BY SEMIH IDIZ
MILLIYET- We shouldn't be surprised that the brainstorming done recently at the Hudson Institute was criticized in Turkey at a time when `metal storming' scenarios are being mentioned in our country (referring to Metal Storm, a popular novel envisioning a Turkish-US conflict). At this point, what's most surprising is that our diplomats weren't invited to this workshop, but that it was attended by top Turkish military leaders. Obviously this situation has a reasonable explanation, but I don't want to dwell on this. Instead, I'd like to focus on the discussions that reportedly took place there.
This brainstorming was based on a speculative scenario of the assassination of a former Constitutional Court head, the terrorist PKK killing 50 people in Istanbul, and the Turkish Armed Forces' subsequent move into northern Iraq. We should look for the reasons behind this scenario, not in Washington, but in Ankara, because looking at Turkey from the outside, one can see that the state's basic organs are at odds with each other and the consensus necessary for the country's strategic interests remains out of reach. Elements of this scenario, which was supposedly prepared by a Turkish researcher, should not be strange to us, because they are inspired by real events.
It was claimed during the workshop that delivering PKK leaders from northern Iraq to Turkey before the July 22 elections would bring help to Justice and Development Party (AKP). However, we know that this discussion was actually caused by Turkey. It's not so hard to guess who's in contact with foreign diplomats in Turkey so that such assumptions are forwarded. Of course, one could look at the workshop in Washington and think that they crossed the line. However, we can't prevent such meetings, because Americans use them to try to plan for developments that might influence their own strategic interests.
It's also hard to guess that similar scenarios about Turkey and other countries are being discussed at the Strategic Research and Study Center (SAREM), which is within the General Staff but not open to civilians. Before getting angry about Hudson Institute workshop, these issues should be taken into consideration. From this viewpoint, one could claim that this disturbing brainstorming was even useful for our understanding how the outside world sees us. As I said, if such evaluations are made about Turkey, we should look for the reasons for this not in Washington, but in Ankara, which gives very complicated signals about possible developments!