Whether the U.S. withdraws or not, Turkey has to intervene in the region we refer to as the “terror corridor.” Regardless of the U.S. or its regional partners’, Daesh or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) agenda, Turkey has to enforce its own agenda.
Everything that has happened in Iraq and Syria since the 2003 invasion of Iraq have been against Turkey’s interests, and will continue to be so. Everyone who viewed these incidents as conjunctural have been mistaken – and they will be mistaken again. The moment the U.S. and its allies saw Turkey’s determination, they always developed a new distraction tactic, and they will do this again.
Those who believe in tactical maneuvers have and will always be caught unprepared. There is no source other than the region’s memory, geographical and historical depth that we can take shelter in or gain strength from. Whenever we relied on this source and took action, we won; whenever we prioritized options other than these, we paid a price.
Even though U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to “withdraw” leads to panic in the PKK, even though it leads to an internal political tremor in the U.S., even if the Secretary of Defense resigns, the partnership between the U.S.-established order and terrorist organizations will continue to threaten Turkey and the region. Even if Trump wants to withdraw, that established order will continue to play its own game. It seems the U.S.-established system is after a bigger ploy than Trump. Then let us see their ploys and watch.
Yet, let it be known that no matter what ploy they resort to, the U.S. has no chance of maintaining its presence in this region and never will. All their hopes have long been dashed. Their plans to reach the Mediterranean through northern Syria ended with Afrin. It ended with Turkey's operations in northern Iraq. The gates to the East and West have been closed.
It is right after this that the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt built a new axis in the south. They lost their hope in the north. Regardless of how much support they give the PKK and other terrorist organizations, it was never possible for them to hold out in the north anyway.
I said it time and again: The time will come when Turkey, Iran, Russia, the patriotic organizations in the region, and as a matter of fact, even the regime in Damascus may have to fight alongside each other against the occupation of northern Syria.
If we had not conducted Operation Euphrates Shield, if we had not intervened in Afrin, we would not have achieved today’s results. Turkey would have been left in a much dire situation. They were going to lean on Hatay to try and pass through to the Mediterranean. If "withdrawal" is being discussed today, one of the reasons behind it is the intervention in Afrin.
This means whoever has the strongest hand will win. You are only as strong as how far your hand reaches. If you do not leave your security and future to others' initiative, you are a great state, you are marching toward the future. Thus, it is clear as day that our plans and interests in the east of the Euphrates cannot be left to any country's initiative.
This is the kind of state Turkey is. Regardless of how confusing the conditions are, it is a country that can foil all scenarios that keep it outside the region. It is not possible to build a region without Turkey. This will be even more obvious in the upcoming period. No foreign force, stopping any terrorist organization from establishing domination anywhere from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean is Turkey's main goal, its main security principle.
In his speech yesterday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made clear Turkey's stance. He gave time for the results of his meeting with Trump, but he also clearly put forth Turkey's main aim. He openly announced that the comprehensive roadmap to clear this zone from the PKK and Daesh will be set into motion.
It is not possible for Turkey to give up this operation simply because the U.S. is withdrawing. Because the U.S. has never been - and will never be - loyal to a single promise it made to Turkey in this region. Because the inconsistency within the U.S. itself does not give us trust. Pentagon is acting like an independent will, the U.S.'s troops in Syria are being controlled not by the White House but Israel.
There must be an intervention east of the Euphrates. This must be done with greater determination especially after the "Withdrawal" statement. A "relentless intervention" aimed at the organizations that are the hitmen of the multinational invasion is obligatory. The ploys put in gear by those who are trying to pit an Arab force, a Peshmerga force against us will be foiled in the same way. The plans to turn that corridor into a Turk-Arab border, to tear apart the two worlds from one another will also fail.
It is geopolitical plans that are clashing, not tactics. The lifespan of each of these plans is at least a century. This is a lens of historical depth from which we look at this region. If this is a "faux withdrawal," it will be obvious within a week. Do not worry, we will not wait long.
