Erdogan in Trouble but Gulen and CIA Intrigues need containing

Turkey in crisis: Erdogan in Trouble but Gulen and CIA Intrigues need containing 

Nuray Lydia Oglu and Lee Jay Walker 

Ex: http://www.moderntokyotimes.com - Modern Tokyo Times

The grand ambitions of Recep Tayyip Erdogan are unraveling in many directions because the Prime Minister of Turkey is suffering from many internal convulsions which are rocking this nation.  Several years ago it appeared that Erdogan could continue to abuse many excesses based on the strength of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Therefore, Erdogan’s Islamist dream and “Ottoman mirror” had a powerful swagger, whereby he perceived himself to be the “new father of Turkey” providing nationals followed his conservative and Islamist agenda. Yet now, the AKP is starting to look fragile and increasingly authoritarian under Erdogan.

In saying this, it is clear that Fethullah Gulen is no savior because just like Erdogan he also wants to pull the strings. Equally important, both individuals share the Islamist dream of crushing progressive forces in Turkey. Indeed, in the past Erdogan and Gulen were playing the same tune.

Regionally, the grand designs of Erdogan have literally bitten the dust because of the meddling of Turkey. After all, only Erdogan could disillusion Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Syria, and other nations. Also, with Erdogan being determined to overthrow the government of Syria, then not only did he turn a blind eye towards international jihadists and covert operatives; but, more alarmingly, he avidly tolerates and encourages brutal sectarian and terrorist forces against secular Syria. Therefore, the image of Turkey is suffering greatly throughout the entire region because Erdogan can’t stop meddling and upsetting regional nations.

Re-focusing on the current scandal in Turkey then clearly the Erdogan boat is rocking. Baha Gungor, Deutsche Welle, says: “Erdogan has made the same mistakes as many autocrats before him. He has come to see himself as infallible, tolerating criticism of his policies less and less. Journalists, intellectuals and politicians who see things differently have been locked up. Large swaths of the army’s former leadership were handed harsh jail sentences for allegedly planning a coup.”

Indeed, it is clear that 2013 witnessed many shortcomings for the leader of Turkey because Erdogan kept on piling on more judgments of errors. This was clearly apparent during the Taksim Square crisis because Erdogan issued harsh statements about the demonstrators. Also, excessive force against demonstrators and his unapologetic stance meant that Turkey was becoming even more divided.

Serious allegations by the end of 2013 related to money laundering, the smuggling of gold, major bribes – and other areas related to corruption – equated to a huge downturn in the domestic fortunes of Erdogan. Not only this, the ramifications for the economy is now being felt. This is clearly apparent because now the Turkish lira is fairing miserably with the US dollar and the Euro.

Yet the current internal struggle of Islamist powerbrokers between Erdogan and Gulen is alarming. After all, under the Obama administration in America it is clear that a pro-Muslim Brotherhood agenda existed whereby Egypt was going to be the grand experiment. Luckily, the masses in Egypt rose up against the Muslim Brotherhood putsch for usurping state institutions in order to turn the clock back. However, the dream is still alive and kicking and not surprisingly Gulen is based in America just like the leading Islamist in Tunisia resided in the United Kingdom prior to returning. Therefore, the erratic behaviour of Erdogan must have set off some alarm bells in Washington and it would appear that Gulen is now being readied for the next stage in the unraveling of secularism in Turkey.

It must be remembered, that Afghanistan and Iraq had secular governments prior to America and the United Kingdom meddling into their respective internal affairs. Indeed, America also welcomed Sharia law in Sudan in the early 1980s despite the outcome of this policy being detrimental for Animists and Christians in Sudan. Likewise, Sharia law and the jihadist threat followed on the coattails of America, France, the United Kingdom and several Gulf powers in Libya. In other words, a natural reality is emerging whereby Western powers are siding with the Islamist agenda. This can also be witnessed in Syria whereby the usual players in the Gulf and West are siding with sectarian and terrorist forces. The knock on effect is also the crushing of Christianity in Syria just like what happened in Iraq and Kosovo. Similarly, Coptic Christians were expendable in Egypt because of the intrigues of Washington and London. However, just like the crisis in Iraq it is clear that Saudi Arabia doesn’t want the Muslim Brotherhood too close to home just like this nation didn’t welcome the loss of Sunni power in Iraq.

Family Security Matters says: “Osman Nori, the retired head of Turkish intelligence, recently alleged that the Gulen movement has served as a front for US intelligence by sheltering 130 CIA agents in its schools throughout Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.”

“This claim collaborates the testimony of Sybil Edmonds, a former FBI translator and celebrated whistleblower. Ms. Edmonds says that Gulen and his movement began to receive vast sums of money from the CIA in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, when US officials realized that they could not obtain control of the massive energy resources of the newly created Russian republics because of a deep-seated suspicion of American motives.”

“The CIA, Ms. Edmonds maintains, came to view Turkey as a perfect “proxy” for US interests since it was a NATO ally that shared the same language, culture, and religion as the other Central Asian countries. But centralized control of these republics, she points out, could only be actualized by the creation of the Pan-Turkish nationalism and religion, envisioned by Gulen and his followers. And so, according to Ms. Edmonds, the CIA became Gulen’s partner in the creation of the New Islamic World Order. The money for the pasha’s schools and settlements, she says, came not from congressionally-approved funding but rather from covert CIA operations, including narcotics trafficking, nuclear black market, weapons smuggling, and terrorist activities.”

In other words, if Turkey is left to the geopolitical whims of America and the United Kingdom alongside the Islamist dreams of Gulen, then Turkey will lose its secular and modernist approach. Of course, the same applies to the initial gambit of America, the United Kingdom and Gulen utilizing Erdogan – and other Islamists in Turkey, prior to the ongoing internal struggle between Erdogan and Gulen – after the applecart began to lose balance. Therefore, is essential that secular forces wake-up in Turkey and the same applies to all independent forces, which don’t rely on Western and Islamist intrigues.

Erdogan is undermining secularism in Turkey therefore his authoritarian nature is worrying vast numbers of Turkish citizens. Yet, the intrigues of Gulen aren’t the answer and the same applies to CIA shadows and the usual role of the United Kingdom. The Russian Federation must also focus on events in Turkey because Chechen Islamists and others in the Caucasus have been given havens by Turkey and the same applies to Georgia. Likewise, the Erdogan government is undermining secular Syria by supporting sectarian and terrorist forces against the people of this nation.

Turkey like Egypt is facing an internal clash of civilization and currently the intrigues of America and the United Kingdom are favoring the Islamist agenda. Ironically, in Turkey the power play between Erdogan and Gulen is between two individuals who share much in common. It is hoped that both negative forces will devour each other in order for secular and other political forces in Turkey to return the nation back to its modernization path. Therefore, political parties who oppose Erdogan should not rush into the arms of “the Gulen shadow.”

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/more-dangerous-than-bin-laden-protestors-to-descend-on-gulens-mountain-fortress-in-pennsylvania#ixzz2qRaPXtVm  Family Security Matters

http://www.dw.de/opinion-erdogan-is-on-course-to-self-destruct/a-17327807 Deutsche Welle

[e-mail]

http://moderntokyotimes.com