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Turkey's
Government Blames Its Past Mistakes on Gülenists
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Excerpt of article originally
published under the title "Turkey's Bitter Learning by
Suffering."
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"The
Cemaat did it," says the child in this cartoon, using popular
shorthand for followers of exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen.
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The Gülenists' failed putsch has provided the government with an
unconvincing opportunity to blame all past mistakes on this clandestine
group. Because it is shadowy, you can blame every failure on its shadowy
elements, real or fake.
Even a National Security Council (chaired by the president) order to
shoot down any foreign military airplane that violates Turkish airspace,
executed on orders from the (then) prime minister, is now being blamed on
"Gülenist pilots." This columnist cannot recall how many times
the prime minister said it was HIS orders to shoot – and that any further
aircraft that violates Turkish airspace would also be shot.
Most recently, a senior official told this newspaper that elements in
the Turkish military with ties to the Gülenists worked to stall Turkey's
operation in the northern Syrian city of Jarablus for over two years.
According to this theory, the Turkish government has been working on a
ground incursion for more than two years. It came close to putting boots
on the ground there for over two years and contingency plans were drawn
up as a first step toward military action. But "certain commanders
within the military worked to stall Turkey's plan to move" as they
came up with excuses, such as a lack of military capability, to make it
impossible for the government to move forward. Nice one.
But did the government, over and over, not emphasize in bold letters
in the past several years that it was making the decisions, not the
military? Were/are there crypto Gülenists within the cabinet ranks? Why
did the president and the prime minister decide to put off the incursion
into Syria when they claimed that the mighty Turkish military could reach
Damascus in a few hours – and when Jarablus is a few minutes' drive from
the border?
Don't be surprised if in a year's
time Operation Euphrates Shield is blamed on a crypto cell of Gülenist
officers.
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We are going through days when even the Gülenists, crypto Gülenists,
repentant Gülenists or opportunistic Gülenists cannot decide which
category they should belong to: Schizophrenia is Gülen's gift to Turkey
after the putsch attempt.
Don't be surprised if in a year's time Operation Euphrates Shield is
blamed on another crypto cell of Gülenist officers. Try to get used to
this cycle. "It was a silly operation planned by Gülenist elements
within the military." Or, if Turkey decides to withdraw, claiming
victory, then the decision to withdraw could also be blamed on crypto
Gülenists if it is not a success.
After all, the race has begun and there are no limits.
Burak Bekdil is an Ankara-based
columnist for the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News and a fellow at the
Middle East Forum.
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