Retired US Army Colonel and former Pentagon adviser Douglas Macgregor has revealed that he recommended US President Donald Trump withdraw American nuclear weapons stationed in Türkiye.
Speaking in an interview with Turkish platform TR Haber, Macgregor described Türkiye’s position within NATO as “fragile”.
He also claimed that Pakistan had pledged to provide Ankara with nuclear weapons if necessary.
Macgregor referred to a visit made several years ago by a senior Turkish official to the tomb of an Ottoman sultan, saying the visit was far from symbolic.
He described it as “a huge message to anyone who knows the history of the region that the Turks are back”, and as a clear signal to Israel that Türkiye would not tolerate the occupation of Damascus.
Recommendation to Remove US Nuclear Bombs From Türkiye
Macgregor said that during his time at the US Department of Defence, he drafted a memorandum that was sent to the White House urging Trump to withdraw all US nuclear bombs from Türkiye.
Some of the weapons stationed there are believed to be B61 gravity bombs.
He said there was no longer a need for the weapons to remain in Türkiye and argued that withdrawing them would also prevent any future scenario in which senior-level decisions might be taken to seize control of the weapons and deny the United States access to them.
Although the recommendation was not implemented, Macgregor described that outcome as “unfortunate”, while adding that it did not amount to an emergency.
Claim of Pakistani Nuclear Commitment to Türkiye
Macgregor also argued that Türkiye would not need to rely on Washington if it decided to acquire nuclear weapons.
He claimed that the Turkish General Staff had told US officials explicitly as early as 2011: “If we need nuclear weapons, we don’t need you. The Pakistanis have promised them to us.”
According to Macgregor, this helps explain the depth of what he described as the “Pakistani-Turkish-Saudi alliance”.
He argued that the relationship extends beyond shared religious affiliation and is rooted in broader strategic considerations.
