VZCZCXRO2637
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2071/01 2141436
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 021436Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4164
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 0652
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0842
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2019 
TAGS: IZ MARR PGOV PINR PREF PREL PTER TU
SUBJECT: THIRD TURKEY-IRAQ-U.S. TRILATERAL MINISTERIAL 
 
REF: A. 08 BAGHDAD 3710 B. BAGHDAD 1018 C. BAGHDAD 
     1409 D. BAGHDAD 1497 
 
Classified By: A/PMA W. Scott Reid for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
(S/NF) Summary.  The third ministerial meeting of the 
Turkey-Iraq-U.S. security dialogue took place on July 28 in 
Ankara.  The meeting covered the accomplishments of the 
trilateral working group since the last ministerial 
ministerial (held in April), discussions centered around the 
Makhmour refugee camp, border issues, intelligence sharing 
and future Iraq-Turkey bilateral training initiatives.  The 
major accomplishment of the trilateral working group was the 
establishment of the Trilateral Intelligence Sharing Office 
in Erbil.  The Turkish delegation expressed frustration at 
the lack of intelligence being produced and their hesitancy 
to endorse the endeavor fully due to a lack of &concrete 
actions.8  The Iraqi and Turkish delegations formally 
discussed resolving the issue of the Makhmour refugee camp 
for the first time since April 2007.  Although no formal 
decisions were made at this meeting (unlike previous 
meetings) all parties acknowledged the importance of the 
trilateral security dialogue to further cooperation and 
coordination in countering the PKK/Kongra Gel (hereafter 
PKK).  The lower-rank of the U.S. delegation (a fact bemoaned 
repeatedly prior to the meeting by the GOT - from Minister 
Atalay to Ambassador Jeffrey in Ankara and from Ambassador 
Derya Kanbay to Charge in Baghdad) yielded a positive result 
by increasing bilateral discussion between the Iraqi and 
Turkish delegations.  After the meeting, the two delegations 
were to discuss future support via military to military, 
intelligence and police training.  The next ministerial level 
meeting is tentatively schedule for October in Baghdad.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) The third ministerial meeting of the Turkey-Iraq-U.S. 
trilateral security dialogue took place on July 28 in Ankara. 
 The agenda for the meeting included a review of the 
accomplishments of the trilateral working group, Makhmour 
refugee camp and next steps/way ahead.  The Turkish 
delegation was headed by Minister of Interior Besir Atalay, 
the Iraqi delegation by Minister of State for National 
Security Sherwan Waili and the U.S. delegation by BG Steven 
Hummer, MNF-I, Director, CJ3.  The previous ministerial 
meetings were held in Baghdad on April 11 (ref B) and 
November 19, 2008 (ref A). 
 
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE TRILATERAL 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
¶3.  (C) Hamid Rashid, Secretary of the Trilateral Commission, 
gave a presentation on the accomplishments of the trilateral 
working group since the last ministerial meeting. 
Accomplishments included: 
-  Numerous reports with names of and information on PKK 
members were distributed to both Turkish and U.S. delegations; 
-  Letters from the GOI were sent to hospitals/clinics in the 
region asking them to not treat any PKK members who sought 
healthcare; 
-  Letters were sent from the GOI to all KRG media outlets 
requesting that they not print or show any PKK-related 
material; 
-  The Hiwa Group (a political front for the PKK) was banned 
from participating in the Kurdish regional elections (ref C); 
-  Establishment of the Trilateral Intelligence Sharing 
Office (TISO) in Erbil (ref D). 
 
TISO AND CBOS 
--------------------- 
¶4.  (C) Discussion of the TISO followed the presentation with 
Atalay stating the often expressed Turkish frustration that 
QAtalay stating the often expressed Turkish frustration that 
the TISO was not producing enough intelligence.  He said that 
the GOT was &frankly hesitant to express full confidence in 
the program until we see concrete action taken.8  MG Erdal 
Ozturk, TGS, Chief,Plans and Operations Department, insisted 
that intelligence should lead to concrete action and that the 
GOI needed to provide more intelligence.  BG Hummer reminded 
the group that the TISO has only been operational for one 
month and that communications and infrastructure issues were 
still being worked out.  He noted that with additional time 
relationships and procedures would improve and the TISO would 
be a valuable component in the fight against the PKK. 
 
¶5.  (C) During this discussion, Waili raised Turkish cross 
border operations (CBOs) and demurred that it was an issue of 
Iraqi sovereignty which could lead to Iraqi public opinion in 
support of the PKK.  Ozturk responded that the CBOs were 
conducted with intelligence obtained with the help of the 
U.S. and to date there have been no civilian casualties from 
any operations.  He added &We want Iraq to conduct these 
operations themselves, if they did, there would be no need 
 
BAGHDAD 00002071  002 OF 003 
 
 
for us to do them.8  Ozturk also remarked &We don,t 
believe the central government can do anything because they 
are too busy with other issues, the regional government (KRG) 
should be in the lead on this.8  (Note: The Turkish 
delegation numerous times stressed the importance of the 
KRG,s role in combating the PKK and involvement in all 
related dialogue throughout the meeting.  End note.) 
 
Makhmour Camp 
----------------------- 
¶6.  (C) The second item on the agenda was discussion of the 
Makhmour Refugee Camp.  Minister Atalay assured that  &this 
issue is a priority for us8  and that &we have been working 
hard (internally) on this and efforts are progressing.8  He 
relayed that the GOT was taking a "whole of government" 
analytical approach to dealing with the Makhmour issue.  He 
stated that the GOT needed additional demographic information 
on the residents of Makhmour that sought to return to Turkey 
and added  &The solution won,t happen overnight, we need 
more time for exchange of intelligence and analysis.8 
Atalay repeated throughout his remarks that the most 
important objective was to take concrete steps to &rid 
Makhmour of the physical and psychological influence of the 
PKK.8  That responsibility, he said, rests squarely on the 
shoulders of the GOI. 
 
¶7.  (C) Minister Waili responded to Minister Atalay,s 
comments by underscoring the pressing need to resolve the 
issue as soon as possible.  He opined that the camp, with its 
growing number of unemployed youth, was a threat to Iraq,s 
internal security.  Waili stated that &It must be looked at 
as an important issue and we must address it, we must work 
together to resolve it.8  Labeed Abawi, Iraqi Deputy Foreign 
Minister, also weighed in and told the Turkish delegation 
that giving the Turkish citizens of the camp hope that they 
would someday return to Turkey could potentially keep them 
from sympathizing with the PKK.  Abawi referenced the last 
formal discussion the two countries had regarding Makhmour in 
April 2007 with the participation of UNHCR.  Abawi noted that 
an agreement was presented at that meeting which the GOI 
agreed to but the GOT said it would study.  He said that 
nothing has come of it in the past two years and hoped that 
the three parties would be able to reconvene to &determine 
the legal framework for Makhmour.8 
 
Future Iraq-Turkey Bilateral Cooperation 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶8.  (S/NF) The meeting closed with all parties agreeing that 
the trilateral process was valuable and that the dialogue 
needed to continue in order to further cooperation and 
coordination in the fight against the PKK and to resolve the 
issue of Makhmour.  During the meeting, Turkey offered any 
assistance and support they could give to the GOI for 
training related to counter-terrorism for the ISF.  Following 
the meeting, relevant Iraqi and Turkish delegates were going 
to work out when and how a team of Turkish trainers would be 
sent to Iraq to conduct counter-terrorism training that had 
been agreed to at the previous ministerial meeting in 
addition to discussing  future military to military training 
and intelligence collection training (through the Turkish 
National Intelligence Organization) as offered by the GOT. 
Minister Atalay also briefly mentioned planned GOT talks with 
the Government ofSyria to address mutual issues of concern 
regarding border security.  Minister Waili encouraged these 
talks and asked the GOT for help in obtaining ccoperation 
Qtalks and asked the GOT for help in obtaining ccoperation 
from the Syrians to stop the flow of foreign fighters from 
Syria into Iraq. 
 
Comment 
------------- 
¶9.  (S/NF) Unlike the previous ministerial meetings, no major 
decisions were made, however, it was a useful tool to 
continue the dialogue at the highest level and the positive 
momentum set by the previous meetings.  The lower ranking 
U.S. delegation (a fact bemoaned repeatedly prior to the 
meeting by the GOT - from Minister Atalay to Ambassador 
Jeffrey in Ankara and from Ambassador Derya Kanbay to Charge 
in Baghdad) may well have turned out to be a positive factor 
in encouraging the Iraqis and Turkish delegations to speak 
with one another directly.  The USG role in this meeting was 
that of facilitator and observer.  The discussion of Makhmour 
was also a  positive step being the first formal discussion 
of the issue between the parties since April 2007.  During 
their opening statements, both the Iraqi and Turkish 
delegations  highlighted recent bilateral cooperation and 
coordination at the Presidential and Prime Ministerial levels 
and Minister Atalay indicated the the Turkish Foreign 
Minister and Prime Minister would be making separate visits 
to Iraq in the near future (August and October respectively). 
 The next ministerial level meeting is tentatively scheduled 
 
BAGHDAD 00002071  003 OF 003 
 
 
for October in Baghdad. 
 
¶10.  (U) U.S. Delegation: 
- BG Steven Hummer, MNF-I, Director, CJ3 
- Scotty Reid, Embassy Baghdad, A/Pol-Mil Counselor 
- Dan O-Grady, Embassy Ankara, A/DCM 
- Carol Reynolds, Embassy Ankara, Regional Counter-terrorism 
Coordinator 
- COL David Thompson, MNF-I, Future Operations 
- Dew Tiantawach, Embassy Baghdad, Pol-Mil Officer 
 
Iraqi Delegation: 
- Sherwan Al-Waili, Minister of State for National Security 
Affairs 
- Labeed Abawi, Deputy Foreign Minister 
- MG Hussein Ali Kamal, Deputy Minister of Interior 
- MG Delshad Najeeb Othman, KRG Representative to the 
trilateral working group 
- Note: The entire Iraqi delegation totalled 15 people.  End 
note. 
 
Turkish Delegation: 
- Besir Atalay, Minister of Interior 
- Osman Gunes, Undersecretary, Ministry of the Interior 
- Derya Kanbay, Ambassador to Iraq 
- MG Erdal Ozturk, TGS, Chief,Plans and Operations Department 
- Oguz Kagan Koksal, Governor, Director General of Security 
- Murat Ozcelik, Special Envoy to Iraq, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs 
- Note: The entire Turkish delegation totalled 22 people. End 
note. 
FORD