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[insan]

Greece has missiles that can hit Istanbul, says reportFont Size: Larger|Smaller

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
ATHENS - Daily News with wires
Greece has purchased a missile system capable of striking Turkey, local media reported over the weekend. Greek daily Ta Nea said the army received Scalp missiles from France with a range of 250 kilometers range to equip its 15 Mirage 2000-5 warplanes.

The Mirage 2000-5 warplanes will be equipped by land-to-land Mica and air-to-land Scalp missiles in accordance with the agreement signed between Greece and France, it added.

The purchase came days after Turkey's military said it was planning to spend close to $1 billion for its first long-range missile defense system. U.S. President Barack Obama canceled a long-planned missile shield for Eastern Europe, replacing a Bush-era project that was opposed by Russia with a plan he contended would better defend against Iranian missiles.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Turkey's move was aimed at strengthening the country's defense, rejecting media speculation that the system is meant specifically to protect the country from Iranian missiles. But a European diplomat said Obama’s decision may be part of a trade that includes sending other missiles to Turkey.

Scalp missiles have been in the Greek airbase since last week, said Ta Nea, adding Greece had acquired an advantageous position for the first time in terms of defense.

“Thanks to the Scalps, Greek pilots will remain out of range of anti-aircraft systems and be able to hit larger targets,” said Ta Nea. When launched from Greece’s Maritsa region Scalp missiles have a range that can hit Istanbul, according to the paper.

When launched from Lesbos and Rhodes islands in the Aegean, the range covers all of the Aegean region as well as parts of mid-Anatolia. Turkey and the United States tried to prevent the purchase claiming that it violated the range limits in the protocol over the control of nuclear energy, said the daily.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php? ... 2009-09-22

[Simon]

Greece has had the capability for a long time to cause Turkey a lot of damage if there was ever a war. This is why a Greco-Turkish war would be in neither countries interest. Greece's whole philosophy vis-a-vis Turkey is to be capable of causing Turkey so much damage that Turkey would want to avoid a war with Greece.

Considering Turkey dwarfs Greece in size, it is quite remarkable that Greece has managed to maintain such a military balance against the Turkish threat. A testament to previous Greek economic success. This is why it would be most ludicrous for the RoC to alienate Greece, easily its most important ally, as some in this forum have suggested.