Erdogan’s Ambitions Go Beyond Syria. He Says He Wants Nuclear Weapons.
David Sanger and William Broad | New York Times
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants more than control over a wide swath of Syria along his country’s border. He says he wants the Bomb. In the weeks leading up to his order to launch the military across the border to clear Kurdish areas, Mr. Erdogan made no secret of his larger ambition. “Some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads,” he told a meeting of his governing party in September. But the West insists “we can’t have them,” he said. “This, I cannot accept.” With Turkey now in open confrontation with its NATO allies, having gambled and won a bet that it could conduct a military incursion into Syria and get away with it, Mr. Erdogan’s threat takes on new meaning. If the United States could not prevent the Turkish leader from routing its Kurdish allies, how can it stop him from building a nuclear weapon or following Iran in gathering the technology to do so? There is another element to this ambiguous atomic mix: The presence of roughly 50 American nuclear weapons, stored on Turkish soil. The United States had never openly acknowledged their existence, until Wednesday, when Mr. Trump did exactly that.
North Korea Says U.S., South Korea Must Present New Solutions for Conflict
Reuters
The United States and South Korea must produce new solutions for the current standoff on the Korean Peninsula, a senior North Korean military official said on Monday, warning that hostile policies towards Pyongyang would lead to serious consequences. The remarks add to recent comments from Pyongyang expressing discontent at the lack of progress in its negotiations with Washington. This month North Korea issued a veiled threat about ending the freeze in long-range missile testing amid continued economic sanctions and pressure aimed at pushing it to give up its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. Kim Hyong Ryong, North Korea’s Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, said at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing that North Korea has worked to build lasting piece but that the situation has relapsed into a “dangerous, vicious cycle” of exacerbating tensions because of the actions of the U.S. and South Korean governments. North Korean state media reported last week on Kim Jong Un’s visit to Mt Paektu, the spiritual homeland of the Kim dynasty, and that his aides are convinced the leader plans “a great operation,” which experts say may signal a major shift in Pyongyang’s stance towards the U.S. in the coming months.
U.S. Offered to Help North Korea Build Up Tourist Area in Exchange for Denuclearization
Jesse Johnson | Japan Times
The U.S. reportedly offered a long-term plan to help North Korea develop a tourist area in return for denuclearization during recent working-level talks in Stockholm that ended with the North side walking out, according to a new report. American negotiators had drafted a plan to help build up the Kalma tourist area, the South’s Hankook Ilbo newspaper reported Saturday, citing an unidentified top South Korean diplomat. The report didn’t say how the North Koreans responded to the offer, but chief nuclear negotiator Kim Myong Gil portrayed the U.S. as inflexible after the talks earlier this month, blasting the Americans for not giving up “their old viewpoint and attitude.” Trump, a real estate magnate himself, has alluded to the “great beaches” of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist area as a way North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could develop his country economically — if it relinquishes its atomic arsenal. Some experts, however, pointed out that Kim could view the U.S. proposal as nothing more than an opening for forces hostile to his family dynasty to plant their roots in the isolated country.
Russian Nuclear Submarine Aborts Ballistic Missile Test
Reuters
A Russian nuclear submarine aborted the test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a military exercise overseen by President Vladimir Putin last week, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday. The nuclear submarine, K-44 Ryazan, part of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, was meant to launch two R-29R ballistic missiles from the Sea of Okhotsk on Oct. 17, but fired only one successfully with the other remaining in its tube onboard the submarine, the Vedomosti daily reported earlier on Monday. The aborted drill was part of wider war games for Russia’s armed forces, known as ‘Thunder 2019,’ which were designed to test the readiness of the country’s strategic forces for a nuclear conflict. The Defence Ministry on Monday confirmed the incident with the ballistic missile, but rejected an assertion by Vedomosti that the failure to launch the second missile had led to an “emergency situation”, Russian news agencies reported. “Having assessed the information received just before the launch about the technical condition of one of the missiles on the Ryazan submarine, the decision was taken to not use it in a training strike,” the defense ministry was cited as saying.
Senate Bill Seeks Alternatives to U.S. Base in Turkey, Where Nuclear Bombs Are Housed
Patrick Goodenough | CNS News
A bipartisan Senate bill aimed at pressurizing Turkey over its military offensive against Syrian Kurdish forces contains a provision requiring the administration to explore “viable alternative” locations for U.S. military troops and assets now based in Turkey. Their current base, Incirlik in the NATO ally’s southeast, is home to the U.S. Air Force’s busiest air traffic control complex in Europe. Crucially, it’s also believed to house the largest stockpile of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. “Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress an interagency report assessing viable alternative military installations or other locations to host personnel and assets of the United States Armed Forces currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey,” reads the bill. The bill, authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and with 14 co-sponsors from both parties, would target for sanctions President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials, key banks, military transactions, and energy sector activities supportive of the Turkish military.
Boeing Could Be Out of the Air Force’s Competition for Next-Gen ICBMs for Good
Valerie Insinna | Defense News
Boeing’s risk reduction contract for the Air Force’s Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program is functionally cancelled, the company announced Oct. 21. “Boeing is disappointed in the Air Force’s decision to not allot additional funding for the GBSD Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) contract,” said Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher. GBSD is the Air Force’s program to replace its existing Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, a major priority for the service as well as for U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the operations of America’s nuclear arsenal. Earlier on Monday evening, Politico reported that the Air Force had sent a letter to Boeing last week declaring its intent to stop funding the TMRR contract. Regardless of the semantics, a decision to cut short the TMRR contract would effectively hand the GBSD award to Northrop Grumman, the sole company competing against Boeing to produce the weapon system.