Next Steps For NATO After Syria Shoot Down Turkish Jet

NATO consultations are coming. What will the reaction be?

Turkey said on Sunday Syria had shot down its military aircraft in international airspace on Friday without warning and declared it would formally consult its NATO allies on a reaction.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking some 48 hours after the jet was shot down near both countries' sea borders, told state broadcaster TRT the plane had been clearly marked as Turkish and dismissed Syria's earlier statement it had not known the plane belonged to Turkey.
He said the downed jet was unarmed and had been on a solo mission to test domestic radar systems and that the flight had no connection to the crisis in neighboring Syria.
"Our plane was shot at a distance of 13 sea miles from Syria's border in international airspace," Davutoglu said.
"According to the radar images, our plane lost contact with headquarters after it was hit and because the pilot lost control, it crashed into Syrian waters after making abnormal movements," he said.
"Throughout this entire period no warning was made to our plane."

By: Brant

Syrian Shoots Down Turkish Plane

Syria is blundering around like a mean drunk in a bar, and they just landed a stray punch on the neighborhood badass that'd been staying out of the fight.

Syria shot down a warplane from Turkey on Friday that it said had violated its airspace, an event that illustrated the potential for the Syrian conflict to spill across its borders and risked a further deterioration in relations between neighbors that once were close allies.

In a terse statement after midnight, the office of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syria had downed a Turkish plane that disappeared about midday off the Syrian coast. The fate of the two pilots was unknown.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency, known as SANA, said the aircraft, flying low and fast, violated Syrian airspace over the Mediterranean Sea and was shot down by ground fire. It said the plane was hit about half a mile from the Syrian coast and crashed into the sea.

The incident appears to be another example of how the Syria conflict has elevated regional tensions. Syria sits in the heart of the volatile Middle East and its instability has already had ramifications in Turkey, Lebanon and elsewhere.

Will this become the pretext NATO needs to invoke Article 5 and intervene without bothering with the UN and Russian/Chinese obstructionism?

By: Brant

Former Head of Turkey's Military a "Terrorist"?

Are we using "terrorism" and "terrorist" as by-words for anything we don't like? Yes, the Turkish military hierarchy looks bad for the way they've opposed the actions of the Erdogan government. And yes, there's probably something to the charges that Basbug faces. But does that mean he's a terrorist?

Turkey's former armed forces chief raised a clenched fist and waved to supporters when he faced terrorism charges on Monday in a historic trial that demonstrates the ebbing power of an army that once ranged above political leaders in the country.
The court, sitting in the Silivri high security prison complex, underlined the fall of the military by denying General Ilker Basbug's opening appeal to have his case considered by the Supreme Court.
Basbug, chief of staff from 2008 to 2010, is accused of being a leader of a shadowy network dubbed "Ergenekon", behind a string of alleged plots against the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. His lawyer, however, said at the weekend the case targeted not only Basbug, but also "the Turkish armed forces and even, in political terms, the state."

By: Brant

Random Friday Wargaming: Persian Gulf: Battle for the Middle East

It wasn't just part of the great GDW "Third World War" series, but a great game in its own right. Persian Gulf: Battle for the Middle East was actually pretty good for modding into any one of a variety of potential or actual MidEast crises over the years.


There's that great GDW collage cover art again.





CSW has a discussion board for the entire series.

Master links/images from Boardgamegeek.com; message boards linked to Consimworld. Other links to the actual game pages...


By: Brant

US Handing Over Facilities in Turkey

The DoD is returning a set of facilities in Turkey to the local government.

The Department of Defense announced today that in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey, it will return the unaccompanied housing area to the Turkish Government.

This return is part of U.S. European Command’s continued effort to remove non-enduring sites, bases and installations from its real-property inventory.

These actions will permit more resources to be focused on other U.S. Air Forces in Europe mission requirements and the command to realize efficiency and cost savings.

Return of this site will result in an estimated annual savings of $93,700.

By: Brant

New Counterterrorism Network Founded

The purpose of the Global Counterterrorism Forum is to identify urgent global needs in counterterrorism, devise solutions, and mobilize the resources needed to implement those solutions.

The new group will become "a counterterrorism network that is as nimble and adaptive as our adversaries," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the inaugural meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.

"Let us pledge to learn as much as we can from one another."

Canada is a founding member of the group, whose 30 members include Britain, China, the European Union, Japan, Australia, developing countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as leading Muslim nations including Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

The U.S. and Turkey will co-chair the group.

By: Shelldrake

GrogNews Daily Headlines

South Korea's marines are vowing "revenge" for the Nork artillery barrage as the US and South Korea
push ahead with their war games. The Norks are accusing their Southern brothers of using "human shields". And did Sarah Palin really proclaim support for North Korea?

Elsewhere, a Somali-born teen was picked up for plotting a car-bombing over Christmas.

The US has warned at least Turkey and Canada over the pending WikiLeaks dumps. You notice that ASSange isn't in a hurry to leak any diplomatic cables from Russia, China, Ghana, San Marino, New Zealand, Guatemala, or Uruguay.

Have they been practicing with Modern Warfare 2? Brazilian police are planning an offensive in the Rio favelas.

Great. There are fresh routes in and out of Afghanistan for the Talibanistanis. Oh yeah, and a suicide attack at an Afghan police HQ kills 12.

By: Brant

Monday Video: Turkey Shoot

It's a mellow musical BANG to start your week, but the footage of the Turkish Armed Forces is cool, so go with it...



Someone - anyone - PLEASE nominate your own videos in the comments below for future inclusion


By: Brant

GrogNews Weekend Headlines

Iraq's parliament is still deadlocked, but now the Saudi king has offered to help break the deadlock.

Remember that joint US-Russia drug raid? Well, it looks like Karzai isn't too happy about it, claiming it violates Afghan sovereignty. Y'know what violates my sovereignty? Your inability to control your own country, which means we have to do it for you...

Are there lessons to learn for DADT by looking backwards toward desegregation?

A suicide bomber in Turkey has wounded 22 in Istanbul.

And commercial air traffic returns to Baghdad.

By: Brant

China-Turkey Joint Air Exercises

Looks like China and Turkey zipped around the sky a bit together.

The air forces of China and Turkey have carried out a joint exercise, the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday, in what appeared to be the first such drill involving Beijing and a NATO member country.
Turkey assured the United States it would take the "utmost care" to protect sensitive U.S. and NATO technologies, said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Tamara Parker, a department spokeswoman.
She described Turkey's government as committed to the NATO alliance and the continuation of strong ties to the United States.
"To the best of our knowledge, U.S.-made F-16s were not involved in the exercise," Parker said. She referred a caller to the Turkish government for details of the maneuvers.
The office of the Turkish defense attache in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Turkish press reports have said the exercises took place September 20 through October 4 at the Konya air base in Turkey's central Anatolia region.
Some U.S. experts described the exercise as underscoring China's capability to operate beyond its territory.
David Finkelstein, director of China Studies at the CNA research group in Alexandria, Virginia, said it may be the first time China's People's Liberation Army air force engaged in a combined exercise with a NATO country in a NATO country.
"Indeed, an incipient expeditionary PLA is in the making," said Finkelstein.

By: Brant

US Bails on Turkish Exercises... over Israel?

The US is skipping October air force exercises with Turkey and there are conflicting reports about why.

The United States will not take part in upcoming air drills in Turkey, a US embassy official said Wednesday, as media reports said Washington had conditioned its presence on Israeli attendance.
The US Air Force will not join the October exercises, the official told AFP, saying they had already taken part in the previous edition of the drills in June.
The official would not comment on Turkish media reports that Washington had said it would shun the drills if Ankara failed to invite also Israel, excluded from the exercises amid bilateral tensions with Turkey, once a close ally.
The US message was conveyed to Ankara after invitations were sent out to several countries but not Israel for the "Anatolian Eagle" drills, held since 2001 in central Turkey, unnamed sources told the Hurriyet newspaper.
The Turkish army's press office would not comment on the issue.
Last year, Turkey for the first time excluded Israel from the exercises amid tensions over the Jewish state's devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Turkey eventually cancelled the international section of the drills without explanation after the United States reportedly pulled out.

By: Brant

US, Turkey Not Letting Spat Over Iran Fester

Turkey didn't back the US sanctions over Iran, but the two sides have kissed and made up.

Turkey voted against the U.S.-backed sanctions against Iran in June, insisting that its neighbor's nuclear program is peaceful, despite fears that Tehran might be seeking to develop nuclear arms. Turkey has, however, stated that it will abide by the sanctions.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in the Turkish capital he did not plan to "question or rebut" Turkey over the vote and welcomed Turkey's stated intention to abide by those sanctions.
The U.N. approved a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in early June over accusations that Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies its nuclear program is militaristic in nature and says it has a right to conduct uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. Washington and other powers accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon.
Mullen said that both countries agree that Iran should not achieve "a nuclear weapons capability," and need "to do all that we can to ensure that."

By: Brant

Tukey's Military Takes a Whack From the Gov't

Turkey's military has taken a serious thrubbing from the civilian leadership.

General Ilker Basbug, who is poised to step down on August 30th after two years as chief of the general staff, suffered the biggest loss of face. He wanted Hasan Igsiz, commander of the 1st army corps, to become land-forces commander. But Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, blocked the move. General Igsiz has been linked to bogus internet sites used to smear AK; their content was used as evidence when Turkey’s chief prosecutor sought to ban the party two years ago. The general has also been implicated in an alleged plot against adherents of the Fethullah Gulen movement, an Islamic fraternity that broadly supports AK.

The old guard lost out elsewhere. Eleven officers implicated in the so-called Sledgehammer case, an alleged coup plot, failed to win promotion. General Basbug’s attempts to have another ally become land-forces commander flopped. The only promotion that went as planned was that of General Isik Kosaner, a traditionalist who will succeed General Basbug.

AK supporters hail the outcome as a victory for democracy. “The government’s resolve”, says Mehmet Baransu, a journalist who exposed much of the army’s alleged mischief, “has weakened the coup-mongering corps.” Yet there is a whiff of horse-trading in the air. Mr Erdogan prevailed only after prosecutors decided, at the last minute, to revoke arrest warrants for 102 officers linked to Sledgehammer. Dani Rodrik, a respected economist whose father-in-law, Cetin Dogan, a retired general, is a top suspect in the Sledgehammer affair, thinks the prosecution was anyway deeply flawed.

Reducing the political influence of Turkey’s army, which has toppled four governments since 1960, is among the European Union’s hardest conditions for Turkey’s membership. A package of constitutional amendments that will further weaken the generals will be put to a referendum on September 12th. It includes a provision to allow coup-plotters to be tried by civilian rather than military courts, and a rule that says civilians can no longer be tried by the army, except in times of war.

By: Brant

Israel and Turkey Still Chatting, Though Not BFFs

Israeli and Turkish generals have kept their dialogues open even as the diplomats keep up their public fuss.

Israel's military chief said on Tuesday he had been in contact with his Turkish counterpart in an effort to maintain relations in the midst of a diplomatic row over the deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza aid ship.

Turkey responded to Israel's killing of nine Turkish activists on board the ship on May 31 by withdrawing its ambassador, suspending joint defence exercises and closing Turkish airspace to Israeli military planes.

Turkey's foreign minister was quoted on Monday as threatening to cut ties with Israel altogether unless the Jewish state apologises for the actions of its troops, something the Israeli government has firmly ruled out.

Briefing Israeli lawmakers behind closed doors, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi said he had been "personally in touch" with the Turkish chief of staff since the high seas interception, which Israel defended as part of its blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Ashkenazi said he thought there was a limit to Turkey's change of political direction because as a NATO member it was dependent on Western military hardware, according to a parliamentary official who briefed reporters.

On a military level, Ashkenazi thought Israeli-Turkish ties could be maintained as before. "Relations are important, and we must maintain them during turbulent times," the commander said.

By: Brant

BUB: Weapons Acquisitions Around the World

The Turks are buying 27 Italian attack helicopters.

A Turkish request for the purchase of nine US-made Bell AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters is also on the table, and Turkey has not abandoned its desire to acquire them, Gönül told Today's Zaman.

Turkey's decision to urgently buy attack helicopters comes at a time when the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has heightened and expanded its attacks inside Turkey. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), believed to have links with the PKK, claimed responsibility for a recent bomb attack against a military bus that killed five people in İstanbul.

The Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) announced on June 15 that it will buy nine Italian-built AgustaWestland (AW) A129 Mangusta attack helicopters.

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The Indians are picking up some French rocket guidance systems.

France-based defence company Sagem of the Safran group has delivered the Sigma 30 artillery navigation and pointing systems for the Indian Army's Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems.
The first two regiments of the Indian Army deploying the indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers will be equipped with the new artillery systems, the company announced.

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And the Brits are buying, well, British weapons upgrades for their aircraft.

Introduction of the Insensitive Munition (IM) variant of the Dual Mode Brimstone guided missile will provide the UK's Royal Air Force with a low collateral, precision attack capability against manoeuvring and fixed targets, in line with operational requirements and forms part of a wider weaponry package known as SPEAR (Selective Precision Effects At Range).

By: Brant

Turkey to Israel - Fly Somewhere Else

The Turks have told Israel to take a detour, in clear retaliation for Israel's enforcement of the blockade against a bunch of terrorist-loving Turkish twits.

Turkey has barred an Israeli military flight from Turkish airspace, in apparent retaliation for Israel's raid on an aid convoy bound for Gaza.

Turkey's prime minister confirmed that a "ban" had been implemented following the 31 May raid, in which nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed.

Military flight bans are now being considered on a case-by-case basis, Turkish officials said.

The banned flight was carrying Israeli officers to Poland to tour Auschwitz.

The plane was denied permission to cross Turkish airspace and was therefore forced to fly an alternative route.

A senior Turkish foreign ministry official told the BBC there was now an official policy in place of banning Israeli military aircraft from Turkish airspace, but on a case-by-case basis.

By: Brant

Turkey and the Kurds: Troops to Iraq Border to Contain PKK

Turkey has sent troops to the Iraq border following the most recent PKK raid.

Turkish commandos backed by helicopters deployed along the Iraqi border on Monday after Kurdish guerrillas killed 11 soldiers at the weekend in one of the deadliest attacks for years in their separatist war.

In Ankara, President Abdullah Gul chaired an emergency security meeting, attended by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and military leaders, as pressure mounted for the government to rein in escalating violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

In fresh violence, Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas attacked two military police units on Monday in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the southeast, killing one soldier and wounding another, security sources said. Four rebels died in the clashes.

Elite troops rappelled down from helicopters and poured out in mechanized infantry units to surround Kurdish rebels in an operation along the Iraqi border, security sources said.

The deployment has boosted troop numbers well into the thousands along the border with Iraq, where rebels are based.

View Larger Map

By: Brant

Turkey's Anger With Israel Growing

Short-term military cooperation has been canceled.

Ömer Çelik, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), said military agreements would be cancelled with Israel for the short term. “Regarding Turkey-Israel relations, everything will be cancelled in the short term, from military agreements to other ties,” Çelik said. On May 26-27 teams of commandos from the navy’s elite and secretive Flotilla 13 unit began rehearsing for the operation off Israel’s coast, according to Israeli defense officials. Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave the final approval, and on Friday, three Israeli boats left port with the commandos on board.

Around 600 of the flotilla’s 700 passengers were aboard the Mavi Marmara. Most were from Turkey and Arab countries, but the group also included dozens of Americans and Europeans, including lawmakers and an Arab member of Israel’s own parliament. The Israelis ordered the flotilla to halt, but the ships pressed ahead. The resulting Israeli raid left nine people dead, including eight Turkish citizens and one US citizen of Turkish descent. Around 30 people were wounded in the attack.

Turkish government sources said it was Barak’s order for a raid that made the AK Party decide to sever military ties with Israel. Barak, who has a moderate approach in the Israeli government, had come to Turkey on Jan. 17 following the diplomatic row between the Turkish and Israeli governments over a farcical drama over the Turkish ambassador’s seat, and his visit was effective in softening ties between the two countries. However, after details emerging following the operation showed that Barak gave the order for the raid, the Turkish government changed its stance even though the defense ministers from both countries had announced following the flotilla crisis that the 16 military agreements between them would not be cancelled.

By: Brant

Were Turkish "Peace" Activists Looking for a Fight?

According to Israel they were.

Israel's prime minister claimed Sunday that the Turkish activists who battled Israeli naval commandos in a deadly clash last week had prepared for the fight ahead of time — boarding the ship separately from other passengers after they organized and equipped themselves.

The comments from Benjamin Netanyahu were the latest in an Israeli campaign to defend its crackdown on Monday that killed nine activists on a flotilla headed to the blockaded Gaza Strip with hundreds of activists and humanitarian supplies on board. The operation has drawn fierce international condemnation, seriously damaged Israeli ties with Turkey, and brought heavy pressure to lift the 3-year-old closure of Gaza.

Netanyahu told his Cabinet that "dozens of thugs" from "an extremist, terrorism-supporting" organization had readied themselves for the arrival of the naval commandos.

"According to the information currently in our possession, this group boarded separately in a different city, organized separately, equipped itself separately and went on deck under different procedures," he said. "The clear intent of this hostile group was to initiate a violent clash with IDF (Israeli) soldiers."

Netanyahu did not say where the information came from. But Israeli military officials have claimed there is strong evidence that the men who fought the soldiers were hired mercenaries.

The organizers deny the allegations.

Videos released by the army have shown a crowd of men attacking several naval commandos as they landed on a ship from a helicopter, beating the soldiers with clubs and other objects. The army has displayed pictures of knives, slingshots and metal rods confiscated from the crowd, and other video seized from reporters and security cameras on board the ship appear to show a group of young man brandishing clubs and other weapons ahead of the arrival of the soldiers.

The fighting took place on the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, and the dead included eight Turks and a Turkish-American man. The ship was organized by the IHH, a Turkish Islamic charity that Israel has outlawed because of its close ties to the Hamas militant group.

By: Brant

BUB: Procurement and Acquisitions

This BUB looks at how governments and spending their tax dollars...

Or in Greece's case, how they are spending someone else's tax dollars.

Greece is struggling to pull itself out of an unprecedented financial crisis that saw it narrowly avoid defaulting on its debt, and can ill-afford to spend billions on the military while it slashes pensions and salaries.

Athens is currently in talks with France over the purchase of six frigates, while Germany, France and others are eager to sell it fighter jets.

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Meanwhile, Turkey is continuing their outrage over the Israeli raid on a Turkish "aid" convoy linked to a terrorist-supporting 'charity', but not enough to cancel the delivery of their aerial fleet of Israeli-made UAVs.

The increasingly Islamist government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has expressed outrage over the killing of nine passengers, at least four of them Turks, during an interception operation by the Israel Navy on May 31.
Turkish Islamists organized the six-vessel flotilla that sought to break the siege of the Gaza Strip and clashed with Israel Navy commandos.

"Three joint military exercises scheduled with Israel were canceled," Erdogan said. "Turkey’s hostility is as strong as its friendship is valuable."

But officials said the Heron program marked a military priority and would not be affected. They said five out of the six Herons were being deployed on a nearly daily basis.

"Nobody should expect us to declare war on Israel because of this incident," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said.

Officials said the Turkish Defense Ministry would not block the delivery of Israeli UAVs to Ankara's military. They said Turkey has already paid most of the $190 million for the procurement of 10 Heron UAVs from the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries.

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Are France and the UK looking at a joint acquisition of aerial refueling tankers? Maybe.

The UK is in talks with France to share the cost of a multibillion-pound deal to provide refuelling tankers for the Royal Air Force in the most tangible sign yet of closer defence co-operation between the nations.

Under the proposal, the UK would offload some of the 14 tankers it is buying to France, the head of Europe’s largest aerospace and defence group said on Wednesday.

Louis Gallois, chief executive of EADS, the lead company in the consortium providing the aircraft, said there is “contact with France” which is looking to renew its own tanker fleet.

“We understand they are discussing this,” he said, noting that a deal could help the UK cut the cost of leasing the aircraft under the current private finance initiative.

The much-delayed £10.5bn ($15bn) programme to provide tankers has come under fire for being too expensive. Under the 27-year PFI contract, the AirTanker consortium will lease the aircraft, specifically Airbus A330-200s, to the Ministry of Defence.

By: Brant