December 17, 2019
Miles Pomper
Senior Fellow Miles Pomper joins “PM with Linda Mottram” on Australia Broadcasting Corporation Radio to discuss the history, status, and future of US tactical nuclear weapons at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Force Base. “There’s no real strategic value” for basing these weapons at this location today, he says, explaining that the reason they are still there is basically “symbolism in politics” and “inertia” from the weapons’ Cold War history.
Host Linda Mottram points out the deteriorating relationship between Turkey and the West, and asks if now is the time “to bite the bullet” and remove those weapons once and for all. Ironically, Pomper points out, now that the relationship is in the spotlight, the political symbolism of the weapons is heightened, making their removal all the more fraught.
