Tag: U.S. missile shields

  • ‘Muslim countries should not advance NATO’s interests’

    ‘Muslim countries should not advance NATO’s interests’

    TEHRAN – Iranian MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi has advised Muslim countries in the region not to take measures that would serve the interests of the NATO alliance.

    brojerdiBoroujerdi, who is the chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks in an interview with the Mehr News Agency published on Sunday in reference to the fact that Turkey has agreed to host an early warning radar as part of NATO’s missile defense system, which is ostensibly meant to counter an alleged ballistic missile threat from Iran.

    The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on September 2 that negotiations over NATO’s anti-missile shield had reached “their final stages.”

    However, Turkey did not say when or where the U.S. early warning radar would be stationed, according to the Guardian.

    Boroujerdi said, “Muslim countries should maintain security in the region through reliance on their capabilities and cooperation and should not allow a situation to develop where insecurity prevails in the region and NATO’s interests in the region are served by Muslim countries.”

    He added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has the necessary capability to safeguard its security,” and such measures will not deter it.

    “NATO not only does not contribute to regional security but is also a major source of insecurity in the region,” Boroujerdi stated.

    “NATO’s intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq illustrated the fact that NATO is only pursuing its own interests in the region.

    “NATO’s intervention in Libya also proved that NATO has no respect for Muslim countries,” Boroujerdi added.

    via ‘Muslim countries should not advance NATO’s interests’ – Tehran Times.

  • Turkey to Install U.S. Radar, in Move Seen Aimed at Iran

    Turkey to Install U.S. Radar, in Move Seen Aimed at Iran

    By RICK GLADSTONE

    Turkey announced Friday that it would install a radar system designed by the United States as part of a new NATO shield against a missile attack in Europe, a decision that pleased American military officials but was greeted with conspicuous silence by Iran, one of the perceived threats.

    The decision by Turkey, a NATO member and an increasingly influential force in Middle Eastern politics, came against a backdrop of new Turkish frictions with Iran. The decision also suggested that Turkey may be shifting closer to the American view that Iran’s military assertiveness, most notably its frequent boasts about its growing missile abilities, is a cause for concern.

    “Turkey’s hosting of this element will constitute our country’s contribution to the defense system being developed in the framework of NATO’s new strategic concept,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Turkish news agencies. “It will strengthen NATO’s defense capacity and our national defense system.”

    Pentagon officials on Friday praised Turkey’s decision, saying it was part of the United States-backed missile defense plan that had been under discussion for months. “It was well received here,” said one senior American military officer in Washington.

    Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that the installation in Turkey could happen before the end of this year, and would be linked to NATO warships in the Mediterranean equipped with interceptor missiles, which could destroy incoming missiles before they reach their intended targets.

    At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, “Turkey’s decision will significantly contribute to NATO’s capability to provide protection to its European territory, populations and forces against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles.”

    Even Russia, which has expressed concern about the missile shield despite American assurances that Russia is not the perceived threat, appeared to have no objections to Turkey’s participation. “The deployment of a radar in Turkey is not a direct threat to Russia’s strategic nuclear forces,” the Russian representative to NATO, Dmitri O. Rogozin, was quoted as saying by Russia’s Interfax news agency.

    None of the official statements about Turkey’s announcement mentioned Iran, and there was no mention of the announcement in Iran’s state-run news media except a brief dispatch by Press TV, an Internet news site intended for foreign consumption.

    But American and NATO military officials have in the past gone out of their way to make clear that the missile shield plan was designed to deter Iran. They are not only concerned about Iran’s claimed advances in its own missile technology, but say they suspect that Iran may be working on weaponizing its uranium supply, including the development of nuclear warheads for missiles.

    Iran has repeatedly asserted that its nuclear program is peaceful. In recent months, however, it has bragged not only about an increased ability to produce enriched uranium, but it has publicly reported advances in its missile technology. In June, Iran unveiled underground silos that would make its missiles less vulnerable to attack.

    Last year, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, an arms analysis group in London, reported what it called “emerging evidence” of Iranian silos that could fire missiles at Iraq, Israel, Turkey and countries throughout the Persian Gulf. The institute said the most logical reason for such silo construction was “to prepare to field larger missiles.”

    Turkey’s decision to participate in the NATO missile shield plan was notable partly because Turkey, in a friendly gesture to Iran, had sought in the past year to help mediate the conflict between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear program. Turkey even hosted a diplomatic conference attended by them in January, which ended with no progress.

    Since then, frictions between Iran and Turkey have increased, in particular over the Syrian government’s harsh crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising. Turkey has become a vocal critic of the Syrian government because of the crackdown, while Iran is one of Syria’s few remaining defenders.

    The timing of Turkey’s announcement on Friday was also notable because it came the same day Turkey downgraded relations with Israel — a decision that distressed American officials. Turkey took the action after Israel refused to apologize for the deadly assault last year on a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

    Turkey’s increasingly chilly relationship with Israel had also been an element in the prelude to Turkey’s participation in the NATO missile shield. Some officials in Turkey had feared that information collected by the radar site might be shared with Israel. It was unclear from the announcement on Friday whether those fears had been addressed.

    Reporting was contributed by Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger in Washington, and Sebnem Arsu in Ankara, Turkey.

    A version of this article appeared in print on September 3, 2011, on page A11 of the New York edition with the headline: Turkey to Install U.S.-Designed Radar, in a Move Seen as Blunting Iran’s Missiles.

    via Turkey to Install U.S. Radar, in Move Seen Aimed at Iran – NYTimes.com.

  • US insistent on missile system in Turkey, not more Afghan troops

    US insistent on missile system in Turkey, not more Afghan troops

    Nato Meeting
    Nato Meeting
    Gates said, we have discussed the possibility of erecting two radars in Turkey.
    United States (U.S.) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Saturday his meeting with the Chief of Turkish General Staff, General Ilker Basbug, was almost completely devoted to the issues of Afghanistan and PKK.

    Speaking to a group of Turkish and U.S. journalists in Ankara, Secretary Gates said that they had “not requested any new troops from Turkey.”

    We are pleased with the partnership between Turkey and the U.S. in Afghanistan, Gates said.

    We “discussed, with General Basbug, Turkey’s role in the missile defense system and relations between our armies”, Gates noted.

    “PKK issue”

    We carry a will to further develop cooperation with Turkey against the terrorist organization PKK as was set forth by former U.S. President George W. Bush back in 2007, Gates stressed.

    We are searching for new opportunities that Turkey could utilize against the threat emanating from terrorist organization PKK, Gates said.

    The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, had arrived in Ankara to hold talks on this (PKK) issue, Gates emphasized.

    Cooperation between Turkey and the U.S., against PKK, is getting more intense, Gates said.

    In regard to his talks at the Turkish General Staff, Secretary Gates said that “as the General noted, the final solution does not involve killing all”.

    While speaking with the leader of the regional administration in north of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, I have stressed the importance of placing pressure on PKK to end violence, Gates said.

    “Missile defense system”

    The dialogue on what Turkey could do within NATO to counter the proliferation of ballistic missiles via a missile defense system continues. We have discussed the possibility of erecting two radars in Turkey, Gates said.

    Reminded by a journalist about comments made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that there were actually countries in the region that possessed nuclear weapons, aside from Iran, like Israel, Secretary Gates argued, that Iran was “a country that openly announced a will to destroy another country” and violated the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

    We are “not against” Iran’s peaceful nuclear works. However, Iran continues efforts for uranium enrichment, Gates noted.

    I have not seen a progress with Iran on this matter. In order to be a progress, the Iranians must give up their enriched uranium to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Secretary Gates said.

    Asked if Turkey is making sufficient efforts in regard to the issue of Iran, Gates said that Turkey was valuable as they could talk to the Iranians, a mission highly difficult for the U.S.

    There could be opportunities (from Turkey’s dialogue with Iran). We need to have a common understanding on concerns expressed, under the roof of the United Nations, pertaining to programs inititated by Iran, Gates stressed.

    I have observed such an understanding in Turkey. We will continue on this path, Gates underlined.

    Asked about what he thinks on comments made that Turkey has shifted its axis, Secretary Gates said that Turkey was in a unique position geographically and that their efforts in all fields must be received positively.

    We are extremely pleased with Turkey’s contributions in Afghanistan. We have received a promise from “allies and partners” for the deployment of 10,000 additional personnel. We pay high importance to personnel that can train individuals (Afghans) in the areas of military and security, Gates said.

    Iran says it enriches uranium for civilian applications and that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has a right to the technology already in the hands of many others.

    Israel, most experts estimate that it has at least between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads, often threatens Iran with an attack.

    World Bulletin
  • Turkey seeks shield amid missile-defense negotiations

    Turkey seeks shield amid missile-defense negotiations

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    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says it’s not so and American officials are mum, but according to a top defense lobbyist, “negotiations are ongoing” over U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense shield in Turkey, a possibility floated last week by a Polish newspaper.

    Riki Ellison, chairman of the U.S.-based Missle Defense Advocacy Alliance, or MDAA, insisted to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that claims by the Polish newspaper are valid.

    The stir began last week when the Warsaw-based daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported that U.S. President Barack Obama has “all but abandoned” plans to locate parts of a controversial U.S. missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. The newspaper said the Pentagon has been asked to explore switching planned interceptor-rocket launch sites from the two Central European states to Israel, Turkey or the Balkans.

    U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic have created serious tension between Russia and the United States in the past. Russia has repeatedly responded to U.S. missile-defense plans with countermeasures.

    It is no secret that the Obama administration’s promise to “reset” relations with Russia prompted Obama to launch a strategic review of the defense shield.

    Amid the Pentagon’s search for a new strategy, last week’s reports turned heads toward Turkey. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu immediately responded to the claims, saying that the government has not received any request from the United States or NATO regarding the missile-defense project.

    Ellison said he hopes to see a working missile-defense shield in operation by 2013. Ellison’s MDAA is a nonprofit organization launched in 2002 to advocate deployment of an anti-missile program.

    Ellison said he believes there will be a concerted effort from the United States to work with the Turkish government to install missile shields at four bases in Turkey. “Negotiations are happening already and they will continue to go forward,” he said.

    Ellison is evidently well informed on the strategy. However, Turkey’s acceptance of the missile-defense plan may not be realistic, given the risk to its relations with Russia, already frayed by other tensions. Turkey may be a U.S. ally, but Russia supplies the majority of its energy and has a hand in Turkey’s future in the Caucasus.

    Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s Aug. 6 visit to Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured some 20 agreements covering energy, trade and other areas, including nuclear cooperation. Russian authorities have also agreed to scrap regulations requiring the full inspection of Turkish goods at customs.

    Turkey has been playing a very careful game for some time when it comes to its relations with Russia. Ankara does not want to make an enemy out of Moscow.

    Accepting the deployment of U.S. defense shields in Turkey would be a major step toward a whole new round of tense Turkish-Russian relations at a critical and vulnerable time. Russia would probably play its energy card against Turkey and could even annul this year’s previous agreements.

    The deployment could also have a negative impact on Turkey’s relations with its neighboring countries in the Middle East. Starting with the Turkish Parliament’s March 2003 decision to prevent the United States from invading Iraq through Turkish territory, Turkey has been trying to follow a relatively independent line in its foreign policy. Acceptance of the missile shield would destroy most of Turkey’s diplomatic capital among Middle Eastern countries, which perceived Turkey as making its own decisions after the 2003 bill.

    There is another scenario that sounds more realistic: Turkey currently has no defense against ballistic missiles. According to past news reports, Turkey has been planning to purchase a missile-defense system for some time. Turkey has begun “preliminary talks with the United States, Russia, Israel and China with regard to its plans to buy its first missile defense system, worth more than $1 billion,” wrote the Daily News last year.

    This invites the question: Is missile defense a matter of packaging? Might Turkey avoid allowing the United States to install a missile-defense system on her soil? Rather, might the rumors circulating stem from a bid by Turkey to buy a missile-defense system for herself?

    It is hard to imagine the difference would calm Russia. It is known that Russia is firmly against any U.S. missile shields in Turkey, just as it is against the installations in Central Europe. And despite its determination to expand its military capabilities, Turkey would probably like to stay out of the struggle between Washington and Moscow.

    Hurriyetdailynews