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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000349 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: MASS MARR PREL IZ IT UK MK QA GR TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP: January 2008 
 
(Note: This is one of a regular series of unclassified reports on 
significant Turkish defense and national security issues in the 
press and other open sources.  End note.) 
 
 
Contents 
-------- 
 
-- Turkey Continues Cross-Border Operations in N. Iraq 
-- Anti-Terrorism High Council Convenes 
-- Retired General Detained for Weapons, Assassination Plots 
-- High Level Defense Group Meeting Held in Washington 
-- Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries 
-- Defense Industry Activity 
 
 
Turkey Continues Cross-Border Operation in N. Iraq 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶1. Turkey carried out air strikes against PKK terrorist positions in 
northern Iraq on January 15.  Turkish General Staff (TGS) announced 
that over 60 targets were hit.  Counter-terrorism operations within 
Southeast Turkey against PKK terrorists continued during month.  TGS 
reported that 36 terrorists were captured and 17 surrendered in the 
operations in Southeast, while no information on the number of 
casualties in the cross-border operation was released. 
 
 
Anti-Terrorism High Council Convenes 
---------------------------------- 
¶2. The Anti-Terrorism High Council convened under Deputy Prime 
Minister Cemil Cicek on January 23.  Cabinet members, high-level 
military and intelligence officials participated in the meeting.  A 
statement released following the meeting noted that the Council 
assessed the ongoing counter-terrorism activities and discussed 
diplomatic, economic, social and other measures to be taken against 
terrorism.  The Council, as reported by the semi-official Anatolian 
News Agency (ANA), reiterated Turkey's determination to combat 
terrorism and assessed that on-going military operations have been 
effective against PKK terrorists based in northern Iraq. 
 
 
Retired General Detained for Weapons, Assassination Plots 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3. Thirty-three persons, including retired BG Veli Kucuk (one of the 
founders of the Turkish Jandarma's intelligence unit JITEM) and ret. 
COL Fikri Karadag, were arrested on the grounds that they are 
members of an illegal organization code-named 'Ergenekon.'  The 
investigation began with the discovery of grenades eight months ago 
in a house in Umraniye district of Istanbul.  Ergenekon has been 
linked by police to a number of attacks, including the January 2007 
murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, February 2006 murder of an 
Italian priest in Trabzon and the May 2006 Council of State killings 
in Ankara.  Turkish dailies reported that all of the revealed 
members of the organization are public servants, many of whom are 
former intelligence officers. Various pro-AKP and centralist dailies 
reported that 'Ergenekon' planned to create a chaos in Turkey 
through bombings in order to prepare the ground for a coup in 2009. 
The investigation is on-going. 
 
 
High Level Defense Group Meeting Held in Washington 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4. Turkish Deputy CHOD GEN Ergin Saygun led the Turkish delegation 
to the annual High Level Defense Group (HLDG) meeting in Washington 
DC on January 29-31. GEN Saygun co-chaired the 21st annual bilateral 
meeting along with Assistant Secretary of Defense for International 
Security Affairs Mary Beth Long.  Bilateral military cooperation, 
foreign military sales credits, cooperation in training and defense 
industry were discussed in the HLDG meeting.  GEN Saygun also met 
with his counterpart, Vice Chairman o of the Joint chiefs of Staff 
Gen James Cartwright, Supreme Allied Commander Europe GEN John 
Craddock, and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas 
Burns.  GEN Saygun visited several U.S. military bases and 
 
ANKARA 00000349  002 OF 002 
 
 
facilities before he returned to Turkey on February 7. 
 
 
Turkey's Security Relations with Other Countries 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Iraq: Turkish Deputy Chief of TGS GEN Ergin Saygun met with his 
Iraqi counterpart Gen. Nasier Abadi in Baghdad on January 15. 
Issues related to the armed forces of both countries including 
counterterrorism and long-term military cooperation were discussed. 
GEN Saygun also met with Commander of Multinational Forces GEN David 
Petraeus in Baghdad.  Counterterrorism activities were discussed in 
the meeting, and the determination of both countries in cooperating 
against terrorism was reiterated, according to Turkish media 
accounts. 
 
¶6. Italy: Turkish Chief of General Staff GEN Yasar Buyukanit 
received Italian Defense Minister Prof. Arturo Parisi on January 16. 
 The visit followed GEN Buyukanit's official counterpart visit to 
Italy in October 2007.  No information on the visit was made public. 
 
 
¶7. UK: Turkish CHOD GEN Buyukanit met with his British counterpart 
GEN Richard Dannet on January 21 in London.  Their talks focused 
mostly on Turkey's fight against terrorism, as reported by the 
moderate pro-Islamic Zaman daily.  GEN Buyukanit was also received 
by British Chief of Defense Staff Sir Jock Stirrup, British Defense 
Secretary Des Browne and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.  Around 
 
SIPDIS 
200 PKK supporters in London staged protests against the visit and 
the cross-border operations, as reported by the center-right Sabah 
daily. 
 
¶8. Macedonia: Turkish CHOD GEN Yasar Buyukanit received Macedonian 
Defense Minister Lazar Elenovski on January 30.  GEN Buyukanit and 
Elenovski held a live joint news conference at the TGS Headquarters. 
 This was the first time in memory that such a meeting was held with 
media present.  Underlining close military cooperation between the 
two countries, GEN Buyukanit noted that 346 Macedonian military 
officers have been trained at the NATO's Partnership for Peace 
facilities in Ankara, 61 at the NATO's Center of Excellence-Defense 
against Terrorism in Ankara, while a Turkish Special Team trained 
375 Macedonian personnel in Macedonia.  Answering journalists' 
questions, GEN Buyukanit underlined Turkish military's unchangeable 
stance on the headscarf issue and dismissed military's link to the 
ultra-nationalist Ergenekon gang. 
 
¶9. Qatar: Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul visited Qatar's Chief 
of General Staff on January 21.  No information about the subject of 
their meeting was made public, as reported by the ANA. 
 
¶10. Greece: TGS reported 49 air interceptions by Greek jets in 
international airspace over the Aegean Sea in January.  32 incidents 
of violation of Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean, and one 
violation of airspace were reported in January. 
 
 
Defense Industry Activity 
------------------------- 
 
¶11. Turkish defense company Aselsan speeded up design and 
manufacture process for ASELPOD (navigation targeting pod) that will 
enable warplanes to launch night operations by providing day time 
operation conditions.  ASELPOD will supersede LANTIRN (Law Altitude 
Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night).  ASELPOD is expected 
to be delivered to the TAF in 2009 (ANA). 
 
 
 
 
 
WILSON