Armenians, boron and a nuclear Turkey
by
CAFER T. YAVUZ*

The United States and Sweden now share another commonality. They both lost their Turkish ambassador. The Armenian diaspora is to blame, they say, and certainly political voting for a historical debate brought these unfortunate conclusions. This is not a new thing, however. There have been countless efforts to get the US Congress to acknowledge the term genocide for the killings of Armenians in World War I. The United Nations requires a court decision to name any event a genocide, and the lack of one leaves no choice for the Armenian diaspora but to seek political recognition.

In his forecast for the 21st century, “The Next 100 Years,” George Friedman claims that Turkey will be a superpower within the next few decades. His arguments are suitably based on an upcoming cold war between the US and Russia. The US would arm Turkey for a possible standoff, and when the Russians are defeated Turkey would remain powerful. There certainly are doubts over such a chain of events, but Turkey has something that can make it a world player if not an energy giant: boron. The most modest estimations say that 72 percent of all boron remains underground in the western Anatolian plains. Since boron is one of the best nuclear fusion fuels to date (if not the best), any breakthrough could catapult this young nation to the top of the energy providers.

Saving Turkey at a Turkish tea party usually requires logically sound conspiracy theories. You cannot ignore them anymore, however, since the revelation of the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which is currently on trial for plotting violent interventions in the democratically elected government in Turkey. The tale of boron has even deeper connections, from the CIA to the KGB. The fact that boron was once used as rocket fuel is usually at the epicenter of the talks, heading to intentional undermining by the establishment, since no one wants an energy-independent Turkey. Thinking about how rocket fuel could run everyday transportation is a waste of time and certainly none should give it any thought.

In fact, if developed as a fusion fuel, boron could revolutionize how we live. Energy would be abundant and cheap, and best of all, without any environmental risk: no greenhouse gases, no nuclear waste. Only a few helium atoms would scatter at a trip to the grocery store. This is mostly unknown to many tea party goers, but they nod when you inform them, as if they knew it all along. A proud Turk would hope that the Turkish administration is free of those yes men, but instead what it is doing is devising strategies for a nuclear Turkey. Sadly, the lack of an awareness of such alternatives is the situation, since there is no specific fusion institute established in any of the 100+ universities inside Turkish borders. It would be hard to find a world-renowned fusion expert of Turkish origin, and a Turkish boron expert does not even exist.

Saving the world is not as easy as it seems. As Turkey is struggling to build its first ever nuclear power plant, it’s hard to envision a significant investment in developing boron-based fusion fuel. As Erdogan’s cabinet has their hands full with domestic and international politics, the Turkish tea parties have a lot to talk about, like why the government is selling boron at the price of sandstone.