July 15, 2016... A day of bitter reminiscence for Turkey which is a country that is quite familiar with the term coup d’état. What happened on that day was a shocker nonetheless... I have a hard time fathoming what would happen if this endeavour had been successful and the people of the Republic were not able to suppress the ‘revolters’ and extinguish the countrywide ‘wildfire’.
Thankfully the coup was without a ‘coup de grâce’...
Of course this whole thing came with a price... Many lives are lost, families are divided and the overall morale of the country was at risk of dissipating... Subsequent days were filled with question marks...
In the aftermath of the premature coup attempt, everyone, from the pundits to the people on the streets, was discussing possibilities about our future once they got over their ‘deer caught in headlights’ state.
“The world is on the brink of having a heart attack, what we are experiencing now are merely the numbness in the arm prior to the ‘main event’. Once the heart stops, World War III commences...”
Soner Yalçın, who is one of the most established journalists in the country, chose to look at the past before trying to foresee what is to come. His article published on July 21st, sheds a light on how the Gulen movement has infiltrated the armed forces and how this whole thing dates back to the 70’s. Apparently the United States, helped the fundamentalists in this matter. Their purpose was to rid the military from soldiers who were leaning towards the left in their political views. The key name in this whole operation was Commander Cemal Özkan who served as the head of the Military Academy. And guess what? A lot of the high ranking officials that were involved in the failed coup attempt were students at the Academy during Özkan’s ‘reign’. Coincidence? I think not!
Of course nothing really satiates people’s hunger for information...
Who is responsible?
Is it over?
How could this happen?
Is our country on the verge of a dark future?
The questions are prevalent but the answers are pretty scarce and most of the time unsatisfying. When push comes to shove regarding political and military matters, like so many people in Turkey, I call my friend Mete Yarar. He used to be a major in the Turkish Special Forces and now works as a freelance anti-terror and military strategist.
When Mete could find time from numerous live TV and press interviews during these topsy turvy days, we met up for a quite stressful but considerably enlightening tête-à-tête... Considering the delicacy of the situation and in order not allow any of my interpretations in the matter, I preferred to directly write down our conversation for all of you to construe on your own.
“This is an operation with the solitary purpose of debilitating the Republic of Turkey.”
What does the current condition of the Turkish Armed Forces demonstrate? Which quandaries of the past have brought this upon us?
There are many rumors regarding the members of the Gulen movement situating themselves in the armed forces for quite some time. So much so that some even believe this whole thing dates back to as far as 30 to 40 years ago. However recently, especially after the Ergenekon and Balyoz incidents, these people increased both their momentum and power by infiltrating the armed forces and the police departments. They carried out operations in which anyone who was not on their side were metaphorically annihilated. These people had such long reaching arms that they even had some of the media outlets under their control.
Could the reason for this attempt be a diversion in order to incapacitate Turkey regarding the social and political unrest in the country’s Southeastern region?
This is an operation with the solitary purpose of debilitating the Republic of Turkey. Before going any further, it would be wise to point out that the people who are responsible for this coup attempt are not soldiers but merely terrorists in military uniforms. Moreover what they are trying to enfeeble are not only the military but every aspect of the government.
Apparently they were not as successful as they presumed in infiltrating all the levels of the government...
The police force was the first to rid themselves of the infiltrators. In the meantime, following the coup attempt the military, the judicial system and all other levels will be, for lack of a better word, ‘cleansed’. These traitors were nothing but worthless worms gnawing on a ripe apple.
“This so called congregation has direct ties to foreign governments and operating under undeviating support from these powers.”
Is it possible for the Gulen Movement to have so much power or is there some other hidden force pulling the strings?
If they were only operating domestically, it would not be wise to search for a ‘puppeteer’. However since they are comfortably holding an international presence, one has to consider them being under a greater patronage. To sum up, this so called congregation has direct ties to foreign governments and operating under undeviating support from these powers. Let’s not forget that even the U.S. is being controlled by forces unbeknown to the common man and these forces are assembling a dark future for the entire globe.
Why don’t we steer away from conspiracy theories and deal with the palpable facts at hand?
It is quite obvious what the U.S. is doing when it comes to North Africa and the Middle East. America’s international policies are based on being involved in other countries’ personal politics, reestablishing borders, executing financial operations and subsequently interfere their comings and goings. These are not just my opinions but also the views of United States’ high ranking political figures. A U.S. based think tank named the Rand Cooperation has pointed out all of this in a report it generated right after 9/11. When I asked them to elaborate on the matter their reply was; “If we want to increase our power and presence in the world, we have to help create certain groups and congregations, and the Gulen Movement is simply one of them”
“The most substantial threat to the welfare of the world is radicalism.”
But we cannot deny the fact that terrorism is no longer a local but a global problem these days...
The most substantial threat to the welfare of the world is radicalism. As the social and economical injustices increase, and the ecological system falters, the whole balance of the world as we know it shifts. And as a result of this ‘teetering’ radicalism becomes prevalent. The world is on the brink of having a heart attack, what we are experiencing now are merely the numbness in the arm prior to the ‘main event’. Once the heart stops, World War III commences...
Will the current situation negatively effect the Turkish-U.S. relations?
We are living at an era where the battles are not fought conventionally. These are the times of ‘flagless’ fourth generation wars. Look at Russia and Ukraine... They certainly had an immense battle among each other where one side literally lost some of its land. However ostensibly there was no war like the ones we are used to seeing in history books.
So could the involvement of the Incirlik Air Base in the failed coup attempt be a catalyst for a ‘flagless’ battle?
Let’s not forget that Incirlik is not just an American but a Turkish-American joint air base. Therefore it would not be reasonable to consider every jet taking off from the area to be U.S. affiliated.
“It would be naive to think that these traitors have no future plans, however they never will have this much impact again.”
Do you think this nightmare is over or was this a preview for something worse?
These terrorists in military uniforms undoubtedly had significant power and connections. However the citizens of Turkey who have suffered from the consequences of the past unfortunate coups, united as one and helped crush this ‘venomous’ attempt once and for all. It would be naive to think that these traitors have no future plans, however they never will have this much impact again. What we need to be cautious about is the social unrest they are going to be indirectly imposing on the citizens and start a civil mayhem.
Many high ranking military officials have been arrested due to their involvement. Has this altered the citizens’ and the world’s perception of the military?
It does not really matter how many generals or officials have been arrested. They can easily be replaced however the main issue at hand is the deteriorating morale of the military. After the 1974 coup in Greece, the military personnel were ashamed to be seen in public wearing their uniforms. While bombs are exploding in various Turkish cities, it is sad that the military has to deal with this image problem caused by these treacherous people.