{"id":26139,"date":"2010-11-18T21:12:52","date_gmt":"2010-11-18T19:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=26139"},"modified":"2014-01-05T22:31:29","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T20:31:29","slug":"at-turkeys-insistence-nato-will-not-name-iran-as-a-missile-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/11\/18\/at-turkeys-insistence-nato-will-not-name-iran-as-a-missile-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"At Turkey\u2019s Insistence, NATO Will Not Name Iran As a Missile Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Editor’s note: Adds comment from NATO official)<\/em><\/p>\n

(CNSNews.com)<\/strong> \u2013 Ahead of a key summit this week, NATO\u2019s secretary-general has confirmed that the alliance will not identify Iran as a threat requiring the deployment of a NATO-wide missile defense umbrella in Europe.<\/p>\n

\"\"Anders Fogh Rasmussen\u2019s comment indicates that Turkey, a NATO member, will get its way on the matter. Turkey\u2019s Islamist-leaning government has deepening political and economic ties with Tehran, and it has insisted that Iran not be singled out in NATO documents.<\/p>\n

NATO decisions require consensus, and Turkey\u2019s unhappiness about naming Iran as a threat risked causing political difficulties ahead of the summit in Lisbon. At the summit, NATO will unveil a new \u201cStrategic Concept\u201d for the transatlantic alliance to replace one formulated in 1999.<\/p>\n

As part of the Strategic Concept, NATO leaders are expected to agree that a core mission should be defending the alliance\u2019s territory against the threat of ballistic missiles, paving the way for U.S. missile defense facilities to be deployed in Europe in the coming years.<\/p>\n

That threat has long been seen \u2013 by Washington and European allies \u2013 as emanating from Iran, which possesses well-tested short- and medium-range missile arsenals. Tehran twice last year test-fired its most advanced missile, the solid-fueled two-stage Sejil-2, which boasts a range of around 1,200 miles, potentially threatening an area incorporating Israel, the Gulf states, Turkey, parts of Central Asia and southeastern Europe.<\/p>\n

Turkish foreign ministry officials told media organizations last month that neither Iran nor Syria should be cited as threats in official NATO documents relating to the missile shield, because doing so would cause problems between Turkey and those neighbors.<\/p>\n

Turkish President Abdullah Gul reiterated that stance this week, telling the BBC\u2019s Turkish service that Turkey would \u201cdefinitely not accept\u201d the mentioning of one country, Iran.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Turkish media reported that the government in Ankara had revised a secret threat assessment document, removing Iran, Russia and several other countries from the list of potential security threats, and adding Israel.<\/p>\n

Potential Article 5 threat<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Strategic Concept to be adopted in Lisbon on Friday and Saturday is based on a report drafted by an expert panel led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.<\/p>\n

The report warned that Iran\u2019s suspect nuclear activity and ballistic missile stockpile \u201ccould create a major Article 5 threat to the Alliance in this decade.\u201d (Article 5 of NATO\u2019s Charter states that an attack on any member is considered an attack on all.)<\/p>\n

\u201cDefending against the threat of a possible ballistic missile attack from Iran has given birth to what has become, for NATO, an essential military mission,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

But in Brussels on Monday, Rasmussen said in reply to a question about Iran that it was not necessary to name any country as posing a threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact is that more than 30 countries have \u2013 or are aspiring to get \u2013 missile technologies with a range sufficient to hit targets in the Euro-Atlantic area. And we want to protect ourselves against any such threats,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there is no reason to name specific countries because there are already a lot of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Obama administration also appears to be backing away from mentioning Iran in the context of the missile defense threat.<\/p>\n

U.S. envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder \u2013 a foreign policy advisor to the 2008 Obama-for-president campaign \u2013 presented \u201cThe case for NATO missile defense\u201d in a\u00a0New York Times<\/em> op-ed published Monday, referring numerous times to the missile \u201cthreat\u201d and \u201cdanger\u201d but not identifying its source by name.<\/p>\n

Until recently, Rasmussen appeared content to ascribe the principal threat to Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a fact and based on public information from Iran herself that Iran has at her disposal missile technology with a range which make it possible for them to hit targets in Europe if they so wish,\u201d he told a Brussels press conference on June 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe face a common threat,\u201d he told reporters in Washington on September 7. \u201cIn the European neighborhood, we have at least one country, Iran, with ambitions when it comes to missile technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a speech in Rome on Sept. 17, Rasmussen said that \u201cIran \u2026 already has missiles that can hit NATO territory and Russia too, which is expanding their range, and which is in violation of its international obligations with regards to its nuclear program as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the references to Iran vanished in recent weeks, following Turkey\u2019s vocal objections.<\/p>\n

During a speech in Brussels on Oct. 8, Rasmussen spoke at length about missile defense without mentioning Iran once.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Rasmussen raised missile defense but made no reference to Iran during a monthly press briefing at NATO headquarters on Oct. 11; in an Oct. 12\u00a0New York Times<\/em> op-ed; at a press conference in Brussels on Oct. 14; and at a press conference in New York on Sept. 22.<\/p>\n

\u2018More than 30 countries\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

On several of those occasions, Rasmussen reiterated that \u201c30 countries\u201d or more posed a potential threat to NATO territory. The assertion also appears on a\u00a0document<\/span> recently posted on the NATO Web site, which devotes almost 2,000 words to the need for NATO missile defense \u2013 but does not mention Iran.<\/p>\n

At a press conference last Wednesday, NATO spokesman James Appathurai was asked about the evident reluctance to name Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are at least 30 countries, more than 30 countries, acquiring, that have or are acquiring ballistic missile capability,\u201d he replied. \u201cSo this is not just about one country. It\u2019s about a growing and, in essence, generic potential threat to our territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again without naming Iran, Appathurai said NATO allies \u201care not ignoring specific countries, because they exist, but as I say it\u2019s 30-plus countries, and I think allies want to look at it in that sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

NATO\u2019s press office would not provide a list of the countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that the threat is real, therefore we don\u2019t see a need to list them all,\u201d a NATO official said Tuesday. \u201cObviously there are classified NATO reports with more detailed information but these are not open to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Claremont Institute\u2019s missile threat database lists only 19 countries that possess ballistic missiles. Excluding NATO members and allies, countries too far away to pose a threat (Taiwan, South Korea), and countries whose missile programs are obsolete (Iraq, Serbia), the number drops to nine \u2013 China, Egypt, India, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and Syria.<\/p>\n

Data compiled by the Center for American Progress (CAP) comes a little closer to the \u201cmore than 30\u201d cited by NATO, listing 28 countries with ballistic missile capabilities.<\/p>\n

But 17 of them are countries possessing Scud or similar weapons with a maximum range of 300 kilometers (186 miles). Eliminating NATO members or aspiring members and countries that are too distant to pose a potential threat to NATO territory reduces those 17 to just six \u2013 Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria.<\/p>\n

The other 11 countries cited by CAP are those with medium- and long-range missiles capabilities. Once NATO members (the U.S., Britain and France) are discounted, the number drops to eight \u2013 Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Editor’s note: Adds comment from NATO official) (CNSNews.com) \u2013 Ahead of a key summit this week, NATO\u2019s secretary-general has confirmed that the alliance will not identify Iran as a threat requiring the deployment of a NATO-wide missile defense umbrella in Europe. Anders Fogh Rasmussen\u2019s comment indicates that Turkey, a NATO member, will get its way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":26140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[3984],"class_list":["post-26139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-nato-missile-shield"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}