I also wonder how Americans would react to a so-called brainstorming session that involves a scenario foreseeing the American generals’ objection to the capture of some al-Qaeda leaders based in Mexico by the security forces of a foreign country and their transfer to the US just because this would increase the popularity of the administration in power. And most importantly, I just cannot imagine how the US administration and American public opinion would react to a plot set at such a brainstorming session to prompt public feelings that would ensure an US Army incursion into Mexico. The impression I got from the US, where I lived for some time, is that you would find the FBI or special police teams at your door in just a few minutes if you even used words like “Islam,” “terror” or “attack” in regular phone conversations.
How will we Turks react when we learn that scenarios more severe and serious than those noted above were discussed at a meeting held in downtown Washington with the participation of Turkish generals, this time in relation to Turkey? Should we see it as an innocent brainstorming activity at a think tank? Or, considering that Iraq and Afghanistan were invaded after similar ridiculous scenarios, should we act knowing how the US foreign policy was influenced by past think tank reports?
Let us first recall the scenarios discussed at the meeting entitled “Turkey Workshop” held at the Hudson Institute, a neoconservative think tank known for its close affiliation with the Bush administration. The following scenario, with real names and times, was discussed at the meeting attended by the Institute’s Turkey Expert Zeyno Baran, Kubat Talabani, son of the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Gen. Suha Tanyeri, director of Center for Strategic Research and Study affiliated with the Turkish General Staff, and the Turkish Military Attaché in Washington Gen. Bertan Nogaylaroğlu:
“On June 18, a suicide bomber attacks a police station in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Fifty, including police officers, tourists and shoppers, are dead and 200 are wounded. Rumors indicate that the PKK perpetrated the attack. One day later, the Interior Ministry announces the attacker was trained in northern Iraq by the PKK. Chief of General Staff Gen. Büyükanıt says the terrorist PKK will continue carrying out attacks on big cities. He makes the call for an immediate military operation into northern Iraq. The US State Department calls for calm. On June 23, Iran announces that the PKK attacked trucks carrying supplies to Syria inside its borders and alleges that the PKK was previously instructed by the US to carry out this attack. Fueled by the attack, the Tehran administration offers Turkey a joint military operation against the PKK. On June 24, former chief justice of the Turkish Constitutional Court Tülay Tuğcu is assassinated. Tuğcu is taken to the hospital in critical condition and dies there the next day. Preliminary investigations reveal that the bomb used in the assassination is the same type as the one detonated in Beyoğlu. On June 25, the Interior Ministry and General Staff announce the involvement of the PKK in the incident. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan decides on a military operation in northern Iraq. On June 29, the Turkish Army enters northern Iraq. The Baghdad administration strongly reacts to the operation. The US State Department underlines the operation will undermine Turkey’s security, as the White House notes Turkey has the right to defend itself.”
This is the egregious scenario that we need to decide how to react about. But in addition to the meeting itself, the reaction of the Turkish generals present at the meeting to the scenario is also important. News reports note that at least three of the participants -- two of them generals -- were Turkish. I think that the Turkishness of Zeyno Baran is debatable given what she has said and done so far. Despite this, Baran asserts that it was not she who objected to the surrender of the PKK leaders to Turkey considering that it would help the current administration consolidate its position. In that case, it became obvious that one of our generals voiced this opinion. This requires an explanation by the General Staff and our generals, who are obligated to work toward ensuring the country’s security irrespective of the political view in power.
More terrifying than the fact that such a meeting was organized by a think tank known for its ties with the administration of the US, our so-called ally, is the presence of our generals there and their reluctance to react to what was discussed. If the case was different than what the media publicized, we have every right to know. The General Staff now bears the responsibility to clarify the matter.
By the way, what Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül needs to do is not say that he did not have the official information forwarded to him in relation to the horrible scenarios discussed at the Hudson Institute. He is obligated to initiate a thorough investigation to ensure a judicial review of what happened.
