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DE RUEHAK #2815/01 3251515
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O 211515Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4423
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD IMMEDIATE 1069
RUEHKU/AMEMBASSY KUWAIT IMMEDIATE 0880
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 6081

UNCLAS ANKARA 002815 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
BAGHDAD FOR RICH HOUGHTON, 
KUWAIT FOR AGGIE BERRY, PLEASE PASS TO CODEL MURTHA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER MASS PARM IR IZ TU
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL MURTHA'S VISIT TO TURKEY, 
NOVEMBER 24-25, 2007 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Your visit comes on the heels of PM 
Erdogan's November 5 meeting with President Bush, when we 
promised to support effective measures to eliminate the 
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist threat from northern 
Iraq.  A November 20 follow-up visit by Generals Cartwright 
and Petraeus here was well received.  The Turks appreciate 
your key role in preventing House passage of an Armenian 
genocide resolution (H.R. 106) in October.  This and our 
intensified cooperation against the PKK have reinvigorated 
bilateral cooperation.  Seeking to support Middle East peace, 
the GOT invited President Abbas and Prime Minister Peres to 
an unprecedented joint visit, where both addressed the 
Turkish parliament.  Turkey has been invited to participate 
in the Annapolis peace talks.  However, Turkey continues to 
contemplate energy deals with neighboring Iran.  Your visit 
is an ideal opportunity to emphasize that we stand with 
Turkey in its fight against PKK terrorism and appreciate 
Turkish help with the Middle East peace process, as well to 
remind Turkey of the dangers of a business-as-usual approach 
with Iran.  End summary. 
 
FIGHT AGAINST PKK TERRORISM 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) So far this year nearly 160 Turks have been killed 
in PKK attacks, including 134 Turkish security personnel. 
Following a particularly vicious ambush in which 12 soldiers 
were killed and eight taken prisoner near the border in 
October, parliament authorized the government to launch 
cross-border attacks on PKK camps in Iraq.  Political 
pressure has been building on Prime Minister Erdogan for some 
time to mount such a strike, and he has publicly stated that 
Turkey is prepared to do so in the near future. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The United States has been Turkey's closest ally in 
the fight against the PKK, securing EU agreement to place the 
PKK on its list of terrorist organizations; spearheading a 
Europe-wide effort to close PKK financial, logistical, and 
media support outlets there; and leading a trilateral 
(US/Turkey/Iraq) process to stop the threat emanating from 
northern Iraq.  USG pressure on Iraqi Kurdish leaders to 
tighten the noose on PKK operations in northern Iraq and 
other measures agreed to at the November 3 Iraq Neighbors 
Ministerial in Istanbul have helped lower the temperature. 
Following his November 5 meeting with PM Erdogan, President 
Bush stated that the PKK is our common enemy and promised to 
provide Turkey with intelligence in support of effective 
measures against the PKK. 
 
IRAQ 
---- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Turkey worries about increasing instability in 
Iraq, growing Iranian influence in the region, and the 
potential for Iraq to splinter along sectarian or ethnic 
lines.  The GOT is also concerned about northern Iraq's 
Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) ambitions to expand its 
territory to include oil-rich Kirkuk Province, and see it as 
the prelude to creation of an independent Kurdish state. 
Turkish political leaders have sought to reinforce Iraq's 
unity and territorial integrity, and have been among the most 
active of Iraq's neighbors in the Iraq Neighbors Process, 
hosting the most recent meeting in Istanbul in early 
November. FM Babacan made the first high-level GOT visit to 
Baghdad since 2003 in October, taking Turkey's message 
directly to the Iraqi leadership. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Turkey's agreement with the U.S. to allow the use of 
its territory as a logistical hub has been a combat 
multiplier for our Iraq operations.  Approximately 25% of 
sustainment fuel for coalition forces crosses into Iraq 
through the Ground Line of Communication at Habur Border 
Gate.  Since May 2005, when Turkey approved the use of 
Incirlik Air Base as a cargo hub to support coalition 
operations in Iraq, over 152 million pounds of equipment have 
been shipped to U.S. troops.  Almost 75% of all air cargo 
into Iraq transits the Incirlik cargo hub.  Six C-17 aircraft 
now deliver from Incirlik the amount of supplies it 
 
originally took 9-10 planes to deliver from Germany, saving 
over $160 million per year in transportation costs.  Up to 
ten KC-135 tanker aircraft have been based at Incirlik since 
2003 to support refueling operations in support of Operation 
Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, running over 
2800 refueling sorties and delivering over 192 million pounds 
of fuel. You will want to express gratitude to Turkish 
officials for this important cooperation. 
 
ARMENIAN RESOLUTION 
------------------- 
 
6.(SBU) The House Foreign Affairs Committee vote in favor of 
the Armenian genocide resolution in October further inflamed 
already high anti-American sentiment in Turkey.  Turks from 
all walks of life have difficulty understanding why Congress 
would pass judgment on historical events.  Had the resolution 
passed the full House, the GOT was prepared to take 
retaliatory actions which would have affected the overall 
relationship -- security cooperation in particular.  Turkish 
officials will express their appreciation to you for your 
role in preventing the resolution from coming to the floor. 
 
IRAN 
---- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Turkey remains concerned about the possibility of a 
nuclear-armed, missile capable Iran.  This threat is a 
distant one, however, in the minds of the public and some in 
the government.  It is overshadowed by what the Turks see as 
the more immediate concerns, including the need for energy 
resources and concern about the possible emergence of an 
independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq.  Turkey is 
mindful of U.S. policy on Iran and has been helpful, but 
argues that without a reliable, guaranteed energy supply, 
Turkey cannot ignore its eastern neighbor's huge reserves. 
Energy Minister Guler and others have stated the GOT desires 
to get reliable gas supplies from Turkmenistan.  To date, 
this has proven problematic, although the GOT will continue 
efforts to tap this resource.  We are encouraging Turkey to 
continue to look to the Caspian or other resource rich 
neighbors like Iraq, rather than Iran, to meet its growing 
energy demand.  You can underscore the dangers of a 
business-as-usual approach with Iran. 
 
MIDDLE EAST PEACE 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU)  Turkey increasingly sees itself as a player in the 
Middle East Peace Process, and believes 
it made a notable contribution prior to Annapolis by bringing 
Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority 
President Mahmoud Abbas together in Ankara on November 13. 
Peres became the first Israeli leader ever to speak before a 
predominantly Muslim parliament when he addressed the Turkish 
Grand National Assembly.  He praised Turkey's contributions 
to a lasting peace through economic programs, adding that 
"Turkey will be a partner in Annapolis."  Abbas also 
acknowledged Turkey could play an effective role in finding a 
solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. 
 
POLITICAL OVERVIEW 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) In July parliamentary elections, the ruling Justice 
and Development Party (AKP) -- in power since 2002 -- won a 
resounding 47.7% of the vote.  In a contentious presidential 
election that followed, Abdullah Gul, former AKP Foreign 
Minister, was elected over the strong objections of the 
Turkish military.  The AKP then launched an ambitious and 
controversial effort to revise the 1982 military-written 
constitution.  A series of PKK attacks in October caused an 
outpouring of nationalist sentiment across the country that 
appeared to minimize the political differences between the 
AKP government and the military.  The military continues to 
be the most widely respected public institution in Turkey. 
Fundamental ideological differences between the military 
leadership and the AKP remain, however, and the Turkish 
 
military will continue to play a powerful role in Turkey's 
politics. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON