Turkey to install U.S. radar, in move seen aimed at Iran

Turkey announced Friday that it would install a radar system designed by the United States as part of a new NATO shield against a missile attack in Europe, a decision that pleased U.S. military officials but was greeted with conspicuous silence by Iran, one of the perceived threats.

The decision by Turkey, a NATO member and an increasingly influential force in Middle Eastern politics, came against a backdrop of new Turkish frictions with Iran. The decision also suggested that Turkey may be shifting closer to the U.S. view that Iran's military assertiveness, most notably Iran's frequent boasts about its growing missile abilities, is a cause for concern.

"Turkey's hosting of this element will constitute our country's contribution to the defense system being developed in the framework of NATO's new strategic concept," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Turkish news agencies. "It will strengthen NATO's defense capacity and our national defense system."

Pentagon officials praised Turkey's decision, saying it was part of the U.S.-backed missile defense plan that had been under discussion for months.

"It was well-received here," said one senior U.S. military officer in Washington.

Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that the installation in Turkey could happen before the end of this year and would be linked to NATO warships in the Mediterranean, equipped with interceptor missiles, which could destroy incoming missiles before they reached their intended targets.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, "Turkey's decision will significantly contribute to NATO's capability to provide protection to its European territory, populations and forces against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles."

Even Russia, which has expressed concern about the missile shield despite U.S. assurances that Russia is not the perceived threat, appeared to have no objections to Turkey's participation.

"The deployment of a radar in Turkey is not a direct threat to Russia's strategic nuclear forces," the Russia representative to NATO, Dmitri O. Rogozin, was quoted as saying by Russia's Interfax news agency.

None of the official statements about Turkey's announcement mentioned Iran, and there was no mention of it in Iran's state-run media except a brief dispatch by Press TV, an Internet news site intended for foreign consumption.