"Can Turkey Give Our Defense Secrets to Iran?" - THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS SCOOPS NRO BY 6 MONTHS

WHAT'S AT NRO TODAY:

Can Turkey Give Our Defense Secrets to Iran? [Michael Rubin]

The truth is we don’t know. We’re on the verge of selling Turkey our most advanced fighter, and there has been little attention given to what the shift in Turkey’s foreign-policy orientation means when it comes to technology-sharing. From some congressional testimony I gave today at a hearing about Turkey:

Precisely because the F-35 will be the fighter the U.S. Air Force will most depend on to maintain air superiority in the decades ahead, the decision to sell F-35s to Turkey, whose future foreign policy orientation is in question, should be reviewed by appropriate Defense Department elements to assess possible loss of critical technology to states of concern. Congress should mandate that review, specify that it be completed within the year, and then make it available to the appropriate committees of Congress.

Would it really hurt for Secretary Gates to explain what steps the Pentagon has taken to ensure that the secrets of the aircraft we are going to rely on for decades to come are safe? Sure, Turkey is a NATO partner, but would our secrets be safe from potential rogue operators in the government or military? Does the Pentagon know? Does President Obama care?

WAS HERE AT THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS 6 MONTHS AGO - BEFORE ANYONE ELSE.

AND WE POSTED IT AGAIN IN JUNE. TWICE. NO - THRICE.

AND AGAIN IN JULY. TWICE.

THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF, FOLKS:

IF OUR MILITARY SECRETS FALL INTO IRAN'S HANDS THEN THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO NEUTRALIZE A PREEMPTIVE ATTACK AND GAIN NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

ONCE THAT HAPPENS THEY'VE ACHIEVED DETERRENCE - JUST LIKE THEIR COMRADES IN NORTH KOREA.

WE MUSTN'T LET THAT HAPPEN.

THE BEST WAY FOR US TO ENSURE IT WON'T IS TO VOTE GOP THIS NOVEMBER.