For days, the newspapers and TV channels have been discussing whether a chief of general staff should have such great importance attached to him in a democratic country or whether the top brass should openly express their opinions, acting like political party leaders. They soon moved to discuss the concept of "Türkiyelilik" (being of or from Turkey), the religious communities, the intellectual level of the speech, the terrorists in the mountains and many other topics.Really, why should chiefs of general staff or, more generally, military officers feel the urge to make comments about every topic like a political party? And why do they ponder least about their own business? Do they think sufficiently about the international war strategies, the country's security, the changing balances and conjuncture in the world? Despite the fact that the general public has deep suspicions about the military's interest in their own profession, why do they repeatedly make statements targeting domestic politics?
Since the Ottoman Empire, the military has assumed that it is responsible for social engineering. Modernization and Westernization have been undertaken through the agency of the army, which claimed a monopoly on deciding the trends of development in the country. In retrospect, we can see that the military could be confined to its barracks only during the time of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, when the duty of guiding the society was transferred to civilians. When the Democrat Party (DP) assumed the governmental office after the time of Atatürk and İsmet İnönü, the military conducted the military coup of 1960, and reclaimed its mandate for social engineering. This is the underlying mentality in all military coups.
In other words, the military thinks they should be instrumental in deciding where the country should head, what policies should be used to govern the country or how society should be modernized. As Nevzat Tandoğan, the governor of Ankara during the time of İnönü, had said, "If communism will come to this country, it will be us who will bring it"; they think that it is their duty or right to make new initiatives if they are really needed. In other words, this country will be as democratic as the military makes it or it will not be democratic.
The world is quickly changing and Turkey is changing more quickly than the world. The gap between our country and the modern world is diminishing day by day. Although its progress was frequently interrupted by military coups, Turkish society is making considerable progress in modernization. Obviously, modernization cannot be achieved only through formal changes such as people's apparel. Turkey is becoming a society of individuals who read, learn and closely monitor developments around the world, who respect the rights of others, who seek respect for their own rights and whose self-confidence is increasing every day. Thanks to technological developments, they can better understand what goes on around them. Having previously been the toy of social engineers, Turkish society is now aware of what is going on. Turkey is now asking more and more questions and seeks more and more rights. For instance, people are asking why the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism has remained the same for 30 years without diminishing or increasing. They wonder why people are continually killed in inexplicable murders and why their assailants are never found. They are aware of the fact that terrorist attacks are actually vehicles for manipulating Turkish politics. They are now truly curious about the real owners of the terrorism beast that has decided the course of politics in this country for 40 years, only changing its name or ideology from time to time. In the past, all inexplicable murders would be buried in the ground, but today this is not how things are -- whatever crimes are committed will be clearly known to everyone. Technology poses a serious threat to the shady networks.
At the same time, the world and our surroundings change as well. Turkey's geopolitical position has changed. Greece, Syria and Bulgaria are no longer big threats to us. The situation in Iraq or in the Caucasus is considerably different today.
Başbuğ's speech should be reviewed from this perspective. There is a historical background to the military's garrulousness about the common agenda items in Turkey. They try to impose a new vision on Turkey, as they have done since the Ottoman era. They express their approval or disapproval for various things.
But they cannot see the progress society has made. Turkish society is considerably ahead of the military with respect to modernization.
