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by Stephen Lendman
Welcome to police state Turkey. It’s no democracy. Claiming otherwise is a convenient illusion.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is tyrannical. He’s ruthless. He blames victims for his crimes. He’s unapologetic.
He heads Ankara’s rogue government. Turkey is one of 28 NATO countries. Erdogan partners with Washington’s imperial wars.
He’s part of Obama’s agenda to ravage and destroy Syria. At issue is ousting Assad. It’s replacing him with pro-Western puppet leadership.It’s denying Syrians all rights. It’s exploiting them ruthlessly. It’s stealing Syrian resources. It’s eliminating an Israeli rival. It’s isolating Iran before targeting its government the same way.
It’s reckless. It’s lawless. It’s out-of-control. It risks regional war. It risks expanding it globally. It risks what no responsible leader would dare. It’s happening in real time.
Obama wants a pretext for full-scale US-led NATO intervention. Last summer’s false flag Ghouta chemical weapons attack failed.
Hoped for popular US support didn’t follow. Mass opposition emerged. Libya 2.0 was postponed. It wasn’t cancelled. It remains another major false flag incident ahead.
On March 28, RT International headlined “You Tube ban: How Turkish officials conspired to stage Syria attack to provoke war.”At issue is pretext for invoking NATO’s Articles 4 or 5.
Article 4 calls for members to “consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any” is threatened.
Article 5 considers an armed attack (real or otherwise) against one or more members, an attack against all. It calls for collective self-defense.
Invoking it gives Obama pretext for war. Bombs away would follow. Libya 2.0 would entirely ravage and destroy Syria. Perhaps turning it to rubble is planned.
Potentially hundreds of thousands could die. Many more would be injured. Millions more displaced.
Humanitarian disaster conditions would increase exponentially. Obama’s rap sheet already is blood-drenched.
How many more millions does he plan to murder? Is war with Russia next? Doing so is as simple as ordering ready, aim, fire. Major conflicts start this way.
Turkey was caught red-handed. Ergodan responded lawlessly. He blocked You Tube. He lied claiming national security concerns.
Days earlier, he restricted Twitter access. He called the You Tube recording “a vile, cowardly, immoral act.”
Turkey is notorious. It suppresses press freedom. It imprisons more journalists than any other country. Speaking truth to power is criminalized.
Thousands of journalists, lawyers, activists and others are falsely accused of state terrorism. An atmosphere of fear prevails. No one is safe. Everyone is potentially vulnerable.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) earlier said Turkish “authorities are waging one of the world’s biggest anti-press campaigns in recent history.”
“Dozens of writers and editors are in prison, nearly all on terrorism or other anti-state charges. The evidence against them? Their journalism.”
Erdogan restricts free expression. He denigrates it. He goes all-out to quash it. He represents hardline rogue governance.
His latest dirty scheme was exposed. What follows remains to be seen.
Leaked audio revealed comments made by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Hakan Fidan.
Others involved included Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu and Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. General Yasar Guler.
They discussed plotting a false flag pretext for full-scale war on Syria. Davutoglu was heard saying “I’ll make up a cause of war by ordering a missile attack on Turkey” from insurgent held Syrian territory.
He called doing it “a declaration of war. He suggested targeting the Tomb of Suleiman Shah. It’s inside Syria. It’s sovereign Turkish territory. It’s authorized under 1921 Treaty of Ankara terms.
Davutoglu was heard saying:
“The prime minister said that in the current conjuncture, this attack must be seen as an opportunity for us.”
Fidan replied saying:
“I’ll send four men from Syria, if that’s what it takes. I’ll make up a cause of war by ordering a missile attack on Turkey. We can also prepare an attack on Suleiman Shah Tomb if necessary.”
Sinirlioglu said: “Our national security has become a common, cheap domestic policy outfit.”
Guler: “It’s a direct cause of war. I mean, what’re going to do is a direct cause of war.”
The full conversation reveals how rogue states operate. It continued as follows:
Davutoglu: “I couldn’t entirely understand the other thing; what exactly does our foreign ministry supposed to do?”
“No, I’m not talking about the thing. There are other things we’re supposed to do.”
“If we decide on this, we are to notify the United Nations, the Istanbul Consulate of the Syrian regime, right?”
Sinirlioglu: “But if we decide on an operation in there, it should create a shocking effect. I mean, if we are going to do so.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do, but regardless of what we decide, I don’t think it’d be appropriate to notify anyone beforehand.”
Davutoglu: “OK, but we’re gonna have to prepare somehow. To avoid any shorts on regarding international law.”
“I just realised when I was talking to the president (Abdullah Gul), if the Turkish tanks go in there, it means we’re in there in any case, right?
Guler: “It means we’re in, yes.”
Davutoglu: “Yeah, but there’s a difference between going in with aircraft and going in with tanks…”
Guler: “Maybe we can tell the Syrian consulate general that, ISIL is currently working alongside the regime, and that place is Turkish land. We should definitely…”
Davutoglu: “But we have already said that, sent them several diplomatic notes.”
Guler: “To Syria…”
Sinirlioglu: “That’s right.”
Davutoglu: “Yes, we’ve sent them countless times. Therefore, I’d like to know what our Chief of Staff’s expects from our ministry.”
Guler: “Maybe his intent was to say that, I don’t really know, he met with Mr. Fidan.”
Fidan: “Well, he did mention that part but we didn’t go into any further details.”
Guler: “Maybe that was what he meant…A diplomatic note to Syria?”
Fidan: “Maybe the Foreign Ministry is assigned with coordination…”
Davutoglu: “I mean, I could coordinate the diplomacy but civil war, the military…”
Sinirlioglu: That’s what I told back there. For one thing, the situation is different. An operation on ISIL has solid ground on international law.”
“We’re going to portray this is Al-Qaeda, there’s no distress there if it’s a matter regarding Al-Qaeda. And if it comes to defending Suleiman Shah Tomb, that’s a matter of protecting our land.”
Guler: “We don’t have any problems with that.”
Fidan: “Second after it happens, it’ll cause a great internal commotion (several bombing events is bound to happen within). The border is not under control…”
Sinirlioglu: “I mean, yes, the bombings are of course going to happen. But I remember our talk from 3 years ago…”
Guler: “Mr. Fidan should urgently receive back-up and we need to help him supply guns and ammo to rebels.”
“We need to speak with the minister. Our Interior Minister, our Defense Minister. We need to talk about this and reach a resolution sir.”
Davutoglu: “How did we get special forces into action when there was a threat in Northern Iraq? We should have done so in there, too.”
“We should have trained those men. We should have sent men. Anyway, we can’t do that. We can only do what diplomacy…”
Sinirlioglu: “I told you back then, for God’s sake, General. You know how we managed to get those tanks in. You were there.”
Guler: “What, you mean our stuff?”
Sinirlioglu: “Yes, how do you think we’ve managed to rally our tanks into Iraq? How? How did we manage to get special forces, the battalions in?”
“I was involved in that. Let me be clear. There was no government decision on that. We have managed that just with a single order.”
Guler: “Well, I agree with you. For one thing, we’re not even discussing that. But there are different things that Syria can do right now.”
Davutoglu: “General, the reason we’re saying no to this operation is because we know about the capacity of those men.”
Guler: “Look, sir, isn’t MKE (Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation) at minister’s bidding?”
“Sir, I mean, Qatar is looking for ammo to buy in cash. Ready cash. So, why don’t they just get it done? It’s at Mr. Minister’s command.”
Davutoglu: But there’s the spot we can’t act intergratedly. We can’t coordinate.”
Guler: “Then, our Prime Minister can summon both Mr. Defence Minister and Mr. Minister at the same time. Then he can directly talk to them.”
Davutoglu: “We, Mr. Siniroglu and I, have literally begged Mr. Prime Minster for a private meeting. We said that things were not looking so bright.”
Guler: “Also, it doesn’t have to be a crowded meeting. Yourself, Mr. Defence Minister, Mr. Interior Minister and our Chief of Staff, the four of you are enough.”
“There’s no need for a crowd. Because, sir, the main need there is guns and ammo. Not even guns, mainly ammo. We’ve just talked about this, sir.”
“Let’s say we’re building an army down there, 1000 strong. If we get them into that war without previously storing a minimum of 6-months’ worth of ammo, these men will return to us after two months.”
Davutoglu: “They’re back already.”
Guler: “They’ll return to us, sir.”
Davutoglu: “They’ve came back from…What was it? Cobanbey.”
Guler: “Yes, indeed, sir. This matter can’t be just a burden on Mr. Fidan’s shoulders as it is now. It’s unacceptable. I mean, we can’t understand this. Why?”
Davutoglu: “That evening we’d reached a resolution. And I thought that things were taking a turn for the good. Our…”
Sinirlioglu: “We issued the MGK (National Security Council) resolution the day after. Then we talked with the general…”
Davutoglu: “And the other forces really do a good follow up on this weakness of ours. You say that you’re going to capture this place, and that men being there constitutes a risk factor.”
“You pull them back. You capture the place. You reinforce it and send in your troops again.”
Guler: “Exactly, sir. You’re absolutely right.”
Davutoglu: “Right? That’s how I interpret it. But after the evacuation, this is not a military necessity. It’s a whole other thing.”
Sinirlioglu: “There are some serious shifts in global and regional geopolitics. It now can spread to other places. You said it yourself today, and others agreed…”
“We’re headed to a different game now. We should be able to see those. That ISIL and all that jazz, all those organisations are extremely open to manipulation.”
“Having a region made up of organisations of similar nature will constitute a vital security risk for us.”
“And when we first went into Northern Iraq, there was always the risk of PKK blowing up the place. If we thoroughly consider the risks and substantiate…As the general just said…”
Guler: “Sir, when you were inside a moment ago, we were discussing just that. Openly. I mean, armed forces are a “tool” necessary for you in every turn.”
Davutoglu: “Of course. I always tell the Prime Minister, in your absence, the same thing in academic jargon, you can’t stay in those lands without hard power. Without hard power, there can be no soft power.”
Guler: “Sir.”
Sinirlioglu: “The national security has been politicised. I don’t remember anything like this in Turkish political history. It has become a matter of domestic policy.”
“All talks we’ve done on defending our lands, our border security, our sovereign lands in there, they’ve all become a common, cheap domestic policy outfit.”
Guler: “Exactly.”
Sinirlioglu: “That has never happened before. Unfortunately but…”
Guler: “I mean, do even one of the opposition parties support you in such a high point of national security? Sir, is this a justifiable sense of national security?”
Sinirlioglu: “I don’t even remember such a period.”
Guler: “In what matter can we be unified, if not a matter of national security of such importance? None.”
Davutoglu: “The year 2012, we didn’t do it 2011. If only we’d took serious action back then, even in the summer of 2012.”
Sinirlioglu: “They were at their lowest back in 2012.”
Davutoglu: “Internally, they were just like Libya. Who comes in and goes from power is not of any importance to us. But some things…”
Guler: “Sir, to avoid any confusion, our need in 2011 was guns and ammo. In 2012, 2013 and today also. We’re in the exact same point. We absolutely need to find this and secure that place.”
Davutoglu: “Guns and ammo are not a big need for that place. Because we couldn’t get the human factor in order…”
Turkish officials responded as expected. They lied calling the conversation “partially manipulated.” It was a “wretched attack” on Turkey’s national security, they added.
Rogue states caught red-handed reply this way. Their conversation speaks for itself.
It represents Turkey’s alliance with Washington. It’s Obama’s lead anti-Assad attack dog. It’s a convenient proxy.
It’s a useful stooge. Days earlier, Ankara provocatively downed a Syrian warplane.
It lied claiming it violated Turkish airspace. At most only briefly before correcting a navigational error. It crashed inside Syria. The pilot ejected. He landed safely on Syrian soil.
Turkey’s plot was exposed. Will plans proceed anyway? Will something new be proposed? Is full-scale US-led NATO war on Syria coming? Ankara appears part of a conspiracy to wage it.
Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad denounced Turkey’s agenda. Erdogan bears full responsibility.
He supports anti-Syrian terrorist groups, he said. They’re responsible for numerous atrocities.
Erdogan and likeminded government officials are “insane and stupid,” Mikdad added. He’ll “achieve results similar to those achieved by all insane and stupid people.”
On Friday, Syria’s UN envoy Bashar al-Jaafari denounced Erdogan. He cited the above leaked conversation.
He called plotting aggression on Syria a “major scandal.” He wants Security Council members to address what’s revealed.
He wants Turkey held responsible for escalating terrorism on Syria. He called doing so “infringing blatantly upon the sovereignty of a UN member state.”
Whether full-scale war on Syria follows remains to be seen. Obama didn’t initiate conflict to quit. He wants another imperial trophy.
Ruthlessness defines his agenda. Rogue state hegemons operate this way. America is by far the worst.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.
His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.