As such, the Ergenekon case concerns not only the public prosecutors who investigate it but also the military command. The presence of military weapons outside military compounds has to be properly explained. How and by whom were those weapons taken off military bases? When and for what purpose? The connections of military personnel, active or retired, involved in Ergenekon and their activities have to be investigated.
This would mean broadening the Ergenekon investigation into the military itself. Given the division of the Turkish judicial system, military personnel and their activities can only be investigated and tried by military courts. So it is up to the military to decide what to do with military personnel accused of engaging in criminal acts.
In fact the Ergenekon case is a golden opportunity for the military to rid itself of any criminal gangs and establish its credibility as a trusted institution in the eyes of the people at home and allies abroad.
But there are people like Gen. Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu and Gen. İsmail Hakkı Karadayı, former chiefs of general staff, still suggesting that the Ergenekon case has been set in motion to weaken the military and that "foreign powers" are behind this "operation." What is meant by "foreign powers" is the US, Turkey's ally and the Turkish military's "comrade-in-arms" since 1952. If this attitude of denial and conspiracy prevails, the public and international image of the Turkish military will suffer.
There is no wisdom in giving an impression that the Turkish military tolerates illegal organizations within itself, that it does not take the smuggling of weapons and ammunition out of its bases seriously and that its weapons are used in some terrorist activities. A blow will be dealt to the Turkish military's international standing if it does not act to get rid of those who are planning to use the military and its arsenal to incite violence in Turkey.
This investigation provides an opportunity for the military to eliminate adventuristic groups within its ranks who plot a military coup or prepare the ground for such an act. It is obvious now that those who contemplate a military coup are not only anti-Justice and Development Party (AK Party) but are also arch-enemies of the West, the EU and the US. What they had in mind was not only toppling the government but also installing a government that would redirect Turkey's foreign policy and security alignment toward the Russian/Iranian/Chinese axes.
Concerned about the influence of pro-Eurasianist coup plotters within the military, the General Staff seems to silently support the Ergenekon investigation. By this, I guess, the Turkish military at large is clearing the way to reposition itself in the Western alliance.
But the pro-Eurasianists have a very significant following in the military that cannot be ignored. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ is trying to keep those Eurasianist followers and sympathizers in the military by appearing cautious over the case.
It will, however, take a long time to silence the Eurasianist anti-NATO elements within the military. Withdrawal of American troops from Iraq might be a development that would calm anti-American sentiment in the Turkish military that feeds the Eurasianist position. Moreover the Obama administration's open and strong support for democratic forces in Turkey may also keep the Eurasianists in the military at bay.
Anyhow, the domestic and international credibility of the Turkish military is at stake. The Turkish military cannot afford to harbor anti-Western adventurists who are inclined to put an end to Turkey's democratic institutions. If these adventurists get the upper hand, the Turkish military will be no different from the military of Saddam Hussein.
