Cablegate: Turkey: Pol-Mil Round-Up, June 2005

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004126

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: POL-MIL ROUND-UP, JUNE 2005

REFERENCE: A) ANKARA 3892, B) 2004 ANKARA 6000

(Note: This is the first in what we intend to be a regular
series of unclassified reports on significant Turkish
defense and national security issues in the press and other
open sources. End note)

Contents
--------

-- New National Security Policy Approval Delayed
-- TGS Chief Speaks Out On Terrorism
-- Syrian Scud Missile over Turkey
-- Annual Military Promotions and Retirements
-- Turkey's Military Relations with Other Countries
-- Defense Industry Activity

National Security Policy Approval Delayed
-----------------------------------------

1. A new National Security Policy document outlining the
government's priorities with regard to threats to Turkey's
internal and external security, and based on input from all
Council member agencies, was expected to be finalized at the
June 21 National Security Council meeting. The new draft
document is intended to reflect the post-Sept. 11 global
security realities and the current regional security
environment. However, debate on the 25-page draft - a sharp
contrast to the 200-plus page document issued in 2001 and
the 300-page draft submitted by the Turkish General Staff
(TGS) - was postponed until the next bimonthly NSC meeting
in August - at the earliest.

2. The NSC did not comment officially on the postponement
but Turkish press reports claimed military leaders were
concerned that the new draft `softened' Turkey's previous
provision on Cyprus; that military responsibilities with
respect to domestic security had been removed from the draft
to comply with the EU standards; and that internal
separatism and fundamentalism were not properly
characterized as the primary threat to Turkey's stability.
However, the press also speculated that TGS leadership does
not consider NSC Secretary General Yigit Alpogan, a career
diplomat and the first civilian to head the NSC (ref b), the
appropriate lead on this exercise. In discussing this with
us, NSC dismiss the stories about inter-agency friction,
mirroring President Sezer's public pronouncement that the
postponement was due solely to the need for additional
review. (ref a)

Chief of the General Staff on Terrorism
---------------------------------------

3. In a speech inaugurating Turkey's NATO Center of
Excellence for the Defense Against Terrorism in Ankara on
June 28th, TGS CHOD General Hilmi Ozkok stressed the need
for preemptive measures against terrorism. Calling Sept.
11, 2003 a turning point in history, he suggested the need
for a paradigm shift in security planning from the
traditional Cold War stance to one that can better respond
to asymmetric threats. Calling for a common definition of
terrorism, Ozkok complained that some NATO countries had
ignored Turkish calls for cooperation in the fight against
the PKK terrorist organization. He recognized that
terrorists could not be defeated by military action alone
and stressed the important role of civilian organizations to
strengthen democratic structures.

4. In a separate message to the Silk Road-2005 Flag Officers
Seminar that same day, Ozkok called Turkey a bridge between
NATO countries and crisis areas in the Caucasus and Central
Asia that would play a critical role in achieving the NATO
objectives articulated at the 2004 Istanbul Summit(The
Anatolian News Agency).

Syrian Scud Missile over Turkey
-------------------------------

5. The centrist Milliyet quoted a New York Times story on
June 3rd on the misfire and break up on May 27th in
Turkey's southeastern Hatay region of one of three Scud
missiles tested by Syria. Turkish press confirmed the story
when the Turkish Ambassador to Washington acknowledged Syria
had apologized for the incident. This issue received scant
coverage by the Turkish media.
Annual Military Promotions and Retirements
------------------------------------------

6. At the annual Supreme Military Council meeting to be held
from August 1-4, the promotion and retirement of 116
generals and admirals will be considered. As reported by
the New Anatolian English-language daily, 40 generals and
admirals are predicted to retire; CHOD GEN Ozkok is expected
to remain in command for another year; Military Academy
Commander GEN Faruk Comert will be assigned Air Forces Fleet
Commander; and Deputy CHOD GEN Ilker Basbug is expected to
be assigned as First Army Commander in Istanbul.

Turkey's Military Relations with Other Countries
--------------------------------------------- ---

7. Iraq: Turkish press regularly reports on government
efforts against the PKK terrorist organization. The leftist
Cumhuriyet daily reported that 5,000 Kurdish PKK militants
have taken shelter in camps in the Qandil Mountains in
northern Iraq and the camps are protected by `Docka' anti-
aircraft missiles, Russian-made Strela SA-7 missiles, and
heavy weaponry. Iraqi Deputy Minister of Interior Ahmad Al
Hajafi commented on the PKK presence in northern Iraq by
saying that Iraq had weak control over the region where the
PKK is based. In the June 22nd Brussels Conference on Iraq,
Turkish FM Abdullah Gul stated that Turkey is suffering from
terrorism originating from northern Iraq and stressed
Turkey's sensitivity about current ethnic shifts and the
future status of Kirkuk. Consistent with previous months,
reporting continued on the kidnapping and death of Turkish
truck drivers delivering humanitarian and coalition supplies
to Iraq. In June, two Turkish truckers were reported killed
and 1 kidnapped in Iraq, bringing an estimated total of over
100 Turkish drivers killed in Iraq since the beginning of
coalition efforts.

8. Pakistan: PM Erdogan said after meeting with his
Pakistani counterpart that Turkey and Pakistan were
considering the joint production of tanks, armored personnel
carriers and patrol boats and that the Turkish defense firm
Aselsan will consider the sale of military equipment to the
Pakistani Army.

9. Azerbaijan: On June 6th, Turkey signed a protocol with
Azerbaijan for the provision of military assistance to the
Azeri Army, as reported by the Anatolian News Agency.

10. Kazakhstan: Turkish Armed Forces granted military
equipment worth $1,333,000 to the Kazakh Army (Anatolian
News Agency). After visiting the Kazakh Defense Minister on
June 14th, CHOD GEN Ozkok said cooperation between the two
armed forces was improving, especially in the area of
training (ANA).

11. Greece: During June, the Turkish press cited Greek press
reports claiming Turkey infringed the Athens Flight
Information Region (FIR) and violated Greek national
airspace 3 times. (COMMENT: We understand the Greek press
routinely reports "FIR infringements" and airspace
violations; the Turkish press occasionally picks up these
stories. END COMMENT.) During a visit to Greece to meet
with his counterpart, Turkish Land Forces Commander GEN
Yasar Buyukanit stated that the problem of the violation in
Aegean stems from Greece's designation of its FIR as the
virtual equivalent of national airspace.

Defense Industry Activity
-------------------------

12. The Defense Industry Executive Committee (Prime
Minister, CHOD, Defense Minister and Undersecretary of SSM)
approved on June 22 the merger of four major Turkish defense
companies -- ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, TAI and HAVELSAN -- under a
defense holding company in order to develop indigenous
capabilities in unmanned aircraft and tank and aircraft
modernization. According to the quarterly Defense and
Aerospace magazine, MKEK and depots/factories operated by
the Turkish military factories will also be incorporated.
The holding company will manage some $500-600 million in
capital. The Executive Committee also decided to purchase
$3 billion in weapons to modernize the Turkish Armed Forces.

13. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a $100 million
contract with Northrop Grumman for the production of F-35
spare parts, according to the leftist Cumhuriyet daily.

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