Many journalists included on the list of the so-called "banned media members" were not invited to the event. A shame on the part of both the journalists and the TSK; the former have not been uniting against the abnormal stance of the TSK, while the latter still does not want to realize, among other things, that the Turkish military is the military of Turkey, not of any other country.After pointing out this abnormal phenomenon, I will touch upon a recent decision by the TSK announced during the Eğirdir press conference by Land Forces Commander Gen. İlker Başbuğ. He confirmed that a professional commando brigade will be set up as of 2008 in the fight against terrorism, within the auspices of the Land Forces Command, ending the ongoing practice of using conscripts from all ranks in this fight.
Başbuğ's announcement comes in the midst of increased criticism that using conscripts with inadequate training in the fight against terrorism should come to an end, replacing them with a professional team to be set up as part of an effective fight against the PKK.
Associate Professor Sedat Laçiner, an expert on international relations and terrorism, wrote in a recently published article, "Those villagers who are cooks or tailors in their villages are fighting against terrorism." He was referring to the TSK's policy of not using specially trained professionals in the fight against terrorists.
Laçiner criticized this TSK practice in his article published on June 10, headlined "Basic Mistakes in our Strategy in the Fight Against Terrorists" and posted on the Web site of Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), of which he is president.
USAK, whose members are academics teaching at the Ankara Police Academy, having deep-rooted expertise in terror issues, recently released a 63-page report on northern Iraq.
In his article Laçiner says: "90 percent of those sent to fight against the PKK are privates and enlisted specialists. In other words they are conscripts. They age between 20 and 25. Some are cooks, some are tailors. Almost none of them have been trained in the fight against terror."
In another report released by USAK last year, a call was made for the state to fight against terrorism to be conducted by professionals instead of conscripts.
Both reports from USAK, coupled with Laçiner's article and other recent articles by various columnists written in the face of increased deaths of Turkish officers in the fight against terrorism, are understood to have alarmed the TSK, prompting it to listen to the advice instead of continuing to ignore it.
I also remember the mother of a conscript officer martyred last year during a clash with the PKK, crying and saying that her son did not even know how to carry a gun.
Thus Gen. Başbuğ's announcement came against this backdrop. The commander declared that all the six commando brigades will consist of 100 percent professional soldiers starting in May 2008 and that this work will be completed by the end of 2009.
Accordingly conscript officers, privates and enlisted specialists will not be used in the fight against terrorism, and the newly established professional commando brigade will comprise specialized sergeants.
This professional commando brigade will be set up to ensure continuity in the fight against terror, Başbuğ added. Conscript officers, meanwhile, will be given tasks within the internal security battalions, he stated.
In Turkey's almost 23-year-long ongoing fight against the PKK, the TSK decision to start fighting terrorism with professionals is a positive step, though came quite late.
I will also add in my column a small piece of advice to the TSK. Please do not allow some of your retired generals to use their guards, composed mainly of privates, for duties other than protecting the generals themselves. The public are very well aware of some retired generals' practice of using their guards for other purposes, such as taking their dogs outside to relieve themselves or for washing dishes.
