU NATO
SUBJECT: ISAF: TURKS SAY CAVEATS ARE BASED ON NATO PLANNING

REF: STATE 60862

Classified By: Acting Counselor for Political-Military Affairs Maggie N
ardi for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002332

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR AF TU NATO
SUBJECT: ISAF: TURKS SAY CAVEATS ARE BASED ON NATO PLANNING

REF: STATE 60862

Classified By: Acting Counselor for Political-Military Affairs Maggie N
ardi for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) The Turkish military has told us that many of the
national caveats on its ISAF forces are based on the ISAF
Operations Plan (OPLAN) and other NATO requirements. Turkey
will not remove its caveats, but would support changes in the
OPLAN and AOR to meet Alliance needs. End summary.


2. (C) PolMilOff discussed reftel demarche April 5 with Alper
Coskun, MFA Head of Department for NATO, who said he would
look into Turkish caveats in ISAF. PolMilCouns and PolMilOff
followed up April 13 with Maj Gen Mehmet Eroz, TGS Deputy J3.
Eroz responded that many of Turkey's caveats are a direct
reflection of the ISAF Operations Plan (OPLAN) and other NATO
requirements. Following are his views on each caveat in
question.

Infantry Company in Police District One
--------------


3. (C) NATO requested an infantry company to serve in a
particular area, namely Police District One, so that is where
Turkey placed its company. Eroz went on to say that "you
can't just let a company go off by itself to do its own
thing." He said Turkey might be open to putting the company
elsewhere, but only if lines of command were clear (and the
request were to come from the Alliance).

QRF Restricted to ISAF Central Area
--------------


4. (C) Eroz said that under the ISAF OPLAN Turkey's QRF was
assigned to the central area. He said this is less a caveat
than fulfillment of a NATO requirement. "You should ask NATO
HQ to change the requirement for ISAF VIII," he suggested.

Turkish Units Will Only Operate Under German Battalion
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Eroz said that Turkey did not require German command,
but that the Germans happen to command the battalion under
which Turkey's forces serve. Turks are ready to serve under
whichever NATO Ally is in command of the battalion in
question, he said.

National Approval to Operate Outside the ISAF AOR
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Eroz said that as ISAF's AOR changes (as approved by
the Alliance),Turkey can change with it.

Limitation of Use of Forces
--------------


7. (C) Eroz asserted that most of the activities listed in
this caveat (minefield clearing, counternarcotics, terrorism,
even protection of Afghan civilians) are not covered by the
ISAF OPLAN. For example, Eroz claimed, counternarcotics only
comes into the OPLAN under the heading of information and
intelligence exchange. Turkish forces are prepared to carry
our what is required in the OPLAN, Eroz said, but are not
authorized to do more unless the OPLAN changes.


8. (C) Eroz said that Turkey is prepared to be flexible if
NATO wants to change the ISAF OPLAN, and signaled that Turkey
is prepared to support many such changes. But since many of
Turkey's caveats are essentially derived from the OPLAN, the
GOT not prepared to unilaterally remove its caveats. If ISAF
and OEF are to merge, Eroz noted, the OPLAN will become
increasingly comprehensive and complex. We checked back in
with MFA's Coskun on April 28; he confirmed that Eroz's
position on ISAF caveats was in line with the GOT view.


9. (U) Kabul minimize considered.
EDELMAN