NEWS CENTER – Retired from the Turkish army, pilot lieutenant-general Erdoğan Karakuş talked about tactical nuclear weapons in the hands of the Turkish state in a TV program he attended on March 23, 2022: “Tactical nuclear weapons do not add to their number (meaning atomic bombs). Tactical nuclear weapons were also present in our land forces. Thrown by artillery units. You set the destruction, low destruction. So 20 kilotons dropped on Japan, those are half kilotons.”
Retired Turkish Lieutenant General (Air Force) Erdogan Karakus yesterday admitted on CNN Türk that #Turkey (by the #Turkish artillery in particular) has been using "tactical nuclear weapons" against the #PKK . He was cut off when he was providing more details. pic.twitter.com/huqkps7qfy
— News About Turkey – NAT (@NewsAboutTurke2) May 12, 2022
While the former Turkish soldier was trying to detail the issue, the television channel’s interruption drew attention, and these words were recorded as an important confession that Turkey had nuclear weapons. It turned out that the tactical weapons mentioned by the retired Turkish soldier were frequently used in the invasion attack that started on Zap, Avaşîn and Metina on 17 April 2022.
Speaking to Medya Haber TV’s Special Program the previous day, PKK Executive Committee Member Duran Kalkan pointed out that the Turkish army may have most likely attacked with tactical nuclear weapons in Tepe Sor, one of the resistance areas of HPG and YJA Star guerrillas. Duran Kalkan based this information on the narration of the guerrillas who survived Tepe Sor. So what is a “tactical nuclear weapon” and what types does the Turkish state have?
IN THE EFFECT OF ‘MINI ATOM BOMBS’
“Strategic nuclear weapons” generally refers to nuclear weapons that can be launched at a high or intercontinental range, while those designed for shorter range use are called “tactical nuclear weapons”. Although these weapons, which have an effective radius of 1 to 3 km, are produced for brigade-sized units in the field in NATO member armies and are under the influence of a kind of mini atomic bomb, are called tactics, they are often used for strategic purposes.
Nikolai Sokov, Member of the Center for Nuclear Non-Proliferation Research, drew attention to the dangers of these weapons in a research he wrote for the Nuclear Threat Initiative: “Tactical nuclear weapons are in some ways more dangerous than strategic weapons. Their small size, vulnerability to theft, and perceived usability make the presence of tactical nuclear weapons in national arsenals a risk to global security.”
DESTROYING ALL LIFE IN THE DISCHARGED AREA
“Tactical nuclear weapons”, produced in the form of short-range missiles, artillery shells and land mines, are abundant in the inventory of NATO member countries, especially the USA. Since the smallest “tactical nuclear weapon” is under the influence of tens of tons of TNT, it is estimated that the Turkish army used them to destroy tunnels, caves and crossing points in the Kurdistan freedom guerrilla bases.
These tactical nuclear weapons, which have the power to destroy all living things in the area where they are used, generally have an explosion power of several kilotons. For example, the bombs dropped by the USA on Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused explosions of 15 and 20 kilotons. Experts point out that even if it is used in very small doses, the ignited nuclear can cause a radiation effect in a wide geography and this can rain in the form of rains containing fallout.
TURKISH STATE SEEKING NUCLEAR SINCE 2015
The Turkish state has seriously increased its attempts to acquire nuclear weapons in recent years. The Turkish state, which signed a nuclear reactor agreement with the Russian company ROSATAM for 20 Billion Dollars in 2011, became involved in another project in the Japanese-French partnership worth 22 Billion Dollars in 2013. While the Erdogan regime claims that these agreements will meet its energy needs, the German intelligence BND gave the information in a report published in 2015 that “Turkey opened the door to a military nuclear option with these two projects”.
According to the same report, Turkey established facilities to enrich uranium and started to produce compressed uranium ore “Yellowcake”, while illegally procuring uranium through Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey’s most important nuclear supplier is Pakistan, which sells missiles with nuclear warheads on the black market.
Especially in the news and comments in the Arab and Indian media, it was pointed out that Erdogan tried to keep his relations with Pakistan tight for this. For example, according to the news site “zeenews.india.com”, in December 2020, Pakistani and Turkish military delegations held talks for nuclear sales for two days. In addition, it was stated that the F-16 warplanes of the Turkish army, which were modernized between 2015 and 2018 with the support of NATO, were made ready to carry nuclear missiles.
