Some of the nuclear devices and war heads are also stored on the Island of Diego Garcia, which once belonged to Mauritius but is currently under British control. The Island of Diego Garcia is occupied by the US, it is from there that most of its bombers are supplied with additional support.

The withdrawal from Britain was not announced officially, but was confirmed by several sources, the report's author, nuclear weapons expert Hans Kristensen, wrote. The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment. If true, the withdrawal means U.S. nuclear bombs in Europe are now kept at just six bases; in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Italy and Turkey, with the most at Incirlik air base in Turkey and Aviano in Italy, Kristensen wrote.

Following daily Taraf's (another newspaper in Turkey) headline in a report Saturday, protests have been voiced by key organizations in Turkey. Representatives wanted the bombs to be removed from the country immediately, saying, they do not want nuclear weapons in our country.

The Çukurova representative of the Association in Support of Contemporary Living, or ÇYDD, Şafak Evren, told daily Cumhuriyet that the nuclear warheads are a great danger to Turkey and its neighbors and need to be removed immediately, saying, "We are like a colony. This threat must be removed."

The Çukurova representative of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions, or DİSK, Kemal Aslan, said, "The nuclear threat in our country has occurred against us, and it is our duty as the public to everything we can against it."

The Adana spokesman for the Global Peace and Justice Coalition, or BAK, Ali Dinigüzel, pointed out that the İncirlik base is a "war base," saying, "We have organized many protests for this base of war to be shut down and for the disarmament of the nuclear warheads. We do not wish to see Adana and Turkey becoming Hiroshima. We will not give up."

Silent approval

Turkish officials, meanwhile, do not seem to complain much compared to other European countries that voice their uneasiness with America's storage of nuclear weapons in their territories. The issue was high on the agenda several years ago when the United States was trying to relocate its military bases, something that sparked tense discussions mainly on the European continent, home to a massive American troop presence remaining from the post-World War II era. Remaining silent in these discussions, Turkish officials admitted the existence of American nuclear weapons but said that it's an important asset for Turkey to preserve its strategic importance in the eyes of the U.S., which is Turkey's closest ally.  

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