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 002457 
 
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 
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
U.S.: Syria a rogue state - Hurriyet 
U.S. preparing sanctions on Syria - Aksam 
U.S. getting tough on Damascus - Sabah 
Bush Administration: Syria tests chemical weapons - Vatan 
Tension rising in Kirkuk - Milliyet 
Kirkuk a powder keg - Turkiye 
Turkish liaison report: Kurds pulled back, nothing to worry 
about - Hurriyet 
Shalom pressures Ankara on Syria - Sabah 
Life normalizing in Baghdad - Turkiye 
Cultural heritage looted - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
U.S. implies a new occupation - Cumhuriyet 
U.S. stepping up tension with Syria - Zaman 
Gul: We don't want a new war - Yeni Safak 
General Franks: Syrian mercenaries in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Gul: U.S. wouldn't have let us into Northern Iraq - Radikal 
U.S.: Saddam's last stronghold Tikrit under control - 
Radikal 
Tikrit falls, occupation completed - Yeni Safak 
Barzani implies long U.S. stay may bring resistance - Zaman 
Cultural heritage is destroyed - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
Turkish businessmen roll up sleeves for Iraqi market - Dunya 
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project could be shelved - 
Finansal Forum 
 
 
BRIEFING 
Iraq: Dailies continue reporting on the U.S. 
Administration's accusations that Syria supports terrorism, 
has tested chemical weapons, and is harboring high-level 
Iraqi fugitives.  Papers agree that Syrian President Bashar 
Assad is the new target of the U.S.  Israeli Foreign 
Minister Silvan Shalom held a joint press conference in 
Ankara with Turkish FM Abdullah Gul.  Shalom asserted that 
Damascus Airport has been a center for transferring arms and 
ammunition to the Hizbullah.  Disagreeing with Shalom, Gul 
said that a new war in the region should be avoided, and 
added that greater stability would serve everyone, including 
Israel.  Papers report that Ankara has decided to attend a 
six-country summit meeting of Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, 
Egypt and Lebanon to be hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss 
the reconstruction of Iraq.  Dailies also give extensive 
coverage to peshmerge attacks against Turkomen in Kirkuk. 
The Turkomen appealed to American officers after a 12-year 
old Turkomen boy was killed by Kurdish militiamen, but to no 
avail.  "Milliyet" reports the Turkomen are arming 
themselves anc claim that they will soon recruit 10,000 
armed Turkomen.  However, the MFA has found that Turkomen 
claims conflict with reports provided by Turkish 
intelligence officers in the area.  KDP leader Barzani has 
accused PUK leader Talabani of provoking widespread looting 
by allowing his militia to enter Kirkuk, papers report.  TGS 
and MFA have warned the U.S. about the incidents in the 
region.  Foreign Minister Gul told "Radikal" that the 
Americans would have objected to deployment of Turkish 
troops in Northern Iraq even had Turkey opted for full 
cooperation with the U.S. and the Kurds.  The fact that 
Turkish forces would not have been allowed to approach Mosul 
and Kirkuk is the main reason that parliament rejected full 
cooperation on March 1, according to Gul.  Meanwhile, papers 
report KDP leader Barzani as saying that the U.S. should 
transfer Iraq's administration to federal rule as soon as 
possible.  `No people would choose to live under constant 
occupation,' Barzani said. 
 
 
Israeli FM Shalom in Ankara: After receiving Israeli Foreign 
Minister Shalom, President Sezer said that Turkey could 
serve as a mediator for establishing peace between Israel 
and the Palestinians.  Foreign Minister Gul advised his 
Israeli counterpart that Israel should refrain from opening 
new settlements on Palestinian land, and proposed a broad 
summit meeting on the Palestine-Israel conflict to be held 
in Istanbul.  Gul and Shalom also discussed joint 
investments, tourism, and commercial cooperation between the 
two countries.  A Turkish-Israeli agreement on the sale of 
Manavgat water is expected to be signed in May. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Is Syria next? 
 
 
"What's America doing?" 
Yilmaz Oztuna observed in conservative-mass appeal Turkiye 
(4/15): "It seems that the US intends to topple the Syrian 
Baath regime without the use of force.  In the event of 
resistance from Damascus, US forces will enter Syria. . Next 
on the US priority list will be the Palestinian issue.  Once 
this issue and other related problems are settled, the US 
will target Iran sometime next year.  For that plan, the US 
needs both Turkey and Russia on its side. . US forces might 
remain in Iraq for a year or two.  The American withdrawal 
from Iraq will take place after a friendly administration is 
established in the country.  It is likely that the US will 
not intervene in the domestic politics of Iraq as long as 
the new Iraqi regime is pro-American and supportive of the 
US's oil and other interests.  In the wake of this reshaping 
of the Middle East, Ankara needs a talented and capable team 
to handle the situation and make sure that Turkey will not 
be left out of the scene." 
 
 
"Is Syria the next target?" 
Fehmi Koru argued in Islamic-intellectual Yeni Safak (4/15): 
"Even before the restructuring of Iraq, hawks in the US have 
launched another campaign for the implementation of the US 
global empire plan which was designed before the 2000 
presidential elections.  The philosophy of this plan is 
based on the US capability of conducting more than two wars 
simultaneously.  Therefore we have started to see ultimatums 
and threats issued to other countries, including Syria. . 
Being threatened by the US does not necessarily happen 
because a country possesses weapons of mass destruction. 
Saddam, for instance, did not have WMD, and would not have 
been able to use them even if he had.  But the US, despite 
the fact that the pretext for the Iraq war has proven false, 
continues to threaten Syria and Palestine.  There will 
certainly be many others on that list.  The helplessness and 
silence of the international community at this point is 
indeed horrifying." 
 
 
PEARSON