The 'desire' to buy the Russian S-400 Air defense system, another Blackmail plot from Turkish Dictator Erdogan?

The 'desire' to buy the Russian S-400 Air defense system, another Blackmail plot from Turkish Dictator Erdogan? (SP).

The Turkish leadership has indicated that Ankara is interested in purchasing the S-400 Triumf, one of the most advanced air defense systems designed and manufactured in Russia. Both nations stand to gain from the deal if it is finalized.

Defense analyst Mikhail Khodoryonok:

"The buyer will become attached to the country producing the weapon due to maintenance and professional training. Close military and technical cooperation will not allow Turkey to make aggressive political maneuvers against Russia. In addition, the purchase made by a NATO member will enhance the image of the Russian defense industry. It's hard to come up with a better ad," he told RIA Novosti.

Andrei Frolov, the editor-in-chief of Arms Export magazine, told RIA Novosti that Ankara is interested in enhancing its air defenses to protect itself from neighboring countries.

"Iran is Turkey's key opponent in the region. The Islamic Republic has a rather potent air force. At the same time, Iran is capable of protecting its territory from a retaliatory strike. Last year, Russia delivered four S-300PMU2 battalions to the country," he explained. "In addition, Ankara's relations with Damascus are tense to put it mildly. The Syrian government has long-range tactical missiles and short-range missiles, while Turkey's air defense systems are notoriously weak."

Although Turkey would benefit from adding the S-400 to its arsenal, Frolov expressed doubt that the deal would actually take place.

"Erdogan is more likely trying to pressure his partners in NATO by making these statements. He is essentially trying to blackmail them into selling European and American air defense systems under favorable terms," the defense analyst said. Read the full story here.

Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon says Erdogan seeking 'neo-Ottoman empire'.

Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon says Erdogan seeking 'neo-Ottoman empire'. (DS).

Israeli ex-defense minister Moshe Yaalon accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday of seeking a "neo-Ottoman empire" while warning of growing instability in the Middle East.

Yaalon, seeking to build a campaign to become Israel's next prime minister, spoke of his concerns while addressing regional issues in a meeting with foreign journalists.

The ex-minister, forced out of office last year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to expand his right-wing coalition, accused Erdogan of pursuing "hegemony by establishing (a) neo-Ottoman empire using the Muslim Brotherhood ideology, not just within Turkey."

He also accused NATO-member Turkey of working against Western interests.

His comments came with Turkey and the European Union undergoing an explosive crisis after key EU members the Netherlands and Germany blocked Turkish ministers from holding rallies to back constitutional changes expanding Erdogan's powers.

Yaalon named Turkey under Erdogan as one of three "radical" elements seeking to expand their influence in the Middle East, also mentioning Iran and extremist groups such as ISIS.

He said he believed the situation had evolved in that way because of what he called former U.S. president Barack Obama's administration's decision to "disengage" from the Middle East.
"And the vacuum has been filled by these three elements struggling for hegemony in the region," he said.

"I've heard too many slogans in our politics in the last couple of years, ignoring the reality on the ground, ignoring the facts – at the end, ignoring our interest."

Yaalon said the conflict with the Palestinians should be managed for now to avoid further eruptions of violence.
"We are not going to reach a final settlement in the coming future," he said. Hmmm.....I totally agree with his view. Read the full story here.

Erdoganist Columnist Calls On Islamist Gov’t To ‘Set West On Fire’ Before It Occupies Turkey.

Erdoganist Columnist Calls On Islamist Gov’t To ‘Set West On Fire’ Before It Occupies Turkey.(Stockholm.org).

Yakup Köse, a staunch supporter of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a columnist for the pro-government Star daily, on Monday called on the Turkish people and government to “set the West on fire” before it occupies Turkey.

“It is useless to wait for the enemy [to act]. Let’s introduce to fire those who want to set our country on fire. At least, the idea that ‘if you try to come to our county, we can come to you before that’ should be inculcated into both our nation and the West. There are different ways to do this, and people who run the state must know it!..” wrote Köse in his column in the Star daily on Monday, claiming that the West may try to directly occupy Turkey after failing to accomplish it by use of internal actors.

According to Köse, who spent years in jail for allegedly participating in bomb attacks of fundamentalist militant group the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders Front (İBDA/C) before being released in 2015, all the reforms that were made when the Republic of Turkey was established were the installation of degenerate Western values in Anatolia.

“The soul of Anatolia, which they imprisoned in 783,000 square kilometers by saying ‘Peace at home, peace in the world’ [a motto of Turkey’s founder Atatürk] has been breaking its chains. After a century, for the first time the nation and the state show a joint will to break the chains placed by the West. It is this will that panics and frightens the West,” wrote Köse, claiming that the West failed to destroy that will by using the Gülen movement, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other internal actors.

Claiming that the West has been making final moves after defeats of their efforts through the Gezi Park protests, the PKK resistance in the eastern cities and an “occupation attempt by the coup attempt” on July 15, the columnist said that is the reason why Western countries took sides with naysayers ahead of a critical referendum on April 16.

“The moves that could be considered casus belli such as not allowing top Turkish authorities to enter their countries show how big a panic they have gone into. With this panic, they may attempt to occupy [Turkey] which they have failed doing by means of internal actors,” added Köse, before calling on the Turkish people and the government to “introduce the West to fire” as a preemptive and deterrent measure. (turkishminute.com) March 13, 2017

Hmmm......Erdogan has a huge Fifth Column to help him in Europe.

Press statement of the group of #Turks protesting in front of Consulate: ' the minarets are our bayonets '. https://t.co/RVAgwxbOzz pic.twitter.com/DEniNSJday

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) March 12, 2017

Pro-Erdoğan paper @yeniakit: "The Dutch army has only 48,000 troops, but 400,000 Turks are living in the #Netherlands" #Turkey pic.twitter.com/shljnXpxVG

— Cahida Dêrsim (@dersi4m) March 12, 2017

#Erdogan calls on Turks in #Germany, #Netherlands, #Belgium & #Scandinavian countries, ask'em if they know what to do against his enemies. pic.twitter.com/Bvdn5DivXH

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) March 12, 2017

'Sometimes NATO Ally' Turkey - ISIL opened its own school in Ankara.

'Sometimes NATO Ally' Turkey - ISIL opened its own school in Ankara. (HD).


The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been using an office block in the Turkish capital to train young militants under cover of a masjid, according to an indictment by an Ankara prosecutor.

The group has been using the third, fourth and fifth floors of the block in the Ulucanlar neighborhood of Ankara, the indictment states.

“They are trying to provide school education in places such as mosques, study or training centers built by themselves. They do not accept the laws or schools of the Republic of Turkey and do not send their children to public schools,” it says.

Prosecutor Ender Coşkun filed claims against suspects including a man identified as Ahmet D., ISIL’s alleged Ankara leader who uses the codename Abu Eslem, and 19 other suspects for “being a member of an armed terror organization.”

The prosecutor also said the group has been carrying out activities at a number of masjids in Ankara’s Çubuk, Sincan and Altındağ districts.

In searches of the houses of suspects, police found a number of school “report cards” prepared for the children at the school, as well as wedding invitations in Arabic.

The fifth floor of the office block included in the indictment has been used as a residence by a suspect identified as Mustafa S., while the fourth floor has been used as a “masjid for women” where 22 children aged between 10 and 18 are trained. Read the full story here.

Turkish religious foundation head: Religion of ISIS is religion taught in our theology schools. ISIS are trying to put Islam into practice.

— Ankaralı Jan (@06JAnk) June 23, 2016

Turkey’s Erdogan undermines NATO and it's allies.

Turkey’s Erdogan undermines NATO and it's allies. HT : abdullahbozkurtblog

The other lawmaker, Çakmak, recalled his private conversation he had recently had with Erdoğan who said “when I get a chance, I know what to do with NATO, Europe and Israel. I’m going to f..k their mothers. NATO and the US are as terrorists as Israel.”

The deepening confidence crisis between Turkey and the NATO allies that has now reached to a breaking point after the staged coup bid of July 15 of last year that effectively purged most, if not all, pro-NATO officers from Turkish military has its roots tracing back to diverging interests of Turkey’s Islamist rulers who harbor a political vision that is in clear contradiction of the values and principles of the military alliance that was enshrined in its charter.

Turkey, led by an authoritarian leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has time and again surprised NATO allies in several cases which tested the spirit of solidarity in the military alliance’s collective security.

In May 2010, Turkish diplomat at the United Nations Security Council was instructed to cast a no vote to fresh sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program in the last-minute order from then Prime Minister and now president of Turkey, Erdoğan. The original order was to abstain from the vote in the UN Security Council where Turkey was serving as non-permanent member but that was changed at the 11th hour, making Turkey one of the two countries that voted no to the sanction resolution.

The corruption investigations of Dec.2013 that exposed how Erdoğan was in bed with Iranian sanction-busters in moving billions of dollars of Iran’s state funds in exchange for bribes and commissions explained the real reason why Erdoğan personally intervened to support Iran at the expense of Turkey’s allies at the UN. It has nothing to do with mediation efforts along with Brazil. But rather, a young Iranian businessman, Reza Zarrab, was able to buy his access to the power structure of Turkey’s leadership including Erdoğan and his wife.

The meeting held on Oct.19, 2010 in Istanbul’s Çamlıca hill that overlooks Bosporus and attended by Seracettin Karayağız, a deputy from Muş province, and Hayrettin Çakmak, a deputy from Bursa province.

The conversation was about the NATO early radar warning system to be deployed in Malatya’s Kürecik district as part of NATO’s missile defense system. Lawmaker Karayağız said that Erdoğan is no longer allowing the Iranian border to be used as a garrison for the US, Israel and Europe and resisted efforts to that end by Turkey’s allies. He said Erdoğan was really strengthening political, economic and military ties with Iran and saw the radar system as a trap to derail that process. The other lawmaker, Çakmak, recalled his private conversation he had recently had with Erdoğan who said “when I get a chance, I know what to do with NATO, Europe and Israel. I’m going to f..k their mothers. NATO and the US are as terrorists as Israel.” Read the full story here.

Can NATO Survive 'Islamist' Turkey?

Can NATO Survive 'Islamist' Turkey? (AINA).

It has become a staple of diplomatic rhetoric that, whatever problems the United States has with the current government in Turkey, diplomats must ameliorate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because Turkey is too important to NATO and also a staging ground in any operations against the Islamic State.

Certainly, that is the position of the new administration. Vice President Mike Pence has said he foresees a "new day" in U.S.-Turkey relations. Trump himself stressed the close U.S.-Turkey relationship during his first phone call with the Turkish leader. Ted Malloch, a businessman and Trump ally who is a leading candidate to become US ambassador to the European Union, argued that the United States should bite the bullet and give into Erdogan's political demands in order to reset U.S.-Turkish relations.

Alas, what the Trump team appears not to realize is that Erdogan's problem with the United States and the West more generally is ideological and not based on grievance. In particular, Erdogan hates NATO. 

That may sound counterintuitive given that Turkey contributes the second-largest troop component to NATO and participates with NATO countries in Afghanistan. But Erdogan's upbringing was against the backdrop of Cold War diplomacy blessing Turkish dictatorships. So why doesn't Erdogan just pull Turkey out of NATO? Here, the sad truth is that Erdogan can do far more damage from inside NATO because the defensive alliance is governed by consensus. By remaining inside NATO, Erdogan can paralyze the organization with a de facto veto.

But, Erdogan's game is deeper. His party is now demonizing NATO as a terror organization. Here is what AKP Gaziantep parliamentarian Şamil Tayyar had to say:

Turkey has been subjected to coups since it joined NATO. NATO has always been in charge of the dirty and bloody deeds in the country. The 1960 military coup was staged by the British, the 1971 coup was staged by the CIA, and the 1980 coup was staged by NATO. In NATO's new plan, a Turkey with [President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan should not exist... NATO has become a threat and is spreading terror organizations across the region. You can designate NATO along with DEASH [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- ISIL], the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] and FETÖ [Fethullahist Terror Organization].

In a country where saying or thinking the wrong thing can lead years in prison--even for members of parliamentary--it simply isn't possible that Tayyar was speaking absent Erdogan's approval.

Turkish state media, meanwhile, has sent reporters to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to broadcast programs accusing NATO of involvement in terrorism.

So what is Erdogan's game here? He believes he is engaged in a win-win strategy. If the United States and European officials refuse his demands, his incitement will transform NATO into an enemy in the eyes of most Turks. Such actions would also feed Russian propaganda and anti-American forces worldwide. It will also allow him to play the nationalist card against the NATO bogey in the run-up to the April 2017 referendum on a new constitution which would formalize Erdogan's dictatorial powers.

On the other hand, if Trump caves into Erdogan's demands, he will justify his purge of officers and civil servants whose only crime was having been posted to NATO offices and legitimize his broader crackdown. This, too, would play into Erdogan's hands ahead of the April referendum.

So what is NATO to do? Turkey poses a problem the defensive alliance hasn't experienced in its nearly seven decade existence: What to do when the enemy is internal rather than external.

Appeasing Erdogan only kicks the can down the road, but it is not a sustainable strategy. It is time for NATO to get serious about the Trojan horse which Turkey has become.

Turkish NATO Officers Seek Asylum in Germany: 'was responsible for surveillance and defense of NATO air space along the border to Russia'

Turkish NATO Officers Seek Asylum in Germany: 'was responsible for surveillance and defense of NATO air space along the border to Russia' (Spiegel).

In the wake of purges ordered by President Erdogan following last summer's coup attempt, a number of Turkish NATO officers have applied for asylum in Germany. The issue is a highly sensitive one -- also for Chancellor Merkel, who is visiting Turkey yesterday.

Murat Karasu still has a very clear memory of the day that he rejected an order for the first time. The Turkish army officer had studied in the United States and flew fighter jets. His superior had already assigned him several times to highly desired NATO posts -- most recently in Germany. Following orders and obedience had been as important to Karasu as his love of his country.

 After parts of the military conducted a coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, Karasu continued serving in the military until, at the beginning of September, his superior suddenly placed a letter in his hand. The order stated that Karasu must leave the military and return to Turkey.
"My termination came out of the blue," Karasu, a purposeful man in his mid-40s, says four months later. "No reason was given." Karasu is sitting in a pastry shop in a small town in western Germany. "I want to stay in Germany," he says. The former officer, who had, until recently, been responsible for the surveillance and defense of NATO air space along the border to Russia, has applied for political asylum in Germany. Hmmm........Late June reconciliation with Russia starts.....July 15 Coup in Turkey, next NATO officers are getting purged all over Turkish army....

Read the full story here.  

NATO insiders suspect Erdogan staged the July 15 Turkish coup.

NATO insiders suspect Erdogan staged the July 15 Turkish coup. (aldrimer.no).By KJETIL STORMARK .

The dominant assessment in NATO is clear: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan staged the coup against himself.

Senior NATO sources tell aldrimer.no that they believe Erdoğan staged the coup himself. However, they stress that there is no written NATO documentation for that claim, because it is simply too sensitive. That’s because all member nation’s have the right to access to all intelligence information gathered by the alliance.

1,600 names.

But the dominant NATO assessment is quite clear.

«The senior officers, three- and four-star generals, and those who worked with Turkey for 30-40 years and who mentored Turkish officers for four or five years, say they do not believe that there was a coup. If the Turkish Armed Forces wanted to carry out a coup, they would have succeeded. That’s a tradition in Turkey,» said a NATO source, without a hint of irony.

«They had a list of 1,600 names the very next day of people they wanted gone,» he added.

Tanks and warplanes.

On Friday, 15 July 2016 Turkish tanks rolled into the streets in Ankara and Istanbul. Two bridges over the Bosporus Strait were closed. Fighter planes  also took off in Ankara, where Parliament and the presidential palace were attacked.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was on holiday in Marmaris, in southern Turkey, but travelled that nigtht to Istanbul by private jet.

The very next morning, reports from Turkey said the coup had been foiled. A systematic and comprehensive purge of military officers, judges and others in the Turkish power apparatus started immediately.

A year of preparation.

Some 80-90 per cent of Turkish officers who served in NATO were relieved of their posts, aldrimer.no has learned from reliable sources. Many of those who dared to return home were jailed and a significant number were killed, according to NATO sources.

«Turkish officers who still have contact with NATO said that Erdogan had been planning the so-called coup for a year and had a list of people he wanted out.” said a NATO source. «I have so far not met anyone who believes there was a real coup attempt,» said the source.

Described as narcissist.

A think tank that NATO regularly uses has issued a classified assessment of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a  narcissist.

The commercial intelligence report is available to NATO officers and NATO member states through NATO Intelligence Fusion Center (NIFCA).

Broken up.

One of the first things Erdogan did after the alleged coup was to split the military and the paramilitary gendarmerie. Those two units were previously organized under the same umbrella and wore the same uniform, although they were different organizations with different objectives.

The gendarmerie, in particular, was loyal to Erdogan and actively participated in the purges after the events in Turkey in mid-July. However,  many Turkish Armed Forces officers also enjoyed promotions after displaying loyalty to the president.

NATO noted that a Turkish officer at NATO’s military headquarters SHAPE in Mons, Belgium, was abruptly promoted from major to colonel.

Declined to comment.


Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined to comment to aldrimer.no. The NATO press office responded with a written statement it asked to be atributed to a «NATO official». In the statement the press office stated that «the NATO Secretary General has commented publicly on the failed coup and its aftermath, and has discussed these issues with the Turkish political leadership». And went on to add:

«He has made clear that those responsible for the failed coup must be brought to justice, and it is important that this be done with full respect for the rule of law.»
The NATO press office, however, did not respond to aldrimer.nos specific questions about NATO assessments of who was really behind the attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016.

Aldrimer.no has contacted the office of the president of Turkey and offered the president a chance to comment. The office has not responded.

In his analysis, Jenkins brings us first up to date on the rapdily escalating rift between Ankara and the EU over the claims that a ‘Gülenist coup’ is an official Turkish lie:

On January 21, 2017, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement describing as “erroneous, unfounded, biased and ignorant” a leaked report by INTCEN, the EU’s intelligence-sharing unit, questioning the Turkish government’s claims that the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, was masterminded by the exiled Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. In fact, the INTCEN report said that some of Gülen’s followers probably participated in the coup, adding that it was unlikely that Gülen himself had masterminded it.
The MFA would have been justified in asking how INTCEN could be so certain, particularly as the report does not cite any concrete evidence. But the same question could also be directed at the Turkish authorities. As soon as the news of the attempted putsch broke – long before the identities of the participating officers had become clear – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) immediately blamed the Gülen Movement.
It was an assumption, not a deduction.

Jenkins then goes on to line up important points why believes it is so: Read the full story here.

Russia and Turkey are planning to develop a full-scale military-technical cooperation.

Russia and Turkey are planning to develop a full-scale military-technical cooperation.(SP).

On December 12-14, Russia and Turkey held the first meeting of an intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation since resolving the crisis in bilateral relations.

"The discussions were constructive…showing a serious drive to establish full-scale military-technical cooperation," Kozhin told reporters in Moscow.

'Islamist dictatorship' Turkey Replaces Pro-Western NATO Officials with Pro-Russia-China-Iran Figures: Times.

'Islamist dictatorship' Turkey Replaces Pro-Western NATO Officials with Pro-Russia-China-Iran Figures: Times. (AW)

Turkey has replaced pro-western military officers in diplomatic and NATO posts with pro-Russia-China-Iran figures, The Times claimed.

In the wake of failed military coup in Turkey, the government has recalled or retired some 150 officers in ranks of NATO.

A number of those dismissed have written to General Scaparrotti voicing concerns about their replacements.

One leaked email, The Times reports, alleges "I and my Turkish colleagues observe a considerable rise of ultra-nationalist, anti-western sentiments within our military and throughout our state departments".

"It is very worrying to witness that some of the newcomers from Turkey to Nato have a radical mindset, some question the values of Nato and even hate western organisations while holding pro-Russia-China-Iran sentiments," the report adds.

Among those reportedly replaced are two senior officers in the Turkish defence attache's office in London.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has revealed that some Turkish officers working at the alliance had applied for asylum in Europe.

General Scaparrotti said he had no suspicion that any of the Turkish officers might have been involved in a coup plot.

Turkey has one of Nato’s largest armies, and is a strategic bridge to the Middle East and Black Sea region.

Related:

Erdogan’s secret 'Islamist' army is a 'deadly' threat to NATO... https://t.co/N0613ZAYP3

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) December 10, 2016

Turkish 'Islamist Dictatorship' discussing purchase of S-400 systems from Russia.

Turkish 'Islamist Dictatorship' discussing purchase of S-400 systems from Russia. (Tass).

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik has said that Ankara is in talks with Moscow regarding the purchase of S-400 air defense systems. He made the statement when asked about Turkey’s plans for building up its air defense potential.

"We are conducting talks with Russia over the S-400s. But we also go ahead with contacts with other countries on this issue. Russia’s stance is positive," he said.

'Get Ready to Walk Away from Incirlik': Retired U.S. Air Force general, former Deputy Commander of EUCOM.

'Get Ready to Walk Away from Incirlik': Retired U.S. Air Force general, former Deputy Commander of EUCOM. HT: DefenceOne.

Turkey’s Incirlik airbase has supported America’s most vital strategic needs for more than a half century, first during the Cold War and more recently in the fight against terrorists. Now, as its host country becomes less stable and less friendly to the United States, the best way to ensure continued access to this large and well-located base is to prepare to do without it. Hmmm.....First sensible proposal i heard conserning 'Sometimes NATO Ally' Turkey. Read the full story here.

Six NATO countries say ready to dispatch their forces to Black Sea area, among them Russia's new BFF Turkey.

Six NATO countries say ready to dispatch their forces to Black Sea area, among them Russia's new BFF Turkey. (Tass).

As many as six NATO countries are prepared to send their ground-based, naval and air force units to the Black Sea area in 2017, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday upon the completion of the first day of a conference of the North-Atlantic pact's defense ministers.

He said Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, and the U.S. had confirmed their plans to dispatch units to Romania for a strengthening of NATO presense in the Black Sea area.

Specifically, he said 

• Albania, Italy, Poland, and Slovenia will join the Canadian military already depoloyed in Latvia, 
• Belgium, Croatia, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, 
• and Norway will join the Germans in Lithuania. 
• Denmark and France will send unit to pool with the Brits in Estonia, while Romania and Britain will augment the U.S. troops in Poland. Hmmm.....Putin should know better than to trust Erdogan. Read the full story here.

Islamist 'Dictatorship' Turkey Once Again 'Ignores' German MP's Request to Visit Incirlik Airbase.

Islamist 'Dictatorship' Turkey Once Again 'Ignores' German MP's Request to Visit Incirlik Airbase. (SP).

According to German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag", the foreign policy spokesman of the Left Party, Jan van Aken, informed the Turkish Federal Foreign Office about his plans to visit the Turkish base and talk to 250 Bundeswehr soldiers stationed there.

However, so far, the Turkish authorities have not responded to his request. "There has been no reply to the request I've sent on Wednesday to the Federal Foreign Office," van Aken told the newspaper.

The politician demanded that the Bundestag should not adopt the upcoming extension of the Incirlik mandate in November if Turkey bans German MPs from visiting the military base again.

Earlier, a representative of the Turkish parliamentary committee on defense warned members of the German Bundestag against raising the Armenian issue again, a statement that clearly sounded like a kind of threat, the politician noted.  Read the full story here.

Captured ISIS member confesses: 'Turkish helicopter brought us to Kirkuk'....NATO 'Ally'.

Captured ISIS member confesses: 'Turkish helicopter brought us to Kirkuk'....NATO 'Ally'. (Anf).

The statement of an ISIS member captured alive in Kirkuk reveals the fact that the ISIS attack on Kirkuk had been organized by the Turkish state.

According to a report by the Bedir News website which broadcasts in Arabic, an ISIS member was caught alive during clashes in Kirkuk yesterday.

The captured ISIS member pointed that the Turkish state organized the attacks on Kirkuk and told the followings: “A helicopter belonging to the Turkish state brought us to the Serêtepe village to the north of Kirkuk. We were later taken to Kirkuk city center. Our goal was to seize control of the governor's office and state institutions, for which purpose we attacked these areas.”

The village of Serêtepe (Seyran Tepe) mentioned by the ISIS member is affiliated to the Laylan subdistrict of Kirkuk. ISIS groups also targeted this village early yesterday morning and 9 members of the gangs were killed in the clashes in this area.

Russia to take steps if Islamic State moves from Mosul to Syria — Lavrov.

Russia to take steps if Islamic State moves from Mosul to Syria — Lavrov. (Tass).

Moscow will take military measures should militants of the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia as a terrorist organization - TASS) move from Mosul to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Mosul is a large city with a civilian population of 1.5 million, if not more," Lavrov said. "We keep an eye on this operation, of course, because all of us are interested in defeating the so-called Islamic State."

"The city is surrounded, but not completely. I do not know why. Possibly, they’ve just failed," Lavrov said. "It is to be hoped they just failed, and not were reluctant to do so."

"Anyway, the remaining corridor is fraught with the risk the Islamic State may move from Iraq’s Mosul to Syria," he said. "Of course, we will keep an eye on the situation and take both political and military decisions, if that happens, if in Syria, where our military group is present at the request of the legitimate government, there will emerge more Islamic State contingents."

According to the Russian top diplomat, it is yet unclear whether the Iraqi army’s Shia units are taking part in this operation and what is the role of the Kurd militias and Turkey.

"As you know, Turkish troops are deployed there and the Iraqi government is protesting against that," Lavrov noted.

"Moreover, there are 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq who are referred to by Washington as ‘advisers.’ Anyway, 5,000 ‘advisers’ are a big force," he said. Read the full story here.

Russia may consider delivering air defense systems to 'Sometimes NATO Ally' Turkey.

Russia may consider delivering air defense systems to 'Sometimes NATO Ally' Turkey. (Tass).

Russia may consider delivering air defense systems to Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

The presidential spokesman made this statement as he was answering questions about the visit, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had paid to Turkey on Monday.

"Indeed, the issues related to military and technical cooperation were on the agenda of contacts between Putin and [Turkish President Tayyip] Erdogan," Peskov told journalists.

"Various air defense systems were mentioned," he added.

"If the Turkish side expresses its desire, Russia may consider the possibility of their delivery to Turkey in various modifications," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"But this is a purely commercial issue, a very sensitive area of cooperation," Peskov said. Hmmm......NATO Ally my A@#%$

Sometimes NATO 'Ally' Turkey fears super powers Russia-US war over Syria.

Sometimes NATO 'Ally' Turkey fears super powers Russia-US war over Syria. (ET).

ANKARA: Turkey said on Wednesday it fears the world will be plunged into a global conflict with superpowers Russia and the US on opposing sides if the proxy war in Syria continues.

“If this proxy war continues, after this, let me be clear, America and Russia will come to a point of war,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in an interview with official Anadolu news agency.

Kurtulmus warned that the Syrian conflict had put the world “on the brink of the beginning of a large regional or global war”.

While Turkey and its Western allies call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, Moscow is a key backer of the regime in Damascus alongside Iran.

Ankara is part of the US-led coalition targeting the Islamic State group with air strikes but it has also supported Syrian opposition fighters to retake territory from the jihadist group since August 24.

Tensions between Moscow and Washington have surged in the last week as the US pulled the plug on Syria talks and accused Russia of hacking attacks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry last week called for a war crimes investigation after accusing Moscow and the regime of deliberately bombing hospitals as a Russian-backed assault on Aleppo in northern Syria continues.In the interview, Kurtulmus also insisted that Turkish forces at the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq were “legitimate” and would remain in the country for “as long as necessary”.

Tensions are high after Baghdad called Ankara an “occupying” force last week when the Turkish parliament agreed to extend its mandate for military operations in Iraq and Syria for a year. Hmmm......Seems 'Backstabber' Turkey has already chosen sides. Read the full story here.

Three Turks arrested in the United States on espionage charges.

Three Turks arrested in the United States on espionage charges. (DS).

Three Turks have been arrested on Sunday in the US on espionage charges, that include "funneling military secrets out of the country," after winning numerous military contracts with the Pentagon.

Two of the three were American citizens according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense. The statement added that the three men established a technology company in the U.S. in order to secure military contracts from the Pentagon.

The trio won U.S. military contracts for missile launching systems on warplanes, parts manufacturing for submarine torpedoes and grenade launchers.

However once the U.S. Department of Defense discovered that the parts were being illegally manufactured in Turkey the men were arrested on charges of "taking military secrets out of the country".

The three, including a female member of the group who admitted to the charges, are facing 20 year prison sentences.

Related?

Team Torpedo: US Firms Sell & Support MK48s and MK54s to Turkey

Iraqi MPs: 'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Turkey aims to invade Iraq with the extended mandate.

Iraqi MPs: 'Neo Ottoman conqueror' Turkey aims to invade Iraq with the extended mandate. (anf).

Iraqi parliamentarians reacted against Turkish soldiers’ presence in Iraq and said Turkey was invading Iraqi territory and will be an obstacle in liberating the Ninova region.

Resul Tayi from Ahrar Group and Firdews Ewadi from State of Law Group in the Iraqi parliament have issued written statements on the Turkish state’s military presence in Iraqi territory.

Ahrar Group parliamentarian Resul Tayi’s statement read:

“We were expecting the Turkish parliament to withdraw troops from Iraqi territory, not extend the mandate. The presence of Turkish military forces in the province Ninova will be a problem and an obstacle in liberating Ninova. Turkey’s aim is to invade Mosul. This is why Iraqi armed forces must have a clear stance against this situation.”

State of Law Group parliamentarian Firdews Ewadi said standing against Turkish military forces in Iraqi territory was a duty to the fatherland and also meant fighting against ISIS gangs, and his statement read:

“The continued presence of the Turkish soldiers on Iraqi territory is the continuation of the invasion. They must respect the demands of the Iraqi parties and leave the region. The Iraqi government must display a strict stance against Turkish and Erdoğan’s invasion because they are acting out of an Ottoman dream. The US is also responsible for the Turkish military presence in Iraqi territory.”  Hmmm.....Obama's BFF Erdogan.  More here.

The resolution to deploy #Turkey troops in Syria & Iraq doesn't mention #ISIL #AlQaeda, but rather says threats posed by all terror groups

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) October 1, 2016