Turkey sought NATO membership to secure guarantees against potential invasion by the Soviet Union, which made several overtures towards control of the Straits of the Dardanelles. In March 1945, the Soviet… See more

In 1948, Turkey began indicating its desire for NATO membership, and throughout 1948 and 1949 American officials responded negatively towards Turkish requests for inclusion. In May 1950, during Ismet Inön… See more

Incirlik air base has been a military air base since the 1950s and since then has gained more and more importance. It was built between 1951 and 1952 by US military contractors and has been in operation since 1955. In th… See more

The first military deployment in view to NATO was in the Korean War from July 1950 onwards. Turkey deployed 4500 soldiers to the United Nations Command in support of the South Koreans. The Turkish soldiers lef… See more