APPARENT MOVEMENT ON JOWZJAN PRT'S SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000221

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, S/SRAP, SCA/A, EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2020
TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS MARR TU
SUBJECT: APPARENT MOVEMENT ON JOWZJAN PRT'S SECURITY
ARRANGEMENTS

REF: A. ANKARA 119

B. STOCKHOLM 797

Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: MFA confirmed that a meeting took place among
Turkish, Swedish, German and NATO officials on the margins of
the February 4-5 informal NATO Defense Ministerial in
Istanbul and said that there is now an agreement in principle
that Turkey's "civilian PRT" is acceptable to all parties. A
MOU on security arrangements drafted by the Turkish military
based on the Memorandum of Information between the Turkish
PRT at Wardak and RC (East) Command was circulated among the
participants for their review. Turkey also undertook to
draft a "political document" requested by the Swedes
explaining the reasons for the security arrangement in case
the issue is raise by the Swedish parliament. Our MFA
contact seemed more upbeat about prospects for a resolution
on security arrangements for Turkey's second PRT. He said
Turkey is close to concluding all necessary internal
procedures to authorize the deployment and is aiming to
finalize the arrangements with Sweden and Germany by early
March so that the PRT can deploy to Jowzjan as soon as
possible. He did not rule out the possibility of Turkey
deploying its PRT in the absence of an agreement with Sweden
and Germany. Gonenli also provided an update on Turkey's
ANSF training efforts and signaled Turkey's willingness to do
even more. End Summary.

Agreement in Principle on Civilian PRT Approach
-------------- --


2. (C) MFA Afghanistan Desk Officer Burcin Gonenli told us on
February 9 that Turkish, Swedish, German and NATO
International Staff officials met on the margins of the
informal February 4-5 NATO Defense Ministerial to follow up
on their January discussions in Berlin (ref a) regarding
security arrangements for the PRT that Turkey has pledged to
deploy to Jowzjan in 2010. Gonenli stated that there is now
an agreement in principle that Turkey's "civilian PRT" is
acceptable and that it should not be considered anything less
than a PRT. He considered this progress since the Swedes
reportedly expressed doubt about Turkey's civilian PRT
approach at the Berlin meeting and had proposed that the
Turkish contingent in Jowzjan be designated as a "Provincial
Advisory and Reconstruction Team" that would be subordinate
to the Swedish PRT -- a proposal the Turks rejected outright
in Berlin.


3. (C) Turkey made clear to both Sweden and Germany that it
would welcome them to continue their security operations in
Jowzjan and Sari Pul "as if the Turkish PRT was not there"
and pledged that its PRT would not create additional security
burdens for either German or Swedish forces. According to
Gonenli, in order to reach this agreement in principle, the
Turks also told the Swedes at Istanbul that Turkey would not
be against Sweden continuing its development work in Jowzjan
and Sari Pul as long as the two countries' efforts were
deconflicted and that there is clarity on how to engage local
officials regarding development projects.

Remaining Tasks: Agreement on MOU and "Political Document"
-------------- --------------


4. (C) The Turkish military circulated in Istanbul a draft
MOU on security arrangements -- based on the "Memorandum of
Information" concluded between Turkey's Wardak PRT and
RC-East Command -- for the parties' review. The MOU covers
in extremis support, liaison arrangements, communication and
medical support. According to Gonenli, Turkey also undertook
at Sweden's request to draft a concise "political document"
explaining the rational for the security arrangement.
Gonenli said that the document is intended to address
possible Swedish parliamentary concerns over such an
arrangement. Gonenli said the MFA would like to meet again
with the relevant parties by early March to conclude the MOU
and finalize the "political document" requested by Sweden;
this would enable Turkey to deploy its PRT to Jowzjan by
mid-2010.

Internal Procedures for PRT Deployment Almost Complete
-------------- --------------


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5. (C) Gonenli told us that Turkey's internal procedures for
the PRT's deployment is near completion. An MFA official at
the department head level has already been selected as the
PRT lead. Two key steps remain: a joint decree by the
president, prime minister and foreign minister to formally
establish the PRT, and a Council of Ministers decree to
clarify funding mechanisms for the PRT's operation. Neither
are controversial as PM Erdogan, President Gul and FM
Davutoglu all have endorsed Turkey's commitment to deploy a
second PRT. In fact, there is political pressure for the MFA
to move forward quickly with the deployment and Gonenli said
he predicted that Turkey will likely conclude its internal
procedures without waiting for a final agreement on security
arrangements. Gonenli did not rule out the possibility that
Turkey would deploy its PRT in the absence of an agreement on
security arrangements, although he said no decision has been
taken in this regard and that Turkey's strong preference is
to have an agreement in place by the time the PRT deploys.

Update on Turkey's ISAF Contributions
--------------


6. (C) Gonenli also provided us the following updated
information regarding Turkey's ISAF contributions as of
January 2010:

-- Command of RC-Capital with 1753 troops and three utility
helicopters that will remain until October 31, 2010;
-- A second PRT pledged for Jowzjan province with plans to
establish a police training center that will be staffed by a
Turkish police training team;
-- An additional OMLT to be deployed to Kabul (4 Turkish
OMLTs are already deployed in Kabul);
-- Training of 6 Afghan National Army (ANA) infantry
companies at Turkey's Mountain Commando School in Isparta has
begun;
-- 6-8 week training will be provided for battalion-size ANA
units in Turkey.
-- Establishment of the Kabul Military Training Center where
battalion-sized ANA units will receive training. The center
will be capable of training 600 troops at a time. 27
trainers have deployed in February and the center is planned
to become operational in March 2010;
-- Expanding the range of training courses in Turkey made
available to Afghan National Police officers;
-- Commitment to deploy a gendarmerie OMLT as part of the EGF
training effort under the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan
(Turkey is still awaiting EGF nations' agreement for Turkish
participation in the mission);

Gonenli also indicated Turkey's willingness to deploy Police
Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams (POMLTs) to Afghanistan.
Requests for Turkey to deploy POLMTs, however, will have to
be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) The MFA appears willing to consider deploying its PRT
even in the absence of an agreement with Sweden and Germany,
although it is clear that this would not be Ankara's
preference. The MFA also seems to be signaling that Turkey
may be willing to do still more on training for both ANA and
Afghan National Police Forces, including in Afghanistan.
With its command of RC-Capital concluding at the end of
October 2010, Turkey may be willing to maintain some of its
forces in Kabul to serve in a mentoring or support role as
the ANA takes on increasing security responsibilities,
beginning in Kabul. Turkey also appears to be open to
requests for police training teams. We believe targeted
requests for additional training contributions that are
coordinated with ISAF and made by Afghan authorities over the
coming months will be seriously considered by Turkey.
Jeffrey

"Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s
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