The Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) is the main public institution affiliated to the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) responsible for buying arms. There is another undersecretariat affiliated to the MSB and headed by a general whose role in arms procurement has been lessened considerably.The existing laws allow the SSM to be responsible for arms procurement taking place in a compatible manner except for projects that require secrecy. But it has only been in recent years that the relevant laws have been felt on the ground, when SSM Undersecretary Murad Bayar ensured that happened by reminding the generals that it has been the duty of the SSM to buy arms systems, while the military is responsible for identifying its technical needs.
Contacts between Turkish military personnel and representatives of the local and foreign defense companies on procurement issues have been lessened, to a certain extent, to avoid any allegations of corruption or favoritism on projects.
Having said that, problems persist over favoritism as well as on the choice of the right arms meeting the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), mainly because there is neither a mechanism nor a parliamentary tradition to scrutinize the arms procurement process, resulting in, among other things, a waste of financial resources.
Nevertheless, as a strong sign to show that Turkey's civilian arms procurement agency, the SSM, is the authority for buying military hardware, Bayar -- instead of two-star generals from the TSK -- will make a speech on Turkish procurement policies, and its future plans over the type of arms it plans to acquire during the three-day-long annual American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting due to start in Washington on May 31.
Traditionally, around three two-star Turkish generals in charge of procurement policies at the TSK would lecture the ATC audience, composed of mostly Turkish and US defense industrialists. During the closed-door sessions at ATC meetings, Turkish two-star generals used to give presentations to the audience over the TSK's procurement programs for the future in an attempt to encourage the US defense contractors to do business with Turkey.
The two-star generals would also explain to the ATC audience the military equipment the TSK had bought and the status of ongoing programs. The US defense industrialists usually have more confidence when Turkish military members make the speech on arms procurement plans, since they have more technical familiarity with that industry.
But this time US industrialists will hear from Bayar instead, and it is not yet clear whether he will go into details of all existing and future arms programs. Bayar's presentation is intended to give the message to the US defense industrialists that “the projects the two-star generals will talk about are my institution's [SSM's] projects and thus I am the one who should be talking about them.”
US industrialists are now readjusting to this new situation.
This year's ATC is also expected to witness General İlker Başbuğ, Turkish chief of general staff, making a speech to the ATC participants, since his planned visit to Washington -- returning US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen's visit to Turkey several weeks ago -- will coincide with the meeting.
Gen. Başbuğ's visit to the US, as well as his expected speech and participation in the ATC meeting, marks the continuation of good military to military ties between the two NATO allies since its deterioration following Turkey's refusal to allow US troops to use Turkish soil during their invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
The relationship between Başbuğ and Mullen has become so close that the two top commanders will sometimes hold long talks over the telephone on regional issues.
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