US to Turkey: Israel Won’t Be Privy to NATO Info

25/10/2010 Ankara aims to prevent non-NATO members from accessing any information Washington may derive from the use of the missile defense system it intends to deploy in Eastern Europe and Turkey, according to a Monday report in the Ankara-based Zaman newspaper.


Turkey asked the US to insure nations that are not members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization – including Israel – be barred for accessing such intelligence. The US reportedly agreed.


The newspaper said that Ankara was not opposed to Washington's wish to deploy a part of the new missile defense system on Turkish soil, but added that it had expressed some concerns over the possible infringement on its relations with Iran.


Turkey demands the project be used for defensive purposes only. Ankara also demands that Iran and all other neighboring nations, be excluded from any "threat list."


The United States has been trying to garner support for the new missile defense system, which is to be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic, since the Bush Administration, encountering fierce opposition in Europe, mainly from Russia.


NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, however, is in favor of the deployment.


Source: Ynet

Ankara: "The US using NATO to protect ...Israel"

"... According to a report published Monday in the Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman, Ankara has sought and reportedly received explicit assurances from the U.S. that intelligence gathered using the missile shield's sensors will not be shared with Israel.

American officials have not been shy about fingering Israel's enemy, Iran, as the major reason for deploying the system, citing Iranian threats to Europe. But the article in Today's Zaman was rife with skepticism, pointing out that as a non-member, Israel is not eligible for protection from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "In fact, given the unpredictability of the security situation across the globe, it is possible that the missile defense system could even be used against Israel some day in the future," the article said. "NATO is an organization that operates on the principle of collective defense and an attack on an ally is considered an attack on the entire alliance."

It wouldn't be the first time that the U.Ss. was torn between its allegiance to NATO and its historic friendship with Israel. When Israeli forces stormed a Turkish aid ship off Gaza in June, resulting in the death of nine Turkish activists, Turkey threatened to invoke the NATO Treaty, which could have obligated the U.S. to become involved militarily...."

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