By Ilnur Cevik
Turkish Daily News- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recently Turkey would not be intimidated by the message the terrorists are trying to give by launching bomb attacks in two synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 people and wounded more than 250. "We will disregard the message they are trying to give," the prime minister had declared.
So it seems the Al Qaeda terrorist organization decided to issue a new challenge to the Turkish prime minister with a bloodier message. This is not a simple terrorist organization defying a country or its government. It is a challenge issued by international terrorists against the international community and especially to the United States and Britain.
Al Qaeda has been attacking targets throughout the world. After the notorious 9/11 attack against the U.S. Al Qaeda has hit targets in Bali, Yemen, Morocco, Iraq, Kenya, Riyadh and many more places. But it has never hit the same city twice in five days. So it seems Al Qaeda is in a very defiant mood and is capitalizing on the relatively lax security situation in Istanbul.
This should be a lesson to the Turkish government and the Interior Minister should approach the issue with more seriousness.
This time Turkey is not facing the challenge of PKK terrorism or any other forms of local terrorism. It is dealing with an assault by a very cruel and well calculating international organization that has chosen Turkey as its battlefield against Britain and possibly the U.S. It is clear that Al Qaeda has first targeted the Jews to give a message to Turkey and Israel and has now turned its wrath against British interests in Istanbul with the latest attack.
First the government has to assemble the resources of all its security and intelligence apparatus including the military means and in a concerted way face the challenge.
The government must enlist the help of the people who should be on the look out for terrorist bombers and any suspicious movements.
Then Turkey needs all the help it can get to counter this vicious assault. Al Qaeda uses sophisticated means so we also need to deploy sophisticated methods to deal with it. The U.S., Britain and Israel are all capable of extending this kind of aid and we feel this cooperation will be vital.
We also feel the U.S. has to realize that while they were busy toppling Saddam Hussein the international community has lost the urgency and the motivation to fight international terrorism. We feel this struggle has to be revived so that a concerted effort can be made to combat terrorist groups like Al Qaeda.
We also feel the European Union member countries have to realize that this assault is against the free world and that one day the bombs may start going off in their own capitals and thus they should help Turkey overcome this menace. Turkey with its predominantly Muslim population has been punished for struggling against Al Qaeda, opposing Taliban type regimes and opting for a democratic regime that cherishes western values. Can the EU countries appreciate that? Do they understand the value of Turkey in their fold?