Tag: NATO missile shield

  • NATO missiles in Turkey shield Israel, a plot against Russia: Layos Szaszdi

    NATO missiles in Turkey shield Israel, a plot against Russia: Layos Szaszdi

    An analyst says NATO missiles deployed in Turkey under the pretext of protecting Ankara against Syrian attacks are in actual fact aimed at Russia in pursuit of Israeli interests.

    The comment comes as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance says it has made the first set of Patriot missiles operational on the Turkey-Syria border.

    NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Admiral James Stavridis has backed the deployment of Patriot missiles, saying it shows the alliance’s willingness to defend allies facing threats.

    Six batteries of the US-made missiles, effective against aircraft and short-range missiles, will be deployed in the southern city of Adana and the southeastern cities of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

    The Syrian government has censured the plan, calling it another act of provocation by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    Press TV has conducted an interview with Layos Szaszdi, political commentator in Washington to further discuss the issue. What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

    Press TV: Mr. Szaszdi, we see foreign-backed insurgents literally killing civilians in Syria, execution style. Why has the international community remained silent on this and why isn’t it doing anything about it?

    Szaszdi: Well, because they do support the rebels. They want them to succeed because their ultimate goal is to topple the government in Damascus and this is a broad coalition that includes Western powers headed or led by the United States and including France, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey of course– a major spring board for the rebels.

    And that’s why the Patriot missiles are being deployed in the regions where they are near the city of Adana, near the city of Kahramanmara because probably those areas, certainly the city of Adana were the US base of Incirlik Base are entry ports; from where? Well, not entry ports but staging points where supplies are provided to the rebels in Syria.

    So because of this broad alliance or coalition including Western powers and Middle Eastern powers, Persian Gulf, Arab States of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, probably Israel also is supporting the rebels so that’s why they don’t denounce the crimes committed by the rebels particularly the al-Nusra front which by the way the United States has declared a terrorist organization.

    So there is this common goal that unites the Saudis, the Israelis, the Turks, the Germans and the Americans which bring down the government in Damascus as part of the information war, the propaganda war.

    They are not going to mention or accuse the rebels of committing crimes. Everything that is going wrong; any war crime that is being committed in Syria they are always going to be blame it on the government in Damascus.

    Press TV: As far as the NATO Patriot missiles are concerned, you spoke about them, how should one interpret these missiles and of course where does the international law fit in this?

    Szaszdi: Well, Turkey is a NATO member, they do have the right to deploy, these NATO allies, the US, the Netherlands, Germany (have the right to) to deploy these Patriot missiles which are regarded as a defensive weapon in the Eastern borders of Turkey.

    Now of course it’s my belief that where the missiles are being deployed near the city of Adana, Kahramanmaras were the Germans missiles, two batteries of Patriot missiles are being deployed, they are being deployed there because it’s a staging point from where the rebels obtained supplies, weapons, and volunteers.

    So they are military targets, that’s why they are deploying missiles in case that Syria supposedly would like to retaliate launching attacks against those staging bases from where the rebels are being fed with weapons, volunteers, supplies, and etcetera but of course Syria is not going to provoke NATO to intervene.

    I would say that these Patriot missiles are part of an extension of the European missile defense system which is actually aimed against Russia and Iran and the Russians know it.

    They know that this is an excuse, the deployment of the Patriot missiles claiming that it is to protect Turkey against Syrian missile attack or air attack but in fact it’s aimed against Russia and its part of a broader missile defense system that does not just include NATO European missile defense System but also Japan presumably.

    And in the case of the Patriot batteries being deployed in Eastern Turkey they could be connected to the more sophisticated missile defense system which is the Theater High Altitude Area Defense system also known by its acronym (THAAD) and there is a fire control [system and a] radar for that missile system which is the AN/TPY-2 and that radar is mobile so supposedly now it’s pointing Iran since its mobile it can turned pointing Russia.

    Why Russia? Because I believe that these European missile defense system including the Patriot batteries can be linked to that fire control radar I just mentioned, could be used to defend Israel in case that Israel would attack Russia for instance move their intercontinental ballistic missile force including the Jericho-III ICBM that can reach Moscow and St. Petersburg.

    And Israelis have been targeting the Soviet Union since the late eighties presumably they’re still targeting Russia due to its support to Syria, to Iran for instance though it is a friendly nation. So presumably the missiles can be used against Russia too.

    VG/JR

    via PressTV – NATO missiles in Turkey shield Israel, a plot against Russia: Layos Szaszdi.

  • Turkey to request Nato missile defence

    Turkey to request Nato missile defence

    ANKARA:Turkey is to make an imminent official request to Nato to station Patriot missiles along its border with Syria, a senior Turkish foreign ministry official said yesterday.

    soldiers diyarbakir nato deployed.n

    Nato-member Turkey has already bolstered its own military presence along the 910-km (border and has been responding in kind to gunfire and mortar shells hitting its territory from fighting between Syrian rebels and Syrian government forces.

    “Concerning this topic (Patriot missiles), an imminent official request is to be made,” the official told Reuters.

    The official said there was a potential missile threat to Turkey from Syria and that Turkey had a right to take steps to counter such a threat. He gave no further details.

    Article continues below

    “The deployment of these type of missiles as a step to counter threats is routine under Nato regulations,” the official said, adding that they had been deployed in Turkey during the second Gulf War.

    A Nato spokeswoman in Brussels said: “We haven’t received a request. As the Secretary-General said on Monday, the allies will consider any request that is brought to the North Atlantic Council.” Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday announced a planned Vatican mission to Syria will not go ahead and said he had dispatched an envoy to Lebanon instead to meet refugees and Christian community leaders.

    “Unfortunately different circumstances and developments have not rendered possible this initiative in the way we had hoped. I have therefore given a special mission to Cardinal Robert Sarah,” the pope said in St Peter’s Square.

    Benedict also called for peace in Syria and highlighted the “immense suffering” of civilians, urging all sides in the conflict to pursue “paths that lead to a just cohabitation and an adequate political solution”.

    “We have to do everything possible before it is too late,” he said.

    The Vatican had announced last month that it would send a high-level delegation to Syria including top Vatican officials and peace building experts but it was seen as politically risky and potentially dangerous.

    Sarah, a Guinean cardinal, heads up the Cor Unum Pontifical Council, a Vatican department that oversees the Catholic Church’s charity work.

    Benedict said that Sarah in Lebanon will meet spiritual leaders and faithful from Christian churches present in Syria, hold a coordination meeting of Catholic charities and meet with refugees who have fled Syria.

    Sarah’s mission to Lebanon began on Wednesday and will last until Saturday.

    See also page 24 and 25

    via Turkey to request Nato missile defence | GulfNews.com.

  • Israel Matzav: Turkey won’t let NATO use its territory to attack Iran

    Israel Matzav: Turkey won’t let NATO use its territory to attack Iran

    President Obama’s favorite Middle East leader will not allow NATO – of which his country is a member – to use his territory in an attack on Iran.

    Ahmadinejad and Erdogan 090511

    Turkey, a member of NATO, will not give the Alliance territory for a military strike on Iran, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, RIA Novosti reports.

    The official added that Turkey has been agitating NATO to avoid attacks on neighbors of Turkey and would continue the efforts. He concluded that the borders between Iran and turkey have been borders of peace and will remain that way.

    We already knew that Turkey won’t allow their territory to be used against Iraq, and I guess this means they won’t allow it to be used against Syria either.

    What could go wrong?

    via Israel Matzav: Turkey won’t let NATO use its territory to attack Iran.

  • Iran rejects missile shield threat against Turkey

    Iran rejects missile shield threat against Turkey

    Iran dismissed intimidating remarks by its own officials against Turkey saying Tehran would target NATO’s missile shield in its neighbour if threatened, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

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    “We reject those views completely,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salihi told Anatolia in an interview, adding that those who had made the irresponsible statements had been warned.

    “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s official stance on Turkey is based on deep brotherhood and friendship,” he said, adding that only Iran’s supreme leader, president and foreign minister was able to pronounce on Iran’s official attitude on international matters and foreign policy.

    “Other statements are considered personal views,” he said.

    In November, the commander of the aerospace division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tehran would target NATO’s missile shield in neighbouring Turkey’s southern Malatya province if it were threatened by military action.

    “We are prepared to first target the NATO defence missile shield in Turkey if we are threatened. And then we’ll move on to other targets,” Amir-Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

    Earlier this month, an Iranian member of parliament, Hussein Ibrahimi said it was Iran’s “right” to hit the missile shield. “Iran will definitely do that,” Turkish media quoted Ibrahimi as telling Iranian daily Sharq.

    Turkey in December conveyed its concern about the remarks of the Iranian commander to Salihi.

    Turkey last year has agreed to host an early warning radar system in its southeast as part of NATO’s shield which the United States says is aimed at thwarting missile threats from the Middle East, particularly Iran.

    Turkish officials insist that the shield targets no specific country.

    via Iran rejects missile shield threat against Turkey: FM | Missiles & Bombs News at DefenseTalk.

  • Turkey made strategic mistake by agreeing to host NATO missile shield: Safavi

    Turkey made strategic mistake by agreeing to host NATO missile shield: Safavi

    TEHRAN – Major General Yahya Safavi says Ankara has made three strategic mistakes including a decision to host the NATO missile shield on the Turkish soil.

    c 150 100 16777215 0 images stories oct01 09 02 n safaviSafavi, the former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, says Turkey is moving on a wrong track perhaps laid out by the United States.

    The deployment could have a clear message for both Iran and Russia but more for Iran, Safavi told the Mehr News Agency in an exclusive interview.

    The other mistake was a pronouncement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which during his visit to Egypt he suggested a model of government based on secular system, stated Safavi.

    Safavi, who currently serves as a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader, said Egyptians had not expected such remarks from a Turkish official because Egyptian people are Muslim.

    Under a pressure from the U.S., the Zionist regime, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey made another strategic blunder by trying to stir up protests in Syria and this is contrary to what Turkish officials are saying, he added.

    This is an indication of hypocrisy among Turkish authorities, the general argued.

    In fact, Ankara wants to convey a message to regional countries, where massive uprisings have been taking place, that their revolutions are similar to Turkey’s not to those occurred in other countries like Iran, Safavi noted.

    Safavi said Turkey’s secular system is not “a good model”.

    He went on to say that such policies by Ankara are incompatible with the ideals of the Muslim people of Turkey.

    On the future relationship between Tehran and Ankara, he said if Turkish political leaders do not adopt a transparent foreign policy toward Iran, they will encounter problems in the future.

    via Turkey made strategic mistake by agreeing to host NATO missile shield: Safavi – Tehran Times.

  • Turkey’s NATO radar to protect arch-foe: Iran

    Turkey’s NATO radar to protect arch-foe: Iran

    Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticises ‘brother’ Turkey for hosting an early-warning NATO radar as it protects the anti-Iranian Israeli state

    AFP , Thursday 22 Sep 2011

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    Ahmadinejad

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives for the 66th session of the General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011 (Photo:AP)

    Turkey’s hosting an early-warning radar as part of NATO’s missile defence system is to protect Iran’s arch-foe Israel, the official IRNA news agency cited the defence minister as saying on Thursday.

    “Installation of the radar system is to defend the Zionist regime since this regime is on a downhill trajectory and America has been forced to get involved directly to save it,” Ahmad Vahidi said.

    “We will not allow any foreign forces to threaten our interests and we will strongly confront any threat,” he added on the sidelines of a military parade marking the 31st anniversary of the start of a bloody eight-year war with Iraq.

    Tehran has toughened its criticism of the Turkish plan to host the early warning radar system allocated by the United States to NATO, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticising “brother” Turkey.

    Other officials in the Islamic republic have said the deployment would create tension and lead to “complicated consequences.”

    Leaders of the 28-member NATO alliance gave their backing last year for the Europe-wide ballistic missile shield, which US officials say is aimed at thwarting missile threats from the Middle East, particularly Iran.

    On September 9, the foreign ministry in Ankara said the early warning radar will be deployed at a military facility base in Kurecik near Malatya in the southeast.

    Tehran has made maintaining a good relations with Ankara a priority in recent years, and has considered Turkey an ally for its refusal to implement Western sanctions against Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme.

    Tehran does not recognise the Jewish state, and Ahmadinejad has repeatedly dubbed the Holocaust a “lie” which he said was used as an excuse for Israel’s creation.

    via Turkey’s NATO radar to protect arch-foe: Iran – Region – World – Ahram Online.