Turkey arms acquisitions: The US wanted it both ways and wound up with nothing

7/27/2019

The following is our translation of an article from riafan.ru with commentary by Vince Dhimos.

The US is trying to have it both ways and, as a result, is getting nothing. The Turks originally asked to purchase the Patriot missile system from the US but the US refused to sell it to them. But now that the Turks have signed on for the Russian S-400, the US is trying to force the Turks to buy the now-outdated system but Turkey has said no thanks. The same may happen with India.

How’s this for the art of the deal?

BEGIN TRANSLATION

Kedmi explains how Russian weapons make the US screw up

Moscow, July 16. The situation concerning the supply of Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 to Turkey has demonstrated that the United States is continuing to attack the world arms market, says Israeli expert Yakov Kedmi.

Kedmi noted that the US is continuing to repeat its mistakes in the arms export segment. Moreover, these errors have become systematic.

The expert recalled the actions of Washington with respect to India and Egypt. The American side imposed an embargo on arms sales under various pretexts, and now, realizing its loss, is trying to get back in the game. Apparently, the US is concerned that Russia has become a leader in the Indian and Egyptian markets for military-industrial products.

The same situation is observed with Turkey, to which the Americans first refused to supply the Patriot anti-missile system. Ankara has found a way out of this situation and now Turkey is receiving the S-400 from Russia. According to political scientist Kedmi, Russian armaments are inducing the United States to make mistakes.

“Two years after the refusal, the Americans returned and offered a Patriot at the price of the S-400. The Turks said they wouldn’t buy this old stuff. And now the United States is trying to blame its stupidity on Russia,” Kedmi told Ekonomika Segodnya (Economy Today).

The political analyst believes that only Russia and the United States can satisfy Turkey’s demand, which is aimed at creating a reliable air defence system according to modern standards. Moreover, if the S-400 were, for example, in France, Paris would not hesitate to begin selling the complexes to Ankara, disregarding the position of Washington, the newspaper noted.

“Now it (the USA) does not want to sell the F-35 to Turkey - and they shouldn’t! There is an aircraft like it, the Su-57. The Turks have already said: we’ll buy it. Do not ask the Americans to refrain from selling something else to the Turks. They themselves do stupid things more successfully than any of their opponents could think of doing,” added Kedmi.

In July, it became known that Russia began to supply Turkey with components for the S-400. We emphasize that the Turkish authorities, despite pressure from Washington, have repeatedly stated that they will not give up the Russian complexes.

END TRANSLATION

2 Comments

John McClain

7/28/2019 07:53:49 am

We've been suggesting the notion of free trade for years, yet the entire time since 46, we've used trade as "both carrot and stick", sanctioning countries, special benefits for others, and it's not like the rest of the world is stupid.
Our "deep state" is full of intellectuals, some at the top of their game, but ignorant of certain limitations of nature, they refuse to acknowledge, and abide by.
Many suppose there is a "conspiracy" in it, and I expect there are quite a few "like minded individuals" who have joined together, pooled resources, and moved forward, however in the majority, it appears merely "the same minded people, using each, their own office to better their own power, position, and the "mutual support" is more a matter of covering one's own "power-play" by supporting another's, than actual colluding. Criminals don't have honor codes, but they do understand the power of numbers.
Has anyone ever seen a "committee produce a rational solution to a significant, real problem, taken years to develop, before being addressed?".
Individuals have ideas, their own, different, and by this, we see advances in all directions, if we behave like civilized, honorable adults. It is the person who sees the problem from a unique aspect, who sees the simplest solution, never "people in conference".
If "deep state" were fully conspiratorial, it could make logical choices, see the probable outcome of action, and do things that actually secure it, however, if it got there, it would be an open, direct challenge to "Lawful government", not able to hide its work, and we, "The People" would either accept it, or reject it, as we see its power imposed over all of us.
As it is, it can't even note the utter failure of their planned, committee designed F-35, and realize it would be better to go back to our last successful fighter, and pretend we don't ever have to take off vertically.
Every aspect of the F-35 is grossly impacted by this singular demand, that truly has no purpose of use in combat, at all. The exact same mentality went into the 737 Max.
Airbus built their A320, to be expandable, having watched our once, multiple airplane manufacturers do such, and expand. Boeing never considered, they'd already expanded the 707, 727, to the 737, and they'd used up any leeway ever there.
Boeing knew the Max was inherently unstable, and nothing could be done to make it stable, except design an airframe capable of carrying those engines, wings, high enough, and if they were intelligent, doing so, with full expansion available, and take the hit, lose sales today, but have a sound, solid new bird to sell, fight for sales, and also have it's replacement built into its expandability.
Engineers said "don't do it, that's insane". The money managers said, build it, or we go belly up, there was no conferring, no consideration made, only some electronics techs who stated they could compensate for all its "inherent instability" with a black box, yet none of them were flyers, pilots, with the experience of broken sensors, double and triple redundant systems, and their absolute necessity.
Turkey was set to buy our bird, solely because they are part of NATO, and would please us, if they could. Our "deep state" rightfully has no confidence Turkey will do exactly what they're told to do, so they denied Turkey the Patriot System, must it be pointed out, we reserve the right to invade any nation we don't like?
I am a machinist, mechanical engineer, I fix problems, and broken things. My competitors are my best advertisement. When I fix something, it's fixed, and not coming back, unless someone does the wrong thing again, and breaks it.
I earned this reputation over the last fifty years and more, I am reliable, repeatable, and I do it right. I don't care the color of your skin, your hair, how you talk, where you come from, as long as you're honest with me, and pay up, I'm eager for your business.
The only business I drive away is that which is not mine, that I'm not equipped to do, nor willing to "tool up to do", because I don't see profit if I have only one demand. In general, in such cases, I figure who best can fulfill their desire, and send them to my competitor, hoping he will well serve the customer.
The U.S. has ruled, without constraint, so long, it sees no error in its ways, knows no limits, lives as if there is no end. We can't do "ordinary business" with other nations, because we've been so long, making choices of who, and who not, over politics, we can't see our own loss, or gain for that matter. There is no rationality in those who live for power and themselves, exclusively.
We, Americans, know we are in a lose-lose situation, but we can't get enough to agree, regardless of "how it impact you, its still one government, bearing down on all of us", and choose to put it down, together, and maybe find we have far more in common than we thought. Bei

Edward Louis Welch

7/29/2019 05:49:19 pm

Thank you for your cogent words, John.

Military affairs.

Turkey arms acquisitions: The US wanted it both ways and wound up with nothing

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