On one hand, especially the ruling party (AKP) complains, saying “Why can’t the national unity be realized as desired by us?” and on the other, the hand of the opposition leader is not being shaken at Anitkabir (Atatürk’s Mausoleum) on the Republic Day and Atatürk’s name is not mentioned in the sermons of the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the Governor’s Office of the Nevşehir Province causes unrest across the country, creating a “permit crisis for the Republic Day march”.

Both the position of the opposition in state protocol and the unending tensions and double standards on democratic issues are our perpetual realities, each of which constitute our political daily life’s permanent difficulties. In the midst of these incomprehensible indigestions, we once again had the opportunity to remember Atatürk’s greatness and feel it in our hearts. When establishing the Republic, the great leader accomplished this in the presence of such a judicial and cultural revolution that, despite all counter efforts of counter-republicans for 70 years, they could not destroy it! That’s why Turkey is still able to look like a “democratic” regime within the close and chaotic Middle East.

WHICH WEST PURSUES WHICH INTERESTS?

Before further analysis of the “Operation Peace Spring”, we need to review the issue from a macro perspective. Why has the West been so interested in this geography, especially in the last 150 years? Was it in order to bring education-culture-health-equality and justice to these regions? No. Apart from ambitions of world sovereignty, it is due to “purely emotional” (!) concerns such as oil, water and later, natural gas!

Which West are we talking about? An ego centered mind-set that has adopted exploitation as a maxim for centuries and sees the whole world as a stream that should carry goods, services and wealth to itself.

Which West are we talking about? The West that penetrated Iraq to find the so-called “weapons of mass destruction” and killed a million and a half people there without distinguishing between civilians or soldiers just before saying unashamedly “We’re sorry, we were given wrong information”. The imperialist West that has suffered a pitiful bankruptcy from moral and ethical standpoint in spite of the scientific, economic, technological and cultural high standards it has attained. Then, there is also the other side of the coin when asking the question: “Which West?” The West, which was slapped down by Atatürk in Anatolia and İzmir while being determined to destroy and tear in pieces the late Ottoman Republic. The West, that was unable to digest the conquest of İstanbul by Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror in 1453. Long story short, the West, ready for all kinds of hatred, reckoning, revenge and intrigue in this direction if necessary,with sanctions, threats, oppression, all kinds of lies and brainwashing operations.

This West reveals its true face in the Armenian Genocide allegations, as well as in the separatist Kurdish uprisings, in all the crises in the Aegean Sea with Greece and of course in the debates concerning the Cyprus Peace Operation from 1974. It constantly exhibits this identity at every opportunity by interpreting these issues according to its mind and agenda and turning them into a mess, and ultimately blaming us with its misleading democratization, deplorable double standards, and prejudice.

According to the West, Turkey should accept the Armenian genocide allegations and should also be willing to comply with the related sanctions without any court judgment or methodological objective archive examination. According to the same West, in Cyprus the Nikos Sampson coup never happened; Turkey occupied  half of Cyprus one morning out of the blue, just because she felt like that! According to the same West, “PKK is a terrorist organization” but they meet with every member of this organization, even allowing them to open liaison offices with alias names that are constantly updated to refresh their image! Also, according to the same West, ISIS leader Baghdadi is indeed a dangerous terrorist, and they broadcast how he was eliminated with the most striking and proud word choices. But, presenting a terrorist, an extension of PKK which committed horrible crimes against Turkey, as “General Mazlum Kobani”, establishing diplomatic relationships with him, and mentioning him with pride and a “wise” attitude cannot even be deemed as a double standard for Western imperialism!

With all these “dangerous liaisons” in mind, the draft bill adopted on 29th of October on the Armenian Genocide Draft Bill by the US Congress as was the case back in 1975 and 1984, the economic sanctions contradicting with the resolutions of 17th of September are not surprising at all, since threats, cane, sanctions, contradictions are never-changing elements having infiltrated into these relationships.

 AS FOR THE TENSIONS OF THE PRESENT DAY

All in all, unfortunately this is the West. All relations, debates, and diplomatic dialogues that have been and will be experienced will always try to walk on a similar ground. For this reason, UEFA may engage in any threatening investigation about the soldier salute of Turkish footballers without blushing and in a racist manner. On the other hand, when French player Antoine Griezmann gave a military salute to President Macron, UEFA officials only smiled and were happy! Just like in their innocent military salute in other official FIFA game with official UEFA license! That’s because Turkey always is the “usual suspect”. France, too, is a country that traditionally reveals Armenian Genocide draft bills or monuments. But, for example, they never think of a “Memorial of Genocide on Native Americans” or draft against their capitalist road partners, the United States… Just as the USA did not think of imposing the “Algerian Genocide Memorial” or the “Aztecs Genocide Draft” against the French or the Spanish… Turkey is just good enough for their traditional prying…

Now we can go back to Syria in the light of these data.

Yes, with the “Operation Peace Spring”, Turkey has signalized that it would not accept heavy threats and a border line full of risks imposed on it along the Syrian border and that the show cannot curtail, that is; take a quick end.

However, the question comes to mind: Did the US abandon the Kurdish state project with the consensus between us? Of course not. The United States has withdrawn the YPG which has not been unarmed yet, into a safe zone, 32 kilometres inland, as if to protect it from our army! America wants to mobilize the Kurdish organizations that are considered as terrorists for us as their own ground forces to control the energy interest zones that are indispensable for them without shedding martyrs blood among their own armed forces.

As a result, the settlements entered with the USA, and even with Russia, seem to us as a kind of tranquilizer, but in the end, it is nothing but delaying, postponing and incubating the actual problem.

The colonial states are making their chess moves on issues such as border-war-great interest relations more patiently than we are able to. Sometimes they give up a bishop or a rook as a share of silence or distraction and prepare the next chess move. We Turks, on the other hand can consider ourselves happy witnessing the current moves, since we are unable to realize the scenarios waiting for us 3-5-10 years from now. The “Operation Peace Spring” did spoil the game of the imperialist states. But neither the terrorist formations nor the cunning scenarios that make use of these formations, have disappeared...