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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005247 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
9/11 Anniversary 
On the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks Sabah reports 
that over the weekend, President Bush, preparing for the upcoming 
Congressional elections in November, visited Ground Zero in New 
York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania to mark the fifth anniversary of 
September 11 - while Osama bin Laden remains at large. Milliyet and 
Yeni Safak report more than 62,000 have died in the war against 
terrorism, including 50,000 civilians killed in Iraq.  Yeni Safak 
says 9/11 was been the "greatest political earthquake" the US has 
ever seen, and that who actually perpetrated the attacks was still 
being debated.  Hurriyet reports 70 percent of the 40,000 Americans 
working among the rubble on Ground Zero have been diagnosed with 
lung cancer.  The paper quotes Senate Intelligence Committee member 
John Rockefeller as slamming President Bush for "fooling the 
American people," and that the war with Iraq liquidated the funds 
that were meant for the struggle against global terrorism.  Radikal 
reports the USD 440 billion cost of the Iraq war could have saved 
all destitute people around the world.  Zaman quotes some European 
academics and journalists as claiming that President Bush has 
exploited the 9/11 attacks both at home and abroad, originating 
extremely dangerous terms such as "Islamofascism." 
 
Editorial Commentary: Fifth Anniversary of the September 11 Attacks 
Ferai Tinc commented in the mass appeal Hurriyet: "When the twin 
towers attack occurred five years ago, the entire world took the 
side of the US and declared war on terrorism.  While Afghanistan 
used to be one of the successful fronts in the fight against 
terrorism, the situation today has not improved because of the Iraq 
war. Today even supporters of the Iraq war admit that it was a 
mistake.  On the fifth anniversary of 9/11 we see a change in the 
war on terrorism concept.  The war on terrorism has now turned into 
a right to declare war against people with different values.   For 
instance, Israel bombed Lebanon as kind of a stand-in for its main 
target Hezbollah, and the Bush administration considered this act 
legitimate." 
 
Commenting in Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak, Yasin Aktay writes: 
"After the attacks on 9/11, President Bush was wondering why there 
is hate against the US.  But in these past five years he has managed 
to globalize anti-American sentiment.  The mistakes as well as 
irrational measures led to the worst American image throughout the 
world.  The US plans are not working out around the world -- in 
Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in the Middle East.  The Broader Middle 
East project has proven to be a raw dream.  And the pre-emptive 
strike doctrine established by the US administration has opened the 
door to a more dangerous world." 
 
Erdal Safak observes in the mass appeal Sabah: "When the 9/11 
attacks occurred the international press had a consensus on the 
interpretation.  There were two main leads: 'we all are Americans' 
and 'nothing will ever be the same.'  Thanks to the Bush 
administration, 'we are all Americans' -- which used to be a symbol 
of global solidarity -- is now considered an insult.  The Bush 
administration manipulated the 'war on terrorism' concept to use as 
a pretext for its global hegemony.  The administration promised 
widespread democracy in the world while the reality has become 
nothing but chaos.  As for the second lead of September 11 five 
years ago, after five years nothing really is the same.  Everything 
has changed for the worse, and in a very unprecedented way.  The 
norms of security have completely changed and worst of all there is 
a tendency to ignore everything if it is happening in the name of 
the fight against terrorism." 
 
Erdogan Reiterates Turkish Participation in UNIFIL 
All papers report Prime Minister Erdogan said over the weekend that 
Turkey would not turn down a hand seeking help, referring to the 
call from Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora for Turkish participation 
in UNIFIL.  "Turkey has an important mission to fulfill, helping the 
 
ANKARA 00005247  002 OF 003 
 
 
people in the Middle East, Balkans, and Africa," said Erdogan, 
underlining that Turkey cannot remain indifferent to regional and 
global developments. 
 
Controversial Sect Allegedly Enjoys State Protection 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others continue 
criticism of the ruling AK Party after no one was detained in 
connection with the killing of a religious sect figure by a man who 
was subsequently lynched, asking if the "Ismailaga" sect has some 
form of immunity from investigation.  The community has reportedly 
extorted money even from the Mafia in the middle of Turkey's largest 
city Istanbul.  Mainstream papers believe the leader of the sect, 
Mahmut Ustaosmanoglu, known as Mahmut Hodja, had formed "an armed 
gang," and that his sect had strong connections in the police, 
bureaucracy and government. 
 
Turkish Security Panel in Washington 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and others: 
Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) director-general for security 
affairs, Hayati Guven, told a counterterrorism panel held by the 
Turkish Institute for Police Studies in Washington that 91 members 
of Turkish security forces had been killed in fighting with the PKK 
in the first seven months of the year.  Guven said some 3,000 PKK 
fighters were based in northern Iraq and about 2,000 of them 
operated in Turkey.  Guven criticized the EU's failure to take on 
the PKK, calling on European countries to cooperate with Ankara 
against the terrorist organization. 
 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- State Minister for economy, Kursad Tuzmen, leads a 100-member 
delegation of Turkish businessmen to the US from September 10-16. 
Tuzmen said Turkey wanted to increase trade with the US from the 
existing USD 5 billion to 15 billion over the course of the next 
three years. 
 
- Turkish police detained two PKK as well as four al-Qaeda members 
preparing for bomb attacks in Istanbul. 
 
- The Turkish cabinet is to convene on Monday to discuss the latest 
on the deployment of Turkish peacekeepers in south Lebanon. 
 
- The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Political Affairs 
Committee is to hold a meeting in the southeastern city of Gaziantep 
with participation of 60 lawmakers from 46 countries on September 
11-12. 
 
- On September 12, Turkish Airlines (THY) will resume flights to 
Beirut's Rafiq Hariri International Airport which was closed to 
international air traffic on July 14. 
 
- The main opposition party CHP holds celebrations to mark its 83rd 
anniversary. 
 
International News 
 
- Palestinian President Abbas said he was ready to meet Israeli 
Prime Minister Olmert as soon as possible to resume peace 
negotiations. 
 
- President Bush said he believes dividing Iraq into Kurdish, Shiite 
and Sunni regions with a central government in Baghdad would be a 
mistake. 
 
- NATO said it killed almost 100 Taliban fighters in its largest 
offensive against terrorists in Afghanistan. 
 
ANKARA 00005247  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
- Iran's nuclear negotiator Larijani and EU's Solana said progress 
had been made during talks on Iran's nuclear program and they would 
meet again next week. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON