The historical record shows that the US War on Drugs and the nascent War on Terror kept colliding with not only within the US intelligence, policy and business apparatus, but also with European strategic and business interests. Turkey continues its push for entry into the European Union and the USA wants that to happen as the June 2004 meeting of NATO, and President Bush’s attendance under dangerous circumstances, in Turkey demonstrates. Turkey is one of the USA’s and Europe’s top arms buyers and is located near what could be some of the biggest oil and natural gas fields in the world. At this point it’s worth noting that the one of the FBI’s tasks is to counter industrial espionage and to engage in it. Where big arms sales pit the US against its European competitors--as is the case in Turkey (particularly starting in 1998)--the FBI is busy making sure the US gets the edge over its competition. Allies are friends only so far.
"Turkey is one of the USA’s and Europe’s top arms buyers and is located near what could be some of the biggest oil and natural gas fields in the world."
“After the Gulf War in 1991, Turkey found itself deprived of the all-important Iraqi market and, since it lacked significant oil reserves of its own, it decided to make up for the loss by turning more massively to drugs. The trafficking increased in intensity with the arrival of the hawks in power, after the death in suspicious circumstances of President Turgut Özal in April 1993. According to the minister of interior, the war in Kurdistan had cost the Turkish exchequer upwards of $12.5 billion. According to the daily Hürriyet, Turkey’s heroin trafficking brought in $25 billion in 1995 and $37.5 billion in 1996...Only criminal networks working in close cooperation with the police and the army could possibly organize trafficking on such a scale. Drug barons have stated publicly, on Turkish television and in the West, that they have been working under the protection of the Turkish government and to its financial benefit. The traffickers themselves travel on diplomatic passports…the drugs are even transported by military helicopter from the Iranian border.”
So, the drug trade is a big source of income for Turkey, and the Turkish Government is in deep with the drug runners.
(Kind of like Pakistan.)
Nowhere is the pain of Turkey’s role in the heroin trade felt more horribly than in the United Kingdom. According to London’s Letter written by a Member of Parliament, “The war against drugs and drug trafficking in Britain is huge. Turkish heroin in particular is a top priority for the MI6 and the Foreign Ministry. During his visit to the British Embassy in Ankara, the head of the Foreign Office’s Turkey Department was clear about this. He reassured an English journalist that the heroin trade was more important than billions of pounds worth off trade capacity and weapons selling. When the journalist in question told me about this, I was reminded of my teacher’s words at university in Ankara ten years ago. He was also working for the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The topic of a lecture discussion was about Turkey’s Economy and I still remember his words today,
“50 billion dollars worth of foreign debt is nothing, it is two lorry loads of heroin...”
Foreign aid, trade deficits.... there's no money in that. The money is in supplying the European demand for heroin by serving as a middleman for Islamic narcoterrorists.
The Middle East Report concluded in 1998 that probably the greatest strategic move in the Clinton post-Cold War years is what could be called "The Ankara Pact" -- an alliance between the U.S., Turkey, and Israel that essentially circumvents and bottles up the Arab countries. Earlier in 1997, Turkish Prime Minister Yilmaz visited with Bill Clinton to ensure him that Turkey would attempt to improve its human rights record by slaughtering less Kurds, but also mentioned that if the US pushed too hard on that subject or if the US Congress adopted an Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey might award a billion dollar contract for attack helicopters to a Europe or maybe even Russia.
They're making many billions off the heroin trade, and the U.S. is being held hostage by one billion dollars worth of attack helicopters?
After all the offsets, what's that $1 billion deal really going to be worth, anyway?
For that matter, what's it worth to the Europeans to sell arms, presumably with offsets, to their main heroin pusher?
Are the European governments comprised of junkies? Or just whores?
By the way, Europeans, don't be offended: I'm not suggesting that most American politicians are a whole lot better.
During this timeframe, and with approval from the USA, Turkey began to let contracts to Israel to upgrade its F-4, F-5 and F-16 aircraft. Pemra Hazbay, writing in the May 2004 issue of Peace Watch, reported that total Israeli arms sales to Turkey had exceeded $1 billion since 2000. “In December 1996, Israel won a deal worth $630 million to upgrade Turkey's fleet of fifty-four F-4 Phantom fighter jets. In 1998, Turkey awarded a $75 million contract to upgrade its fleet of 48 F-5 fighter jets to Israel Aircraft Industries' Lahav division, beating out strong French competition. In 2002, Turkey ratified its largest military deal with Israel, a $700 million contract for the renovation of Turkish tanks.” But that pales in comparison to the $20 billion in US arms exports and military aid dealt to Turkey over the last 24 years.
Israel might want to consider that Turkey is an Islamic country. Sooner or later, Turkish troops might be the ones driving the Jews into the sea -- with American weapons that are built under license in Turkey and refurbished by Israeli technicians.
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