This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Bush: Another UN resolution not necessary - Turkiye 
American press: U.S. can do without Turkey - Sabah 
U.S.: Take the $26 billion package - Vatan 
Erdogan: U.S. should consider our sensitivities - Milliyet 
Bush: Turkey has no better friend than U.S. - Aksam 
EU wants Iraq intervention under UN umbrella - Hurriyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Washington steps up pressure: Time is up - Cumhuriyet 
Bush: We are best friends with Turkey -- Radikal 
President Sezer: A second UN resolution essential - Radikal 
U.S. to Turkey: We're friends, so decide now - Zaman 
Ankara resists U.S. pressure - Yeni Safak 
200,000 U.S. troops in Gulf region - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
Central Bank: Structural reforms to minimize war damages - 
Dunya 
Iraq war will hit global tourism, agriculture - Finansal 
Forum 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Iraq: Dailies comment that the U.S. is uneasy about the 
tough bargaining with Turkey over economic support in the 
event of a war with Iraq, and claim that the Bush 
Administration wonders whether Turkey's demand for $92 
billion as war compensation is a pretext to shy away from 
cooperation with the U.S.  Papers quote Ari Fleischer as 
stressing that the U.S. will continue to work with Turkey, 
and that President Bush is awaiting Ankara's decision.  AKP 
leader Erdogan said on Tuesday that the permission extended 
by Turkey to the U.S. regarding modernization of bases is 
`not irreversible.'  President Sezer has joined Erdogan in 
`thwarting the American blackmail' by saying that foreign 
troops would be allowed in Turkey only under a framework of 
international legitimacy.  Erdogan said at his party group 
meeting on Tuesday there are two options Turkey could 
choose: either to shape historical developments, or merely 
observe the course of those developments.  "Hurriyet" claims 
that President Bush has offered to send a letter to 
President Sezer to ease Turkey's economic concerns, but the 
Turks insisted on a memorandum of understanding on such 
issues.  Dailies claim that Turkey has presented five 
conditions to the U.S.: 
- U.S. plans regarding the future of Iraq should be shared 
with Turkey; 
- Turkey will not accept divisions along ethnic lines in 
Iraq; 
- The control of northern Iraq, except for Mosul, should be 
left to Turkey; 
- British or Kurdish groups to join the coalition against 
Saddam Hussein should not enter Mosul; 
- Written guarantees by the U.S. are needed for Turkey. 
Prime Minister Gul reportedly said that Ankara is awaiting 
the U.S. response to Turkey's demands before taking the 
issue of foreign troop deployment to the parliament. 
"Cumhuriyet" reports that the Turkish and U.S. militaries 
will command their own troops in northern Iraq through a 
structure of close coordination.  Only U.S. troops will 
enter Mosul, and Turkey will send observers there, papers 
report. 
IMF postpones departure: The IMF delegation now in Turkey is 
reportedly awaiting the outcome of negotiations between the 
U.S. and Turkey before finalizing its fourth review. 
Completion of the review will bring $1.6 billion to Ankara. 
Dailies speculate that talks with the IMF are deadlocked due 
to the ongoing bargaining about deployment of U.S. troops in 
Turkey, and that the U.S. is using its influence on the IMF 
to step up pressure on Ankara.  The IMF delegation, chaired 
by Turkey Desk Chief Kahkonen, held meetings with economic 
officials on Tuesday, and discussed the budget and primary 
surplus target for 2003. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
 
"Better stand against both the war and Saddam" 
Mehmet Barlas wrote in mass appeal Aksam (2/19): "By 
standing only against the US military action, people are 
encouraging Saddam and others like him.  Therefore, the 
Saddam regime considers Chirac, Schoreder, and the anti-war 
masses as its allies. . Turkey should think about the 
benefits of an Iraq with or without Saddam, both for Turkey 
and for all of humanity.  Recent history tells us about the 
consequences of having despotic regimes in Turkey's 
immediate neighborhood. . In the example of today's Iraq, 
neither Kurds, nor Shiites nor Turkomen are safe and secure. 
We still don't know exactly how many intellectually 
brilliant Iraqis were killed only because of their 
opposition to Saddam.  Saying `no' to war is well and good, 
yet it requires a certain degree of intellectualism to be 
able to say `no' to both a war and to Saddam." 
 
 
"Racing against time" 
Sami Kohen wrote in mass appeal Milliyet (2/19): "The time 
factor has become even more important right now, 
particularly in Turkish-American relations, and we have 
observed that very critical point over the last couple of 
days.  This period will be the test of whether or not Turkey 
will ask authorization for the deployment of US troops.  If 
not, Turkey and the US will go their separate ways on a 
possible Iraq operation.  Yet both sides remain hopeful 
about reaching an agreement eventually.  It indeed is a 
possibility that all the issues will be put on paper and a 
settlement will be achieved by this weekend or early next 
week.  When that happens, the procedure for parliamentary 
approval will also begin. . As AKP leader Erdogan duly 
noted, history in the region is about to be re-written.  It 
is a matter of preference for Turkey whether it gets 
actively involved in this historic process or remains 
outside of it." 
 
 
PEARSON