VZCZCXRO8797
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIHL RUEHIK
RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR
RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAK #0385/01 0581517
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271517Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5395
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000385 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958; N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK BM AF EUN TU
SUBJECT: Codel Biden talks Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan with 
Turkish President 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  President Gul, in a February 22 meeting with 
Codel Biden, focused on political realism and participation as the 
key to stability in Iraq.  Maximalist demands were 
counterproductive.  The surge was working.  Passage of important 
legislation would further enhance political integration; Turkey had 
already reached out to offer Baghdad help across the board.  Kirkuk 
was a potential tinderbox that should be given special status to 
protect all its inhabitants.  Turkey will continue its efforts to 
bring the Pakistani and Afghan leaders together.  Democracy and a 
modernizing political process are the best solutions to Pakistan's 
problems.  With regard to Afghanistan, Gul preached investment in 
visible road, school and hospital projects in large population 
centers as the best way to win hearts and minds.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Codel Biden praised the US-Turkish relationship as one of our 
most important.  How Turkey negotiates its future as a democratic, 
majority Muslim country in a difficult region will be an important 
marker for the 21st century. 
 
¶3. (U) Senator Biden focused on Iraq as the most critical problem 
facing the US and Turkey.  In the US, there are real disagreements 
on how best to achieve a viable political solution that will result 
in a stable, functioning government and country that poses no threat 
to its neighbors and is not a terrorist haven.  Eventually, the US 
will have to withdraw the bulk of its 150,000 soldiers and lower the 
$15 billion/month bill for the taxpayers. 
 
¶4. (U) President Gul acknowledged the negatives and mistakes, but 
said it was important to focus on the positives as well:  all groups 
were participating in the political process.  Had this occurred when 
the constitution was being drafted, it would have encountered fewer 
difficulties.  From Turkey's standpoint, the surge is working.  The 
challenge now is for parliament to pass certain important pieces of 
legislation, including the hydrocarbons law.  De-Ba'athification 
legislation was a good step, as was the recent amnesty. 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to Gul, realism is the recipe for success in 
Iraq.  If all parties proceed rationally and inclusively, the Iraqi 
government will succeed.  Inclusion of the Sunnis as a major pillar 
of the political process was key, and a success Gul personally had 
worked hard to help make happen.  The Iraqi Kurds, by contrast, are 
currently pursuing a counterproductive maximalist approach. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The next challenge is to pass the local administration law 
and have local elections.  Gul noted that Kirkuk remains a potential 
tinderbox.  Just as Iraq is the Middle East in miniature, so Kirkuk 
is Iraq in miniature.  Special status is needed for this 
multi-ethnic city with its oil riches.  Senator Hagel focused on the 
term "special status".  Gul responded that the Kurds have tried to 
claim Kirkuk for their own, working to change the demographics, 
though historically it was not a Kurdish city.  Whatever Kirkuk's 
original make-up, oil has changed the population mix.  It is now an 
Iraqi melting pot.  This is not about Turks and Kurds; it is about a 
city that could be a powder keg if not dealt with carefully, and 
which must attain a status to which all feel they can belong. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Gul referred to Iran's increased influence in Iraq 
post-war.  The two countries' long, uncontrolled border, Iranian 
intelligence and its Shi'a population are among Iran's advantages. 
Turkey's democratic, secular system, economy, and prospect of EU 
membership together form an attractive model for Iraq.  The February 
21 National Security Council (NSC) meeting, which Gul chaired, 
examined all aspects of relations with Iraq and concluded that 
Turkey should reach out to help develop Iraq in all areas.  He had 
talked by phone with Iraqi President Talabani late February 21 and 
shared with him the scope of projects envisaged.  Turkey must make 
an "extraordinary effort" to patch up wounds and gain the favor of 
all Iraqis. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Senator Kerry asked for Gul's views on Pakistan and 
Afghanistan -- how those two countries can move forward with their 
mutual problems and challenges, and how Turkey can help.  Kerry 
thanked Gul for his leadership in helping persuade all parties to 
participate in the Pakistani general elections.  Gul recapped his 
efforts to bring together Presidents Karzai and Musharraf last year 
to start a dialogue on their contentious border problems.  The 
effort produced a joint declaration and a mechanism for continued 
consultations.  Prior to that, their exchanges had only been 
acrimonious.  This process, Gul explained, is geared to helping the 
 
ANKARA 00000385  002 OF 002 
 
 
two leaders find a solution - perhaps setting up a "safe" zone along 
their joint border.  He will invite the two leaders to Turkey again 
in March. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Moving forward politically in Pakistan is a question of 
modernization, Gul stated.  A civilian government must push the 
process forward by democratic means.  A strong political alliance 
can help, as can improved education.  Gul talked to the Pakistanis 
about modernizing their madrassas and would share Turkey's 
experience on education. 
 
¶10. (SBU) On Afghanistan, Gul said that as foreign minister, he had 
repeatedly emphasized that armed struggle could have the opposite 
effect of that intended, instead strengthening opponents. 
Rebuilding and goodwill efforts would pay off.  In Wardak province, 
the Turks are building hospitals, schools and other facilities. 
They had heard from Afghanis that the first thing the US did was to 
build a prison.  This immediately lost us goodwill, despite billions 
spent.  In Kabul in winter, for example, the streets are knee-deep 
in mud.  It would cost only $200,000 to asphalt all the streets of 
Kabul, and the public relations result would be priceless.  Senator 
Biden responded that we had put down miles of paving, but he took 
Gul's point was that perhaps we were doing it in the wrong place: if 
we did it in a concentrated population center, it would be more 
visible. 
 
¶11. (SBU) In response to Senator Hagel's question about how Turkey's 
EU accession process was proceeding, Gul thanked the Senators for 
unflagging US support.  The integration process continues.  There is 
a temporary bump in the road with France; President Sarkozy does not 
yet recognize Turkey's economic advances and Turkey's positive role 
in regional stability. 
 
¶12. (U) Codel Biden has cleared this message.  Wilson