null
Tim W Hayes  03/02/2007 03:48:57 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Tim W Hayes

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
UNCLAS        ANKARA 00406

SIPDIS
CX:
    ACTION: PMA
    INFO:   FCS CONS AMB POL DCM DAO RAO ECON TSR PA

DISSEMINATION: PMA /1
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: AMB:RWILSON
DRAFTED: PMA:MNARDI,PMA:CS
CLEARED: DCM:NM, POL:JW

VZCZCAYI141
PP RUEHC RUEHGB RUEHBUL RUEHYE RUEKJCS RUEHAK
RUEUITH RHEHAAA RHMFISS RUEKJCS RHMFIUU
DE RUEHAK #0406/01 0571021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261021Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1078
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0893
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0030
RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN PRIORITY 1268
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP:PDUSDP/ISA:EUR/ISA:NESA/DSCA// PRIORITY
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU PRIORITY
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5// PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000406 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS TU IZ AR
SUBJECT: TURKISH FM GUL REAFFIRMS IMPORTANCE OF BILATERAL 
PARTNERSHIP TO CODEL DICKS 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Turkish FM Gul told a congressional delegation 
that the US/Turkey relationship has weathered many storms but 
that a US congressional Armenian genocide resolution 
threatens to undermine cooperation on our shared goals for 
Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, NATO and more.  US failure in Iraq 
will be Turkey's failure, Gul said.  He urged delay of the 
referendum on Kirkuk; expressed support for the President's 
new Iraq strategy; and offered the Iraq Neighbors' process as 
a forum to coordinate support. Gul welcomed Ralston's 
appointment as PKK envoy but expressed impatience with the 
lack of tangible results.  He and DG Ocak urged the group to 
consider all of the facts and the potential ramifications 
before approving an Armenian genocide resolution, a request 
echoed separately by Turkish MPs.  Rep. Dicks welcomed the 
offer of a historical commission and any additional steps 
Turkey could take towards Armenia.  Rep. Rothman pledged to 
press for more action by the Iraqi Kurds against the PKK. 
Rep. Murphy urged Turkey to provide additional troops to 
Afghanistan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in a February 20 
discussion with a 6-member congressional delegation led by 
Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA), enumerated Turkey's 
cooperation with the US both in the past and the present.  He 
cited Turkey's role as the eastern bulwark against the Soviet 
Union during the Cold War; support for reconciliation 
efforts, logistical support and training for Iraq; leadership 
of ISAF multiple times, opening a PRT and constructing 
schools and hospitals in Afghanistan; contribution of troops 
to peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans and Lebanon;  support 
for the international position against a nuclear Iran; and 
contributions to GWOT.  However, he said, a US congressional 
resolution on an Armenian genocide threatens to damage our 
cooperation in these areas. 
 
GENOCIDE RESOLUTION -- A PERIPHERAL ISSUE WITH GREAT IMPACT 
 
¶3.  Gul expressed frustration that arguments continue over an 
event that took place almost 100 years ago.  Calling the 1915 
forced relocation of Armenians from Turkey a "tragedy," he 
questioned the use of the term "genocide" to describe an 
action taken against a population revolting against its 
government during wartime.  Use of the term makes citizens 
here very unhappy, especially when they recall the 3 million 
Turks killed in Balkan violence during and before WWI.  The 
government will be unable to explain it if the measure passes. 
 
¶4. FM Gul outlined Turkey's yet-unanswered offer to Armenia 
to establish a joint historical commission to study the 
issue.  In response to a comment by Rep. Rothman (D-NJ), Gul 
stated that the commission is open to third parties, 
including historians from California. 
 
¶5. Vefahan Ocak, new MFA Director General (DG) for Americas 
Affairs, noted that two delegation members are sponsors of 
the latest draft resolution.  Asking rhetorically what other 
country in the region shares such a wide-ranging dialogue and 
agenda with the US, he warned that the genocide issue -- 
peripheral in comparison to our shared concerns -- threatens 
to derail bilateral cooperation on our core agenda.  Turkey's 
offer to jointly examine history is genuine, he said.  There 
is no ulterior motive.  He urged the delegation to study the 
offer and to evaluate Armenia's objections, which, he 
claimed, have no intrinsic value.  Rep. Dicks offered to 
explain Turkey's offer to others in Congress but urged that 
Turkey take any additional steps possible to reach out to the 
Armenians. 
 
IRAQ -- YOUR FAILURE IS OUR FAILURE 
 
¶6.  In response to a question by Rep. Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) 
about the consequences of a US troop withdrawal from Iraq, 
Gul said that a US failure will be Turkey's failure.  US 
forces should not withdraw immediately and leave a vacuum 
behind.  Everything must be done to preserve that country's 
territorial integrity and unity.  Towards that end, Turkey 
supports President Bush' strategy to secure Baghdad.  Without 
stability or normal life in the capital, he said, one cannot 
be optimistic about the country.  The constitutional 
committee should also complete its work on possible changes 
to that document; issues related to energy and federalization 
need to be addressed; Kirkuk must be avoided as an issue that 
could spread conflict; and the referendum should be 
postponed; former army officers who are not terrorists should 
be reintegrated; the government and Prime Minister should act 
more consciously as authorities for all of Iraq; Kurds and 
Shiites should not follow maximalist policies that keep 
Sunnis out; and Iraqi army training, while not successful to 
date, should continue.  The US cannot be expected to stay in 
Iraq forever, he said.  Iraqis must take responsibility for 
themselves. 
 
¶7. Partition is not an option, said Gul in response to Rep. 
Kaptur's (D-OH) suggestion that a "soft partition" might 
provide a solution to the instability.  Iraq is not like the 
former USSR.  There are no natural borders between the ethnic 
groups.  If Iraq was divided into three states, Iran would 
influence the Shia area and become a real threat to the Gulf 
region.  Many government and religious leaders came from 
Iran, which already has influence in Baghdad.  The Sunnis, 
however, would be the most dangerous element.  The wealthy, 
educated Sunnis would leave, stated Gul, and the terrorists 
would stay, giving al Quaeda a true fundamentalist state. 
Civil war would continue and -- willingly or not -- 
neighboring countries would get involved. 
 
JOIN FORCES WITH IRAQ'S NEIGHBORS 
 
¶8. Gul touted the Iraqi Neighbors' process, established at 
Turkey's initiative, as a tool which the US could employ to 
foster greater regional support for Iraq's security and 
democratic development and to unite the regional countries on 
other issues.  The group has already agreed on a joint 
mechanism to counter terrorism, he said.  In response to Rep. 
Carney's (D-PA) question about what the US should do to 
stabilize the region, Gul said that US engagement is critical 
and recommended the use of "soft power" to spread the values 
of democracy, a free-market economy, and human rights.  Rep. 
Rothman applauded the Neighbors' effort and urged that 
regional leaders -- who may be more effective than the US to 
get Iraq to move forward on constitutional reforms -- use 
this forum to press for action. 
 
PKK - THE WEDGE BETWEEN FRIENDS 
 
¶9. The PKK terrorist group is creating problems between the 
US and Turkey, said Gul.  Responding to PKK attacks consumes 
Turkey's military resources.  The Foreign Minister said it is 
unimaginable that the PKK finds safehaven in the friendly 
country of Iraq that the US supports and that Turkey cannot 
do anything about it.  Turkey has its own military and can 
act, but does not want to cause more problems in Iraq.  It 
hopes the US will help.  Gul welcomed the efforts of Gen 
(ret) Ralston but said some think he was appointed to 
"satisfy Turkey and buy time."  Turkey expects a tangible 
result at the end, said Gul, and urged Congress to press the 
administration for action. 
 
TURKEY A LEADER IN AFGHANISTAN 
 
¶10. Turkey has increased its troop levels in Afghanistan to 
nearly 1000, said Gul.  He noted Turkey's two past ISAF 
commands, its ongoing shared leadership of ISAF Kabul Central 
with Italy and France, the establishment of a PRT in Wardak, 
and its pledge of $100 million in assistance.  This 
assistance helped to build and manage hospitals where 650,000 
Afghanis have been treated and to open 44 schools around the 
country where 35,000 children are being educated. 
 
¶11. Rep. Murphy (D-PA) thanked Turkey for its contribution of 
peacekeeping troops in the Balkans and elsewhere.  Expressing 
concern about an expected Taliban spring offensive, Murphy 
asked if Turkey could contribute additional troops to 
Afghanistan.  Gul stated that Turkey's recent increase of 
troops to 1000 was done at US request and said that the 
battle in Afghanistan cannot be won by military means alone. 
He urged the international community to increase efforts to 
reach out to the Afghan population, to include alternative 
crop development as part of the counter-narcotics program. 
Foreign forces cannot stay in Afghanistan forever, said Gul. 
We must strengthen the Afghans academically, socially and 
economically. 
 
POSITIVE ENERGY STORY 
 
¶12. Gul called bilateral energy cooperation a good news 
story, noting the US role in the construction of the 
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.  Rep. Kaptur welcomed Gul's 
explanation of Turkey's energy pipeline projects.  Kaptur 
noted her interest in developing port-to-port cooperation 
with other countries such as Turkey. 
 
TURKISH MPs ON IRAQ AND ARMENIA 
 
¶13. At a dinner in their honor, Codel members heard from AKP 
and opposition CHP members of parliament that they would not 
like to see a precipitous U.S. withdrawal from Iraq that 
would lead to the country's division on ethnic and sectarian 
lines.  Several Turkish MPs expressed support for the 
conclusions in the Iraqi Study Group report and noted that 
Turkey has provided training to Iraqi politicians and 
encouraged Sunni participation in the political process. 
They noted the sensitivity of Kirkuk as a potentially 
explosive microcosm of Iraq,s problems, and said Turkey 
expects more U.S. support against PKK terrorism from northern 
Iraq.  Reps Rothman and Kaptur urged Turkey to take a more 
active role with Iraq,s neighbors, including at the 
parliamentary level, to foster regional stability, and they 
urged more Turkish-US parliamentary dialogue, including, for 
example, via DVC. 
 
¶14.  Turkish MPs asked how congressional passage of an 
Armenian genocide resolution would serve US interests, given 
the damage it would cause to US-Turkish relations.  They 
claimed that government and opposition parties are working 
together to address Turkish-Armenian relations and both back 
the Turkish offer to establish a joint historical commission 
whose conclusions they would accept.  Turkey needs more time 
and US support for this process, not a genocide resolution, 
they stated.  Rep Rothman said it would be helpful if Turkey 
could show more leadership to improve relations with Armenia. 
 
¶15. Codel Dicks did not have an opportunity to clear this 
message. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON