08-15-2016, 10:00 PM
*** 16-Aug-16 World View -- Turkey threatens EU migrant deal, saying EU is humiliating Turkey, not helping
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Truck bombing by PKK terrorists kills seven in southeastern Turkey
****
![[Image: g160815b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160815b.jpg)
Aftermath of PKK terror attack in southeastern Turkey (Reuters)
A large truck bomb exploded outside a police station near Turkey's
southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Monday. Five police officers and
two civilians, including a child of one of the police officers were
killed, and another 21 were wounded.
No one has claimed credit, but since the Diyarbakir region is a
stronghold for militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
there's little doubt that the perpetrators were from the PKK. Indeed,
the PKK attacked the same police station five years ago.
Diyarbakir police have been on high alert due to expectations that PKK
militants would carry out an attack on Aug. 15, as the date marks the
32nd anniversary of the PKK’s first armed attack in 1984. In
anticipation of a possible attack, police have been conducting
operations against the PKK for five days, and have detained a total of
161 people suspected of being PKK members. There were 37 more arrests
on Monday.
The PKK terrorist group has been fighting Turkey's government since
1984, and more than 40,000 people have been killed. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Al-Jazeera
****
**** Turkey threatens EU migrant deal, saying EU is humiliating Turkey, not helping
****
On July 15, there was a failed coup in Turkey, where hundreds of
soldiers using tanks, fighter jets and helicopters took control of key
areas of Ankara and Turkey. At least 246 people were killed , and
more than 2,000 injured. ( "17-Jul-2016 World View -- Attempted army coup in Turkey collapses within hours"
)
Since that time, over 22,000 people have been arrested and almost
8,000 more are suspects under investigation. Thousands of members of
the armed forces, police, judiciary, civil service and public sector
have been removed from their posts. Around 50,000 passports were
cancelled, journalists and academics have been arrested and more than
130 media outlets were shut down.
Western governments condemned the coup, but also expressed concern
over the extent of the crackdown, which seems to be an opportunity for
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to take on additional powers
and crush human rights. ( "22-Jul-2016 World View -- Turkey's Erdogan gives himself dictatorial powers, moving Turkey away from the West"
)
There has been a growing sentiment in Turkey that the West was more
concerned about those conducting the attempted coup, rather than
Turkey's democracy. These concerns have apparently caused the public
to put their political differences aside and unite behind Erdogan,
blaming the West for humiliating Turkey.
During a press interview on Monday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu was asked about Turkey's application to join the European
Union:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The Turkish people are traumatized [by the failed
> coup]. Rather than helping Turkey, (European nations) are
> humiliating us. Turkey has made intense efforts like few other
> nations, to fulfill the conditions of accession to the EU. In
> return, Turkey has received only threats, insults and a total
> blockage. I ask myself, what crime have we committed? Why this
> hostility?"<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The major issue having to do with Turkey's relations with Europe is
the EU-Turkey migrant deal, which has sharply reduced the size of the
tsunami of Syrian refugees crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey and
arriving at Greece's islands. Under the terms of that deal, The EU
committed to visa liberalization by the end of June -- allowing any of
Turkey's 74 million citizens to be able to travel freely throughout
Europe's Schengen zone without a visa. Turkey's president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said repeatedly that if visa liberalization isn't
granted, then he'll cancel the deal and allow the full flow of Syrian
refugees to Europe to resume.
The end of June came and went, and there was no talk in the press
about visa liberalization. Then the July 15 failed coup occurred in
Turkey, and the whole subject was shelved, both because of the general
chaos following the coup attempt, and because Erdogan's crackdown
following the coup attempt raised numerous human rights issues that,
according to the EU, had to be resolved before visa liberalization
could proceed.
During his interview on Monday, Cavusoglu once again raised the visa
liberalization issue, and set a new deadline -- October. He was asked
whether Turkey might cancel the migrant deal, and permit the tsunami
of Syrian refugees to resume:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"I don’t want to talk about the worst-case scenario
> but it is clear: either we apply all the agreements together, or
> we set them all aside. It can't be that we implement everything
> that is good for the EU but that Turkey gets nothing in
> return."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There are many people in the EU who are opposed to visa liberalization
for Turks under any conditions whatsoever. Cavusoglu this month
referred to Austria as the “capital of radical racism” after Austrian
Chancellor Christian Kern suggested ending EU accession talks with
Turkey.
A major remaining issue is that Turkey is accusing Fethullah Gulen, a
76-year-old Turkish Muslim cleric, living in self-imposed exile in
America since splitting with Erdogan, of orchestrating the coup from
his desk in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Erdogan has requested that
Gulen be extradited back to Turkey to stand trial for the coup. The
Obama administration said that it is willing to extradite Gulen, but
only after Turkey has provided suitable evidence that would withstand
a court trial showing a connection between Gulen and the coup. Such
evidence is probably not forthcoming, so this issue is far from
resolution.
Erdogan and other Turkish officials claim that they bent over
backwards to accommodate the West. They say that they've made
numerous changes to their laws to satisfy the human rights
requirements of the EU, and they signed and enforced the EU-Turkey
migrant deal. They believe that they've gotten nothing in return
except insults and humiliation. They will expect the West to meet
their legal commitments -- visa liberalization and extradition of
Gulen. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Yeni Safak (Ankara) and Independent (London) and Reuters
****
**** Turkey's failed coup raises concerns about nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base
****
A new report questions the wisdom of storing America's nuclear weapons
at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Although the Pentagon does not
discuss where its nuclear weapons are stored, it's believed that about
50 B61 tactical nuclear weapons are being stored at Incirlik.
According to the Stimson Center report, the United States first
deployed tactical nuclear bombs in Europe during the Cold War in the
late 1950s and early 1960s, to offset a buildup of Soviet tank armies
deployed in Eastern Europe. Although most U.S. tactical weapons were
withdrawn from Europe during the early 1990s, 180 of the tactical
versions of the B61s remain at six bases in Europe — in Belgium,
Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
The report claims that storing the nuclear weapons at Incirlik is
expensive. But more concerning is that the coup revealed
"unanswerable questions" -- whether the US could have maintained
control if the coup had succeeded, and whether the nuclear weapons are
safe from terrorist attacks.
Another report, from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), also
raises some concerns, but says the security situation is adequate, as
they are guarded by US troops, and are stored securely underground. To
steal or access these bombs, the report suggests, one would need to
overwhelm US and NATO forces on one of their own bases, and then come
up with some way to haul a 12 foot long, very heavy warhead.
Another analyst makes the point that even if they were captured, they
could not be used without codes held by the US military. Stimson Center and Federation of American Scientists and Saudi Gazette
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Diyarbakir, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Fethullah Gulen, Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK,
Incirlik Air Base, Greece, Mevlut Cavusoglu,
Austria, Christian Kern, Stimson Center,
Federation of American Scientists, FAS
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Truck bombing by PKK terrorists kills seven in southeastern Turkey
- Turkey threatens EU migrant deal, saying EU is humiliating Turkey, not helping
- Turkey's failed coup raises concerns about nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base
****
**** Truck bombing by PKK terrorists kills seven in southeastern Turkey
****
Aftermath of PKK terror attack in southeastern Turkey (Reuters)
A large truck bomb exploded outside a police station near Turkey's
southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Monday. Five police officers and
two civilians, including a child of one of the police officers were
killed, and another 21 were wounded.
No one has claimed credit, but since the Diyarbakir region is a
stronghold for militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK),
there's little doubt that the perpetrators were from the PKK. Indeed,
the PKK attacked the same police station five years ago.
Diyarbakir police have been on high alert due to expectations that PKK
militants would carry out an attack on Aug. 15, as the date marks the
32nd anniversary of the PKK’s first armed attack in 1984. In
anticipation of a possible attack, police have been conducting
operations against the PKK for five days, and have detained a total of
161 people suspected of being PKK members. There were 37 more arrests
on Monday.
The PKK terrorist group has been fighting Turkey's government since
1984, and more than 40,000 people have been killed. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Al-Jazeera
****
**** Turkey threatens EU migrant deal, saying EU is humiliating Turkey, not helping
****
On July 15, there was a failed coup in Turkey, where hundreds of
soldiers using tanks, fighter jets and helicopters took control of key
areas of Ankara and Turkey. At least 246 people were killed , and
more than 2,000 injured. ( "17-Jul-2016 World View -- Attempted army coup in Turkey collapses within hours"
)
Since that time, over 22,000 people have been arrested and almost
8,000 more are suspects under investigation. Thousands of members of
the armed forces, police, judiciary, civil service and public sector
have been removed from their posts. Around 50,000 passports were
cancelled, journalists and academics have been arrested and more than
130 media outlets were shut down.
Western governments condemned the coup, but also expressed concern
over the extent of the crackdown, which seems to be an opportunity for
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to take on additional powers
and crush human rights. ( "22-Jul-2016 World View -- Turkey's Erdogan gives himself dictatorial powers, moving Turkey away from the West"
)
There has been a growing sentiment in Turkey that the West was more
concerned about those conducting the attempted coup, rather than
Turkey's democracy. These concerns have apparently caused the public
to put their political differences aside and unite behind Erdogan,
blaming the West for humiliating Turkey.
During a press interview on Monday, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu was asked about Turkey's application to join the European
Union:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"The Turkish people are traumatized [by the failed
> coup]. Rather than helping Turkey, (European nations) are
> humiliating us. Turkey has made intense efforts like few other
> nations, to fulfill the conditions of accession to the EU. In
> return, Turkey has received only threats, insults and a total
> blockage. I ask myself, what crime have we committed? Why this
> hostility?"<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The major issue having to do with Turkey's relations with Europe is
the EU-Turkey migrant deal, which has sharply reduced the size of the
tsunami of Syrian refugees crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey and
arriving at Greece's islands. Under the terms of that deal, The EU
committed to visa liberalization by the end of June -- allowing any of
Turkey's 74 million citizens to be able to travel freely throughout
Europe's Schengen zone without a visa. Turkey's president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said repeatedly that if visa liberalization isn't
granted, then he'll cancel the deal and allow the full flow of Syrian
refugees to Europe to resume.
The end of June came and went, and there was no talk in the press
about visa liberalization. Then the July 15 failed coup occurred in
Turkey, and the whole subject was shelved, both because of the general
chaos following the coup attempt, and because Erdogan's crackdown
following the coup attempt raised numerous human rights issues that,
according to the EU, had to be resolved before visa liberalization
could proceed.
During his interview on Monday, Cavusoglu once again raised the visa
liberalization issue, and set a new deadline -- October. He was asked
whether Turkey might cancel the migrant deal, and permit the tsunami
of Syrian refugees to resume:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"I don’t want to talk about the worst-case scenario
> but it is clear: either we apply all the agreements together, or
> we set them all aside. It can't be that we implement everything
> that is good for the EU but that Turkey gets nothing in
> return."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
There are many people in the EU who are opposed to visa liberalization
for Turks under any conditions whatsoever. Cavusoglu this month
referred to Austria as the “capital of radical racism” after Austrian
Chancellor Christian Kern suggested ending EU accession talks with
Turkey.
A major remaining issue is that Turkey is accusing Fethullah Gulen, a
76-year-old Turkish Muslim cleric, living in self-imposed exile in
America since splitting with Erdogan, of orchestrating the coup from
his desk in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Erdogan has requested that
Gulen be extradited back to Turkey to stand trial for the coup. The
Obama administration said that it is willing to extradite Gulen, but
only after Turkey has provided suitable evidence that would withstand
a court trial showing a connection between Gulen and the coup. Such
evidence is probably not forthcoming, so this issue is far from
resolution.
Erdogan and other Turkish officials claim that they bent over
backwards to accommodate the West. They say that they've made
numerous changes to their laws to satisfy the human rights
requirements of the EU, and they signed and enforced the EU-Turkey
migrant deal. They believe that they've gotten nothing in return
except insults and humiliation. They will expect the West to meet
their legal commitments -- visa liberalization and extradition of
Gulen. Hurriyet (Ankara) and Yeni Safak (Ankara) and Independent (London) and Reuters
****
**** Turkey's failed coup raises concerns about nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base
****
A new report questions the wisdom of storing America's nuclear weapons
at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Although the Pentagon does not
discuss where its nuclear weapons are stored, it's believed that about
50 B61 tactical nuclear weapons are being stored at Incirlik.
According to the Stimson Center report, the United States first
deployed tactical nuclear bombs in Europe during the Cold War in the
late 1950s and early 1960s, to offset a buildup of Soviet tank armies
deployed in Eastern Europe. Although most U.S. tactical weapons were
withdrawn from Europe during the early 1990s, 180 of the tactical
versions of the B61s remain at six bases in Europe — in Belgium,
Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
The report claims that storing the nuclear weapons at Incirlik is
expensive. But more concerning is that the coup revealed
"unanswerable questions" -- whether the US could have maintained
control if the coup had succeeded, and whether the nuclear weapons are
safe from terrorist attacks.
Another report, from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), also
raises some concerns, but says the security situation is adequate, as
they are guarded by US troops, and are stored securely underground. To
steal or access these bombs, the report suggests, one would need to
overwhelm US and NATO forces on one of their own bases, and then come
up with some way to haul a 12 foot long, very heavy warhead.
Another analyst makes the point that even if they were captured, they
could not be used without codes held by the US military. Stimson Center and Federation of American Scientists and Saudi Gazette
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Turkey, Diyarbakir, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Fethullah Gulen, Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK,
Incirlik Air Base, Greece, Mevlut Cavusoglu,
Austria, Christian Kern, Stimson Center,
Federation of American Scientists, FAS
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
