Tension rising in Ankara

ANKARA - Non stop action seems to define the paths between Ankara and Washington, DC these days. In the wake of visits to the Turkish capital by US anti-terror head Frank Urbancic and US military second in command General James Cartwright, Ankara is now preparing to host the US Department of Justice's Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who is set to arrive in the Turkish capital this afternoon.

Mukasey, who is coming to Turkey on the invitation of Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, will spend only 24 hours in Turkey for talks expected to focus on the struggle against PKK terror. This trip to Ankara, which has been preceded by stops in both Iraq and Qatar, has special significance in that it is the first such foreign tour by Mukasey since his appointment to the position of US Attorney General last November.

It is additionally expected that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will greet Mukasey on his arrival to the Turkish capital, as will various top Turkish Foreign Ministry officials.

MUKASEY'S FIRST STOP WAS BAGHDAD

Prior to his stop in Turkey, Mukasey has been in Iraq, where he met also with top administration officials there. The focus of Mukasey's talks in Baghdad was the structuring of Iraq's justice system, as well as the element of terrorism there. Diplomatic sources told that the topic of known PKK terrorists who have been captured in Iraq but not returned to Turkey due to deficiencies in the Iraqi justice system was also on the agenda for talks in Baghdad.

Authorities notes that Mukasey's visit to Ankara directly after his time in Baghdad might well indicate new efforts in either the return to Turkey of PKK terrorists captured in Iraq, or otherwise tougher sentencing for those same terrorists while actually in Iraq. Mukasey, who went on for meetings in Qatar after Iraq, will arrive in Ankara later today.

AL KADI ENIGMA

Authorities note that while at the basis of meeting topics for Mukasey during his 24 stay in Ankara will be the subject of PKK terrorism coming out of Northern Iraq, the US Attorney General will also be talking with Turkish officials about shared legal moves that coudl be made between Ankara and Washington, DC in fighting global terror.

Within this framework, it is expected that particular focus will be put on the financial assets of people who have proven ties to the Al Qaeda terror organization in Turkey. One example of such a case is with Saudi Arabian citizen Al Kadi, whose financial assets in Turkey were originally impounded following a United Nations decision--Ankara later decided not to implement this United Nations-based decision. Statements from Prime Minister Erdogan about Al Kadi being a "dependable person" later caused wide reverberations in the press.