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US nukes at Turkey base at risk of seizure ‐ report
Dozens of US nuclear weapons stored at a Turkish air base near Syria are at risk of being captured by "terrorists or other hostile forces," a Washington think tank warned Monday.Critics have long been alarmed by America’s estimated stockpile of about 50 nuclear bombs at Incirlik in southern Turkey, just 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the border with war-torn Syria. The issue took on fresh urgency last month following the attempted coup in Turkey, in which the base’s Turkish commander was arrested on suspicion of complicity in the plot. "Whether the US could have maintained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question," said Monday's report from the Stimson Center, which describes itself as a "nonpartisan think tank devoted to addressing transnational challenges in order to enhance global peace and economic prosperity." Incirlik is a vital base for the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, with the strategically located facility affording drones and warplanes fast access to IS targets. "The continued presence of these weapons at five sites in Europe, particularly in Turkey, raises serious risks of their seizure by terrorists or other hostile forces," the report said. But the Pentagon in March ordered families of US troops and civilian personnel stationed in southern Turkey to quit the region due to security fears. "From a security point of view, it’s a roll of the dice to continue to have approximately 50 of America’s nuclear weapons stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey," report co-author Laicie Heeley said. "There are significant safeguards in place. ... But safeguards are just that, they don't eliminate risk. In the event of a coup, we can't say for certain that we would have been able to maintain control," she told AFP. Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2016-08-15 |
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