Retired U.S. Colonel Douglas Macgregor has made striking claims regarding U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey and Turkey-Pakistan relations.
Macgregor stated that during his time at the Pentagon, he prepared a report recommending the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Incirlik Air Base, describing the failure to do so as "unfortunate."
Asserting that Turkey is not dependent on U.S. nuclear weapons, Macgregor claimed that Turkey could obtain nuclear weapons from Pakistan if the need arose.
According to Macgregor, Pakistan had previously given assurances to Turkey on this matter. He claimed that in 2011, Turkish General Staff officials conveyed the following message to the U.S. side:
"If we need nuclear weapons, we do not rely on you for them. The Pakistanis have given us their word on this."