Wikileaks - 08ANKARA2045

SECRET
08ANKARA394
08ANKARA395
VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHAK #2045/01 3301212
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 251212Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8117
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASH DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU PRIORITY
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU PRIORITY

S E C R E T ANKARA 002045 
SIPDIS 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR DAAG/CRM SWARTZ 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2028 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, IZ, SY, EU, TU 

1. (S) Summary. S/CT Dell Dailey urged Turkey November 14 
to agree to an annual high-level counterterrorism (CT) 
dialogue, pressed it to use its influence with Syria to halt 
the transit of foreign terrorists and asked it to positively 
respond to earlier U.S. information-sharing proposals. 
Interior U/S Gunes, MFA U/S Apakan and others asked for U.S. 
help in `eliminating' the PKK in northern Iraq. Apakan 
welcomed the U.S. CT dialogue proposal, while Gunes, who has 
been tasked with standing up an entity to coordinate 
Turkey,s interagency intelligence efforts, welcomed 
Dailey,s offer to share U.S. `lessons learned.' The Turks 
thanked Dailey for U.S. efforts to halt PKK-related 
activities in Europe and described Turkey,s own efforts with 
the Euros. MFA Acting DG Ozyildiz noted Turkey would make 
counterterrorism a focus of its tenure as a non-permanent 
UNSC member. He also reported Turkey is examining how the 
various U.S. information-sharing proposals would fit into 
Turkey's legislation. End summary. 

2. (C) The State Department,s Coordinator for 
Counterterrorism (S/CT), Ambassador Dell Dailey, met November 
14 with Turkish Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Ertugrul 
Apakan, Undersecretary for Interior Affairs Osman Gunes, 
Undersecretary of Justice Aykut Kilic, MFA Acting Director 
General of Security Affairs Inan Ozyildiz, Turkish National 
Police (TNP) Deputy Director General Ali Kolat and Colonel 
Ertugrul Gazi Ozkurkcu, Director of the NATO Center of 
Excellence-Defense Against Terrorism (COE/DAT). He also met 
with ODC Chief Maj. Gen. Eric Rosborg and visited the 
Combined Intelligence Fusion Center (CIFC). Amb. Dailey was 
accompanied in all meetings by S/CT officer Elizabeth 
Ingalls, Regional CT Coordinator Carol Reynolds and Poloff 
Jason Arvey. LEGATT Dan Guerrero, RLA Carolyn Delaney, and 
Embassy interpreter Suheyla Tayla also joined appropriate 
meetings. 

3. (C) In all meetings, Amb. Dailey expressed his 
understanding of the priority Turkey places on its fight 
against the PKK, stressed that the incoming administration 
would prioritize the fight against terrorism as least as 
highly as the current administration and renewed the USG 
commitment to further strengthen counterterrorism (CT) 
cooperation, including S/CT efforts to persuade our European 
partners to find ways to cut off PKK funding operations in 
Europe. He shared a U.S. proposal to establish an annual 
Senior-level Counterterrorism Dialogue with Turkey
 such a 
dialogue would raise the level of CT consultations and 
broaden interagency participation. He applauded Turkey,s 
efforts to go beyond kinetic responses to the PKK and to 
`win the hearts' of the Kurds by addressing systemic issues. 

4. (S) In dialogue with all interlocutors, Amb. Dailey noted 
Turkey,s attractive location as a transit route for Al Qaeda 
(AQ) and other terrorist organizations, not only to and from 
Iraq but also to the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. He shared 
information on the flow of foreign terrorists into Iraq, 
including through Turkey, and pointed out that foreign 
terrorists are responsible for 90 percent of deaths through 
suicide bombing in Iraq and for 15-20 percent of all attacks. 
 Dailey expressed concern that foreign fighters would return 
to home countries, such as Turkey, or continue the fight 
elsewhere. He urged Turkish officials to use their influence 
to persuade Syria to control its borders more tightly and to 
take more forceful actions against foreign terrorist 
facilitators operating in Syria. Amb. Dailey pressed his 
interlocutors to respond favorably to earlier U.S. 
information-sharing proposals (PISCES, HSPD-6, API/PNR and 
biometic data sharing). He separately urged Turkey to work 
with our Resident Legal Advisor to strengthen its CT 
legislation in order to eliminate vulnerabilities and 
loopholes. He also inquired about Turkey,s reported plans 
to establish an Undersecretary within the Minister of the 
Interior to coordinate interagency messaging against the PKK 
and horizontal integration of intelligence, and offered to 
share U.S. `lessons learned.'

Interior Ministry Undersecretary Osman Gunes 
-------------------------------------------- 

5. (C) U.S.-Turkey CT cooperation has been `extremely 
good' since the November 5, 2007 meeting between President 
Bush and Prime Minister Erdogan, Interior U/S Gunes observed, 
particularly in the area of intelligence sharing. 
Nonetheless, the PKK continues to enjoy safe haven in 
northern Iraq and to receive support there. Turkey expects 
U.S. support in urging the Iraqi government to eliminate PKK 
elements in northern Iraq, he stated. Turkey also expects 
the PKK to try to raise tensions as the March 2009 local 
elections approach and requested closer U.S. cooperation in 
the coming months. Gunes noted the PKK still has a broad 
support network in Europe, providing money, logistics, and 
`propaganda' outlets. Turkey would like more US 
cooperation and support in winning over reluctant European 
governments to the cause of shutting down PKK enterprises 
within their borders. 

6. (C) Al Qaeda is as great a threat to Turkey as the PKK, 
Gunes continued. Within the past year, Turkey had carried 
out ten operations against AQ, and the group is now feeling 
`uneasy.' It had gotten the message, Gunes asserted, that 
Turkey will not tolerate AQ activities in Turkey. Turning to 
Syria, Gunes said Turkey is very sensitive about border 
security and has urged Syria to establish border outposts to 
protect against possible terrorist infiltration. While the 
Syrians had joked `We trust you Turkish' to protect the 
border, Gunes reported Syria subsequently began to set up 
border posts. Gunes assured Amb. Dailey that Turkey raises 
the border issue each time it meets with the Syrians. 

7. (C) Gunes welcomed Dailey,s offer to share `lessons 
learned' from U.S. efforts to integrate intelligence among 
government agencies through the establishment of the National 
Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), noting that he had been 
tasked with setting up the new CT interagency entity and that 
a high-level meeting would take place that afternoon to 
discuss the matter. Amb. Dailey offered to have a U.S. team 
of experts from NCTC visit Turkey to explain U.S. experience 
or to host a Turkish team,s visit to the United States. 
Gunes thanked the Ambassador for the offer (and promised to 
follow up). Dailey also offered up his Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary (PDAS) to travel to European capitals to 
solicit their assistance in curtailing PKK financing. 

MFA U/S Apakan, Acting Security Affairs DG Ozyildiz 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 

8. (C) U/S Apakan expressed appreciation for enhanced 
U.S.-Turkey CT cooperation since November 5, 2007. Echoing 
Interior U/S Gunes, Apakan pressed for more U.S. help to 
persuade the Government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional 
Government (KRG) to eliminate the PKK in northern Iraq. He 
asked the U.S. to use its influence to that end in the 
upcoming November 19 Tripartite meeting (GOT-USG-GOI) and to 
follow up with KRG leader Barzani. Separately, Iraq and 
Turkey are close to finalizing a CT agreement which will 
provide a framework for CT cooperation. Turkey also hopes to 
conclude a military cooperation agreement with Iraq that 
would provide military training, in support of U.S. efforts. 

9. (C) Turkey continues to urge its European partners to 
strengthen measures against PKK-affiliates in Europe, Apakan 
reported. Prime Minister Erdogan had recently sent 
confidential letters to counterparts in Sweden, the UK, 
France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands 
asking for stronger steps against the PKK. Turkey and 
Belgium had held a `quiet' interagency (MFA, MOI and MOJ) 
meeting in Istanbul and would meet again in early 2009
 they 
were making systematic progress. Denmark sent judicial and 
prosecutorial representatives to Turkey to discuss ROJ-TV and 
suggested an Action Plan. The UK and Turkey have a bilateral 
agreement for consultations and are making some progress in 
addressing issues of concern to Turkey. Sweden has agreed to 
increase bilateral contacts. The MOJs of France and Turkey 
are also cooperating and France has taken some measures 
against the PKK. Italy, too, is showing a new spirit of 
cooperation. Switzerland, which did not receive a letter, 
has also taken limited steps against the PKK. In summation, 
Apakan said the U.S. is working effectively with European 
partners to reduce logistic support for the PKK and Turkey is 
grateful. 

10. (S) The U.S. and Turkey also enjoy solid cooperation 
between relevant agencies in the fight against Al Qaeda, 
Apakan stated. Picking up on the matter of cooperation 
against AQ, Amb. Dailey discussed the deportation to Saudi 
Arabia of a foreign terrorist facilitator whom the Turks had 
picked up on false document charges. In response to Amb. 
Dailey,s proposal for an enhanced CT dialogue, Apakan said 
Turkey welcomes more CT cooperation in all areas. He 
concluded the conversation by reiterating his early appeal 
for U.S. assistance in eliciting greater GOI and KRG 
cooperation in eliminating the PKK in northern Iraq. 

11. (C) In an earlier conversation, Acting Director General 
for Security Affairs Inan Ozyildiz previewed many of the 
topics raised by U/S Apakan. Ozyildiz noted that US-Turkish 
intelligence sharing has been instrumental in fighting the 
PKK, but the PKK is still strong, with some 3,000 militants 
in Iraq capable of carrying out attacks inside Turkey with 
heavy weapons. He also noted that the Party for a Free Life 
in Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian offshoot of the PKK, has 
called off its struggle against Iran to focus on Turkey. PKK 
survival in Iraq is directly dependent on PKK funding, 
propaganda, and recruitment in Europe. Ozyildiz expressed 
gratitude for former S/CT PDAS Urbancic,s efforts to lobby 
support from European governments in combating these sources 
of support (Ref B), and hoped that the US government would 
continue in such efforts. Ambassador Dailey committed to 
maintaining S/CT,s efforts in Europe. 

12. (C) Separately, Ozyildiz expressed appreciation for the 
July 2008 Istanbul conference that brought together 
prosecutors from Turkey, several key European countries and 
Iraq to discuss extradition, and hoped the exercise could be 
repeated. He also thanked the U.S. for naming the PKK as a 
`drug kingpin.' Turkey remains `very vigilant' against 
Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Ozyildiz acknowledged 
increased AQ activity in Turkey and said Turkey would 
cooperate with the U.S. against it. On Syria, he noted U.S. 
concerns concerning the transit of foreign terrorists and 
promised to pass the message to the Syrians. Turkey also 
intends to make counterterrorism a focus of its tenure as a 
non-permanent UNSC member, he observed. Returning to 
bilateral issues, Ozyildiz said Turkey continues to study the 
various information-sharing proposals presented by the United 
States to determine how they would fit into Turkey,s 
legislation. `We will see what we can do,' he stated. 

Justice Ministry Undersecretary Aykut Kilic 
------------------------------------------- 

13. (S) Justice U/S Ayput Kilic was open to continuing 
dialogue on Turkey,s counterterrorism legislation, but 
believed that current laws are adequate. Since Turkey is 
party to all counterterrorism conventions and the Turkish 
constitution regards ratified international instruments to 
have the force and effect of law, there should be no barriers 
to effective prosecution of transiting terrorists, he argued. 
 He pointed to the case of Imad, a Saudi foreign terrorist 
facilitator: `If Turkish law would not allow us to deport 
Imad to Saudi Arabia, we would have turned to international 
agreements to do so.' Pressed to provide an example where 
Turkey had applied international conventions or protocols in 
a CT case, he acknowledged this approach had not yet been 
tested. Kilic expressed appreciation for the July roundtable 
on extradition and was receptive to the idea of CT meetings 
funded by S/CT and hosted by Turkey at the NATO-COE/DAT to 
bring together regional law enforcement and judicial 
officials. 

TNP Deputy Director General Ali Kolat 
------------------------------------- 

14. (C) DDG Kolat was receptive to Amb. Dailey,s proposals 
concerning the establishment of an annual bilateral dialogue 
and implementing the information-sharing systems, and said 
the proposals would be conveyed up the chain of command for 
evaluation. He praised cooperation with the FBI, CIA, and 
DEA. He also shared U.S. concerns about Syria, but commented 
that so much of the TNP,s assets are focused on fighting the 
PKK directly, it has little time for addressing the Syria 
issue. Like his colleagues, Kolat expressed appreciation for 
U.S. support against the PKK and requested further support to 
eliminate the PKK in northern Iraq. In response to an 
inquiry about the status of the newly proposed Security 
Undersecretariat, Kolat stated that its status was still 
unclear, but that having a single organization coordinating 
counterterrorism policy would be a positive change. 

15. (U) S/CT Dailey cleared this message. 

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 

SILLIMAN 

2008-11-25 12:12