Is Turkey Playing a Double Game with NATO?
by Debalina Ghoshal • July 3rd
- Why would Turkey first order a Russian defense system and then turn around and make a cooperation agreement with Europe for the same purpose?
- This goes back to America's apprehension that if Turkey uses the S-400s along with the U.S. F-35s, Russia could gain access to information about the aircraft's sensitive technology.
- If Turkey is playing a double game with NATO, let us hope that the United States does not fall prey to it.
Pictured: A Russian S-400 missile battery. (Image source: Vitaly Kuzmin/Wikimedia Commons)
In January, 2018 Turkey reportedly awarded an 18-month contract for a study on the development and production of a long-range air- and missile-defense system to France and Italy, showing -- ostensibly -- Turkey's ongoing commitment to NATO. The study, contracted between the EUROSAM consortium and Turkey's Aselsan and Roketsan companies, was agreed upon in Paris, on the sidelines of a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The contract for the study came on the heels of a deal between Ankara and Moscow, according to which Turkey would purchase the S-400 missile defense system -- one of the most sophisticated on the global market -- from Russia. The question is: Why would Turkey first order a Russian defense system and then turn around and make a cooperation agreement with Europe for the same purpose?
Why Turkey Will Not Be Another Iran
by Amir Taheri • July 3rd
- Khomeini's support came from Tehran and a few other big cities, notably Isfahan, while Erdogan's support base is in rural areas and small and medium cities.
- While at least 40,000 people have been executed under Khomeini and his successors, Erdogan refuses to bring back the death penalty in Turkey.
- Right now, according to Islamic Chief Justice Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, there are 15000 Iranians under death sentence in prison, waiting to be executed.
Pictured: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (left) welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2015. (Image source: Tasnim/Wikimedia Commons)
Is Turkey going to be another Iran? With President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest electoral victory the question is making the rounds in Western political circles. Despite the fact that Sunday's election gives Erdogan immense new powers, my short answer to the question is a firm: no!
In analyzing the nature of political power in any form the first question to ask concerns the provenance of that power. For where does power comes from determines where it may go.
In Iran in 1979 power was like a box of jewels thrown in the street, ready for anyone to pick up. The Shah had left the country and most members of the Council of Monarchy he had appointed were in the French Riviera, while the army Top Brass had declared "neutrality" which meant the military wouldn't stop anyone from picking up the box of jewels in the street.
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