While trying to look at what was overlooked...

As we enter the final week of the year; what Meral sister said, who she lashed out at again, who she kicked out of the party, who resigned from the party; 

CHP's fresh-faced Chairman Özgür Özel, who is barely out of his teens, who he sang tunes to this time, whose hand he kissed, who he tried to apologize to on behalf of their grandchildren;

How the Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin got cozy with religious sects;

We were going to skip the important topics that would be ground in the mill of the agenda, such as who Erdoğan will nominate for Ankara and Istanbul, or whether the group meeting in Parliament will be canceled if Devlet Bey's teleprompter malfunctions, and instead look at the developments that were “overlooked” and not particularly valued by our press, but then our worst fears came true.

The PKK infiltrated temporary base areas in the Claw-Lock operation zone in northern Iraq, martyring 12 of our soldiers in Hakurk and Metina within 48 hours; according to information from the region, we have many wounded, including officers. We have suffered our heaviest losses since the day the operation began.

The images reflected on social media are truly heartbreaking.

Now, in the words of the old timers, let's sit crooked and speak straight.

Whenever the AKP finds itself in a difficult situation, including during election processes, or when the possibility of losing power emerges, there is an uptick in activity among terrorist organizations, primarily the PKK. They engage in armed actions that will make a splash in major cities, left and right across Turkey. Massacres occur, as they did in 2015. They target soldiers and police in the rural areas of Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, in northern Iraq, and in Syria; there are infiltrations into outposts and military units, and news of martyrs begins to arrive one after another.

What follows is well known...

Through the legitimate anger in society, the religious and nationalist segments are fortified, everyone aligns behind Erdoğan, and those who say “wait a minute, you account for this first” are accused of being traitors or supporting terrorism; like Stalin's chicken, the people of my country forget their poverty, their destitution, their misery, their struggle to make ends meet, the bottoming-out economy, and the collapsing education and justice systems, and without looking at the pain of their plucked feathers, they take refuge under Erdoğan's wings, saying “the call to prayer will not be silenced, the flag will not be lowered, the homeland will not be divided.”

Our people, who think they have secured themselves against terrorism, cry for two days after the martyrs, mourn, and feel sad, only to forget and move on by the third day. 

The fire burns only where it falls.

Erdoğan, on the other hand, shapes politics with the power he derives from this, feeds his polarizing rhetoric, and restricts the opposition's room for maneuver.

This has never failed so far.

He won the May 14-28 elections with more or less the same strategy. 

As 2023 comes to an end, the AKP is in trouble again. Moreover, local elections are just around the corner. While the economy has collapsed, inflation has exploded, the nation has been condemned to poverty, retirees and minimum wage earners are living almost at the hunger threshold, corruption is running rampant, and the government cannot even find candidates for Istanbul and Ankara, the agenda has changed rapidly.

Terrorism has once again shown its dark face, which serves who knows which circles—or perhaps it is very well known.

Someone pressed the button again.

As it always does, the government took no responsibility for the martyrdom of 12 soldiers. Far from answering the CHP's extremely legitimate questions, it didn't even look back. As always, it prepared a lukewarm joint declaration in Parliament to ensure everyone aligned behind it.

The IYI Party, MHP, and Saadet Party signed this declaration, but this time the CHP made a move, saying, “Wait a minute, I am not supporting you blindly as in the past. Account for this first.” It demanded that the Minister of National Defense inform Parliament and that a period of mourning be declared for our martyred soldiers.

Moreover, the declaration it prepared contained much harsher and stronger expressions compared to the government's.

But the Palace media did not change its classic stance and distorted the issue nicely. It ignored the fact that the CHP, which it accused of supporting terrorism for not following the AKP's lead, condemned terrorism with its own published declaration. 

It fanned the flames of this as much as it could. The same provocative scenario was staged at the martyr's funeral that Özgür Özel attended in his hometown of Manisa. 

However, let us underline that the CHP was late in taking the initiative. It should have shown a much faster reflex to restrict the AKP's black propaganda field, but for some reason, it failed to do so. Özgür Özel could not show the same speed he displays in responding to every little thing in even the most unnecessary matters.

The spear no longer fits in the sack. 

It is not just political; there is also a military failure at hand. The government definitely does not want this to be questioned. If it is understood how vulnerable the temporary base areas are in the snow and winter, and if this is discussed in public opinion, it will be revealed that the government sacrificed the Mehmetçik to terrorism by taking no precautions at all.

However, one way or another, the government must first account for the 12 martyrs.

Of course, at the same time, the “foreign powers” dimension of the issue should not be ignored.

Erdoğan's declaration that Hamas is not a terrorist organization, his verbal attacks on Israel, his foot-dragging regarding Sweden's NATO membership, and his insistence on staying outside the lines regarding sanctions on Russia are not being ignored on the other side of the Atlantic.

Let's say "what if" and ask: Did Biden want to send a message to Erdoğan by sending the PKK against the Turkish Armed Forces? Could he have meant: Don't back Hamas, don't bark too much at Israel, don't delay Sweden's NATO membership?

Or, if we read the tape in reverse, did Biden give support to Erdoğan for the local elections? 

“Look, I created an opportunity for you to fortify the religious and nationalist segments that have started to dissolve due to the economic crisis.”

After all, it is known that the PKK does not take a single step in the region without the approval of the US. Seeking the US in the background of the organization's attack on the TSK's temporary bases in northern Iraq should not be perceived as a conspiracy theory. 

For the game-makers in Washington, the PKK is a very important apparatus in the strategic game in the Middle East. They use it effectively when needed to “adjust” Erdoğan. Likewise, to keep Erdoğan in power!

At the beginning of the article, we started with the sentence that we would look at the “overlooked” developments that were not particularly valued by our press.

In recent days, the PYD, the Syrian branch of the PKK, published a document in the northeast of the country that it marketed as a draft constitution. This is an important step on the path to separatism in Syria. It can also be read as a strategic change from federalism to “democratic confederalism.” In other words, a legitimate ground is being prepared for the political fragmentation of the country.

With the announcement of this draft—and it would be naive to think that US experts did not provide technical support or write it directly—can we consider the PKK's attacks within the same framework? 

The other is the secret negotiation being conducted with the UK.

The issue was brought to the agenda by CHP's diplomat-turned-MP Namık Tan during the budget negotiations in Parliament. 

He said,

“While we are seeking a consensus to produce the engine for our own National Combat Aircraft project jointly with the UK, if our information is correct, it is also wrong to discuss outdated frigates and small modular nuclear reactors from this country as a package.”

Thus, we learned that the government is making secret deals with the UK for small modular nuclear reactors.

In other words, the government plans to produce engines together with the UK for Turkey's national combat aircraft. To convince the British, they are thinking of buying the Royal Navy's outdated frigates. 

Moreover, they have also included small modular nuclear reactors in this negotiation package.

There is not much information yet on what stage the negotiations are at, but it is necessary to see that conducting such a critical negotiation behind closed doors will bring serious drawbacks.

Before concluding the article, let's share some inside information. 

Depending on the results of the local elections, a new opening process is on the agenda. The government is reportedly seeking support from both the EU and the US using back-channel diplomacy. They are planning to incorporate this into a comprehensive constitutional amendment and implement it in a way that will least disturb the nationalist base, even under the guise of a “constituent assembly.” It is not yet known whose mouth they will sweeten and how much. 

If expressions such as “common homeland,” “peoples of Turkey,” “equality of rights,” “right to self-determination,” and “pluralistic law” emerge from this work, one should not be surprised at all. 

It is clear that through such fancy concepts, identity-based, racist, sectarian, and ethnic fascist mentalities will gain legitimacy and fortify Erdoğan's one-man regime. 

So the issue will not just be an “opening” or a “scattering.” This is a politically critical issue for Erdoğan.

A contact or two have been made with the leaders of Kurdish politics, but it has not been followed up. It is said that the negotiation is currently being conducted through Istanbul and Diyarbakır. A formula of 'Help us take Istanbul, and we won't appoint a trustee to Diyarbakır' is reportedly being discussed. In fact, Erdoğan's difficulty regarding the candidate issue is said to stem from this.

It seems that a hot period awaits us both at home and abroad in the winter chill, so let us put a period to our article here.