Isn’t the AWACS a very expensive toy?

TDN
Saturday, March 18, 2006

The United States has always wanted to sell AWACS aircraft to Turkey.
Boeing has been trying to persuade the Office of the Chief of General
Staff of the need to purchase these planes.

Mehmet Ali Birand

The United States has always wanted to sell AWACS to Turkey. Boeing
has been trying to persuade the Office of the Chief of General Staff
of the need to purchase these planes.

It used to be said that AWACS aircraft, with an early warning
system, are a necessity for every household and that Turkey
definitely needed to have some. When Adm. Guven Erkaya was working
at the General Staff, he used to say that Turkey’s air defense system
is full of holes and that efforts to establish a proper radar network
had failed. He used to recommend a comprehensive air defense system
instead of purchasing AWACS, arguing that AWACS planes were too
exorbitant for Turkey.

I now see that Boeing has at last gotten it wanted.

It appears the Office of the Chief of General Staff couldn’t resist
any longer.

Turkey will spend $1.2 billion for four planes. This project has an
indirect advantage of providing some work for Tusas Aerospace
Industries (TAI), which has been dormant since the end of the F-16
project, and technology transfer worth $740 million in 10 years.

However, I have yet to be convinced.

Neither the Office of the Chief of General Staff nor the Defense
Ministry is in the habit of discussing such matters with the public;
however, if they just tried to argue their case, we would all be
relieved.

I am uncomfortable.

I know the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is in desperate need of
modernization. I know our military needs to bolster its fire power,
defense systems, transportation equipment and needs to modernize its
tanks. Were AWACS a priority? Should we have spent $1.2 billion for
these four planes as if we have a lot of money to spare?

I know no one will try to inform us on what’s going on, but still I
wanted to write about it.

We would like to thank Serdengecti:

Mehmet Yılmaz wrote about it earlier.

He noted how former Turkish Central Bank Governor Sureyya
Serdengecti was retired without a thank-you from anyone, including
the state.

It was a very correct assessment.

Wasn’t this really the case? There are some bureaucrats whose
actions are guided by their desire to placate the government. There
are some who just want to create trouble, just to secure a transfer
to the private sector.

Serdengecti, as I am sure future economic historians will note,
was an individual who influenced all our lives.

Under his leadership, inflation dropped from 70 percent to the
current single digits. He was interested in the country’s economy,
not in what the politicians said. He didn’t deviate from the flexible
exchange policy. He did not back away, despite being branded a
traitor by the exporters.

He did not over-embellish matters. He was calm and polite. He never
tried to promote himself for what he had accomplished.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Serdengecti.

He left a better Turkey for us, our children and our grandchildren.

Last day for credit card amnesty May 1:

I noted the tragedy caused by excessive credit card debt both in my
column and on Kanal D news. From the phone calls, e-mails and faxes I
receive, I have come to the conclusion that this problem has reached
unprecedented levels.

The law on the credit card debt amnesty came into effect on March
1. Those who are asked to pay all their debts incurred until March 1
or those who now face court action for debts incurred before Jan. 31,
2006 will be able to utilize this law.

But how?

Those who want to take advantage of the law need to lodge an
application within 60 days. The applications can be sent through
Postal, Telegraph and Telecommunications General Directorate (PTT)
offices or through a notary. Those who utilize this law to
restructure their debt will need to pay the first installments
upfront. If they fail to pay any installments on time, they will lose
all privileges. Any objections to the payment plan can be lodged, but
people still need to continue to pay the installments while their
cases are being assessed. The law appears to provide breathing space
for debtors, but the important thing is to make the payments on time.

Uncle Garo:

“Garo is a youth from Sarıyer (Istanbul). He was blown [away] by
the beauty of the sea at a young age and always wanted to be a
fisherman…”

Selcuk Erez’s book “Garo Dayı” (Uncle Garo) is now out from
Dogan Publishing. It is a book that is a pleasure to read. Garo
Dayı’s life on the sea is the basis of the book. You will enjoy
reading about a half-Turk and half-Armenian family coming together
after years of estrangement.

–Boundary_(ID_51a1yhKeTr9HpIFFuyCV Rw)–