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 007610 
 
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 
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Amb. Edelman: No military action against PKK in short term - 
Hurriyet 
US keeps the PKK, kicks out Mujahedeen from Iraq - Hurriyet 
Turkey on list for Iraq rebuilding contracts - Turkiye 
Iraqi war crimes court to try Saddam - Sabah 
Serdar Denktas: EU has eyes on Cyprus oil - Sabah 
Lots of human rights violations in schoolbooks - Milliyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Amb. Edelman: Fine-tuning needed after elections in Cyprus - 
Cumhuriyet 
Edelman: We won't leave Incirlik - Cumhuriyet 
Edelman assures no changes in demographic structure of Iraq 
- Zaman 
Washington perseveres on Cyprus - Cumhuriyet 
TRNC opposition vows no coalition with status quo after 
elections - Radikal 
Weston to launch new Cyprus proposals after polls - Radikal 
Iraq war opponents excluded from rebuilding contracts - 
Radikal 
Germans want Turks in EU - Yeni Safak 
US killed 15 children in single day in Afghanistan - 
Cumhuriyet 
US bombs Afghan children twice in one week - Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Ambassador Edelman roundtable with press:  At a roundtable 
with national press representatives, US Ambassador Eric 
Edelman underlined the significance of a new era between the 
US and Turkey following last year's Iraq crisis.  Ambassador 
Edelman said the US had been pleased with Ankara's decision 
to deploy troops to Iraq.  US-Turkish cooperation in the 
struggle against terror will continue, he stressed, adding 
that the PKK/KADEK will not be allowed to use Iraqi 
territory.  Responding  to a question, Ambassador Edelman 
said the US is working on realigning its troops to meet new 
threats around the world.  "I don't think much will change 
in the joint use of Incirlik Air Base," he emphasized. 
Commenting on Cyprus, Edelman said the US will continue to 
support the Annan Plan, and noted that all concerned parties 
would have to make adjustments in their Cyprus policies 
after the Turkish Cypriot elections.  Edelman also said 
reports about the Uzans hiding in the US have not been 
confirmed, but that he had conveyed to Washington Turkey's 
application for the extradition of some Uzan family members. 
The US wants to add a more prominent economic aspect to its 
strategic cooperation with Turkey, Edelman noted. 
Ambassador Edelman also predicted that US-Turkish relations 
would gain new momentum with the Washington visit of Prime 
Minister Erdogan in late January and the attendance by 
President Bush at NATO's Istanbul summit in late June. 
 
 
Cyprus:  The US Administration believes that if the 
opposition wins the Turkish Cypriot elections, negotiations 
within the framework of the Annan Plan will be resumed 
swiftly, "Cumhuriyet" reports.  Thomas Weston will be in 
Ankara December 14, and will shape his talks with Turkish 
officials in light of the election results.  Weston will go 
to the island on December 17 to meet with Papadopoulos and 
Denktas to present new proposals for a settlement, the paper 
claims. 
Israeli capital financing bank loans for Kurds:  The 
Kurdistan Credit Bank is offering loans for Kurds willing to 
buy property from Turkmen and Arabs in Northern Iraq, 
"Milliyet" reports.  Israeli sponsors have extended credits 
amounting to $300 million via the Kurdistan Credit Bank in 
Suleymaniye to ensure the transfer of Turkmen and Arab 
property to Kurds, according to a Turkish intelligence 
report.  The loans can be used only for the purpose of 
buying land or homes from Turkmen and Arabs living in Mosul, 
Kirkuk, Irbil, Baquba, Fallujah and Salahaddin. 
Turkey, Greece sign air corridor agreement:  Turkey and 
Greece have signed an agreement for the opening of five new 
air corridors over the Aegean.  The agreement aims to ease 
intense air traffic in the Aegean during the 2004 Olympic 
Games to be held in Athens. 
 
 
Human rights violations in schoolbooks:  In a project 
sponsored by the Turkish Science Academy, the History 
Foundation, Turkey's Human Rights Foundation, the EU 
Commission and the Open Society Institute, 190 schoolbooks 
used in elementary and secondary schools have been scanned 
by 165 teachers and academics, 51 parents, and 71 students 
from the viewpoint of the Universal Declaration on Human 
Rights and other human rights documents.  The researchers 
have spotted 4,000 problems in the textbooks.  The problems 
are related mainly to gender, race and religious 
discrimination, "Milliyet" reports. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
Global Defense Posture; Europe/Transatlantic Relations 
 
 
"Global Defense Posture" 
Fikret Ertan commented in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman 
(12/11): "The need for a reorganization of American military 
strategy in the post-cold war era has been a longstanding 
issue.  Yet the US waited too long to develop and implement 
a plan.  In the meantime, we have seen the events of 
September 11 and the operation in Afghanistan.  Today we see 
a determination in the US about implementing a plan called 
the Global Defense Posture (GDP).  . The GDP makes it a 
priority to reshape the US military presence in a cost- 
effective and more functional way.  There will be downsizing 
of some military bases in Europe and the opening of some new 
bases in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and 
Bulgaria. . The new American bases will be designed to cope 
with the new enemy -- terrorism.  The forces in these bases 
will be capable of responding to a terrorist threat in the 
shortest possible time.  The notion of the `shortest time' 
is no longer months, or even days.  The US wants to react 
instantly to any terrorist attack anywhere in the world. 
The GDP is the strategy to realize this goal." 
 
 
"Competition Between the EU and the US " 
Akif Emre argued in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
(12/11): "The rapprochement between Syria and the EU signals 
a new phase in the polarization between the EU and the US. 
It is a meaningful in itself that the EU agreed to establish 
economic and strategic relations with Syria on the eve of a 
possible US operation against Syria.  Evidently the EU is 
trying to exert its influence in areas abandoned by the US. 
The EU does not support Sharon's policies and, unlike the 
US, has taken the Palestine side by declaring Arafat a 
legitimate leader.  The US-EU difference was also clear 
during the Iraq crisis and afterward. . The European Union 
proved itself as a regional power and is ready to become 
more influential through a global strategy.  From the US 
perspective, the EU may be a midget militarily speaking, but 
is an economic and political giant.  The polarization, 
particularly on the Middle East, is similar to the 
competition between the US and the USSR during the cold 
war." 
 
 
EDELMAN