One reaches that conclusion not only from Erdoğan’s remarks during his joint press conference with Obama and during his meeting with the press afterwards in Washington but also with some headlines that have appeared in Turkish dailies including Sabah. Sabah quoted Turkish “diplomatic observers” that I guess were Turkish diplomats as saying that Turkey’s biggest gains from the meeting with Obama had been the reaffirmation of the continuation of the share of US real-time intelligence, and that Washington had agreed to transfer to Turkey around three Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) after Ankara applied for them earlier this year.
The US agreed in November 2007 to supply Turkey with real-time intelligence which has been helping the Turkish military to accurately pinpoint outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq. Prime Minister Erdoğan admitted during his press conference after his joint appearance with Obama to the media in Washington that Turkey did not have such high-tech capability, real-time intelligence equipment and knowledge, until the US agreed to supply them in 2007. The real-time intelligence supplied by the US has enabled Turkey to gain a serious advantage and this had been a turning point in the country’s fight against terror, he said, adding that the continuation and strengthening of real-time intelligence has been of great importance for Turkey. Details of the possible new measures in strengthening real-time intelligence were not available at the time of Erdoğan’s press statement on Dec. 7. But yesterday, some Turkish dailies reported that the US had agreed to sell three Predator UAVs to Ankara, strengthening the Turkish fight against the PKK in the Kurdish southeast.
Turkey made a formal request in March this year to purchase two UAV systems from the United States through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The request covered the acquisition of one armed (Reaper) and one unarmed (Predator) UAV.
But if the Turkish newspaper reports are true, the US will sell three Predator UAVs to Turkey instead of one. However, my reliable sources told me that the US will not supply Turkey with a Reaper, which is armed, but with Predators that are unarmed.
What I find frustrating is the emphasis that both the media and Prime Minister Erdoğan have put on strengthening US real-time intelligence cooperation with Turkey as if this has been the most important issue in solving Turkey’s terror problem.
It is also true that the Turkish media covered other aspects of the relations with the US that were touched upon during Erdoğan’s meeting with Obama. But overall, Erdoğan’s remark that US real-time intelligence supply to Turkey was a turning point in the fight against terror and that Turkey did not have such a capability before shows once again that Turkey continues to be hijacked by security-dominated policies.
It would be normal for any Turk to expect his or her country to have high-tech capabilities bearing in mind the high amount of financial resources earmarked for defense. But ironically, Turkey does not have such capabilities.
Another topic that was touched upon concerning the Erdoğan-Obama meeting has been the US’s missile defense policy. During his joint press conference with Erdoğan, Obama briefly said both leaders also discussed the missile defense topic. “We discussed the continuing role that we can play as NATO allies in strengthening Turkey’s profile within NATO and coordinating more effectively on critical issues like missile defense,” Obama said.
It later became clear that Erdoğan and Obama had decided to cooperate closely within NATO’s missile defense program and give an impetus to the program so that it can be completed in a timely manner. Turkey, which is seeking to acquire long-range air and missile defense systems, has rejected hosting any US missile defense systems on its soil, mainly intended to deter neighboring Iran, which is at a serious crisis point with the international community over the ambiguity of its plan to develop nuclear weapons.
I would argue that Erdoğan’s visit has been hijacked by terror-related issues. But it will be unfair if we do not admit to Erdoğan’s sincere efforts to solve the decades-old Kurdish question through non military means, too.
