In the recent period, Turkey has frequently put forward its "İncirlik card"; however the military and diplomatic sources in Greece think that this weakens Turkey’s hand while Turkish government has tense relations with the United States and NATO. Especially after the coup attempt in July 15, while the power and unity of Turkish army is being questioned by NATO.
Turkey and Greece are enemy brothers of NATO in the eastern Mediterranean for years. The two countries joined NATO at the same day in 1952, and although the historical and regional disputes between them occasionally complicate the activities of NATO and United States, it has also created a useful competition environment for imperialism during and after the Cold War.
KARPATHOS IS THE MOST POWERFUL ALTERNATIVE TO İNCİRLİK
Greek government has foresaw the tension since 2015 and put it on its agenda. The first important step was taken during Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos' visit in the United States. Kammenos met with the former US Under Secretary of Defence Christine Wormuth and announced that two countries negotiated on a new military base in Karpathos Island in addition to Suda Base in Crete which was used for NATO operations.
Following this announcement, the Communist Party of Greece submitted a parliamentary question and asked for information about the content of the plan. In Defence Ministry’s unclear reply, it was stated that there was not a plan for a new base and the air base in Crete’s Timbaki could be moved to Karpathos because of “strategic reasons”.
The United States already has several bases and facilities in Greece. The biggest one, Suda Base in Hanya accommodates at least 900 US soldiers. There is also a radar base in Ziros in eastern Crete which is used by NATO and US Navy.
US PLAN TO BUILD A BASE IN CYPRUS
In addition to the plan of moving the air base to an eastern Greek island, there is a similar plan also in Cyprus. After the coup attempt in Turkey, Greece’s Estia newspaper wrote that the United States and NATO began to search for a new base in the Eastern Mediterranean and in addition to the alternatives submitted by Greece, they considered Andreas Papandreou air base which is in Pafos in southern Cyprus as a potential alternative İncirlik.
WILL THE US WITHDRAW FROM SYRIA AND IRAQ?
During the same period, there were news that the United States had completed building its second air base in Kobane. One of these bases is Rimelan air base in Hasakah near Syria’s Iraqi border, and the other one is 35 kilometres south of Kobane.
There are reports that the United States has a plan to build another base in Mosul after the operation in Mosul is completed.
Consequently, the United States has been looking for alternatives to İncirlik at least since 2015 and these alternatives are not a few. After the coup attempt, security of the nuclear weapons in İncirlik was brought into question again, and there were claims that these weapons were moved. Also, Ankara’s frequent attempts to brandish İncirlik card probably accelerated this process.
