TURKEY'S COUNTER-TERRORISM COUNCIL: FULL ARRAY OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002503 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2017 TAGS: PTER ASEC PREL PGOV TU IZ SUBJECT: TURKEY'S COUNTER-TERRORISM COUNCIL: FULL ARRAY OF MEASURES ON THE TABLE REF: ANKARA 2500 Classified By: DCM Nancy McEldowney, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Turkey's counter-terrorism council met October 10 under the chairmanship of PM Erdogan. It issued a written statement which places all options - economic, political, legal and military - on the table. By taking a broad-reaching approach, the Turks are putting the Iraqis on notice - especially the KRG - that they will flex their muscles as they see fit to deal with the terrorist PKK holed up in northern Iraq. They are also buying time, pending the October 10 vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Armenian genocide. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Turkey's counter-terrorism council met for three-and-a-half hours October 10 under the chairmanship of PM Erdogan. At the end of the meeting, the Council released an announcement which concluded that the PKK, uneasy about recent positive developments and facing diminishing public support, appeared to be trying to provoke conflict. To that end, the appropriate Turkish institutions had been instructed to take all legal, economic, and political measures, including a cross-border operation if necessary to end the PKK's presence in northern Iraq. (See full text below, para 5.) ¶3. (C) The council's statement continues the relatively nuanced approach previewed October 9 by government spokesman and Deputy PM Cemil Cicek: all aspects of the issue, and their consequences, will be considered. This includes a focus on continuing to try to improve the economic and political situation for Turkey's citizens in the southeast. By stating that the goal is to end the PKK's presence in Iraq and referring to the full array of measures at Turkey's disposal, the Council is likely putting the Iraqi Kurds on notice that Turkey can and will take whatever measures it deems necessary. ¶4. (C) Comment: The Turks appear to have concluded that their best course of action -- if the USG will not act -- is to take matters into their own hands. Their approach is a nuanced one, however, that takes into account the need to continue to support their own citizens. With respect to northern Iraq, however, that means using all political, legal and economic levers at their disposal to show the Iraqi Kurds that they mean business. They may also hope the leverage will result in agreement on the final "hot pursuit" article in the recently-concluded bilateral counter-terrorism agreement. The Turks will now be relentless in the use of all possible means - without ever taking a possible CBO off the table -- to show that they can inflict non-military pain and pressure KRG President Barzani into taking action. ¶5. (U) Informal translation of Counter-Terrorism Council's October 10 statement: "At the meeting, evaluations were made concerning the terrorist incidents in recent days, primarily the loathsome attacks against civilian citizens and security forces in Sirnak province. Additional measure and methods that need to be taken in the fight against terrorism were also discussed. "It was assessed that the organization, which has been feeling uneasy about the recent economic, social and political developments and whose public support has dissipated, was trying to increase its bloody terrorist acts. It (the Council) decided to continue without abatement these activities in order to increase the peace, security and welfare of our citizens. "Within this framework, necessary orders and instructions were given to institutions and establishments for them to take all legal, economic and political measures, including a cross-border operation if necessary, in the coming period in order to end the presence of the terrorist organization in a ANKARA 00002503 002 OF 002 neighboring country." Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON