TURKISH MILITARY SUSPECTS US OF USING UAVS TO

S E C R E T ANKARA 006495 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2026 TAGS: MARR MOPS PTER TU IZ SUBJECT: TURKISH MILITARY SUSPECTS US OF USING UAVS TO MONITOR ITS BORDE Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: Major General Hikmet Celik, Command and Control Chief for the Turkish General Staff (TGS),notified us that an unidentified Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) crossed the border from Iraq into Turkey on November 7 and 8. He requested an investigation and re-stated a previous TGS warning that it will shoot down these aircraft if the flights do not stop. This is the fourth complaint of a UAV cross-border flight since December 2005. We were only able to confirm that one of the flights was in fact ours and have established measures to inform TGS in advance of US flights near the border. The 2004-5 US offer to monitor Turkey's border via UAV for PKK activity (which TGS rejected) and the TGS threat in recent months to conduct a cross-border operation heighten the sensitivity of this issue. Any operational requirement for such flights should be considered in context of TGS sensitivities. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S/NF) MG Celik notified the Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation on November 9 that TGS had received a report of unidentified UAVs -- presumed to be USG-owned -- crossing from Iraq into Turkey on November 7 and 8. He requested an investigation and reminded us that TGS has authorized its troops to shoot down these aircraft. We understand that Deputy Chief of the General Staff GEN Saygun raised this issue with CENTCOM and with VCJCS Giambastiani during his recent US visit. Celik claimed that Turkish army troops along the Iraqi border have visually sighted upwards of 45 such UAV crossings. TGS has complained to the US about the UAV flights four times. Turkish Air Force Commander Gen Comert first raised the issue with USAFE Commander Gen Hobbins in December 2005. Subsequent complaints were received in June and September, including from MFA U/S Tuygan to the Ambassador. TGS reported visual sightings at night of craft with green or white lights that made a humming noise, flew at low altitudes (2,000-3,000 feet),and made sudden moves to the left or right. According to Celik, none of the UAV crossings have appeared on radar. ¶3. (S/NF) The issue gained sensitivity following the increase in PKK terrorist attacks against civilians and military forces this summer when Turkey threatened a cross-border operation against the PKK presence in northern Iraq and the US warned against such action. The Turkish SF Commander in Silopi told the US Liaison Officer there on June 8 that the Americans have no need to "spy on us. Everything we do in Iraq is open." Following the June sightings, TGS alerted us that it had authorized its troops to shoot down these aircraft. ¶4. (S/NF) We responded immediately to each complaint by inquiring with the relevant USG authorities. Only a September 5, 2006 flight (notified by TGS to ODC on September 7) could be confirmed as a Multi-National Forces - Iraq (MNF-I) manned ground alert mission -- not a UAV as TGS claimed. Based on information gathered to-date, the November 7-8 flights were not US-origin. Following GEN Comert's initial complaint, a communication link was established between the MNF-I Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid, Qatar and CAOC-6 in Turkey to alert the Turkish Air Force of all scheduled flights near the Iraqi border with Turkey. Recently, ODC and CAOC-6, in coordination with the MNF-I CAOC, sent TGS a letter outlining proposed procedures to give TGS greater visibility of aircraft operation near the border. TGS is reviewing this proposal. ¶5. (S/NF) In 2004 and again in 2005, as part of a broader plan to assist Turkey to combat the PKK, the US offered to monitor Turkish territory bordering Iraq with US UAVs to watch for PKK incursions into Turkey. On both occasions Turkey rejected this offer, stating that "intelligence-gathering activities over Turkish soil are not needed." Turkey owns four UAVs, three of which are currently inoperable. It has submitted a Letter of Request to the US for the purchase of two Zeppelin balloons through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program as a gap-filler until it develops an indigenous UAV. ¶5. (S/NF) Comment: Turkey's lack of aerial visibility along the border, combined with past US interest in collecting information there, may contribute to TGS anxiety. Any UAV activity on the Turkish side of the border must take TGS sensitivities into account. Where possible, Post recommends coordination with the MNF-I CAOC. End Comment. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON