Call | Türkiye-U.S.

[Jay]

SECRET​

The secure communications center sat one floor below the Prime Ministry.

Three officers worked the consoles. Captain Elçin Sangu occupied the center position. A headset rested over her dark hair. One officer monitored the satellite link. The other watched the encryption terminal.

The clock on the wall reached the scheduled minute.

Sangu pressed her transmit key. "Washington Secure Communications. Ankara Government Communications. Authentication follows."

She read the authentication code from the card beside her console.

There was static, then an American voice. "Authentication matches. Stand by."

The satellite officer raised a hand without looking away from his display. "Link stable and encrypted"

Sangu nodded once. She changed her communication channel to the Prime Minister's office. "They're bringing them in."

Inside the adjoining office, the atmosphere was even quieter.

Prime Minister Ayşe Çiller stood beside her desk instead of sitting behind it. Several briefing folders lay open in front of her, covered in handwritten notes and highlighted passages. The first page summarized intelligence assessments regarding northern Iraq. Beneath it were diplomatic talking points prepared by the Foreign Ministry.

Sümeyye stood beside the desk, carefully reviewing the final briefing packet. "We've moved the proposals for the military bases here," she said softly. "If President LaFleur wants specifics, General Uzun can help guide you through them."

Çiller nodded absentmindedly. "I know."

She wasn't reading anymore. Her attention kept drifting toward the secure telephone resting on its cradle.

She had only spoken with an American president once before, but never one who had been in office only a matter of days. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the load she was dropping on the newly elected President. Surely trying to recover from a bitter election to have the Vice Presidency robbed.

Unfortunately, this introduction would not be accompanied by congratulations alone. Within minutes, she intended to inform the newly inaugurated President of the United States that Türkiye was preparing a major military operation into northern Iraq.

She exhaled slowly. "They're not going to like this."

"No," Sümeyye admitted. "But this is the type of thing that I am sure they would like to hear directly from you rather than on the news or some angry phone call from London or Ottawa.

Across the room, Chief of Staff Kaan Yaman sat on the leather couch against the wall, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. A notebook rested unopened in his lap as he read the intelligence bio on Lafleur.

General Nihat Uzun stood near one of the office windows with his hands clasped behind his back. He had just returned from the Southeast, overseeing the assembly of the joint task force.

The telephone remained on its cradle as it rang once. A light appeared beside the handset as Çiller picked it up.

Çiller picked up the receiver. "This is Prime Minister Çiller."

"One moment, Prime Minister." Captain Sangu said as she returned to the American circuit.

"Washington, Ankara is ready."

"Copy, Ankara." The American switch operator said as another brief pause followed.

Sangu listened as voices became faintly audible on the American end before disappearing again. "The President is ready."

Sangu pressed the transfer switch. "Prime Minister, you are connected."

A small green indicator illuminated beside the telephone. The room became perfectly still as Ayşe picked up the line.

Çiller tightened her grip on the receiver for only a moment before relaxing her hand.

"President Lafleur," she began, her voice warm despite the tension she felt inside, "Please allow me to congratulate you on your election. I appreciate your willingness to speak with me. I know you have many other things to address, many pressing."

 

[Odinson]

Secret​

Liam Bell, President LaFleur's Chief of Staff, opened one of the doors to the Oval Office as LaFleur a handful of aides followed in behind him. The newly appointed and freshly confirmed Secretary of State, Justin Franks, was right behind LaFleur.

"This is short notice, Mister Secretary. The President has other things on his agenda," Bell said as he walked into the room and stood in front of the Resolute Desk.

"Ankara said that it was urgent. They're our only potential friend in the Middle East besides Iran, and the Sinclair Administration had been working closely with them before he left office. I think this justifies an interruption," Franks replied.

LaFleur stopped by the grandfather clock in the Oval Office and looked at it for a few seconds, and then the rest of the room. He still hadn't gotten use to walking into the office, let alone associating it as his own. LaFleur snapped out of it and approached his chief of staff and new secretary of state.

"How do you say her last name again? C... Is it like Hollier?" LaFleur asked. Hollier was a Cajun French name. It was pronounced oh-yay.

"No sir, not even close," Franks replied as he looked at his watch. "We maybe have a minute before they're on. It's pronounced Çiller... Just call her 'Prime Minister' if you can't get it, sir."

"I can get it," LaFleur said as he sat behind the Resolute Desk and took out a legal pad to write on.

"What are you doing, sir?" Franks asked.

LaFleur looked at Franks and then at Bell. "I'm going to take notes during the call," LaFleur said.

"Mister President, at least six other people on our side will be taking notes for you, you don't have to do that," Franks said.

"Then one more person taking notes won't hurt, Justin. Let's get this ball on the road - do you think they're worried that we want to renegotiate our trade deal?" LaFleur asked.

A light started blinking on the secure landline that was on the Resolute Desk. Bell picked up the phone, confirmed something, pressed a button, and then set the phone back down, "The Prime Minister is ready, sir."

LaFleur looked at the phone for a second and then picked it up.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I've won elections before, but I have to admit that it felt a bit different this time... I was supposed to be in another meeting right now, but my new Secretary of State explained to me how valuable of a partner Turkey has become and that you would only call so short notice like this if it was important. How can I help you?" he asked. This was the first phone call that LaFleur took from a foreign head of government. He was probably almost as nervous as Çiller was.

Jay

 

[Jay]

Ayşe's hands trembled a little as she held the receiver tightly. It wasn't until she heard Lafleur's voice that she softened her grip. "I appreciate the confidence your Secretary of State has put in our relationship, and I hope that we will live up to that confidence," Ayşe said with a pause. "Mr. President, as you might be aware, the current security situation in my country has declined rapidly. It might even concern you for me to acknowledge that in some parts of our country, we exert little to no control and instead, ravaging gangs of Kurdish militants and terrorists continually act with impunity."

Ayşe looked at a note that Sümeyye had passed her and read it quickly. "Our efforts to reestablish control over the Southeast have been bloody, and many police officers and soldiers have been martyred in an effort to put an end to this insurrection. We are working to tackle the PKK's financial and material support, which has reignited this phase of the conflict. Our Air Force and intelligence services have confirmed that the PKK is operating out of camps in the Qandil Mountains of Northern Iraq and that at least 20,000 fighters are present across Northern Iraq. The recent terror bombings in Ankara and Izmir were only possible due to a large PKK supply-chain operation, and everyday Turks are dying from these acts of terror."

Ayşe began gripping the receiver ever more tightly again. "I know this is a lot to throw onto you at the moment, and I apologize for doing so." She said honestly. "My cabinet met earlier today, and it has been agreed that the only recourse we have to put an end to this campaign of terror is to invade Iraq and dismantle the PKK's presence in the region. I like to believe that our two countries have developed a strong bond, and in the spirit of that bond, I felt compelled to inform you before you found out about this decision from your own intelligence agency or worse in the press room. I know that many countries still look up to the United States for global leadership, myself included. While I would be ashamed to ask your country to provide men and weapons, I do hope that I may ask you to give my government the necessary political cover to undertake this operation, as I know many will be hesitant to support the Turkish Government in light of the history we carry."

Pausing for a moment, Ayşe hesitated but proceeded upon hearing no response. "I know you will need to consult with your own advisors, and you have pressing matters of state to address. I am happy to answer any questions you may have or give you the time to process this information before you make any decisions. We do plan to move quickly as our air campaign has given us a window of opportunity that we seek to exploit."

Odinson