NATO and Turkey.

Abstract

NATO has provided a general balance of power and European stability since the late 1940's. The Southern flank is vital to NATO not only from a military standpoint but also economically. Turkey plays a vital role in defending the Southern flank of NATO by safeguarding the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara and Dardanelles) and lines of communication to vital elements of the Middle East. Turkey maintains the largest armed forces in NATO after the United States. Although Turkey is trying to modernize its armed forces by using more than 25% of the general budget, it cannot be said that equipment obsolescence is being overtaken. On the other hand, Greece, in accordance with historic ambition, is creating problems in the Aegean Sea, and espousing policies which are anti-NATO. Unless these problems are properly addressed and security assistance to Turkey significantly increased, the deterrent role of NATO forces in the Southern Region will be increasingly and dramatically lessened. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 1987
Accession Number
ADA180236

Entities

People

  • Izzettin Gurdal

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cold War
  • Commerce
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Human Population
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Terrorists
  • Treaties
  • United Nations
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Oceanography.
  • Strategic Security Studies