American Colonel reveals: "I told Trump to remove the nuclear weapons from Turkey"

Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who previously served as a senior advisor at the Pentagon, claimed in a conversation with TRHaber Savunma that during his time at the US Department of Defense, he authored a memorandum intended for President Donald Trump, in which he recommended removing the American nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey.

During the conversation, Macgregor addressed Turkey's regional status, its relations with Israel, the American presence at Incirlik Air Base, and the relationship between Ankara, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.

At the beginning of his remarks, Macgregor referred to a visit that, according to him, a Turkish leader made to a mosque where one of the Ottoman sultans is buried. He said: "He went first to the mosque where a Turkish sultan is buried. I forgot the sultan's name. This was a few years ago. And it was a huge signal to everyone in the region who knows anything about the Turks and the history of the region, that the Turks are back. It was not an accidental visit. It was a signal to the Israelis that the Turks will not tolerate the occupation of Damascus."

Macgregor added: "So I think this whole thing is much more serious now." He then moved on to discuss the American nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey and what he claims he wrote during his service at the Pentagon: "Well, I know I wrote a memorandum intended for President Trump, which I sent to the White House while I was at the Pentagon, in which I called on him to remove all nuclear weapons from Turkey," he said.

According to him, "At that time, I argued that it would be a wise move, that we no longer need them. They were originally placed there for possible use against the Russians. And I think most of them are gravity bombs. I think like the B61, maybe one of them." Macgregor qualified his statement and clarified that he does not remember all the exact models: "I don't remember all the markings, but these are nuclear bombs dropped by the Air Force, which are not launched, let's say, like cruise missiles or tactical ballistic missiles."

He explained why, in his opinion, the weapons should have been removed from Turkey: "I thought it was a good idea to remove them, because at some point a decision might be made at very high levels to take control of them, not for the purpose of using them, but perhaps to prevent us or any other party from getting to them. That is a possibility."

Macgregor also addressed Turkey's place in NATO: "I thought Turkey's status in NATO had been very fragile for a long time. And I personally had very positive experiences with Turkish officers. I thought they were very professional. I thought the Turkish military was very professional. It was very tough, very serious."

Macgregor continued: "So I see them as a powerful player on the ground, certainly in the Middle East. But I just thought it would be wise for us to remove those nuclear weapons from there." According to him, his recommendation was not implemented: "Obviously, that never happened. Nothing changed. I think that's unfortunate. But I don't think it's an emergency."

At this point, Macgregor raised the most unusual claim in the conversation, according to which Turkey does not depend on the United States if it decides it needs nuclear weapons: "Because if the Turks really need nuclear weapons, they will get them from Pakistan. And the Pakistanis made that very, very clear. That thing was made clear to us back in 2011."

Macgregor added that these things were explicitly stated to the Americans by the Turkish military leadership: "The Turkish General Staff said: 'Look, if we need nuclear weapons, we don't need you. The Pakistanis promised them to us.'" He also linked these things to the relationship between Ankara, Islamabad, and Riyadh: "So that's why you see this Pakistani-Turkish-Saudi alliance. They are not just Sunni Muslims. There are other things involved in this."