The NATO summit in Lisbon on 19/20 November brought an agreement on the missile shield that had initially been opposed by Turkey. The country was against putting down Iran as its direct neighbour as an explicit threat and the request was accepted on the summit.
Throughout the coming ten years, the NATO is going to intervene in the areas of territory security, terrorism, cyber attacks and energy security in case of a threat even if that threat lies beyond the borders of NATO territory.
Co-operation with international organizations will be enhanced in order to make interventions more effective. The mobility of military forces will be increased, nuclear deterrence will be positioned, efforts in political and civil areas are going to be increased and defence policies will pursue more completeness.
The NATO was established in 1949 and comprises 28 member states and cooperates with 22 non-member states. Turkey became a member in 1952 after the country had sent military troops to the Korean War. There are NATO bases in Izmir, Konya, Marmaris, Şile and Balıkesir. The Incirlik base hosts nuclear warheads.
Turkey's role did not change as the Trojan Horse in the Middle East
Turkey's acceptance of the USA missile shield system under the roof of the NATO was characterized as a "zero problem policy with neighbour states". Political scientist and writer Assoc. Prof. Haluk Gerger said that this would not contradict the country's foreign policies.
"Is Iran not a target anymore when the country is not explicitly named? Sarkozy said 'we call a spade a spade". In Turkey, we do not always call a spade a spade but we act as if we did so. What President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdoğan said about the missile shield was a bluff", Gerger said in an interview with bianet.
Gerger has been doing research on the USA's Middle East policies and the Turkish foreign policies. According to the scientist, Turkey's role did not change with the renewed NATO strategy.
NATO follows its line
Gerger called the NATO a "global attack organization of imperialism" and emphasized that the actual change within the organization occurred with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"The NATO was launched as a defence organization against the Soviets. It comprised both sides of the Atlantic and declared the area stretching from the USA all the way to Turkey as an area with a single responsibility. Later on, the Soviet Union collapsed but the NATO was continued. We saw in Afghanistan and Iraq that its area of responsibility was exceeded and it was transformed into a global military organization".
According to this definition, NATO's target is "the countries opposing imperialism. Iran is a good example". Gerger reminded that not only countries but also "people's movements" such as the Hamas and the Taliban are a target of the NATO. "Now they have been put down as threats and methods to fight them have been determined that stretch from cyber attacks to missile shields", Gerger said.
Turkey as the Trojan Horse in the Middle East
"This means that Turkey is taking its role within this definition", Gerger indicated. He explained that Ankara had been assigned two roles in the past. The first role was that of an outpost against the Soviets, providing armoury and a base for the USA. Second, Turkey was in charge of the "role of a paramilitary shooter".
"The first role is over. Turkey does not have the military strength and there are other countries like Israel who can do this better. Additionally, the United States themselves are in the region now. The NATO exceeds its area of responsibility and sends forces".
In this situation, Gerger referred to the discussion of a "shift of axis" in Turkey, saying that Turkey transformed from a "shooter to a Trojan horse".
"Relations have to be established in order to be the Trojan horse. One way to establish relations with the Hamas and with Syria is to criticize Israel. This is seen as a conflict. Before, historic relations were mentioned, cultural relations were emphasized, it was said that you share the same language. So it is said that you do what we cannot do and what we cannot suggest".
Gerger reminded the fact that a Trojan horse also contains soldiers. He said that there was also a military side to this sort of role and emphasized that this was covered by the missile shield as well.
Who can press the button?
Gerger stated that it was another bluff of the government to say that the "button of the shield is with us".
"Turkey cannot press that button. Turkey will blow the whistle and the USA will repel the missiles", Gerger concluded. (EÜ/EÖ/VK)
