Turkey carried out an incredible military/intelligence operation Saturday night. A team consisting of members of the special forces and MIT (National Intelligence Organization) operatives launched an operation at 2300 that lasted around nine hours and retrieved Süleyman Şah’s remains from the Süleyman Şah mausoleum located within Syria.
38 of our soldiers were brought back to Turkey in an operation carried out using drones, armored vehicles and armored ambulances. We will post a fresh batch of soldiers there and Süleyman Şah’s remains will be reburied in a safer region inside Syria.
You read all the details about this operation in the article published on Sunday by Yeni Şafak’s Ankara correspondent Çetiner Çetin, who for two days followed the events, and has written about the region and the operation.
The details of the operation were also revealed Sunday. There has been serious debates about the reasons behind the operation, the concerns that led to it, why such an operation was deemed necessary, and the known and unforeseen consequences that it might have. But this issue is not just related to Süleyman Şah.
ATTACK ON SÜLEYMAN ŞAH: DOMESTIC ACCOMPLICES
In recent days some quarters, the CHP (Republican People’s Party) in particular, were speculating that an attack of Süleyman Şah was imminent.
This speculation, rather than merely being a concern or possibility, and based on inside information that some domestic quarters had, was fueling suspicion that there would be an attempt at provocation by attacking the Süleyman Şah mausoleum, which carries immense significance for Turkey.
Something was underfoot and some quarters were aware of this plot. Perhaps it also involved cooperation. Some circles, both inside and outside Turkey, were preparing for an event where the blame would be apportioned to ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), or an event that would be disguised as being an ISIL operation.
In this sense, preparations were underway to not depict the Süleyman Şah issue as one regarded to ISIL but to create a domestic situation that would lead to uncertainty amid the Turkish public in the run-up to elections. Some people want to use terrorism to settle scores with Turkey, and for this purpose they had chosen the Süleyman Şah mausoleum, which is one of the most sensitive and historic places for Turkey.
There was reaction to claims made by Metehan Demir, a journalist, that soldiers stationed at that outpost were helpless, and the speculation spread by the CHP and some other domestic quarters had the public deeply troubled. Sources in the office of the General Staff were upset with this news article and these claims, and there was a growing conviction that these claims were being spread on purpose. This operation was undertaken after claims emerged that ISIL was about to launch an attack and that Turkey was struggling to rotate its soldiers posted there.
Serious changes are being seen right across the region, and this is what I have been trying to draw attention to in my recent articles. There is an extraordinary amount of activity being witnessed not just in Syria and Iraq but right across the region extending to Libya, with ISIL and other organizations serving as the prop for it. This activity could lead to jarring developments in the near future. This is because a scenario exists where countries are being led into a trap by organizations, and the existence of such a scenario doesn’t bode well.
TURKEY WAS BEING LED INTO A TRAP
Another possibility exists within this framework: There is an increasing likelihood of a wide-ranging operation against ISIL, which has made its presence felt in Jordan, Egypt and Libya in recent days, and is becoming more regionalized. In such an event the first place that the organization would launch an attack against Turkey -- which could be part of the coalition against the organization – would be at Süleyman Şah. This would mean sacrificing our soldiers stationed there.
Yet again there were some sources voicing claims that the organization was making certain preparations in Turkey itself. It is well within the bounds of possibility for the organization, which is heavily influenced by foreign intelligence agencies, to suddenly turn its attention on Turkey. There is a strong possibility that domestic terrorist attacks in Turkey will henceforth be carried out in the guise of ISIL. It is possible that Turkey was spurred to take action both due to the possibility of an attack on Süleyman Şah and possibilities of attacks on the Turkish mainland.
What is even more interesting is that Saturday night’s operation by Turkey was carried out in cooperation with the Kurds. Regardless of how important this cooperation might have been in terms of the operation, it could be used as an excuse by ISIL to target Turkey. Don’t get me wrong, but this could be used as an excuse to point ISIL toward Turkey, just like was witnessed in the incidents in Jordan and Egypt. It is possible that the “mastermind” is drawing Turkey into a trap, just like it drew Jordan and Egypt into a trap.
But this isn’t the main strong possibility. The strong possibility or plot would have been the organization attacking Süleyman Şah and harming our troops stationed there. This would mean making the organization and Turkey face off, and forcing Turkey to cope with a long-lasting wave of terror that would also reflect domestically. This possibility is a completely foreign-produced scenario and still needs to be taken seriously.
In other words, Süleyman Şah would have been transformed into a trap for us.
DRAWING TURKEY INTO A WAR AGAINST ISIL…
I wrote an article titled “ISIL might strike Turkey” concerning this topic on Feb. 18 and pointed out the danger. This is my take:
The Shia were the primary target for ISIL. It had commenced action in Syria and Iraq in response to Iranian influence. It was using Sunniism. It suddenly changed strategy and directed its attention toward Sunni Kurds. I have not come across a convincing argument yet that explains this surprising turn of events.
Following this, it provoked Jordan by brutally immolating a Jordanian pilot. Jordan declared war against ISIL, but actually it was drawn into a trap. It couldn’t have won that war and would become seriously destabilized. In the immediate wake of that, 21 Egyptian Copts were killed by the organization and images of the executions were disseminated. Egyptian war planes attacked some locations in Libya, and Egypt was drawn into a conflict with ISIL. In truth, Egypt, too, was becoming part of the scenario to destabilize on the basis of the organization.
TRAP SET BY THOSE QUARTERS, NOT ISIL
This concern brings Turkey into the spotlight. A new target could have been chosen for the organization and its attention directed toward Turkey, just like its sudden declaration of war against the Kurds. In recent times, there have been serious indicators pointing toward this. Some people are counting on ISIL directing its attention on Turkey. Those people would test Turkey through this organization.
Saturday night’s operation was intended to render all such scenarios void. It was intended to no longer allow Süleyman Şah to be a target and disable this trap set for Turkey.
Turkey disrupted a major plot. Whose plot? Not ISIL’s, but that of foreign intelligence agencies active within that organization. They were going to use Süleyman Şah to strike at Turkey and drag Turkey toward a major disaster.
