VZCZCXRO1948
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHBUL #3793/01 3320641
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 280641Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3433
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2985
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003793 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/SRAP, SCA/RA, SCA/A, EUR/SE 
DEPT PASS AID/ANE 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: EAID ESTH PREL PGOV AF TK
SUBJECT: Turkey Will Open Second PRT in Afghanistan, Wants a Seat at 
the Table 
 
Ref:  Kabul 3746 
      Kabul 2814 
 
KABUL 00003793  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Turkish Ambassador to Afghanistan Basat Ozturk 
said Turkey will open a PRT in Sheberghan, Jowzjan province, in 2010 
and is willing to increase assistance in the fields of health, 
agriculture and education, while expanding police and governance 
programs.  Turkey's existing PRT in Wardak province demonstrates 
civilian-led PRTs are the way forward, Ozturk said.  Despite 
Turkey's contributions and Washington "promises" to include Turkey, 
Ozturk said his Embassy still feels left out of crucial discussions 
in Kabul.  In this regard, he noted Turkey will be the lead nation 
in the United Nations Security Council for Afghan issues in 2010. 
Amb. Wayne pointed out that Turkey already attends most multilateral 
donor meetings in Kabul but invited Ozturk to encourage his staff to 
meet more regularly with U.S. mission personnel to coordinate 
assistance.  Ozturk also suggested President Obama outline the 
civilian component of a predicted troop increase when Prime Minister 
Erdogan visits Washington December 7, following U.S.-Turkey 
consultations in Ankara on December 2, and "instruct us on the way 
ahead."  End Summary. 
 
PRT Jowzjan: Police Training, Education, Health, and Agriculture 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU) Forty five days after his arrival in Kabul, Ozturk told 
Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs, Amb. E. 
Anthony Wayne, November 23 that Turkey is well positioned to help 
Afghanistan become a modern state and "rediscover its Sufi roots." 
He heralded Turkey's performace in Wardak province (and Regional 
Command-Kabul) and claimed that even in those areas where Turkey 
lacks official personnel, it wields soft power through popular high 
schools and expeditionary Turkish businesses.  The Turkish 
Government has informed NATO, the Afghan, German, and Swedish 
Governments of its intent to open a PRT in Sheberghan in Jowzjan 
province, and is currently drafting a budget and recruiting 
personnel for a spring 2010 opening.  The PRT will focus on building 
schools, roads and health clinics; providing agricultural 
assistance; and potentially covering neighboring Sar-i-Pol province. 
 (Note: it remains unclear whether Turkey will assume responsibility 
for security in Jowzjan from Sweden.) 
 
¶3. (SBU) Turkey will also establish a police training center in 
Jowzjan and will run train-the-trainer programs in Turkey, Ozturk 
said.  He sought to dispel rumors that Turkey obstructed the 
relationship between NATO and the EU Police Mission to Afghanistan 
(EUPOL), adding that EUPOL struggles to recruit police officers. 
Turkey will coordinate with the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan 
(NTMA) but will not necessarily transfer authority, Ozturk said, 
because "if we raise the NATO flag in Wardak we will have problems." 
 He added that the Turkish jandarma and sub-provincial governments 
may provide personnel for police and governance training. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Turkey has built several health clinics and will build 
more, Ozturk said, but he highlighted the lack of Afghan doctors to 
staff new health facilities as a serious problem.  Doctors at a new 
Turkish-built facility want to "give it back," he said, and some new 
clinics have no medical staff at all.  U.S. representatives 
emphasized the importance of involving the Ministry of Public 
Health, prior to construction, to ensure adequate staffing and 
sustainability. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Ozturk said Turkey's existing PRT in Wardak province 
demonstrates civilian-led reconstruction efforts can be successful, 
adding that military-led reconstruction produces quick results but 
creates a fundamentally different mentality.  He welcomed the U.S. 
civilian uplift and its emphasis on the district level.  Asking for 
U.S. assistance in countering rumors that Turkey is biased toward 
Turkic Uzbeks and Turkmens, Ozturk pointed out that most of his 
country's projects aid non-Turkic Afghans and provide assistance 
regardless of ethnicity and gender. 
 
Bring Us In From the Cold 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶6. (SBU) Before outlining Turkey's contributions to Afghan 
reconstruction, Ozturk expressed frustration at what he perceives as 
a lack of access to the American-led decision making process in 
Kabul.  Comparing Turkey's physical and cultural connections with 
Central Asia and the West to those of post-World War II West 
Germany, Ozturk said Turkey had been included in Afghan strategy 
meetings in Washington, Ankara and other capitals -- but not on the 
ground in Kabul, where he said U.S. and Turkish officials have the 
most realistic grasp of the situation.  He reminded Amb. Wayne that 
Turkey will be the lead nation in the United Nations Security 
Council for Afghan issues in 2010.  Amb. Wayne pointed out that 
 
KABUL 00003793  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
there are few Kabul-based multilateral meetings of partner nations, 
and that Turkey already attends most of them.  He suggested 
working-level staff meet more regularly with USAID personnel to 
enhance their knowledge of successful programs already in place and 
to closely coordinate actions of Turkey's current and future PRTs. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Amb. Wayne outlined the U.S. goals of promoting Afghan 
leadership, combating corruption and boosting agricultural 
production for rural Afghans.  Ozturk acknowledged the corruption 
problem and agreed Turkey could set a positive example as a Muslim 
state with strong institutions at the national and provincial level. 
 Both highlighted concrete areas of U.S.-Turkish-collaboration in 
the areas of health, education, agriculture and good governance, 
which can serve as the basis for more detailed discussions.  Ozturk 
said Prime Minister Erdogan's December 7 visit to Washington is a 
good opportunity for President Obama to discuss U.S. strategy, 
particularly the civilian component, and "instruct us on the way 
ahead." 
 
 
EIKENBERRY