According to reports published in the American press, Patrick Shanahan, the current head of the Department of Defense, who has been appointed after the resignation of James Mattis, has extensive links to the US-Turkey arms trade program.

Patrick Shanahan joined Boeing in 1986 and has been in the company for thirty years. However, he did not have experience in government affairs. According to his introduction report to Defense Department, Shanahan has been the deputy director and director of the Boeing missile defense systems, supervisor of mid-range ground control systems, laser missile systems, vice president and general manager of Boeing's rotorcraft systems, supervising Apache, Chinook and Spray helicopters.

Shanahan’s last position has been the senior vice president of supply and operations at the company prior to his appointment to the Defense Department. Shanahan’s role in overseeing Boeing's rotorcraft systems is directly linked to the Turkish war against the Kurdish liberation movement. The United States of America, for the first time in 2009, announced the sale of CH-47 helicopters to Turkey as part of the sale of weapons worth $ 1.2 billion. The DSCA has noted that the first contractor for this sale should be Boeing's Pennsylvania Ridley Park Company.

The acting Defense Secretary of the United States was also involved in the project. Subsequently, reports were published on the sale of CH-47 helicopter sales contracts between Turkish and US authorities via channels between the two governments. The initial order of these weapons included six CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The country also acted on the same order as 5 helicopters, according to the contract, by 2019, they will reach 11. These helicopters are used to meet transition needs, search and rescue, reinforcing defense forces and preventing regional threats.

According to reports related to the sale of weapons by the United States, most of the airplanes and helicopters used by the Turkish Air Force are American.

As stated by a report published by the US Department of State in 1995 entitled "Human Rights Report in Turkey" and "The Situation in Cyprus", American helicopters were certainly used to transfer security forces to torture, arbitrary detention, and the abduction of people in the 1990s.

Shanahan, as the overseer of the Boeing International Supply Chain System, has played a direct role in the Turkish war crimes. Military reports point out that he is a key supplier and the main Boeing partner in the Turkish TAI air industry. The company has been manufacturing parts of Boeing Airborne computers and other components of Western aircraft such as the F-16, which Turkey has used in bombing Afrin, Shingal and Makhmour this year. Boeing considers TAI as one of its valuable financing chains, and in April 2018, the Turkish company was recognized for participation in risk, supporting long-term relationships and promotion of strategic goals. This title and award went to the company while Shanahan was in the position of Undersecretary of Defense for less than a year. Consequently, observers convey this title as a sign of the relationship between the Shanahan and the Turkish Army.

In a phone call with Erdogan the day before, Donald Trump said that they had discussed the expansion of trade relations with Turkey, he tweeted 13 minutes after the appointment of Shanahan to the Department of Defense. During the week, the United States also announced the sale of Patriot missiles worth 3 billion and 500 million dollars to Turkey. Shanahan’s selection to the Department of Defense shows that the Trump administration is willing to increase its military support to Turkey even though Turkey is threatening to massacre the people of northern Syria.