Category Archives: Turkey

Arab Revolutions, Syria, Turkey

Kurds in Syria, FSA in Turkey…………

   

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“Turkey has announced that it will take additional measures against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Syria, after news broke that the PKK’s offshoot in there has seized control of a number of villages along the Syria-Turkey border. Top civilian and military officials held a security summit yesterday to discuss developments inside Syria and along the border. …………”

In this case will Syria reciprocate and take action against the FSA (Free Syrian Salafi Army) and its supply lines in Turkey? Logic would say: hell yeah. Reality would say: not so fast.
Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, NATO, Syria, Turkey, US Foreign Policy

Tonkin Gulf in Syria and Iran: To Hell with Spain?………….

   

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“Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” American refrain, circa 1898


“It’s entirely possible that the main mission of the CIA, in this case, is to sort out who’s who among the rebels, since undoubtedly the more level-headed people in Washington are saying to themselves, “Who are these guys?” (I’m wondering that myself.) but it’s equally possible, and more likely, that the CIA is involving itself more deeply in coordinating the weapons flow into Syria. That’s been reported for a while now, and if so it means that the Obama administration is edging closer to an open, armed regime-change strategy aimed at a major Russian and Iranian ally. Meanwhile, even Turkey’s NATO allies seem to be privately ridiculing Turkey’s assertion that its plane was on a training mission. That seems patent nonsense, and much more likely is that Turkey was testing Syria’s air defense and perhaps trying to provoke the creation of a NATO-imposed, Iraq-style no-fly zone in Syria. Had Syrian jets scrambled to protect its air space, by now hawks and quite a few Obama administration officials would be clamoring for a no-fly edict backed by US armed forces. This is dangerous, Tonkin Gulf–style gamesmanship……………”

No doubt the Turkish story about the warplane smells fishy: too many details are left out and no clear explanation given of its mission. Sounds like a classic set-up, an entrapment of the kind Western powers have used in the past for invasion and interference, from Mexico and the Caribbean (USA) to Algeria (France) and Egypt (Britain). Hitler (do I see Netanyahu perk up?) used the tactic against Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland) and Poland (Danzig/Gdansk).
I believe the US Senate has passed several equivalents of the Tonkin Gulf resolution by now against both Syria and Iran. The USA and the European Union have done so. It is now highly unlikely that the US Congress, both houses, will oppose military action against either Syria or Iran. That in itself is quite a reversal of American thinking, even of what prevailed under George W Bush.
This goes beyond Bush’s war of deterrence, or “if you are not with us you are against us”. This is a policy of “if you remain opposed to us we will eventually attack you”. And it is bi-partisan, just like Tonkin. The aftermath of Tonkin Gulf was quite a waste of so much blood and treasure of both Americans and Asians. Unless they think this one will turn out like Havana and the aftermath of “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!“
Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, Syria, Turkey, US Foreign Policy

Syrian Civil War: Turkish Delight or Turkish Dilemma?………..

   

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“Everything I do seems to make me think of you.
Why I dream of you every night,
Why I seem to like you,
I will never know.
All I really know is that you are a bit strange at times.
Other times you are nice.
You are my turkish delight……..” Turkish Delight (Linger City)

“When the Bush administration sought permission to transit its Iraq invasion troops through Turkish territory in early 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara’s soon-to-be installed prime minister and his Justice and Development party (AKP) bluntly refused. Their bold defiance of America’s will won plaudits around the Arab world, not least from Syria……….. with the prospect of a bilateral or regional conflict inching closer following Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish military plane, Erdogan has swiftly changed his tune. Unwilling to take on Assad by himself, Erdogan turned to the US and Nato for support this week. So much for Turkey’s much discussed “strategic realignment”…….. But Erdogan’s vow to target Syrian military formations should they approach their shared border, support opposition forces “at any cost”, and do all he can to bring down the Assad dynasty, barely disguises the weakness of Turkey’s position. Ankara’s twin priorities are both domestic in nature: modernisation and economic growth. Turkey does not want, and cannot afford, a war along its southern border that would jeopardise these aims, further destabilise the Kurdish regions, and seriously compromise its broader regional interests……………”


Whatever happens in Syria now, the Kurds are winners. The Kurds have already won concessions from both the repressive chauvinistic Baathist regime and from the ‘opposition’. The Baath has been forced to recognize the long-denied Kurdish basic rights: both Iraqi and Syrian branches of the Baath Party have been historically chauvinistic, probably influenced by the Nazism and Fascism of Europe where Aflaq and Bitar studied. The opposition has chosen a Kurd as the new head of the Syrian National Council.  He is now the most prominent Kurd since Khaled Bikdash led the Communist Party, but this does not disprove that he is a figurehead. A Kurd is much more reassuring to the outside world and to Syria’s worried minorities than some wild Salafi or suspected Muslim brother.

A Kurd is also problematic for Turkey. The Turks prefer calling their own Kurds “Mountain Turks”. Cute, but not convincing, least of all for the Kurds. They also restricted the use of the Kurdish language in education (and in official media). The Turks have long faced a rebellion in their Kurdish region, and their rapprochement with the Iraqi Kurds will not solve that: the solution has to be inside Turkey.


Cheers
mhg
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Arab Revolutions, NATO, Syria, Turkey

Syria: Who Shot Down the Turkish F-4?………………

    

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“Turkey said its air force jet that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea on Friday was shot down by Syria, in an action likely to worsen already strained relations between the neighboring countries. A statement following a two-hour security meeting led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the warplane that went missing near Syria was downed by Syrian forces and that the two Turkish pilots remain missing. It said Turkey “will determinedly take necessary steps” in response, without saying what they would be…………”


The reason the Turks are being cautious in their reaction could be that it was the Russian defenses around the Russian naval base at Tartous that shot down the F-4. Al-Quds Al-Arabi from London hints that is a possibility, that there is speculation the Turks may have tried to test Russian and Syrian reaction on behalf of NATO. Either way the Syrian most likely had the green light from Moscow to take action. They would not have dared shoot at it unless it had penetrated their territory.
It also notes that Russia has supplied Syria with the S-300 air defense missiles, the same type that it canceled for Iran two years ago under Western pressure. No doubt the Turks are being cautious because of the Russian angle, given that the Syrian regime itself has little leverage internationally, is up the proverbial creek internationally.
Cheers
mhg
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Egypt, Iran, Muslims, Religion, Turkey

History: al-Nahayan Take Aim at al-Afghani and Mohammed Abdu and British Intelligence and the Grinch……

 

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Shaky (at best) analysis from someone in the UAE aiming at the current ‘enemies” of the al-Nahayan rulers of Abu Dhabi: the Muslim Brothers and the Iranians. He is tying the Muslim Brotherhood to Jamaliddeen al-Afghani (who resided in Cairo for some years) and al-Azhar and Mohammed Abdu (of Egypt) and British intelligence and the Grinch who stole Christmas and the Wicked Witch of the East and the al-Nahayan (at that time they were busy killing each other for power).
He claims that al-Afghani was hiding his Shi’ism, which can be true but is unlikely at the time. In those days (late 19th century) people were not as sectarian as today, mainly because the al-Saud and al-Khalifa did not have access to the vast media they have now to spread their sectarian poison across the Muslim world (actually I believe the al-Saud were exiles in Kuwait at the time). It is true that al-Afghani and Egypt’s Mohammed Abdu influenced the later creators of the Muslim Brotherhood, but their teachings and writings are also claimed by some to have influenced Salafi thought (I doubt this assertion: I had thought these came from the Wahhabi doctrine. But what do I know, I am just an economist).
This piece is political (like my blog postings) and is aimed at ‘discrediting’ the Muslim Brotherhood (M by tying them to Shi’as and to British intelligence (who created the UAE) because the fundamentalist MB are having a dispute with the UAE rulers these days. Personally I don’t care for either one, but this is a transparent attempt by an al-Nahayan pen-slinger. Besides, he is accusing al-Afghani and Mohammed Abdu of being British agents at a time when the whole of the Omani Coast and its sheikhdoms, including the al-Nahayan, were under British control. As I said, the UAE itself was created by the British in 1971 (not necessarily a bad idea). (Speaking of which, whatever happened to the foreign mercenary brigade formed last year by the al-Nahayan brothers from Blackwater veterans and Colombians and Australians and white South Africans and other foreigners?)

Jamal-ad-Din Asadabadi (a k a al-Afghani), was an influential but mysterious character (both Iran and Afghanistan claim him) who resided in Iran, Egypt, India, Iraq, and Istanbul, among other places (including Europe where he visited London and Paris but most likely avoided the Moulin Rouge in Pigalle). He traveled for learning at a young age and influenced Islamic thought and the response to Western expansion and imperialism. Apparently he had a beef with Western materialism although he was not a fanatic like the Salafists or some of the Gulf Muslim Brothers of today. Whether he was an agent of British intelligence or the Russian Tsarist Okhrana or the Knight Templars or the Nabati Poets Diwaniyya ديوانية شعراء النبط, I have no idea. Interestingly the Jewish Virtual Library has a good but brief biography of him:

“Journalist, reformer. A founder of modern Muslim anti-colonialism, he advocated a religious and cultural revival to counteract European influence. Jamal al-Din Afghani is considered to be the founding father of Islamic modernism. …….”
Cheers
mhg


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Europe, France, Islamophobia, Turkey

Blond Turks, Iranian Issues, and the New European Maginot: Ils ne Passeront Pas………….

    

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“In the past, Turkey defended what it called Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program and even voted against U.N. sanctions on Iran two years ago. But Turkey’s relationship with Iran has changed, as it began aligning itself with its Western allies on a series of issues. Richard Howitt is a member of the European Parliament’s committee on Turkey. “Turkey has come back into line on Iran. Turkey really lost some trust on the Iran issue and suffered in public relations terms by its opposition to sanctions, which frankly we worked very hard for at the U.N. and EU,” he said.
A factor in Turkey’s changing role is Syria, an important regional ally of Tehran…………”

The Turks can all dye their hair blond and adopt German or French as their national language. They still will not be admitted into the European Union. The Turks fought with the West faithfully for more than sixty years, from Korea to being the southern bulwark of NATO during the Cold War. They supplied the labor that post-war Germany needed to revive its economy. Yet the old enemies of the former Warsaw Pact are being quickly admitted into the EU, but not the Turks. Eastern European gangs that deal in drugs, human trafficking, and murder are more welcome than the Turks. They are not considered a threat to Europe’s “culture”, but Turkish mosques are.
Now the Turks are being accommodating again, on the Iranian issues, hoping for some morsels from the European table, hoping for approval “There is a good Muslim boy”. They still won’t allow them in. As the Maginot Line said: Ils ne Passeront Pas.
Of course the old Maginot Line did not work as it was supposed to: it forgot about Belgium.
(Q: Do the Turks need to be in the European Union?)
Cheers
mhg


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Economics, Iran, Sanctions, Terrorism, Turkey, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy, War on Iran

Oh No, another Iranian-Hezbollah-Turkish-Kurdish Embassy Plot Uncovered……..

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“Intelligence units have warned that the Quds Force, a special unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, plans to send a group to Turkey to carry out a series of demonstrations that may include a bomb attack on the Embassy or Consulate General of the United States. The Turkish Security General Directorate (EGM) has warned police departments in all 81 Turkish provinces that they must be vigilant and remain alert to the existence of such a threat. The intelligence pertaining to the possibility of such an attack was delivered in a secret letter to the information department at Turkey’s General Directorate of Security. The written statement indicates that a team linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard will be sent to Turkey and that it may be planning to bomb the US embassy or consulate general in the country. The Quds Force is infamous for its role in attempting to export Iran’s revolution to other countries through the instigation of chaos and by acting as the overseas branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp.……….”

Haaretz (Israel) has also pulled a rabbit out of its hat by adding Hezbollah to the mix, claiming that Iran’s Lebanese ally was to take part in the plot. The Turkish newspaper Zaman report makes no mention of Hezbollah, but maybe some federal district judge in New York or Washington DC will implicate them, as usual. They may throw in al-Qaeda as co-conspirators for good measure (Saddam Hussein is dead). No mention of a Mexican drug cartel connection, nor anything about Mr. Adel al-Jubair or a Venezuelan hand.

Clearly Republican 2012 candidates for POTUS don’t read the Turkish press, not even Rick Perry or Newt Gingrich. Otherwise the GOP would have called for an immediate declaration of war on all Muslims, including Mr. Perry’s pals in the terrorist Turkish government.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, no doubt, will take the opportunity to declare herself ‘disturbed’ by this ‘disturbing’ report.

An attack on an embassy is a serious act, nearly as much an act of war as blockading a country and preventing its exports and imports, surrounding it with warships and fleets and military bases. And threatening to bomb it. That is why it is highly unlikely that this story is true: the Iranians are not that stupid, or are they?
Cheers
mhg


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Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Politics, Arab Revolutions, Europe, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey

On Israelis, Turks, Kurdish Rebels, Iranians, and Arab Oligarchs without Vision…………..

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“According to reports by Turkish intelligence agencies, Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by Israel that have been observed in Hatay and Adana provinces in recent months spied for the terrorist Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). Turkish intelligence agencies prepared a report after the detection of two Israeli Herons in Hatay and Adana roughly two months ago, claiming that the Herons are collecting intelligence on Turkish military units in order to aid PKK operations in those regions. The report asserts that the PKK’s training camps in northern Syria, near Turkey’s Hatay border “where Turkish military border posts are relatively weak” were established in those locations based on intelligence collected by the UAVs. The report also claims that Kenan Yıldızbakan, a PKK member who commanded an assault against a Turkish naval base in İskenderun in 2010, has made repeated trips into Israeli territory, reinforcing suspicions of a possible link between Israeli and the PKK………….”

This was bound to happen. Once the Turks realized how racist the European Union feels toward them and their application for membership. Once they realized that they are the last on the list of countries that would be admitted, if they are ever admitted. Once the Turks realized that their usefulness to the Europeans as an anti-Soviet base and as a source of scarce labor has expired. Once they realized that they do need need Europe as much as they had thought. They turned their attention back to the Middle East, which includes Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

The Turks are in Syria now, more or less, possibly in rivalry with Iran for influence over Damascus now that the Arab leaders are helpless and have no independent vision for dealing with the situation. So far the only Arab vision seems to be pushing for the West to “liberate” Syria from its regime, just as the West “liberated” Iraq and Libya. The Turks are also in Iraq, possibly seen by some Arabs as their last hope to limit Iranian influence, at least in the north and west of Iraq. Odd, a new Turkish-Iranian rivalry over Iraq, just like the old Ottoman-Persian rivalry over Iraq.

All that because the stagnant Arab oligarchs, mainly the Saudis, decided to give up on Iraq because they did not like the way Iraqis chose their government (or maybe because the Iraqis actually had some choice, no matter how imperfect).
Cheers
mhg


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Anti-Semitism, Culture, Iran, Muslims, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Turkey

Iran Clerics Declare War on Barbie: Ugly Sara and Fat Dara and the Jewish Doll……………

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“Iran’s religious rulers first declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its “destructive cultural and social consequences.” Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops. The new order, issued around three weeks ago, forced shopkeepers to hide the leggy, busty blonde behind other toys as a way of meeting popular demand for the dolls while avoiding being closed down by the police. A range of officially approved dolls launched in 2002 to counter demand for Barbie have not proven successful, merchants told Reuters. The dolls named Sara, a female, and Dara, a male arrived in shops wearing a variety of traditional dress, with Sara fully respecting the rule that all women in Iran must obey in public, of covering their hair and wearing loose-fitting clothes. “My daughter prefers Barbies. She says Sara and Dara are ugly and fat,”…………..”

That last one should do it, seal the deal, seal the fate of Sara and Dara.
This is not the first time Muslim clerics have had Barbie in their dour sights. Every few years some mullah or shaikh or mufti somewhere in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf region, wages a brief war on Barbie. Maybe it is time for Mattel to create a more “Islamic-looking” Barbie? The Turks and Saudis have also waged campaigns against Barbie (but not Ken) in the past:

“Saudi Arabia’s religious police have declared Barbie dolls a threat to morality, complaining that the revealing clothes of the “Jewish” toy — already banned in the kingdom — are offensive to Islam. “Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful,” said a poster on the site. ……” USA Today

“Ceylan said that “We want to protect students from the invasion of foreign culture and that is why we have ordered the technical institute for girls’ education to prepare bags and T-shirts that are decorated with images of famous Turkish citizens.” Local observers observed that Ceylan’s initiative is very similar to that launched against Barbie in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the Nineties……….”

(I don’t think these clerics, mullahs, and shaikhs realize how old Barbie is: if they did, they’d be shocked, and their own wives would be in deep deep trouble).
Cheers
mhg


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Anti-Semitism, Europe, France, Muslims, NATO, Turkey, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

Texas Governor Talking Turkey: Muslims and Terrorism and NATO and Republican Turkeys and Old Hickory…….

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“Well, obviously when you have a country (Turkey) that is being ruled by, what
many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that
type of activity against their own citizens, then yes. Not only is it
time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong to
be in NATO, but it’s time for the United States, when we look at their
foreign aid, to go to zero with it.And you go to zero with
foreign aid for all of those countries. And it doesn’t make any
difference who they are. You go to zero with that foreign aid and then
you have the conversation about, do they have America’s best interest in
mind?………..”

That was Texas governor Rick Perry talking Turkey, addressing a hall apparently full of cheering turkeys. Turks would be surprised to hear that their government is Islamic terrorist.
I wrote here once that the Hitler comparison should be banned by a United Nations resolution, and I was half serious. Now I expect Rick Santorum (and fellow right-wingers at AIPAC) to pick up the slack now and call Turkish prime minister Erdogan a new Hitler, thus joining Nasser and Saddam Hussein and Ahmadinejad in the pantheon.
Funny how Hitler was an Austro-German beer-drinking European from a Catholic background, yet Arab and Muslim leaders have the privilege of being exclusively compared to Hitler in the West. Someone like Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory himself) might object, feeling left out, his Trail of (Indian) Tears demeaned. Many Southern (post-Reconstruction) leaders, governors and “famous” U.S. senators, might feel left out as well. With Hitler’s charred remains still warm in Moscow, the French government of newly American-liberated France massacred thousands of Muslim Algerians who wanted either full equality with the white settlers on their land or independence. Europe of the EU is now full of new little leaders that might be carelessly called would be Hitlers, some of them partners in government (Netherlands and that very same Austria). They also aim their fear-mongering and venom toward people that are mostly Semitic. Again.
Cheers
mhg


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