It is true that the political authority has concentrated on solving both its internal and external problems, such as the Kurdish question, Cyprus and the problems with Armenia, through diplomacy as it takes important steps to foster good relations with many of its neighbors. However, so long as Turkey is unable to introduce a system in which the military-led bureaucracy's powerful role in decision-making mechanism comes to an end, it will continue to be hijacked by the establishment's imposition of policies based on military power.
Take Turkey's recent policies in dealing with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Kurdish question as an example. Instead of concentrating more on making democratic changes in laws that will pave the way for more freedoms for Kurds in particular and for all Turkish citizens in general, the option of buying more arms and pursuing military measures to deal with both the PKK and the Kurdish question has emerged as a priority.
A top US official's remarks during a press conference in Ankara last Saturday sounded like a repetition of what US President Barack Obama told the media during his meeting with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in early December of last year. During that media conference, Obama pledged equipment and more actionable intelligence support to Ankara in helping in its fight against the PKK. In return, it is understood that the US has been lobbying to deploy two anti-ballistic missile radars on Turkish soil under the umbrella of NATO to deter nations such as Iran that it describes as rogue states.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who met with both the Turkish and US media in Ankara last Saturday, said the US may offer Turkey more help with equipment and intelligence to combat the PKK, which operates from bases in neighboring northern Iraq.
"I offered during my visit here to see if there are more capabilities that we can share with Turkey in terms of taking on this threat," he said.
Gates also said Gen. Ray Odierno, the top US officer in Iraq, discussed an "action plan" on possible further assistance with Turkish officials when he visited Ankara earlier this week.
From Gates' remarks, I can categorize three aspects (mainly military means) of the US's increased support to Turkey:
1. The US may provide more real-time intelligence to Turkey to enable the Turkish military to monitor PKK activities in northern Iraq 24 hours a day instead of about 12 hours if the US deploys a second unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform to the region.
2. The US has been talking to nations that have Cobra helicopters in their inventory to transfer some of them to Ankara and thereby bridge the Turkish gap in the fight against the PKK. Furthermore, the US has been looking into ways in which it can transfer armed Reaper UAVs to Ankara.
3. As part of an action plan, about which both countries' officials decline to go into detail, Turkey and the US have decided to work on measures to end the PKK presence in northern Iraq as quickly as possible, but a Turkish diplomat has said no result has been achieved so far in ending the PKK presence in northern Iraq.
The PKK has been using its bases in the region to stage attacks against Turkish targets. Due to cold weather in the region, the PKK has staged no major or frequent assaults recently.
It is natural for a state to not abandon military measures in its fight against terrorism, but an emphasis on political measures is key to forcing the terrorist organization to lay down its arms.
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