With the Turkish invasion of Syria bringing a lot of second-guessing of US-Turkish ties, a comment made by President Erdogan back in September, which went largely ignored, is getting a lot of new attention.
At the governing party conference, Erdogan complained that the West insists Turkey isn’t allow to have “missiles with nuclear warheads” and concluded that he “cannot accept” that restriction.
This is bringing a lot of speculation that Turkey might be about to become another state making an actual attempt at acquiring nuclear weaponry. Some former US officials are suggesting that the situation in Syria may be facilitating a run for nuclear weapons.
It’s not clear why Turkey would even conceivably want such arms, particularly since they already host an estimated 50 US nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base. Turkey also has an advanced civilian nuclear program, and ties to Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan which suggests they could break out in relatively short order.
On top of that, analysts note Turkey is getting a Russian-made power plant, and has no deal on what to do with the waste that site produces, potentially another proliferation risk.
That Turkey has been capable of making nuclear arms for years has long been ignored, along with Erdogan flat out saying he doesn’t accept the restriction. Officials largely didn’t care, Turkey being a close NATO ally. Now that the US is constantly threatening sanctions and to destroy their economy, they also are looking for reasons to keep escalating a sanctions war.
Erdogan said that once, a while ago. It made little sense then.
Why is it brought up again now? He hasn’t said it again. He hasn’t done anything. There is no sign of Turkey doing anything, ever, then or now or any other time.
It is part of the Blob attack on Turkey. It is WMD and aluminum tubes again. Hey, it worked once, so they’ll keep trying it and trying it.
This is manipulation by war mongers, who want to stay in Forever War in Syria and then attack Iran.
To Trump oil is buisness nothing but buisness and as he said while running for President he would just take the oil, and ad.to Venezuela he says take their oil as well.
US military knows why they make war.and it has not one F’n thing about defending freedoms except US Freedom to steal other nations resources and building a Warrior Culture no matter cost of Americans lives.
That for some damn reason we have a large population that cannot differentiate Nationalism from patriotism and a seemingly ignorant Christian Zionist that border on fanaticism of no matter the cost in lives the Greater Israel program believe our soldiers lives and nations wealth will quicken return of their Messiah borders on insanity.
That and our completely corrupt media and political operatives.havinhg blood on hands due to the “IN GOD WE.TRUST” paid out by our Domestic military industrials and the interconnected international financials is pure sociopathic and psychopathic mental illness.
The loss of blood and the spilling of others blood, along with loss of wealth of nation shows no signs of lessening and in fact will only increase in future.
You cannot have an Empire without destroying Freedoms and Liberty of a nations peoples, but at what cost to the tens of millions of those outside of US militarized nations borders.
Where is the honor to and of a nation, and in truth one may question if the American populace still deserve to have a nation.
Hide, most simply do not deserve it. 🙂 Someday the demoncrats will rule a new nation called New Mexicalli, and it will be backed by drug cartels.
The nuclear weapons at the Incirlik base are under US control. Even if the Turks would forcefully get them they cannot detonate them. However, they can dismantle them and re-use the explosive matter.
For Turkey to acquire a nuclear arsenal of its own is not only expensive [1] but risks isolation and economic strangulation by the UE from which it can only somewhat escape by throwing itself into the arms of Putin. By donating all potential Turkish underground gas to Putin and his gangsters.
[1] the only way to ‘break out’ fast is by purchasing bomb grade uranium and/or plutonium from Pakistan.
The US has made it increasingly clear that it will never fulfill its commitments under the non-proliferation treaty. Perhaps we should have gotten a hint at that reality by the treaty’s very name. All nations should acquire nuclear weapons now that it’s clear The Club will not give up their toys and will continue to use them to threaten, control and dominate the have-nots.
“It’s not clear why Turkey would even conceivably want such arms, particularly since they already host an estimated 50 US nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base.”
What’s not clear, Jason? That the US is in decline, and is an unreliable ally, has been proven over and over. Europe wouldn’t let Turkey into the European Union. The US got Turkey into the Syria regime-change debacle, and then left them hanging, and then got pissy over them buying the S-400s rather than the over-priced and under-performing Patriot system, cancelled them out of the F-35 program (a blessing, actually) and now is threatening them with financial sanctions (actually, the sanctions threats are, in my opinion, just part of the Syria withdrawal Kabuki). With friends like these …
But in the end the “threat” of seeking nukes has its own political utility and is quite distinct from actually going for them.
Erdogan is a fool. Nuclear weapons would be an utter waste of time for Turkey since he has no one to use them against. If he’s thinking it will boost his negotiating power with the US or Russia, he’s an idiot. Neither country will care if Turkey acquires a dozen or so nukes – just like the US doesn’t care if North Korea has a dozen or so nukes. Both countries would obliterate anyone who uses nukes against them. So it will be a waste of billions of Turkish money to build nukes since it will never have a credible threat against either country – and using nukes against any of the non-nuclear countries in the region would bring universal geopolitical condemnation – and possibly attack.
The use of nuclear weapons is that of being a deterrent, and the cachet of being in the Nuclear Club. That Turkey has no one to use them against is irrelevant- the mere fact that Ankara would have them at all would make Turkey relatively ‘untouchable’ to potential invaders. Personally I’d like to see nuclear weapons go away, but as long as even one nation has them- even for defensive purposes only, they might say- that nation remains a potential problem for everyone else. If everyone has them, though, it does level the playing field somewhat.
Well then if that’s the rationale, let’s just put some American nukes in France, Britain, and Israel. That way they won’t need their own.