The NATO Weapons Repository, aka the Republic of Turkey

Perhaps the Turks should also insist that NATO remember Article 5 of its charter the next time a member state is attacked not by Iran or Syria but by Israel.

Find the Mavi Marmara. (DAILY NEWS graphic, Emine YILMAZ; SOURCE: Daily News research) For a larger version of this image: Click Here

(ISTANBUL) - News from Turkey on this first day of 2011: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has characterized NATO plans for a missile defense system as being in the interest of Turkish national security.

Today’s issue of Today’s Zaman provides a summary of negotiations leading up to the Turkish declaration of support for the project:

"Turkey formally backed the planned system during a summit of NATO leaders in Lisbon in November. The summit came after months of discussions between Turkey and mainly the US over some aspects of the planned shield, most notably whether countries such as Turkey’s neighbors Iran and Syria will be named as potential threats. Ankara insisted that the proposed system should provide protection for all territories of member states and that reference to any country would undermine the defensive nature of the planned shield by antagonizing the country or countries singled out as a threat. Turkish insistence paid off in the end as the NATO summit endorsed the missile defense system plans without naming any country as a potential threat.”

Perhaps the Turks should also insist that NATO remember Article 5 of its charter the next time a member state is attacked not by Iran or Syria but by Israel. NATO, it seems, would rather condemn as dangerous the WikiLeaks cables confirming the presence of U.S. nuclear bombs in Turkey, thus leaving the bombs themselves to the non-dangerous category along with IDF commando attacks on humanitarian vessels.

Belén is co-editor at Pulse Media. Her articles also have appeared in CounterPunch, Narco News, Palestine Chronicle, Palestine Think Tank, Rebelión, Tlaxcala, The Electronic Intifada, Upside Down World, and Venezuelanalysis.com. Her book “Coffee with Hezbollah,” a humorous political travelogue chronicling her hitchhiking trip through Lebanon in the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli assault, is available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble.

Born in Washington, DC, in 1982, Belén earned her bachelor's degree with a concentration in political science from Columbia University in New York City. Her diverse background of worldwide experiences, created a fantastic writer; one whose work we are extremely happy to share with Salem-News.com viewers. You can contact Belén at: belengarciabernal@gmail.com

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Turkey | Israel | Politics | History | War crimes | Most Commented on

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Levo January 1, 2011 12:19 am (Pacific time)

Ankara should cut off all ties with the Undeclared Terrorist Zionist State of Israel. Turkey the World's 16th largest economy has no need for a murderous nation of questionable beginnings like Israel!

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