​Military tests S-400 radar and American resolve

TURKEY - In Brief 26 Nov 2019 by Atilla Yesilada

First I must apologize for skipping my contribution to our hallowed Weekly Report on account of a writer’s cramp. Literally, my mind stopped, which happens to the best of us, and I ain’t one of them. Anyway, had I written my share, the first essay would have been the suddenly rising chatter about early elections and I would have concluded AKP would not consider it before reorganizing the party through the process of local and national conventions which will take up to 6 months. Yet I’d have added, if rumors of up to 70 AKP MPs ready to jump ship to the soon-to-be-launched Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu parties contain any grain of truth, Erdogan may reconsider. However, on Monday the focussuddenly shifted to American sanctions again, as the military tested the radar system of the first battery of S-400s in Ankara against Turkish F-16 and F-4 jet fighters. While my expertise in matters of military is limited, I understand the act was not to provoke US, but to determine whether the radars can distinguish NATO and “enemy” aircraft. Who knows, perhaps the military wanted to prepare evidence that S-400s can be activated without jeopardizing the integrity and safety of NATO intelligence network and F-35 secrets. No matter what, the test was ill-timed and coincided with numerous reports of pro-Turkey Syrian militias committing more war crimes against Kurds at the fringe of the safe zone and slowly pushing the boundaries of it in Tel Tamr and Ain Issa. On Tuesday, Senator Ron Wyden claimed the White House interfered in the ongoing courtcase against Halkbank: “For Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, the nonanswer speaks volumes. “The Treasury Department ...

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