Turkey's President Gul: Iran’s ultimate aspiration is to acquire nuclear weapons

[propaganda alert]


1) President Gul: Iran’s ultimate aspiration is to acquire nuclear weapons (26 March 2010)

from the archives:

2) President Gul: Tehran shouldn’t be devastated like Baghdad’ (August 2008)

3) Foreign Minister Gul: The possibility of Iran’s having nuclear weapon will disturb Turkey (June 2006)

4) Foreign Minister Gul: We will act together with the US where Iran’s nuclear program is concerned (March 2006)

5) General Basbug: Turkey can never welcome an Iran who possesses nuclear weapons (June 2005)

related documents:

6) European mayors want withdrawal of US nukes from their territory (December 2007)

7) Text for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968)

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excerpt from: Turkey Tilts Toward Iran

[Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul’s interview with the Forbes Magazine] [1]


When [the US President Barack] Obama last year extended a hand to Iran’s rulers, [Turkey’s President Abdullah] Gul says he advised Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that “This needs to be reciprocated … This is a major opportunity, and the language of President Obama doesn’t have any threats within it, and this is an opportunity that should not be missed.” […]

Gul says he has no doubts that Iran wants the nuclear bomb: “This is an Iranian aspiration dating back to the previous regime, the days of the Shah.”

For Iran’s current regime, says Gul, “I do believe it is their final aspiration to have a nuclear weapon in the end,” as a matter of “ ‘national pride.’ ” […]

But Gul says not to worry. He is sure that even if Iran gets the bomb, “they will not use it.”

He says he has warned Iran’s leaders that the real danger they face, should they acquire nuclear weapons, is that they “will start acting in an irrational manner, which will create problems for themselves.” […]

But Gul says Israel need not worry. However irrational Iran’s leaders might become, he is sure they will remain rational enough to refrain from devastating Israel […]

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from the archives:


“We find the latest package offered [to Iran] by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany positive. [...] The time is running out, don’t miss this opportunity. Bush might strike [Iran] before leaving office. If the US were to strike, they would strike fiercely. As your neighbour, we wouldn’t want Tehran to be devastated like Baghdad.”

[Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul, meeting with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ciragan Palace, Istanbul, 14 August 2008] [2]



“[T]he possibility of Iran’s having nuclear weapon will disturb international community as well as Turkey.”

[Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, written response to a parliamentary question by the Motherland Party (ANAP) deputy Muhsin Kocyigit, 16 June 2006] [3]



“We will act together with the United States within the framework of the Greater Middle East Project where Iran’s nuclear program is concerned.”

[Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, “Turkey’s EU process and Turkey’s foreign policy” briefing for the parliamentarians of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Kizilcahamam, Ankara, 12 March 2006] [4]



“Like other countries and especially the United States, we have been following Iran’s nuclear efforts with serious concern. Turkey can never welcome an Iran who possesses nuclear weapons. The nuclear states axis starting from North Korea, passing through Iran and extending to other possible powers in our region poses sensitivity on part of Turkey.”

[Turkey’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug, speech at the American-Turkish Council’s annual conference, Washington DC, 6 June 2005. On August 2008, General Basbug became the head of Turkey’s armed forces ] [5]

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related documents:


“While our public is regularly provided alarming media reports of nuclear dangers in Iraq, North Korea or Iran, what is supposed to be a well-informed western audience is living in ignorance of the destructive power of thousands of potential Hiroshimas stored in their backyards.”

[Mayors for Peace petition launched on 6 December 2007 by the European Mayors on whose territory US nuclear weapons are deployed, namely:

Vedat Karadag (Incirlik, TURKEY), Stefano Del Cont (Aviano, ITALY), Anna Giulia Guarneri (Ghedi, ITALY), Theo Kelchtermans (Peer, BELGIUM), Dr. Joke W. Kersten (Uden, NETHERLANDS), Heinz Onnertz (Buechel, GERMANY) ] [6]



“Article II: Each non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the [Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] Treaty undertakes not to receive the transfer from any transferor whatsoever of nuclear weapons [...] ”

[text of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons signed by Turkey in 1969] [7]

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related links:


US official: Turkey has international responsibilities that extend beyond its immediate neighbourhood

by Cem Ertür, Dandelion Salad, 18 March 2010

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/us-official-turkey-has-international-responsibilities-that-extend-beyond-its-immediate-neighbourhood/


Israeli army chief visits Turkey to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear program

by Cem Ertür, Dandelion Salad, 16 March 2010

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/israeli-army-chief-visits-turkey-to-hold-talks-on-iran%E2%80%99s-nuclear-program/


NATO’s secret transatlantic bond: Nuclear weapons in Europe

by Rick Rozoff, Dandelion Salad, 3 December 2009

 http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/nato%E2%80%99s-secret-transatlantic-bond-nuclear-weapons-in-europe-by-rick-rozoff/

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notes:


[1] Turkey Tilts Toward Iran

by Claudia Rosett, Forbes Magazine, 26 March 2010

 http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/25/turkey-iran-abdullah-gul-global-opinions-columnists-claudia-rosett_print.html


[2] Tahran harab-ül Bağdat olmasın

by Ugur Ergan, Hurriyet, 17 August 2008

 http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/9680208.asp?m=1


[3] Government monitors developments on Iran’s nuclear program, Gul

Anadolu Agency, 16 June 2006


[4] Gül: BOP içinde ABD ile birlikte hareket ediyoruz

by Nazif Iflazoglu, Radikal, 13 March 2006

 http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=181295


[5] Luncheon remarks by General Ilker Basbug, Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff

by Ilker Basbug, Turkish General Staff website, 6 June 2005

 http://www.tsk.tr/eng/konusma/gnkurIIncibsk_atckonusmasiogleyemegi_eng__06062005.htm


[6] European mayors want withdrawal of US nukes from their territory marking [the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty] INT 20th anniversary

2020 Vision Campaign website, 6 December 2007

 http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/pages/319


[7] Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website

 http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/infcirc140.pdf

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Flashback:

Turkey's President Gul: Now Is No Time for NATO to Abandon Afghanistan

[propaganda alert]


Editorial note: The article below by Turkey's President Abdullah Gul was published in the Wall Street Journal exactly one year ago.

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 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846343582872135.html#printMode


NATO Can Do Better in Afghanistan
Now is no time to abandon the mission

by Abdullah Gül, Wall Street Journal, 31 March 2009


International efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and improve the lives of the Afghan people have fallen short of their targets. There is daily violence in the country and expectations continue to outpace achieved results. It is time for a policy shift. It is time for increased involvement.

We must first accept that so far the international community has not achieved results that match the significant sum of funds it has spent. We must also realize that Afghanistan and its surrounding region cannot be a secondary source of concern. We need to understand that this region is the new "powder keg" of the world and that the stakes are as high as they can be.

Therefore, it is encouraging to know that President Barack Obama understands these facts and has reviewed the United States' Afghanistan policy.

Not everything has gone awry. This year, Afghanistan will hold presidential elections. Next year, it will hold parliamentary elections, completing a transition to democracy. The Afghan people now have a right to universal suffrage.

However, more must be done. The Afghan National Army is composed of tough fighters, but it needs better equipment and training. I saw this first hand on a visit to the country. I saw two units. One was composed of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops; the other was composed of Afghans. What struck me was that the international soldiers had much better equipment.

One Afghan commander summed it up for me this way: "If anyone has to die for Afghanistan, it must not be the children of foreign nations. It must be our sons, and they are ready to do so. But they must be given a fair chance to be able to fight for their country. They must be properly armed and trained."

But more troops and more money alone will not be enough. The Afghan government needs military force to operate from a position of strength. But real improvement requires embracing every Afghan ready to work through peaceful means for the good of their country.

Political, diplomatic, economic, and social efforts must be increased and focused on consolidating national unity to bring about tangible improvement to people's lives. To have peace, we must win over the people.

There is a role here for the international community in enabling Afghan officials working to meet the basic needs of their people. Health care and education must both be top priorities. The country's civil service needs work. Its judiciary and police forces need to be strengthened. The people must come to believe that change is underway that will create a sense of normalcy for them.

We are doing our part. One thing I noticed in Kabul was unpaved roads. Where cars and trucks should have been able to drive unimpeded, people slogged through knee-deep mud. To fix this, Turkey is paving more than 60 miles of roads inside Kabul.

There is one more area of struggle, and it is the most difficult one. Extremist ideology in the region must be confronted. Education is the long-term remedy. The Afghans' desire for education is strong. What's needed is an international fund to support education in Afghanistan.

Turkey, which has cultural bonds with Afghanistan, could take the lead in creating such a fund. We have seen firsthand how much can be achieved with perseverance and hard work that does not alienate the people. Today, Turkey is involved in building and operating girls' schools where once girls could not walk on the streets.

Turkey, with its limited resources, is doing what it can to support Afghanistan. Since 2002, Turkey has assumed command of the ISAF twice. Turkey has also provided training, equipment and support to the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. To support Afghanistan, Turkey has launched its most comprehensive long-term assistance program in its history. And our commitment to reconstruction in Afghanistan is ongoing.

The international community cannot abandon the Afghan people at their time of difficulty. Rather than being mired in subjective discussions of hopelessness, we should draw the necessary lessons from the past and focus on helping the Afghan people build necessary institutions and find their own solutions to the problems they face.

As the article below from Hustler magazine on the Cybil Edmonds affair makes clear, the deep, and largely little reported cultivation of a military matrimony between Turkey and the US neocons, has been years in the making.

 http://larryflynt.com/?p=693

Flashback: Coming war against Iran: Increasing Anglo-American pressure on Turkey

by Cem Ertür, 21 June 2008

 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9407




Flashback: Will Turkey be complicit in another war against another neighbour?

by Cem Ertür, 24 February 2008

 http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/4153