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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005701 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 9, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Bush asks money from Congress, divides Iraq into three - 
Hurriyet 
Ankara reacts to Bush's Northern Iraq remarks - Sabah 
Bush vows not to withdraw from Iraq - Milliyet 
Bush asks for $87 billion for Iraq - Aksam 
Bush asks for $87 billion, a brigade, and UN support for 
Iraq - Vatan 
Northern Iraq corridor a rough spot between U.S., Turkey - 
Sabah 
Iraqi interim government delegation in Turkey September 11 - 
Milliyet 
More sabotage on Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline - Hurriyet 
Iraqi tribes want Turkish troops - Sabah 
Shiites turn down U.S. order to abandon arms - Turkiye 
Ocalan's brother threatens Syria - Vatan 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bush admits defeat - Cumhuriyet 
Bush asks for patience, money - Radikal 
Ankara angry at U.S. emphasis on Northern Iraq - Radikal 
Bush praises autonomy of Northern Iraq - Zaman 
Bush signals Kurdish state - Yeni Safak 
Mukhtada Al-Sadr militia refuses to give up weapons - Yeni 
Safak 
UK to deploy 1,200 additional troops in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Arab League to welcome Zebari - Radikal 
Uzan family owes $7 million to Jordan - Zaman 
Ilham Aliyev asks Erdogan for support in Azeri elections - 
Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Ankara uneasy with Bush address: Ankara is upset with 
President Bush for referring to increasing `self-governance' 
in Northern Iraq in his speech Sunday night.  Papers expect 
the MFA to warn Washington about Turkey's concerns. 
Nationalist and Islamist papers view the President's comment 
as a signal for the establishment of a Kurdish state. 
Foreign Minister Gul said President Bush did not imply a 
separate state, but was only referring to the various 
sectors in Iraq.  Dailies interpret the Bush statement as a 
message to Turkey to speed up the process for a troop 
deployment in Iraq.  Papers quote American sources as 
reassuring Turkey about the strong guarantees that had been 
given by the U.S. regarding Iraq's territorial integrity. 
 
 
Iraqi delegations to Ankara: Representatives of the Council 
of Iraqi Tribes as well as a delegation from the interim 
Iraqi government are due in Ankara later this week for talks 
with the MFA about a possible Turkish peacekeeping mission 
in Iraq.  "Aksam" reports that tribal leaders and Sunni 
clerics in Iraq are expressing gratitude for the 
humanitarian aid extended by Turkey.  Tribal chiefs would 
welcome Turkish troops within the framework of an Iraqi 
peacekeeping mission, according to "Aksam." 
 
 
Turkish troop deployment in Iraq: The U.S. is favorable 
toward a Turkish proposal for a Turkey's peacekeepers to 
work in a separate zone in Iraq, under Turkish command. 
However, the U.S. is uncomfortable with Ankara's suggestion 
that it will deploy additional troops to safeguard the 
transit of peacekeepers through Northern Iraq.  "Sabah" 
writes that the U.S. will soon send a delegation to Ankara 
to discuss the PKK/KADEK presence in Northern Iraq.  The 
U.S. has offered three different zones to Turkey, papers 
report.  Ankara is not willing to deploy troops in and 
around Baghdad under American command.  "Radikal" quotes 
diplomatic sources as saying that the areas near Al-Ambar 
and Ninova are the most likely destinations for Turkish 
peacekeepers. 
 
 
PKK/KADEK threatens Syria: PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's 
brother Osman has threatened the Syrian Administration for 
the recent handing over of eight senior PKK officials to 
Turkey, "Hurriyet" reports.  Ocalan said that the Syrian 
Kurds would not remain silent to the arrests.  In a 
statement to the PKK/KADEK media outlet Medya TV, Ocalan 
said the organization would wait for three months for 
another cease-fire proposal from Turkey.  Ocalan denounced 
the repentance law for PKK defectors, saying his group is 
not seeking an amnesty. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: State of the Union/Iraq 
 
 
"State of the Union" 
Fehmi Koru evaluates the President's speech in the Islamist- 
intellectual Yeni Safak (9/9): "President Bush acknowledged 
the failure of the war-mongering lobby in Washington.  He 
basically called on Americans to be prepared for more 
troubled days ahead.  . Despite Turkey's picking on the part 
of the speech mentioning northern Iraq, Bush has actually 
made more important remarks, including the US intention to 
give the UN a greater role in Iraq.  Moreover, President 
Bush for the first time touched on the subject of `leaving 
Iraq.'  . In the US public, the fiscal burden of the Iraq 
operation and the additional USD 87 million will be the main 
factor to cause growing disappointment. . Bush is losing 
serious ground because of his handling of the Iraq issue. 
President Bush's State of the Union address also proved once 
again the correctness of Turkey's decision to stay out of 
the war, which was based on lies and false claims in the 
first place." 
 
 
"A dual game" 
Zafer Atay criticized in economic-politic Dunya (9/9): "The 
anti-Turkish, pro-Kurdish remarks by northern Iraqi Kurdish 
figures are not just ordinary comments.  Turkey should not 
underestimate these remarks, because they could not be 
possible without US backing.  The US is very much aware of 
Iraqi Kurdish sentiment about Turkey.  On the one hand the 
US overlooks the anti-Turkish statements by Iraqi Kurds, and 
on the other hand Washington knocks on Turkey's door for the 
deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq.  . There are two ways 
to explain this odd situation.  Either the US administration 
is not influential enough on the Kurds, or the US is playing 
a double game by working with Turkey and giving concessions 
to the Kurds at the same time.  Both possibilities are very 
bad." 
 
 
EDELMAN