Even if no information is going from Kürecik to Israel...

While the government and its media were insisting that we were absolutely not trading with Israel, an export restriction was suddenly imposed on 54 product groups to Israel one day. Erdoğan also boasted, “We have cut off, and are cutting off, our relations with Israel, especially in terms of trade.” We learned what was cut off, but it seems there are still things that have been and will be cut off.

A similar debate is taking place regarding the radar base in Kürecik following Iran's missile launch at Israel on the night of April 13.

The first to deny the claim that Iran's missiles were detected and stopped thanks to the base in Kürecik was the Presidential Communications Directorate. Explaining that the radar base was “established entirely for the requirements of our national security and aims to protect the peoples, territories, and forces of NATO allied countries” and that “the information obtained from the radar system is shared and used for the defense of the alliance with allies within the framework of NATO's existing procedures,” the Communications Directorate stated, “There is no question of sharing radar information with countries that are not NATO allies, such as Israel.”

Following the Communications Directorate, Ministry of National Defense sources also denied the claim regarding Kürecik with almost the same expressions. When the subject was brought to the agenda again after Erdoğan's meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniye, the Communications Directorate issued a second denial, asking that “manipulation campaigns not be given credence.”

Finally, Erdoğan accused those who voiced the Kürecik claim of shamelessness, lying, and slandering their own state and nation, saying the following:

“They are trying to exploit this issue, which we have explained many times before and clarified in all its aspects. The radar center in Kürecik has no relationship, bond, or connection with any state other than the security of our country and our alliance, and cannot have one. The Republic of Turkey would not allow such a thing anyway, and has not done so.”

After Erdoğan, the leader of the MHP, a partner in the People's Alliance, Devlet Bahçeli, used the analogy of “chewing the Kürecik gum.”

THE BUTTON WOULD BE WITH US

Erdoğan says, “We have explained it many times before, we have clarified it in all its aspects.” Let us recall the main points of what happened during the process of establishing the Kürecik radar.

This radar, which the US had planned to establish long before, was made official at NATO's 2010 Lisbon summit. With the decision, debates began on whether information would be transferred from this base to Israel. It was reported that Ankara requested assurances from the US on this matter.

Pentagon sources, on the other hand, stated that the US has a strong missile defense relationship with Israel, separate from Turkey, that the same radar as the one in Turkey has been in Israel since 2008, and that they told Turkish officials that information obtained from US radars anywhere in the world could be combined to increase the effectiveness of missile defense.

Three senior officials from the US administration, who gave a briefing at the White House to the American media, summarized it as follows: “This is a US radar. The US plans to combine data collected from Turkish, Israeli, and other radars. There is nothing in any agreement that restricts our ability to defend the State of Israel.”

While our Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied this information, the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu stated that “manipulation was being carried out.”

Again, during that process, then-Prime Minister Erdoğan made statements such as “The button will be with us,” and Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said, “The button will not be with us, but this shield will be used by joint decision.” President Abdullah Gül said they would say “yes” to the missile shield if our conditions were accepted.

AFTER MEETING WITH OBAMA

Ultimately, the agreement regarding Kürecik was signed on September 14, 2011, between the then-Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioğlu and the US Ambassador to Ankara Frank Ricciardone.

A week later, as Erdoğan was leaving for the US to attend the UN General Assembly meeting and meet with Obama, he said:

“Unfortunately, there is very serious disinformation regarding the missile shield issue. This is aimed at disturbing the people of the region and disturbing our country. We are a NATO country; NATO had such a base in Malatya Kürecik, and a radar base is being re-established in the same place. They say, ‘What is being done is aimed at protecting Israel.’ Friends, Israel is not a member of NATO. If this had happened in the past, the same mentality, the same mindset would have said, ‘It is aimed at Russia,’ now they say, ‘It is aimed at Iran.’ The missile shield established here is not that; that is in Poland. This is a radar base. If NATO is going to place a defense missile there, that is a separate issue. We do not have such a thing on our agenda right now.”

After his 1.5-hour meeting with President Obama, Erdoğan stated that Obama thanked him specifically for his approach to the radar defense system and explained the following:

“This is, of course, a step we have taken within the framework of the NATO treaty... It was determined entirely within the framework of the negotiations NATO held with us and the US, and as a result of mutual discussions, including the location... It is not a matter of whose radar it is here; it is a matter of under whose command this radar will be used, with whom it will be used... Currently, the planes flying in Libya belong to different countries, NATO member countries. Under whose program are they acting? NATO's. The command, everything, from A to Z is there, but the planes belong to different countries. Here, too, whether America or someone else pays the bill, the cost, does not concern us; but this is now a NATO base, and our general will also be in this command echelon, and they will manage it together.”

When a journalist reminded him, “In the briefing given to Pentagon correspondents, it is said that this radar will provide information to Israel,” he said, “They corrected that and they will make a statement about it.”

BAHÇELİ HAD ALSO WARNED

Let us also look at where MHP Leader Bahçeli, who now uses the “Kürecik gum” analogy, stood at that time. He said;

“I emphasize that such a noteworthy decision was not implemented within the NATO structure, but through a bilateral alliance reached with the US. Furthermore, it has emerged from the statements of the NATO Secretary General that the AKP was extremely eager and quite demanding in this regard. US State Department spokespersons have admitted on various occasions that the information to be obtained from the early warning radar established in Kürecik will be used to protect all NATO allies. The NATO Secretary General has confirmed similar words. As such, it has become self-evident that Turkey, even if it is not a member directly or indirectly, protects and secures Israel against possible Iranian missiles because it is on the route of NATO member countries. Another point of the matter is that Israel has made intense efforts to become a NATO member, and the NATO Secretary General stopped by this country under the pretext of attending a security conference before coming to our country. The AKP, through NATO, is step by step getting into the same rank and alignment with Israel and standing side by side.”

It was amidst these contradictions and uncertainties that the system in Kürecik was established at the beginning of 2012, but the debates did not end. For example, when CHP deputies wanted to enter the base, it turned out that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, and the General Staff were “unauthorized,” while the Pentagon was the “authorized authority.”

Since it was signed with the US, the agreement needed to be approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). When the opposition frequently brought this to the agenda, President Obama announced after the NATO Summit in May 2012 that “they had decided to transfer the operational control of the radar in Kürecik to NATO.”

We learned how Ankara was persuaded regarding the Kürecik business in 2013 from the former US Ambassador to Ankara, Eric Edelman. Edelman said, “The radar system established in Malatya was an extremely important decision. It was vital for the protection of US forces and their allies. It was a very difficult decision for Erdoğan. President Obama had to intervene personally to persuade him.”

Let us also add this:

Following the establishment of the Kürecik radar, the US wanted Israel to participate in NATO activities. The AKP both said “yes” to this and approved the request for Israel to open a permanent mission to NATO in 2016, which it had vetoed in 2011.

In other words, it was the AKP government itself that brought Israel into NATO.

IF KÜRECİK IS NATO'S, WHY WAS A STAND TAKEN AGAINST THE US?

Even if, as the government says, Kürecik is a NATO base...

Well, when the US imposing sanctions on Turkey was discussed in 2019, didn't the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu say that “if there are sanctions, İncirlik and Kürecik will come to the agenda”?

A few days after Çavuşoğlu, didn't Erdoğan, while referring to both sanctions and Armenian genocide slanders, say, “When the time comes, we sit down, and if it needs to be closed, we close İncirlik with all our delegations, and if it needs to be closed, we close Kürecik. The whole issue is, if measures like the sanctions against us are implemented, we will give the necessary response to them within the framework of reciprocity.”

If Kürecik and İncirlik are NATO bases, what were these stands taken against the US?!

Again, even if, despite having dedicated its reason for existence to the security of Israel, the US or other NATO member countries that unconditionally support Israel do not share the information they obtained from Kürecik with the genocidal ones...

Wouldn't disabling Kürecik still be one of the most stinging sanctions against those who provide weapons, money, and courage to the genocidal ones?

The Ministry of National Defense recently announced that the name of the 10th Tanker Base Command in İncirlik has been changed to “10th Main Jet Base Command” in line with the needs of our Air Force.

You never know, maybe the name of Kürecik will also be changed in line with US-NATO needs and this debate will end!..