Monthly Archives: January 2013

Turkey Responds to the Israeli Strike: The Realist Wing Drives the Debate (For Now)

Posted on January 31, 2013 by aaronstein1

Yesterday, I wrote that the Turkish leadership would likely have some trouble formulating its response to the reported Israeli air strike in Syria. [From yesterday’s piece] Behind the scenes, the Turkish leadership is likely to be of two opinions about the … Continue reading →

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Turkey’s Reaction to the Israel Strike: Musings and Predictions

Posted on January 30, 2013 by aaronstein1

Semih Idiz – a Turkish columnist for Hurriyet Daily News and Taraf – wrote for Al-Monitor that Turkey is running out of diplomatic options in Syria. According to Idiz’s excellent article: As the Syrian crisis rolls on with no apparent … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Prediction Revisited: Turkey’s Missile Defense Tender

Posted on January 28, 2013 by aaronstein1

In early January 2013, I  predicted that: Turkey will not be able to reach an agreement for the sale of long range air and missile defenses. US export control laws will continue to hinder progress on the sale of Patriot … Continue reading →

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Turkey’s Nuclear Tender: Status Update

Posted on January 24, 2013 by aaronstein1

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced at a recent panel discussion that Turkey expects to select a supplier for its second nuclear power plant by the “end of January, unless extra time is needed to consider more offers.” According to Hurriyet … Continue reading →

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Ankara Responds to the Chaos in Syria

Posted on January 23, 2013 by aaronstein1

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) – a London based think tank – published a piece I wrote about how the Syrian Civil War has exposed Turkey to the growing threat of Kurdish and Islamist empowerment. I have posted the article … Continue reading →

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Playing it Safe: the German Election and Tactical Nuclear Weapons

Posted on January 18, 2013 by aaronstein1

Andrea Berger – a research fellow for nuclear analysis at the Royal United Services Institute in London – kindly agreed to contribute to Turkey Wonk. You can follow her on Twitter at @AndreaRBerger. The views presented here are her own. [Editors … Continue reading →

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Syrian Site Security: An Educated Guess (Updated with new information)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by aaronstein1

Foreign Policy has published an excellent piece by R. Jeffrey Smith that helps to fill in many of the unanswered questions I posed in an earlier blog post I wrote about Syrian site security. In light of this new information, … Continue reading →

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Turkey’s Jabhat al Nusra Problem

Posted on January 16, 2013 by aaronstein1

Turkey has been a forceful advocate for regime change in Syria, arguing that the international community has a responsibility to protect the Syrian people affected by the brutal civil war. Ankara has, at times, criticized its Western Allies for its … Continue reading →

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German Patriot Games: The Bundestag Debates the Deployment of Patriot in Turkey

Posted on January 14, 2013 by aaronstein1

Niklas Anzinger –  a  Philosophy and Economics student at the University of Bayreuth in Germany – has kindly offered to summarize the debates taking place in Germany about the deployment of Patriot missile batteries and troops to Turkey. Anzinger spent … Continue reading →

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Future Prospects for Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Why Turkey Needs a New Policy

Posted on January 9, 2013 by aaronstein1

The United States currently deploys about 200 B61 tactical nuclear weapons in five European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Turkey). The weapons were originally deployed during the Cold War and were intended to help defend NATO countries from … Continue reading →

Posted in F-35, Foreign Policy, NATO, Nuclear Weapons, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Turkish - US Relations | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment