The sources said Erdogan's rejection was supported by the Turkish
military. They said Erdogan and the military's General Staff agreed that the
deployment of a NATO missile defense shield would anger Iran, a leading
energy supplier to Turkey.
"Both Russia and Iran will perceive this as a threat," a Turkish
military source said.
In September 2009, the Obama administration dropped plans to deploy
missile defense assets, including radars, in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Instead, the Defense Department announced a program to deploy a ship-based
interceptor in the Mediterranean Sea in 2011.
The sources said Ankara and Washington have examined the feasibility of
deploying a NATO missile defense network in Turkey. In 2009, the two
countries established a technical panel to issue recommendations.
The Turkish daily Milliyet reported that Ankara fears that any missile
defense shield operated by NATO would turn Turkey into a target of Iran's
huge missile arsenal. Iran's key ally, Syria, also contains a huge
Scud-based missile arsenal.
"Such technology will turn Turkey into a legitimate target for Iran's
medium and shorter range missiles," Milliyet said on Dec. 16, 2009. "Ankara
does not want to be a target of Iran's missiles while trying to become a
shield for NATO."
Turkey has requested the PAC-3 missile defense system from the United
States in a deal worth $7.8 billion. Erdogan has stressed that any Turkish
missile defense system would not be meant against Iran.
