Turkey has engaged the early warning radar station - a part of the US missile defense system for Europe, which the US has been building near Russia's borders, despite concerns that it is unnecessary and not wanted by many US allies in Europe.
The radar station will be controlled from a NATO base in Germany at an enormous cost, most of which will be picked up by US taxpayers.
The US military radar station is located in the town of Malatya, Turkey which is about 500 kilometers to the south-east from Ankara and some 700 kilometers from the border with Iran, according to a Russian foreign intelligence report.
Turkish and US military forces will serve at the defense missile complex, according to SVR officials.
Turkey agreed to deploy the radar station, on its territory in September 2011 after being pressured by US officials in Washington.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan stated then that the “deployment of the radar in Turkey would be an important step for the whole region.” He discounted concerns by Russia that the missile defense system poses a national security risk for the country. Russian military officials indicate that the new radar installation will be targeted and subject to destruction in the event of a nuclear or conventional conflict between Russia and NATO.
The data from the station will be transferred to command posts in the United States and to the ships equipped with AEGIS systems (sea-based missile defense systems).
NATO officials stated that “the radar station was deployed in Turkey in connection with the growing threat from Iran to use small and medium range missiles in the Middle East.”
Several local politicians stood up against the deployments of the elements of NATO's missile defense system in Turkey, seeing it as a threat to their country
They believe that the West would involved Turkey in a possible conflict with Tehran in the event the US attacks or bombs Iran.
Recently Iran said that if the US attacks it’s country it will respond by targeting NATO bases in Turkey and across the Middle East, in addition to closing the strait of Hormuz. “Turkey will most likely be the first to be hit by the Iranians if war breaks out”, says Timothy Beemer of Charlotte, a former US Army veteran who served in the Middle East during the first Gulf War.
Turkey is a NATO ally and considered part of the US/NATO war machine”, said Kim Hubbert of Charlotte, a NATO military expert. “Russia considers the United States a great threat to world peace and the single greatest military threat to the Russian federation. This is due to the US being involved in numerous wars around the world as part of the war on terrorism", she said
The US policy of pre-emptive war is also seen as a threat, because it says the US can wage undeclared wars based solely on the assumption of perceived threats from other countries around the world.
Needless to say Iran strongly opposes the deployment of the missile defense system in Turkey, saying it is just another effort by the US to prepare for war against that country.
Turkish officials responded with saying that the deployment of the missile defense system elements was not aimed against any other country – yet at the same time Syria and Russia feel threatened by it, for good reason.
The deployment of the radar station raised concerns among other countries of the region indeed. The distance from the station to Syria, for example, is a bit more than 200 kilometers.
Syrian President Bashar Assad pays a lot of attention to his missile potential.
His generals are certain that hundreds of Syrian short-range missiles would guarantee no aggression against Syria.
Syrian officials promised earlier stated that their country would shower Turkey and Israel with missiles in case of aggression by the United States.
Russia is not happy with the news either. Russia consider the US war machine a direct threat to its national security.
NATO invited Russia to take part in the project, but the talks came to a standstill after the US decided to ignore Russian concerns. “This was a slap in the face”, says one Russian official.
Russia also tried repeatedly to obtain legal guarantees saying that the system would not be aimed against her, but the US absolutely refused to do it, thus revealing their hidden agenda to possibly use the missile shield against Russia. This has had political ramifications such as endangering future talks on Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)...
NATO's Secretary General Rasmussen set out a hope that the adequate political agreement with Moscow could be achieved before the Russia-NATO summit, which is to take place in Chicago in the spring of the current year.
However, chances for that are slim, because Russia will only be able to play the role of a silent observer.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated in November 2011 that Russia would take a complex of measures in response to the deployment of the missile defense system in Europe.
However, Konstantin Sivkov, the first vice president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, told Pravda.Ru that Russia had practically nothing to respond to the threat from NATO.
"As for Iskander systems, they can be used against the objects of missile defense in Poland.
Iskanders would have to be deployed either in Russia's Kaliningrad region or in Belarus. However, it will be impossible to hit the targets in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. The radius of Iskander complexes is 280 kilometers. In addition, the Americans believe that they will be able to neutralize this virtual threat with the help of ATACMS missile complexes.
"Russia will not be able to use nuclear weapons in this situation. We have our aviation, but I seriously doubt that the Russian combat aviation will be able to win a battle just because of the enemy's considerable superiority in the air.
"We can use cruise missiles. However, Russia does not have enough vessels to patrol NATO's coasts. There are also strategic aircraft that can launch cruise missiles and remain invulnerable to the enemy. However, the Russian arsenal of cruise missiles is not enough either. Our missiles can not be compared to the Tomahawks that can strike targets at distances of up to 2,500 kilometers," the expert said.
Since then Russia has been relying more on its nuclear deterrence to counter the growing threat posed by the United States...
In the event of war or an pre-emptive military attack on Russia - the Russian’s will have no choice but to use nuclear weapons both tactical and strategic, to defend itself against the US and its NATO military allies.
Many people wonder why the US is spending billions on a system to defend Europe, in light of the huge deficits it has. They also wonder why many European allies are opposed to it. “It doesn’t make sense, not to ask the Europeans to do more to defend themselves rather than leaving it as a burden to US taxpayers”, says Owen Vance of Charlotte. “We simply can’t afford it right now”, he said.
“Why not let the Europeans defend themselves by funding the project”, says Wayne Gott of Charlotte.
“It makes no military sense to build and maintain a missile defense for all of Europe when we can’t afford to fix our own roads, bridges, schools and provide health care and jobs to our own people”, say Clarence McDonald of Charlotte. “Why do we maintain military bases in Europe anyway. WW2 ended decades ago. Who are we at war with now? Russia is our friend. China is more interested in selling us cheap goods than going to war against us. Britain, Germany and France can defend itself against attack, if necessary. Why do we have to do it for? I would rather those billions be spent here in the US so my children can go to school and have a decent quality of life”, he said.
Many believe the US government is wasting money on unnecessary military projects overseas. The US spends more than any other country on earth in terms of defense.
Robert Tilford
Charlotte, N.C.
Comments