I think this is an incurable disease. Armed with the weapons entrusted to them by the people, they think they are entitled to rule the country simply because they are more “powerful” and “enlightened” than the people. To turn this self-appointed role into a “legitimate duty” in the eyes of the public, they engage in all kinds of strange activities that amount to plotting against not only democracy but also the security of the state and the citizens.
The latest “sledgehammer” plan is just a new example. I would recommend that you all read the full text of the plan as published in the Taraf daily to understand the poverty of a military mindset that plots against its own people.
The General Staff accepted the documents as work of a “war game” conducted between 2003 and 2006. This is too good, too perfect to be a war game. It can even be said that “sledgehammer” is the most detailed coup plan this country has ever known.
It plans all three stages of establishing a government under the military command: prepare the social ground to justify the coup, carry out the takeover process and plan the post-coup government.
In the first stage the Islamic elements were to be provoked by bombing two mosques in İstanbul during Friday prayer, the most crowded occasion for any mosque. The plotters even were prepared to shoot the bombings with two cameras and broadcast these scenes of terror to incite anger among the people. Believe me, they even determined the angle with which the explosion and the aftermath would be shot in order to catch the most shocking moments. Then the angry crowd would be directed to raid a military compound. The plan even included the names of the soldiers in each team that would observe and bomb the mosques and incite the people.
The plot planned in detail what was to be done during the actual takeover. Who would be detained, where they would be kept, who would be contacted to support the coup, who would be fired in public offices and who would be brought into office. These were all determined name by name in the judiciary, ministries, the intelligence service, banks, the İstanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) and even private companies. It also had a Cabinet with a prime minister and ministers appointed by the military command.
And the General Staff called this a “scenario,” a war game. Nobody would believe them. They were caught red-handed once again. The sledgehammer is a “master of art” plan on how to stage a military coup. Ayse Karabat is right: All these are disgustingly banal. But all well thought out and effective.
Another important detail of this coup attempt is its plan to drag Greece into conflict with Turkey. In this the plotters envisaged a conflict with Greek air forces over the Aegean in which at least one Turkish jet was to be shot down by Greek jets. If this could not be done, the plotters planned to crash a Turkish jet and place the blame on the Greeks. The whole point in this “war scenario” was to provoke public anger, make the Turkish government appear weak and raise the calls on the military to do something about the situation.
This is an important point that reveals the mindset of the military plotters. They seem to be ready to not only bombs mosques in İstanbul but to go to war in order to reach their political objectives. As such the plan shows that the Turkish military’s incurable political ambitions pose a regional and global threat. So, maintaining democracy in Turkey is also a matter of regional and global peace, security and stability. A Turkey under such generals will be a source of threat greater than Iraq under Saddam Hussein or Iran under Khomeini because these generals of Turkey who prepared the Cage action plan of 2009 and the Sledgehammer plan of 2003 are prepared to sacrifice everything to get to power and sustain it.
Therefore, neither democracy nor security can be provided with such a military that harbors these kind of officers in its ranks.
