Calvary Prophecy Report

A quiet but intense debate is ongoing within senior circles of the governing Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party: AKP) in Turkey over whether or not this is the time to proceed rapidly with the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons.

At stake is Turkey's strategic parity with other nuclear powers in the region:Russia, Israel, Pakistan, and Iran. Highly-placed sources indicate that Turkey has been deliberating the acquisition of military nuclear capability for some time, but has been constrained by its need to maintain good relations with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) partners generally, as well as the European Union (EU). The Turkish General Staff (Genelkurmay Baskanlari: GB) is also engaged in this debate, but, for the most part, this is a debate dominated by the civilian leadership.

Turkish acquisition of nuclear weapons would significantly transform the balance of power and the strategic dynamic of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Greater Black Sea Basin (GBSB), and the Caucasus, and would be the cornerstone of Turkey's ambitious program to restore what it sees as its historical pan-Turkist mission. Indeed, without nuclear weapons — at least as far as regional perception is concerned — Turkey could not compete against a nuclear Iran or be seen as an independent "great power" in the region.

"Nuclear weapons research has long been underway, under conditions of extreme secrecy, in Turkey, and the AKP leadership is aware that it is probable that this will become public knowledge as the effort becomes more intense (World Tribune)."

The very real possibility that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons in the coming months or years has Turkey rethinking its position on whether this is the right time for them to go nuclear.  For decades, Turkey has had a secret nuclear program but has stop short of crossing over into a weapons grade program for the sake of their relationship with the West and ongoing bid for EU membership.  That maybe changing soon as Iran draws closer to becoming a nuclear power in the foreseeable future.  

Although US and Israeli officials have been quiet about the recent direction Turkey has taken there is concern that they may go forward.  Since Turkey's association with NATO and Israel, they have acquired a considerable amount of knowledge regarding nuclear weapons technology, protocols, and operational doctrine.

Turkish analyst and author Mehmet Kalyoncu, writing on September 19, 2008, in Today's Zalman website, says that Turkey is working hard to receive the blessing of the West to go forward with a nuclear program.  In his article he writes the following

Any possible reluctance on the side of Turkey's Western allies to provide Turkey with the necessary material and know-how to develop nuclear weapons will encourage Ankara to seek other possible partners, which are quite numerous, including Iran itself. The most likely scenarios and the alternative scenarios of Turkey acquiring nuclear weapons or the capability of building nuclear weapons differ from each other not in terms of Turkey's driving motivations but in terms of the acquisition process.

It is possible that the United States and the European Union will not give the green light to Turkey to acquire nuclear weapon capabilities, and will at the same time try to deter Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria and/or another nuclear aspirant from acquiring or developing nuclear weapons. However, the two cannot succeed in doing so, as is the case with Iran. In addition, the U.S. and the EU may not provide a credible and reliable guarantee to Turkey that they will protect Turkey against a nuclear threat. Actually, no such guarantee, including the NATO membership, may suffice to convince Turkey to stop its quest for nuclear weapon capabilities given the destructive capability of a nuclear attack and the fact that its very national security is at stake. Worried with the risk of remaining weak and vulnerable in its region and being threatened by a rogue nuclear power, Turkey would then seek nuclear weapon capabilities, risking confrontation with both the United States and the European Union. After all, then the domestic public opinion wouldn't just condone Turkey acquiring nuclear weapons, but demand it from the government. 

Given that Turkey's Western allies do not condone Turkey becoming a nuclear power, Ankara is forced to seek non-Western partners and suppliers for its nuclear program. Turkey does not have difficulty in finding them.

Actually, most likely, they would find Turkey anyway. Respectively, Pakistan, Russia, Israel and finally Iran are among the possible partners in Turkey's nuclear endeavor. (World Tribune).

Given recent developments, it would be shocking to think that Israel would partner with Turkey to help them acquire a nuclear weapons program.  But intelligence experts argue that a nuclear Turkey could serve as a stabilizing factor in the region against Iran's future nuclear program.

Unfortunately, the Bible says this couldn't be further from the truth. As students of Bible prophecy, we know that Russia, Iran, Turkey, and a host of other regional countries will soon align for the purpose of wiping Israel off the face of the map.  In recent months, we have seen Turkey display how they really feel about Israel and where their allegiance lies.  I don't see that reversing under any circumstance.

If indeed, Turkey does decide to pursue a nuclear program, that may be the final piece of the puzzle that causes them to break away from NATO and their Western alliance, and into the open arms of Russia.

Are you ready to meet the Lord?  If not, your time is running out!

Terry Malone
Calvary Prophecy Report

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