Turkey's membership in NATO and its overall security cooperation with the West has been a topic of debate recently, particularly within the country's nationalist/Kemalist circles, including the military.
For them, Turkey's presence in the Western defense structure is not an asset for Turkey's security and territorial integrity, but a liability. The occupation of Iraq and the American support for Kurdish groups in northern Iraq have certainly contributed to this view. But even before 2003, the Turkish military had come to see Turkish-American cooperation in northern Iraq, in the form of "Operation Poised Hammer," as a covert effort to create a Kurdish state with devastating effects on Turkey's territorial integrity.
From a Kemalist/nationalist point of view, not just Turkey's territorial integrity, but also its secular "regime" is threatened by the US. A city legend among the Kemalist/nationalists is that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was brought to power by the US in 2002 as part of the American project of promoting "moderate Islam" and implementing its "Greater Middle East Initiative." These two phrases, moderate Islam and the Greater Middle East Initiative have frequently appeared in the speeches of high ranking Kemalists/nationalists, including some retired generals, and former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and in the indictment of the public prosecutor who opened the case in the Constitutional Court to close down the ruling AK Party.
Thus when the Kemalist/nationalist block, including elements of the civilian-military bureaucracy, have tried to get rid of the AK Party by all means available to them, they justified this on the ground that theirs was a "national" project. To fight against the AK Party, for them, is the way to resist America's designs on Turkey.
The EU, with its call for greater democracy and human rights, is also viewed as a threat. The EU's membership criteria of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, minority rights and civilian supremacy over the military are all believed to have been designed to weaken the Turkish state. But even before 1999, there had been a widespread belief in the security sector that European "allies" of Turkey were trying to revive the Sevres Treaty of 1920 that divided up Turkey. In the memoirs and statements of many retired generals, it is a common view that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was created and supported by those European allies of Turkey.
Even beyond political and security-related issues, Turkey's integration with the global economy is seen as a dangerous path for the country, in that privatization is a cover-up for Western companies to take over Turkey's national assets. In their recent speeches, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and his eventual successor, Gen. Işık Koşaner, expressed their opposition to globalization, global forces, and trends that were described as "determined to finish off the Turkish nation-state." In his speech Gen. Koşaner explained how "colored revolutions" attempted to destroy nation-states like Turkey. By this Gen. Koşaner was referring to pro-democracy changes in Ukraine and Georgia. From this perspective, democratization and greater integration into the global economy may lead to the end of the nation-state. What they really mean by the "global system" is the US and the EU, which are Turkey's Western allies. The structural integration of Turkey into the West in terms of EU membership, continued security cooperation and inflow of global capital seems unwelcome.
The nationalist/Kemalist block believes that they are waging a "new national struggle" against the West and its allies, including not only the AK Party, but also those liberals who advocate EU membership, globalization, a market economy, and democracy.
No one can deny the fact that the Turkish military has become deeply anti-Western and anti-American in recent years. We remember some high-ranking retired generals who called for abandoning NATO, which they described as a tool of American imperialism. We also recall some others who advocated the establishment of an axis with Russia, Iran, and China against the US and the EU.
Having observed this, I believe that if Turkey had not already been a member of NATO, the Turkish military would be opposed to NATO membership as it is to EU accession. Thank God, the Democrat Party (DP), the leader of which was hanged by the military after the 1960 military coup, brought Turkey into NATO in 1952.
15.09.2008
For them, Turkey's presence in the Western defense structure is not an asset for Turkey's security and territorial integrity, but a liability. The occupation of Iraq and the American support for Kurdish groups in northern Iraq have certainly contributed to this view. But even before 2003, the Turkish military had come to see Turkish-American cooperation in northern Iraq, in the form of "Operation Poised Hammer," as a covert effort to create a Kurdish state with devastating effects on Turkey's territorial integrity.
From a Kemalist/nationalist point of view, not just Turkey's territorial integrity, but also its secular "regime" is threatened by the US. A city legend among the Kemalist/nationalists is that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was brought to power by the US in 2002 as part of the American project of promoting "moderate Islam" and implementing its "Greater Middle East Initiative." These two phrases, moderate Islam and the Greater Middle East Initiative have frequently appeared in the speeches of high ranking Kemalists/nationalists, including some retired generals, and former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and in the indictment of the public prosecutor who opened the case in the Constitutional Court to close down the ruling AK Party.
Thus when the Kemalist/nationalist block, including elements of the civilian-military bureaucracy, have tried to get rid of the AK Party by all means available to them, they justified this on the ground that theirs was a "national" project. To fight against the AK Party, for them, is the way to resist America's designs on Turkey.
The EU, with its call for greater democracy and human rights, is also viewed as a threat. The EU's membership criteria of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, minority rights and civilian supremacy over the military are all believed to have been designed to weaken the Turkish state. But even before 1999, there had been a widespread belief in the security sector that European "allies" of Turkey were trying to revive the Sevres Treaty of 1920 that divided up Turkey. In the memoirs and statements of many retired generals, it is a common view that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was created and supported by those European allies of Turkey.
Even beyond political and security-related issues, Turkey's integration with the global economy is seen as a dangerous path for the country, in that privatization is a cover-up for Western companies to take over Turkey's national assets. In their recent speeches, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and his eventual successor, Gen. Işık Koşaner, expressed their opposition to globalization, global forces, and trends that were described as "determined to finish off the Turkish nation-state." In his speech Gen. Koşaner explained how "colored revolutions" attempted to destroy nation-states like Turkey. By this Gen. Koşaner was referring to pro-democracy changes in Ukraine and Georgia. From this perspective, democratization and greater integration into the global economy may lead to the end of the nation-state. What they really mean by the "global system" is the US and the EU, which are Turkey's Western allies. The structural integration of Turkey into the West in terms of EU membership, continued security cooperation and inflow of global capital seems unwelcome.
The nationalist/Kemalist block believes that they are waging a "new national struggle" against the West and its allies, including not only the AK Party, but also those liberals who advocate EU membership, globalization, a market economy, and democracy.
No one can deny the fact that the Turkish military has become deeply anti-Western and anti-American in recent years. We remember some high-ranking retired generals who called for abandoning NATO, which they described as a tool of American imperialism. We also recall some others who advocated the establishment of an axis with Russia, Iran, and China against the US and the EU.
Having observed this, I believe that if Turkey had not already been a member of NATO, the Turkish military would be opposed to NATO membership as it is to EU accession. Thank God, the Democrat Party (DP), the leader of which was hanged by the military after the 1960 military coup, brought Turkey into NATO in 1952.
15.09.2008
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