Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Turkish Pm Erdogan's Us

VZCZCXRO0987
PP RUEHFK
DE RUEHKO #5147 3120426
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080426Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9355
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI//N541// PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA// PRIORITY
RUHBANB/OKINAWA FLD OFC US FORCES JAPAN CP BUTLER JA PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/USFJ PRIORITY
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 4292
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7959
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0028
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1956
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 6083
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 6866
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS TOKYO 005147

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - TURKISH PM ERDOGAN'S US
VISIT

LEAD STORIES: All six Thursday morning papers gave top
coverage to Japan's largest opposition party DPJ
President Ozawa's formal withdrawal of his stated
intention to step down.

1. "From Invasion to Limited Air Strike" The liberal
Tokyo Shimbun's Ankara-based correspondent wrote
(11/8): "Following Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's
agreement with President Bush on Monday on greater
sharing of US military intelligence concerning PKK
rebels, there is a growing consensus in Turkey that
rather than a 'full-scale invasion,' there will soon be
limited air and other strikes in northern Iraq. With
some 100,000 Turkish troops still deployed on the
country's border with Iraq, the tension will likely
remain for the time being.... Erdogan has been hinting
at an invasion in an attempt to obtain concessions from
the US, which is concerned about further
destabilization in Iraq. The US has decided to provide
Turkey with intelligence collected by reconnaissance
planes in order to minimize the possibility of chaos in
Iraq. The data will be useful in the limited air
strikes and mobilization of special forces that Ankara
is reportedly considering. However, given that the
Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq apparently have no
intention of seriously dealing with the PKK, a limited
Turkish military operation will only postpone a
resolution of the problem. As it is unclear whether the
Turkish people will be satisfied with this approach,
Erdogan is likely to keep a massive invasion as an
option."

SCHIEFFER

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