US Senators Voice Concern Over Turkey Radar Deal

asbarez
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is one of the senators voicing concern

WASHINGTON (Agence France Presse) – Two key US senators expressed
concerns Tuesday about a possible agreement to base a missile-shield
radar in Turkey, citing the NATO ally’s strained ties with Israel and
relations with Iran.

Two key US senators expressed concerns Tuesday about a possible
agreement to base a missile-shield radar in Turkey, citing the NATO
ally’s strained ties with Israel and relations with Iran.

Republican Senators Jon Kyl and Mark Kirk wrote Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seeking reassurances on
the possible deal, which was described in a news report last week.

The lawmakers asked for `written assurances’ that data collected by a
so-called X-band radar `will be made available, in real time’ to
staunch US ally Israel to be `fully integrated into its battlement
management and control.’

They also sought a guarantee that `Turkish entities are not engaged,
or suspected of engaging’ in activities that fall afoul of various US
laws aimed at curbing suspected nuclear weapons programs in Iran and
Syria and keeping sensitive know-how from North Korea.

And President Barack Obama’s administration must also certify that the
powerful radar will only be operated by US personnel, and for 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, except for maintenance breaks, the senators
said.

Kirk and Kyl, the number-two Senate Republican, also questioned
whether the reported decision to locate the radar in Turkey would
`ensure the best defense of the United States against the Iranian
long-range ballistic missile threat.’

They cited a US Missile Defense Agency study that found that the South
Caucasus to be `the optimum placement’ if the system is designed to
defend against an eventual Iranian ballistic missile attack.

`The administration’s plans for missile defense will require the
cooperation of the Congress; the prospects for such cooperation are
jeopardized if the Congress is not provided the information it
requests,’ they warned.