No idea or action develops in an instant. They require long periods of time. That is why it is very important to know the history of many actions and ideas we encounter today. This enables us to identify the basis of these ideas and actions. Hence we will be able to identify and understand the events and ideas that shape them.
It is of course very important for Turkey to follow the developments taking place in the region and make decisions about some of these developments which bear political risks. We don’t claim that these decisions are indisputable. However, while expressing an opinion about these decisions, if one tries to bring the ideas of others into the agenda, it means something else. Having a secret agenda when criticizing decision-makers who shape state policies and individuals whose ideas and decisions are implemented in the field won’t bring any good to this country. Well, how should we interpret the fact that we encountered such steps in the past and are still encountering them in the present?
President Erdoğan gave very clear messages about the terror elements east of the Euphrates River in Syria, as well as their structuring and supporters. He stated that Turkey will not allow a terror corridor, which is trying to be created by the U.S. and its supporters through the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian affiliate, the PYD. He also said Turkey is going to take action as soon as possible to prevent this. This was neither a threat, nor a challenge, nor an irresponsible act. Turkey is in unity regarding what might take place in the next step and has evaluated that this corridor in the making is a major threat to its security. Erdoğan’s clear messages show that Turkey has decided to resist the possible risks in eliminating this threat. Because this corridor trying to be created is going to harm Turkey’s interests.
We completely understand that various states are involved in some actions against our country. It is obvious that at certain times such struggles have dragged countries into war. This is what we call international struggles and this is what states do. One of the requirements of this struggle is to gather men from the other side. States either infiltrate the other side with their men or to get those on the other side to be their double agents.
Recruiting men is not an imaginary issue. Unfortunately, this is one of the issues which has dominated the last two hundred years of our history. We have to accept that, for the last two hundred years, some among us were recruited by foreign powers. It is clear that we consider the issue of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) in this context. However, limiting infiltration and recruitment by other powers only to FETÖ will lead us into a serious misunderstanding. We saw that the nation could not be taken over on July 15. However, it is obvious that we need to consider the importance of the issue of recruitment on the level of elites.
There are many ways to prioritize the other countries’ interests in all the crisis or problems we, as Turkey, encounter. Trivializing these problems or ignoring them is an effective method. As the years pass we may have to face the same problem, only bigger this time, and we may blame the decision makers for not taking any precautions on time. Trivializing our country’s power is another effective method. In this way, it is possible to prevent the necessary measures from being taken. This can be termed as immobilizing an entire country. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks case is a good example of this.
Turkey was distanced from its problems related to Syria, thus the maneuvering area of global powers expanded. Of course, this problem grew over time and we came to the brink of war with Russia. Moreover, in this period, Russia has become a very powerful and important actor in Syria. A great maneuvering area was opened for countries like the U.S., Britain, Israel, France, Germany, and China. This was also the case for Iran. The Syrian issue became much more difficult for Turkey.
In short, if Turkey does not intervene east of Euphrates River, the problem will take on completely different dimensions. Some of which are not hard to predict. There is no doubt that all of these dimensions will bring about adverse outcomes for Turkey and our geography. Although this is not a hard situation to understand, some insist on their idea that Turkey should do nothing. It would not be wrong if we also put these people into the category of those recruited by foreign powers.
Turkey has to eliminate the terror corridor on its borders and similar artificial structures that could make it impossible for it to take any steps in the future.
