The Hudson Institute, meanwhile, denounced those who might have leaked details of the closed-door meeting, urging them to identify themselves and explain the reason for the leakage of the workshop's contents.
The Hudson Institute-organized workshop allegedly discussed scenarios that might lead to the Turkish military invading northern Iraq as well as a scenario in which Tülay Tuğcu, the former chairwoman of the Constitutional Court, was assassinated.
What made the meeting, among other things, interesting was the participation of Gen. Süha Tanyeri, head of Turkish military think tank the Strategic Research and Study Center (SAREM) and Turkish Military Attaché at Turkey's Embassy in Washington Gen. Bertan Nogaylaroğlu, as well as some other Turkish military officials.
From Gül's statement to Hürriyet that "If they (Turkish military officials) participated in the meeting they should have had reacted strongly [to the contents] and should have walked out of the meeting," it is understood clearly that Turkey's foreign minister was not aware from the start of the Turkish generals' participation in the meeting.
Whereas in diplomatic practice the ambassador representing the president, i.e., country, in a foreign mission is also responsible for the military attachés appointed to their embassies. Thus military attachés or civilian staff working at the embassies, depending on the topic of the meeting and the nature of the gatherings, should request permission from the Foreign Ministry via their ambassadors prior to their attendance.
Thus the Hudson-organized workshop once again highlights a problem of the dual-state concept -- i.e., the military-led secular establishment and the political authority -- existing in Turkey and inflicting serious damage on Turkey's management of both internal and external policies.
According to another local media report, a participant in the workshop allegedly stated that the US extradition of some senior PKK terrorists to Turkey at this stage -- July 22 will see early general election in Turley that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is cited to win, according to opinion polls -- will play into the hands of the ruling AK Party.
It is not a secret that the military-led secular establishment has been working hard to use every possible tool, including late-night "e-memorandums," to prevent the further rise of the AK Party, who they accuse of infringing on the country's secular order.
Another scenario allegedly discussed during the Hudson meeting is an attack in İstanbul's busy Beyoğlu district, killing over 50 people and injuring around 200, with rumors to be circulated that it was the work of the PKK prompting the Turkish military to invade northern Iraq.
In fact in May of last year I wrote a column for a Turkish daily at which I used to work, quoting senior Turkish generals as intending to invade northern Iraq if an attack by the PKK resulted in the death of several thousand people or if an attack occurred against the Turkish soldiers based in northern Iraq, numbering around 1,350.
For that reason when I read in various Turkish dailies the leaked excerpts of the scenarios allegedly being discussed at the Hudson workshop I was not much surprised, as I have known since last year that the military has had invading northern Iraq in mind if it could be justified by a devastating attack in Turkey.
One Western diplomat was telling me recently that by virtue of being in Turkey, he could now understand that conspiracy theories may turn out to be realities.
Unfortunately in our geography, instead of the functioning of the basic rules of democracy, conspiracy theories that are far from wisdom dictate people's thoughts and actions -- just as they do in some sectors of the state.
Isn't it that mentality that prompted the security guard of a housing complex in Ankara where former Turkish Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk is living, to write an assassination scenario to the ex-minister, as well as sticking on his door a note that he would die. The "scenarist" later admitted to the police that he was influenced by Hudson-related reports of a scenario based on an assassination of Tuğcu.
This is very tragicomic.
