News & Comment
Turkey's Refutation Tactic of the US

News:

Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, has given important statements about the allegations of Turkey's cease fire with the terrorist organisation PYD. Kalin said these, about the allegation that Turkey signed a cease fire agreement with PYD in its Operation Euphrates Shield: "An agreement with PYD is out of question. PYD is a part of the terrorist organisation and its agreement with Turkey is out of question." (Sozcu)

Comment:

I guess that neither Turkish nor US representatives can deny that Turkey and the US are allies. I mean we have heard no contradicting statements until now from the US or Turkey about this. For example, Turkey has until now never made a statement like, the US is not our ally they are our enemy. Sometimes, especially President Erdogan may have asked questions like this to the US, "Am I your partner or YPG?" Or like this: "Sooner or later United States of America will make a decision. Turkey or FETÖ". But these questions are, as it is referred to in the article's title, more tactical questions. Reality is never like this. Whenever the US and Turkish representatives would make a joint statement they begin with this particular phrase; "Turkey and the US are two old strategic allies since a long time." So nothing can get between Turkey and the US Alliance. Neither YPG nor FETÖ... Because America is a capitalist ideological state that has interests internationally, it can form alliances with Turkey YPG and FETÖ at the same time. Unfortunately Turkey is not like this. Turkey is q country that is free in its domestic politics but is a dependent satellite state in its foreign politics. When the US works with YPG and FETÖ it does not consult to Turkey. If you agree to be a satellite state orbiting America, you do not determine your own foreign politics the US does.

Unfortunately when you consider that the situation is like this, Turkey determining its own independent Syria policy is out of question. Turkey is a country that serves to the USA's Syria policy and besides that tries to secure its own national interests. Turkey determines its YPG policy based only on its own national interests, not on the regional Syria policy. The main reason for Turkey to call YPG a terrorist organisation is because YPG indulges in actions that threaten Turkey's national interests. That is why Turkey sees, YPG crossing to the western shore of the Euphrates, as a red line. But for YPG, to cooperate with Syrian regime, to fight with the opposition forces in order to prevent the regime's fall and even to control a wide region in Syria's northern border is not Turkey's red line, quite the opposite they are its policies, that they stay silent for American interests and sometimes even support. In October 2014 and in July 2015 Salih Muslim's; coming to Ankara, meeting with the representatives and the moving of the Peshmerga forces into Kobani trough Turkey, proves this point.

So why is Turkey giving an image as if there is a conflict with the US? Why are the statements of the US representatives and Turkish representatives contradicting with each other? Why do the US representatives and the Turkish representatives feel the need to refute each other?

Let's consider this by going over some old examples of this.

It is no secret that what Turkey wants the most in Syria is to form a safety zone... In August 2015 an unintelligible statement war happened between Turkey and the US on this subject.

- 11th of August 2015, Ministry of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu: stated, "We have come to an agreement with the US on the safety zone"

-11th of August 2015, US Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Mark Toner: refuted Sinirlioglu with this statement "There is no agreement on any zone".

With this statement the US reminded Turkey, that they are the ones who determine politics that Turkey is just a practitioner of their politics and that Turkey should not forget that it is a satellite state.

The same happened with the subject of the use of Incirlik Airbase.

-12th of August 2015, Pentagon: stated "The fighters that took off from Incirlik bombed ISIS in Syria"

-13th of August 2015, Secretary of State Mevlut Cavusoglu: refuted the US by saying that "The US fighters that took off from Incirlik, yesterday, have not participated in any operation, they were on a reconnaissance mission."

Turkey has opened the use of Incirlik Airbase a long time ago. The US has bombed Syria and massacred people countless times with the fighters that took off from this base. So why is Turkey refuting the US's this particular attack? There is something missing in the US's statement and that is that even though the US says that they hit ISIS, actually they hit Atme, a town just two kilometres from the Turkish border to Syria, and they killed dozens of civilians there. That is why Turkey is refuting the US for its domestic politics and for the Muslims living in Syria. Their classic tactic...

Let's look if the US is behind the 15th of July coup attempt or not... The Turkish side's statements on the subject do absolutely not comply with real politics. Minister Labour Suleyman Soylu and Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag made statements like "USA is behind the 15th of July coup attempt" But when the US Chief of Staff Dunford came to Turkey; met with President of the Parliament and the Chief of Staff, he said to American journalists that he did not face any backlash. He even said, "This subject -the allegation that the US is behind the coup- has never come up in my meetings."

The Americans explain this hypocrisy like this. This is a common classic tactic that Turkey uses; at one hand condemn the US before the public, at the other hand state to the American representatives that they are loyal to the strategic alliance...

Turkey uses this tactic a lot on the subject of YPG. Because Turkey has changed its PKK strategy to armed conflict, they say that they view YPG as a terrorist organisation to calm the Turkish public. At the other hand they accept to be the US's ally in the solution, and by doing so, they cannot see that they are given almost the same value. The US splits the work by saying both to YPG and Turkey that their first priority is to fight with ISIS.

Lastly let me say this and we will finish; Turkey entering Jarablus, fighting YPG and pushing them to the east of Euphrates and also making a cease fire with YPG and prioritising the fight against ISIS has all been done within the US's plans and consent. Despite all Turkey's conflicting statements with the US this is their classic tactical statements. The messages directed to domestic politics.  Condemn or refute the US before the public, but encourage and give confidence by saying that you are allies behind closed doors. I couldn't go without saying this, I do not enjoy interpreting the case like this. To be honest this situation is for me and for all the Muslims a sad situation. Not running away from the realities, but exposing them will benefit me and the whole Ummah. Whoever is right now, comparing Turkey's Syria policy, that is enacted by the US and Russia, with the battle of Marj Dabiq and is expecting great thing is either covering or is blind to the truths.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Mahmut Kar

Head of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Turkey