-->Patriot missiles in Turkey: Targeting Syria or Iran? (Op-Ed)
Soldiers
of the Air Defence Missile Squadron 2 stand guard with Patriot
missile launchers in the background in Bad Suelze, northern Germany
on December 4, 2012. (AFP Photo / Bernd Wustneck)
RT,
17
December, 2012
Turkey,
a longtime geopolitical hotspot, has recently played a key role in
the struggle for influence between regional and Western powers over
NATO missile deployments – Ankara is once again at the center of a
global crisis.
What
prompted this new crisis (and evoked a distinct feeling of Cold War
déjà vu) was Ankara’s appeal to NATO to deploy its Patriot
missiles in the southern Turkish provinces, along the 900-km-long
border with Syria. While described as a purely defensive move, aimed
at enhancing Turkish security in the wake of the escalating Syrian
war and alleged possibility of a chemical weapons attack by the
cornered President Assad, the initiative was denounced straight away
by Ankara’s neighbors and other regional powers – Moscow, Tehran
and Damascus.
“Moscow
was wary of the NATO anti-aircraft system’s deployment in
Turkey,” Russian
Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said last week during talks
with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Knud Bartles.
Remarks
were echoed by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr
Lukashevich, who warned last Friday that “the
stockpile of extra weapons” in
the border area would “bring
about an additional element of tension."
However,
there is little chance the Patriot deployment process on Turkish soil
will be reversed. At its ministerial meeting in Brussels, held on
December 5th and 6th, NATO unequivocally gave the Turkish request its
stamp of approval, standing by the commitments under the
organization's collective security pact. A team of NATO officials and
experts has already landed in Turkey to finalize the terms and
conditions of the deal, which will allow Ankara to station six NATO
Patriot systems on its soil – two American, two German and two
Dutch. The missiles are expected to reach Turkey soon, within
weeks according to some estimates.
One
could ask: What is wrong with Turkey’s genuine wish to effectively
seal off its borders from hundreds of potential threats emanating
from its troubled neighbor, and take advantage of being a NATO
member? Independent military experts have found NATO's official
explanation of Patriots being used for defensive purposes confusing.
The
Patriot system is not used against shells and rocket-propelled
grenades, which eventually could be fired at Turkey from Syrian
territory. Patriot missiles are used to intercept and destroy
missiles as well as to shoot down aircraft. But what missiles does
Syria possess that the Patriots could be used against, and why would
President Assad arm these alleged missiles with deadly sarin gas (if
he even possesses such chemical weapons)?
The
pretext for the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles in Turkey does
not appear credible. But if the real motive is not to deter Syria,
why is NATO hurrying to station its anti-missile systems in the
region, a part of the world already overloaded with deadly weapons?
What if this move has a hidden agenda?
“Turkey
has explained its request to NATO as exclusively related to its need
to defend itself from a possible attack from the Syrian army. But
there could be a second motivation for this actions, which is a
preparation for military strike against Iran,” a
Russian diplomatic source told Kommersant daily.
If
one considers the distance between the region of Patriot deployment
in Turkey and the Iranian border, Moscow's worry could seem a bit
far-fetched. However, Patriot missiles can easily be moved to any
region in Turkey, including its eastern border with Iran. “These
are mobile units that can be moved to any point in Turkey. It’s
only about 500 kilometers from where the units will be located to
Tebriz in Iran, where some say there are secret nuclear facilities,”
Dmitry Polikanov said. Polikanov is the vice president of the
Moscow-based PIR Center, an independent thinktank.
“Considering
that the US wants to use Turkey as an advance missile shield, the
Patriots might be stationed there forever. Turkey wanted to modernize
its weapons anyway and already started taking bids for similar
weapons systems. Under these circumstances, the weapons are most
likely directed against Iran," Polikanov
said, adding that any kind of provocation could now become a pretext
for war. And the installation of NATO anti-aircraft missiles in
Turkey means that Iran will no longer be able to retaliate if
attacked.
Iranian
armed forces chief General Hassan Firouzabadi said last Saturday that
the lessons of 1962 Cuban missile crisis may return to haunt the
world.
"Each
one of these Patriots is a black mark on the world map, and is meant
to cause a world war. They are making plans for a world war, and this
is very dangerous for the future of humanity and for the future of
Europe itself," General
Firouzabadi warned.
The
already tense relations between Ankara and Tehran have been further
strained by a last-minute announcement that President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has skipped a much-awaited visit to Turkey and talks with
Prime Minister Erdogan in a move largely seen as a sign of Iran's
growing displeasure with the Patriot deployment.
Sergey
Strokan for RT
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