US Keeps 50 Nuclear Weapons On Turkish Air Base, Now They're Erdogans Hostages

[Bo Didleysquat]

Not to put this on Don, but hey, really now, america is THE great greatest threat to world peace and the planet's greatest purveyor of arms and violence.

And you are from where?

Russia? Iran? Turkey?

USA. And we all helped.

 

[fncceo]

The chaos resulting from Donald Trump's seemingly out-of-the-blue decision to withdraw U.S. troops from their positions in Kurdish-held Syria, greenlighting an all-out Turkish invasion, continues to grow. Trump's move was so precipitous that U.S. forces in the region were caught completely unaware. That includes U.S. nuclear forces.

As reported by The New York Times: "[O]ver the weekend, State and Energy Department officials were quietly reviewing plans for evacuating roughly 50 tactical nuclear weapons that the United States had long stored, under American control, at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey."

U.S. military keeps 50 nuclear weapons on Turkish airbase, and now they're 'Erdogan's hostages'

Thats 50 thermonuclear devices boys and girls. Sure hope cadet bonespurs has someone thats not him who actually has a plan.

Set a timer on them.

The Turkish James Bond will make it stop on 001.

It's inevitable.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

The US has nuclear weapons in Germany, Belgium, italy Turkey and Netherlands under a NATO weapons sharing plan, but now you're saying you don't trust NATO.

TURKEY dumbass

Not Britain...not Belgium

Don't get your panties in a bunch. The US has nuclear weapons in some non nuclear NATO member states, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands, and has had them there since 2009. So now you're saying Obama made a mistake back in 2009?

Are any of those nations invading neighbors?

What does that have to do with NATO or US nuclear weapons?

Turkey is invading Syria..Assad is racing with his entire army to stop them..the Kurds are surging--hostilities will be theater wide...in 48 hours, if nothing stops it...this means that the airbase is very much in play..and maybe a target.

As folks like to say..the situation is fluid--some see these sorts of times as windows of opportunity.

 

[toomuchtime_]

So...in July someone was sounding the alarm....but, of course, no one listened...

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey


"The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border."

The American nuclear weapons currently stored in Europe and Turkey are B61 bombs. Their explosive yield can be adjusted between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, so they can be used both tactically and strategically. However, according to NATO’s current deterrent strategy, they are intended only for tactical use. In contrast to past years, when some American nuclear weapons in Europe were installed as warheads on ballistic missiles, the B61 bombs are intended to be carried only by aircraft.

But the location of the Incirlik base is troubling. It is located in southern Turkey, near Adana on the Mediterranean coast, only 110 kilometers from the Syrian border. The internal situation in Syria, which is still unstable, could worsen the security and safety risks of storing the bombs there. Consider, for example, what happened during the unsuccessful coup in Turkey in July 2016. Senior Turkish military officers at Incirlik were arrested, and Ankara cut off power to the base for almost a week.


In the words of Harvey Sapolsky, professor emeritus at MIT, “The US must quickly reconsider storing nuclear weapons in Turkey and giving Ankara a shared finger on the nuclear trigger under the NATO nuclear sharing program.”

The current program dates back only to 2009 so it is not part of the Cold War. The weapons are safeguarded by "permissive action links" that prevent them from being armed or detonated without US authorization. The weapons are, of course, guarded by US military personnel.

Yes..surrounded by how many millions of Turks? I get that it is, unlikely, that the Turks would go for them..but how about the Kurds..that's a lot of power..in some minds--the ones that don't know that we would pop a nuke..to keep those bombs safe.

There are no likely scenarios in which these bombs could be captured by any bad actors and it is near impossible that anyone not authorized to use them would be able to arm or detonate them. However, if you are writing a film script, it might be an idea that would sell.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

ven if this was accurate the means to utilize and detonate those weapons are not in Turkeys ability to do so..

That's not really the concern. the concern is that the moron president has put us in a position where we now want to remove them, and Turkey knows this, so they will leverage the facilitation of that against more concessions.

You gotta think above the level of a 5th grader sometimes, dude. Come on, you're smarter than this.

 

[toomuchtime_]

The US has nuclear weapons in Germany, Belgium, italy Turkey and Netherlands under a NATO weapons sharing plan, but now you're saying you don't trust NATO.

TURKEY dumbass

Not Britain...not Belgium

Don't get your panties in a bunch. The US has nuclear weapons in some non nuclear NATO member states, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands, and has had them there since 2009. So now you're saying Obama made a mistake back in 2009?

Are any of those nations invading neighbors?

What does that have to do with NATO or US nuclear weapons?

Turkey is invading Syria..Assad is racing with his entire army to stop them..the Kurds are surging--hostilities will be theater wide...in 48 hours, if nothing stops it...this means that the airbase is very much in play..and maybe a target.

As folks like to say..the situation is fluid--some see these sorts of times as windows of opportunity.

It sounds exciting, but Assad is not going to try to invade Turkey and the Kurds are running for their lives.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So...in July someone was sounding the alarm....but, of course, no one listened...

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey


"The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border."

The American nuclear weapons currently stored in Europe and Turkey are B61 bombs. Their explosive yield can be adjusted between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, so they can be used both tactically and strategically. However, according to NATO’s current deterrent strategy, they are intended only for tactical use. In contrast to past years, when some American nuclear weapons in Europe were installed as warheads on ballistic missiles, the B61 bombs are intended to be carried only by aircraft.

But the location of the Incirlik base is troubling. It is located in southern Turkey, near Adana on the Mediterranean coast, only 110 kilometers from the Syrian border. The internal situation in Syria, which is still unstable, could worsen the security and safety risks of storing the bombs there. Consider, for example, what happened during the unsuccessful coup in Turkey in July 2016. Senior Turkish military officers at Incirlik were arrested, and Ankara cut off power to the base for almost a week.


In the words of Harvey Sapolsky, professor emeritus at MIT, “The US must quickly reconsider storing nuclear weapons in Turkey and giving Ankara a shared finger on the nuclear trigger under the NATO nuclear sharing program.”

The current program dates back only to 2009 so it is not part of the Cold War. The weapons are safeguarded by "permissive action links" that prevent them from being armed or detonated without US authorization. The weapons are, of course, guarded by US military personnel.

Yes..surrounded by how many millions of Turks? I get that it is, unlikely, that the Turks would go for them..but how about the Kurds..that's a lot of power..in some minds--the ones that don't know that we would pop a nuke..to keep those bombs safe.

There are no likely scenarios in which these bombs could be captured by any bad actors and it is near impossible that anyone not authorized to use them would be able to arm or detonate them. However, if you are writing a film script, it might be an idea that would sell.

Totally agree..worst case and far fetched---just pointing out that long shots do come in..sometimes.

Leaving out the bombs....an attack on the base would be bad enough....if Americans die.

I will point out..that this is the direct result of Trump's decisions--so I guess we shall see....

 

[White_MAGA_Man]

The chaos resulting from Donald Trump's seemingly out-of-the-blue decision to withdraw U.S. troops from their positions in Kurdish-held Syria, greenlighting an all-out Turkish invasion, continues to grow. Trump's move was so precipitous that U.S. forces in the region were caught completely unaware. That includes U.S. nuclear forces.

As reported by The New York Times: "[O]ver the weekend, State and Energy Department officials were quietly reviewing plans for evacuating roughly 50 tactical nuclear weapons that the United States had long stored, under American control, at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey."

U.S. military keeps 50 nuclear weapons on Turkish airbase, and now they're 'Erdogan's hostages'

Thats 50 thermonuclear devices boys and girls. Sure hope cadet bonespurs has someone thats not him who actually has a plan.

Hey numbnuts, the triggers for the nukes aren't there. They're inoperable without them. Once again you make a liberal kneejerk ass out of yourself.

 

[JustAGuy1]

The chaos resulting from Donald Trump's seemingly out-of-the-blue decision to withdraw U.S. troops from their positions in Kurdish-held Syria, greenlighting an all-out Turkish invasion, continues to grow. Trump's move was so precipitous that U.S. forces in the region were caught completely unaware. That includes U.S. nuclear forces.

As reported by The New York Times: "[O]ver the weekend, State and Energy Department officials were quietly reviewing plans for evacuating roughly 50 tactical nuclear weapons that the United States had long stored, under American control, at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey."

U.S. military keeps 50 nuclear weapons on Turkish airbase, and now they're 'Erdogan's hostages'

Thats 50 thermonuclear devices boys and girls. Sure hope cadet bonespurs has someone thats not him who actually has a plan.

LOL. Fake News Skews.

Nope, it's true.

 

[toomuchtime_]

So...in July someone was sounding the alarm....but, of course, no one listened...

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey


"The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border."

The American nuclear weapons currently stored in Europe and Turkey are B61 bombs. Their explosive yield can be adjusted between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, so they can be used both tactically and strategically. However, according to NATO’s current deterrent strategy, they are intended only for tactical use. In contrast to past years, when some American nuclear weapons in Europe were installed as warheads on ballistic missiles, the B61 bombs are intended to be carried only by aircraft.

But the location of the Incirlik base is troubling. It is located in southern Turkey, near Adana on the Mediterranean coast, only 110 kilometers from the Syrian border. The internal situation in Syria, which is still unstable, could worsen the security and safety risks of storing the bombs there. Consider, for example, what happened during the unsuccessful coup in Turkey in July 2016. Senior Turkish military officers at Incirlik were arrested, and Ankara cut off power to the base for almost a week.


In the words of Harvey Sapolsky, professor emeritus at MIT, “The US must quickly reconsider storing nuclear weapons in Turkey and giving Ankara a shared finger on the nuclear trigger under the NATO nuclear sharing program.”

The current program dates back only to 2009 so it is not part of the Cold War. The weapons are safeguarded by "permissive action links" that prevent them from being armed or detonated without US authorization. The weapons are, of course, guarded by US military personnel.

Yes..surrounded by how many millions of Turks? I get that it is, unlikely, that the Turks would go for them..but how about the Kurds..that's a lot of power..in some minds--the ones that don't know that we would pop a nuke..to keep those bombs safe.

There are no likely scenarios in which these bombs could be captured by any bad actors and it is near impossible that anyone not authorized to use them would be able to arm or detonate them. However, if you are writing a film script, it might be an idea that would sell.

Totally agree..worst case and far fetched---just pointing out that long shots do come in..sometimes.

Leaving out the bombs....an attack on the base would be bad enough....if Americans die.

I will point out..that this is the direct result of Trump's decisions--so I guess we shall see....

Actually, it was Obama's decision to deploy the nuclear weapons to Turkey, not Trump's.

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

TURKEY dumbass

Not Britain...not Belgium

Don't get your panties in a bunch. The US has nuclear weapons in some non nuclear NATO member states, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands, and has had them there since 2009. So now you're saying Obama made a mistake back in 2009?

Are any of those nations invading neighbors?

What does that have to do with NATO or US nuclear weapons?

Turkey is invading Syria..Assad is racing with his entire army to stop them..the Kurds are surging--hostilities will be theater wide...in 48 hours, if nothing stops it...this means that the airbase is very much in play..and maybe a target.

As folks like to say..the situation is fluid--some see these sorts of times as windows of opportunity.

It sounds exciting, but Assad is not going to try to invade Turkey and the Kurds are running for their lives.

It would surprise me...historically the Kurds are fierce..and they have allies in three countries....I note that all reports have them running...straight for the Turkish border!

Assad invade Turkey? Nope....but he may well see this as his time to consolidate his hold on Syria. Unite his people against Turkey.

 

[toomuchtime_]

Don't get your panties in a bunch. The US has nuclear weapons in some non nuclear NATO member states, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands, and has had them there since 2009. So now you're saying Obama made a mistake back in 2009?

Are any of those nations invading neighbors?

What does that have to do with NATO or US nuclear weapons?

Turkey is invading Syria..Assad is racing with his entire army to stop them..the Kurds are surging--hostilities will be theater wide...in 48 hours, if nothing stops it...this means that the airbase is very much in play..and maybe a target.

As folks like to say..the situation is fluid--some see these sorts of times as windows of opportunity.

It sounds exciting, but Assad is not going to try to invade Turkey and the Kurds are running for their lives.

It would surprise me...historically the Kurds are fierce..and they have allies in three countries....I note that all reports have them running...straight for the Turkish border!

Assad invade Turkey? Nope....but he may well see this as his time to consolidate his hold on Syria. Unite his people against Turkey.

lol Assad is little more than a pretext for Russia and Iran to be in Syria: without Russian permission Assad will not cross the border. The Kurds have been good fighters, but without air power and armor, they are not going to go anywhere. That's why they have invited Assad's troops in to confront Turkey.

 

[Bo Didleysquat]

Its the daily kos. You can't take this seriously.

No, I would not either, but I would run down the links and crosscheck before I made some stupidass partisanshitheaded pronouncement.

 

[theHawk]

If the Turkish leadership decides it needs a nuclear weapons program as a hedge against the end of the U.S. extended deterrence shield, its scientific/engineering capabilities, greater than Iran’s, could probably produce nuclear weapons and airplanes capable of delivering them on its side of the ocean within two to three years.
Turkish Disconnections - The American Interest

Garfinkle was a speechwriter for both of President George W. Bush's Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice
Adam Garfinkle - Wikipedia

Yet another reason the entire Middle East needs to be bombed back into the Stone Age where they belong.

 

[theHawk]

So...in July someone was sounding the alarm....but, of course, no one listened...

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey


"The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border."

The American nuclear weapons currently stored in Europe and Turkey are B61 bombs. Their explosive yield can be adjusted between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, so they can be used both tactically and strategically. However, according to NATO’s current deterrent strategy, they are intended only for tactical use. In contrast to past years, when some American nuclear weapons in Europe were installed as warheads on ballistic missiles, the B61 bombs are intended to be carried only by aircraft.

But the location of the Incirlik base is troubling. It is located in southern Turkey, near Adana on the Mediterranean coast, only 110 kilometers from the Syrian border. The internal situation in Syria, which is still unstable, could worsen the security and safety risks of storing the bombs there. Consider, for example, what happened during the unsuccessful coup in Turkey in July 2016. Senior Turkish military officers at Incirlik were arrested, and Ankara cut off power to the base for almost a week.


In the words of Harvey Sapolsky, professor emeritus at MIT, “The US must quickly reconsider storing nuclear weapons in Turkey and giving Ankara a shared finger on the nuclear trigger under the NATO nuclear sharing program.”

The current program dates back only to 2009 so it is not part of the Cold War. The weapons are safeguarded by "permissive action links" that prevent them from being armed or detonated without US authorization. The weapons are, of course, guarded by US military personnel.

Yes..surrounded by how many millions of Turks? I get that it is, unlikely, that the Turks would go for them..but how about the Kurds..that's a lot of power..in some minds--the ones that don't know that we would pop a nuke..to keep those bombs safe.

There are no likely scenarios in which these bombs could be captured by any bad actors and it is near impossible that anyone not authorized to use them would be able to arm or detonate them. However, if you are writing a film script, it might be an idea that would sell.

Totally agree..worst case and far fetched---just pointing out that long shots do come in..sometimes.

Leaving out the bombs....an attack on the base would be bad enough....if Americans die.

I will point out..that this is the direct result of Trump's decisions--so I guess we shall see....

No, it’s a direct result of the Hussein not backing the Ataturk coup attempt on Erdofag. The US has always backed the Ataturks, as they always overthrew the batshit crazy radicals that the Muslims always end up electing. That ended when the Hussein did nothing and let Erdogan’s side wipe out the Ataturks. Now they are radicals and should had been booted from NATO at that point.

 

[Rambunctious]

ven if this was accurate the means to utilize and detonate those weapons are not in Turkeys ability to do so..

That's not really the concern. the concern is that the moron president has put us in a position where we now want to remove them, and Turkey knows this, so they will leverage the facilitation of that against more concessions.

You gotta think above the level of a 5th grader sometimes, dude. Come on, you're smarter than this.

That is the wildest most ignorant comment of the month....

 

[JustAGuy1]

The Nukes are at Incirlik.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

ven if this was accurate the means to utilize and detonate those weapons are not in Turkeys ability to do so..

That's not really the concern. the concern is that the moron president has put us in a position where we now want to remove them, and Turkey knows this, so they will leverage the facilitation of that against more concessions.

You gotta think above the level of a 5th grader sometimes, dude. Come on, you're smarter than this.

That is the wildest most ignorant comment of the month....

Yes, as it is correct and reasonable, it looks quite foreign to a freak like you. Don't worry...people much smarter than you are sifting through this mess....

 

[EvilEyeFleegle]

So...in July someone was sounding the alarm....but, of course, no one listened...

US Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Turkey


"The American nuclear weapons that remain on Turkish soil – an anachronistic reference to the Cold War – are tactical only. They nevertheless raise questions, not only because of the deterioration in relations between Washington and Ankara, but because of security and safety risks at the Turkish base where the weapons are stored – close to the Syrian border."

The American nuclear weapons currently stored in Europe and Turkey are B61 bombs. Their explosive yield can be adjusted between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, so they can be used both tactically and strategically. However, according to NATO’s current deterrent strategy, they are intended only for tactical use. In contrast to past years, when some American nuclear weapons in Europe were installed as warheads on ballistic missiles, the B61 bombs are intended to be carried only by aircraft.

But the location of the Incirlik base is troubling. It is located in southern Turkey, near Adana on the Mediterranean coast, only 110 kilometers from the Syrian border. The internal situation in Syria, which is still unstable, could worsen the security and safety risks of storing the bombs there. Consider, for example, what happened during the unsuccessful coup in Turkey in July 2016. Senior Turkish military officers at Incirlik were arrested, and Ankara cut off power to the base for almost a week.


In the words of Harvey Sapolsky, professor emeritus at MIT, “The US must quickly reconsider storing nuclear weapons in Turkey and giving Ankara a shared finger on the nuclear trigger under the NATO nuclear sharing program.”

The current program dates back only to 2009 so it is not part of the Cold War. The weapons are safeguarded by "permissive action links" that prevent them from being armed or detonated without US authorization. The weapons are, of course, guarded by US military personnel.

Yes..surrounded by how many millions of Turks? I get that it is, unlikely, that the Turks would go for them..but how about the Kurds..that's a lot of power..in some minds--the ones that don't know that we would pop a nuke..to keep those bombs safe.

There are no likely scenarios in which these bombs could be captured by any bad actors and it is near impossible that anyone not authorized to use them would be able to arm or detonate them. However, if you are writing a film script, it might be an idea that would sell.

Totally agree..worst case and far fetched---just pointing out that long shots do come in..sometimes.

Leaving out the bombs....an attack on the base would be bad enough....if Americans die.

I will point out..that this is the direct result of Trump's decisions--so I guess we shall see....

Actually, it was Obama's decision to deploy the nuclear weapons to Turkey, not Trump's.

Not what i meant at all...the proximate cause of the current conflict is the power vacuum that Trump induced..against the advice of his military and diplomatic team.

 

[Rambunctious]

ven if this was accurate the means to utilize and detonate those weapons are not in Turkeys ability to do so..

That's not really the concern. the concern is that the moron president has put us in a position where we now want to remove them, and Turkey knows this, so they will leverage the facilitation of that against more concessions.

You gotta think above the level of a 5th grader sometimes, dude. Come on, you're smarter than this.

That is the wildest most ignorant comment of the month....

Yes, as it is correct and reasonable, it looks quite foreign to a freak like you. Don't worry...people much smarter than you are sifting through this mess....

Nothing in your comment can be backed up one bit so its you that is the freak you aging hippie bitch...if you think for one second that those weapons are there without a military contingent that goes wherever they go then you are an ignorant fool....and should be forever look at as the fool you are on this board....