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RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001923 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR MOPS NATO UN TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY'S ROBUST ROLE IN PEACEKEEPING AND 
HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Turkey's contributions to multi-national 
peacekeeping operations around the world are significant. 
Possessing NATO's second largest military, Turkey has led 
operations in the Middle East and the Balkans, and has 
provided troops and support to UN initiatives in Africa and 
East Asia as well.  Current peacekeeping activities are 
stretching the military's capabilities, however, since the 
bulk of its large conscript force is either unsuitable for 
foreign deployment or engaged in combating PKK terrorism in 
the southeast.  End Summary 
 
Continuing Leadership in Afghanistan 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Since the inception of NATO's International Security 
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the Turkish Armed 
Forces (TAF) have continuously contributed troops and have 
held leadership roles several times.  Turkey led ISAF-II with 
1300 troops in 2002 and ISAF-VII with 1430 troops in 2005, 
while simultaneously managing the Kabul International 
Airport.  In 2003, former Turkish foreign minister Hikmet 
Cetin was assigned as NATO's senior civilian leader in 
Afghanistan.  Currently hosting its rotating headquarters in 
Istanbul, Turkey is a founding member of the Southeast Europe 
Brigade (SEEBRIG), which successfully made its first 
deployment in command of the Kabul Multi-National Battalion 
in 2006.  Turkey has also carried out in-place training of 
1500 Afghan military personnel and has consistently provided 
vehicles and supplies to ISAF.  As is true for other ISAF 
partners, Turkish forces operate under caveats that limit 
their ability to operate outside of their assigned area of 
responsibility. 
 
¶3. (U) Through its provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in 
Wardak, established in November 2006, Turkey has further 
extended the scope of its reconstruction and development 
contributions.  Since 2002, Turkey has provided almost 42 
million dollars worth of economic and technical assistance, 
including the construction and renovation of hospitals, 
schools, bridges, mosques, and potable water wells.  Turkish 
entrepreneurs have undertaken USD 1.5 billion worth of 
projects since 2002, and Turkish firms hold investments 
totaling USD 200 million, leading those of all other 
countries.  The GOT has also provided vocational training 
courses for Afghan women, higher education scholarships, and 
training opportunities in Turkey and Afghanistan for Afghan 
diplomats, politicians, and police.  Turkey has encountered 
risks in Afghanistan as well: a July 17 suicide bomber attack 
on a convoy carrying Wardak PRT personnel nearly killed the 
Turkish PRT chief and injured a Turkish security official. 
 
Rebuilding Lebanon 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) The TAF's participation in the UN Interim Force in 
Lebanon (UNIFIL) is its second-largest commitment to Middle 
East peacekeeping after ISAF.  Following the adoption of UN 
Security Council Resolution 1701 in 2006, a Turkish 
engineering construction company of 261 military personnel 
and a Navy frigate carrying 234 personnel were deployed as 
part of UNIFIL.  With the objective of aiding the Lebanese 
Armed Forces in Southern Lebanon, securing aid to civilians, 
and ensuring the resettlement of refugees, the TAF had 
supported UNIFIL with approximately 1000 army and navy 
personnel as of May 2007.  Turkey also volunteered to command 
UNIFIL's naval component and has made air and seaports, as 
well as airlift, available to UNIFIL contributors.  The 
Turkish government pushed through this deployment despite 
strong criticism from opposition parties, who argued Turkey 
should not risk its troops in a Middle East dispute while the 
West provides little help to Turkey against PKK terrorism. 
 
Peacekeeping in the Balkans 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Turkey has aided peacekeeping operations in the 
Balkans since 1993.  The TAF contributed 1400 troops to the 
UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Croatia, Bosnia, and 
Herzegovina between 1993 and 1995.  Following the transfer of 
duty to NATO in line with the Dayton Peace Agreement, Turkey 
 
ANKARA 00001923  002 OF 003 
 
 
reinforced its contribution, deploying a brigade to the 
Implementation Force (IFOR) in 1995, a brigade to the 
Stability Force (SFOR) in 1996, a battalion to the European 
Union Force (EUFOR) in 2004, and a motorized infantry company 
with staff officers to EUFOR-ALTHEA in 2005.  In parallel 
with UNPROFOR and later NATO operations, Turkey contributed 
ships and sailors to Operation Sharp Guard under NATO's 
Standing Naval Force Mediterranean in the Adriatic between 
1993 and 1996. 
 
¶6. (U) Turkish F-16's completed more than 2000 hours of 
flying time during NATO operations in Kosovo.  The TAF later 
granted the use of three Turkish airfields to NATO aircraft. 
Turkey joined the Albania Force (AFOR) with a Field Duties 
Division in the summer of 1999.  Additionally, Turkey 
provided shelter for 18,000 refugees during the height of the 
NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999.  The TAF continues its 
contribution to the Kosovo Force (KFOR) Multi-National Task 
Force South (MNTF-S) with 660 personnel; Turkish Brigadier 
General Ugur Tarcin took command of MNTF-S in May, 2007. 
 
¶7. (U) The TAF has also made small but consistent 
contributions of troops and materiel to the following 
peacekeeping operations: Deny Flight over Bosnia, ALBA in 
Albania, and Essential Harvest and subsequent missions in 
Macedonia. 
 
Extending its Reach 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Turkey has contributed to humanitarian missions well 
beyond the Middle East and Balkans, providing support to 
multi-national peacekeeping and humanitarian operations in 
Africa, East Asia, and recently even the U.S. -- the TAF 
provided a C-130 transport aircraft for NATO support efforts 
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 
 
-- Provide Comfort: Following the first Gulf War, more than 
300,000 displaced people sought refuge in Turkey.  Turkey 
contributed shelter and humanitarian aid to refugees within 
its borders and in Iraq, and granted NGOs access to its 
borders.  In 1991, with the aim of providing immediate 
assistance to Northern Iraqis fleeing dire conditions in the 
South, the TAF joined Joint Task Force Provide Comfort.  The 
Task Force deployed to Turkey's Incirlik Air Base, from where 
it delivered supplies, built refugee camps, established 
security zones, and maintained a no-fly zone above Northern 
Iraq. 
 
-- UNOSOM: The TAF sent a 300-person mechanized unit to the 
UN Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) in 1993.  UNOSOM command was 
for a time held by a Turkish lieutenant general. 
 
-- UNMISET:  The TAF contributed military personnel to the UN 
Mission in East Timor (UNMISET) from 2000 until 2004. 
 
-- Pakistan Earthquake Relief: In October, 2005, Turkey 
quickly dispatched civilian and military search and rescue 
teams to Pakistan.  Turkey contributed two airbases as NATO 
forward logistics bases, and Turkish aircraft flew 19 sorties 
to Pakistan. 
 
An International Observer 
------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) The Turkish military also participates in several 
ongoing international monitoring missions: the UN Observer 
Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), Temporary International Presence 
in Hebron (TIPH), the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the UN 
Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM), and the EU Police 
Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  In April, 
2006, Turkey set up a military field hospital with Turkish 
doctors in the Darfur region of Sudan, and is currently 
scouting locations for a permanent hospital.  Also, the TAF 
donated the use of a C-160 aircraft to transport troops to 
UNMIS. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
 
ANKARA 00001923  003 OF 003 
 
 
WILSON