The 21-year-old secret behind the sack placed over our soldier's head!

National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, in his statement to media representatives in Ankara on March 10, said, "As our President has also expressed, our determination to create a security corridor 30-40 kilometers deep along our borders is absolute," and emphasized that they would "permanently resolve the terror on the Iraqi border this summer."

Minister Güler also added:

"We said 2 years ago, 'Let's establish a joint operations center with Iraq,' and they responded positively, but we have not yet been able to take a step on this matter. This issue will be on our agenda again at the meeting in Baghdad."

The summer is almost over; we are talking about whether Iraq has declared the PKK a terrorist organization and the content of the "Memorandum of Understanding on Military, Security Cooperation and Counter-Terrorism" signed with Iraq!..

The Buildup in Cyprus

There was a weekly press briefing at the Ministry of National Defense yesterday. Ministry sources answered questions regarding both the agreement signed with Iraq and the deployment of troops to the Greek Cypriot administration by the US and the UK following the tension between Israel and Iran.

Let's start with Cyprus; the assessment made by the sources was as follows:

"The recent increase in activity on the island of Cyprus and the ongoing activities of the GCA (Greek Cypriot Administration) are being followed meticulously, and necessary measures are being taken against any threat that may be directed at the security of the TRNC. No matter who makes a buildup, we are closely following every development. For now, there is no trouble or negative situation regarding the security of the TRNC."

First; we are a guarantor country in Cyprus by international agreement. They are not just doing this now; they have been building up there since the Israel-Palestine war began. But neither do they take Turkey's guarantor status into account, nor does Ankara say, "We are the guarantors; what are you doing?"

Second; it is said that "necessary measures are being taken against any threat that may be directed at the security of the TRNC." What kind of measures, I wonder? We recall that when asked about Greece's decision to turn a port in the Greek Cypriot side into a military base, Erdoğan said, "We are building a Northern Cyprus Presidential building and a Parliament building. A very beautiful mosque is also being built next to it to serve there. I suppose there is nothing more important than these bases. They are building military bases, we are building political bases."!..

What is in that Denied Agreement?

Let's come to the statement of the MND sources regarding the memorandum of understanding on counter-terrorism signed with Iraq on August 15.

First of all, they reported that "the text of the agreement appearing in some media outlets is not real" and provided some information about the content of the signed text.

The so-called text denied by the MND must be the text consisting of 10 articles and various annexes that the Barzani media published the other day under the headline, "Rûdaw has reached the content of the 'security memorandum' signed between Turkey and Iraq: Here are the articles..."

Here, there are remarkable expressions in addition to the information shared by the MND sources.

The first is the statement that "The main goal is to eliminate the threats of terror and banned organizations to the sovereignty, security, and stability of both sides." Pay attention to the distinction between terror and banned organizations. The reference to terrorist organizations likely means ISIS and similar groups, and the banned organization must be the PKK. In other words, according to this text, it is understood that Iraq still does not consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

Second; it is stated that "the parties commit to preventing these organizations from operating in one country's territory against the other by fighting against banned terrorist organizations."

Third, and most importantly; there is an article such as "the termination of the presence of Turkish military forces on Iraqi soil."

Okay, there is an approval process, etc.; but since there is such a serious claim, wouldn't our officials consider sharing the full text of that memorandum of understanding?

Furthermore, this agreement should not be secret, as Foreign Ministry diplomats yesterday and MND sources today informed the media in quite some detail immediately after it was signed.

The Declaration from 10 Years Ago: "PKK Terrorist Organization"

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had announced the memorandum of understanding in question as a "historic development"; let's go back a bit to see if this is truly a historic development and how much Iraq complies with the agreements made.

On August 7, 2007; the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a memorandum of understanding. This memorandum covered "a wide variety of areas of cooperation, primarily political, economic, energy, water resources, cultural, security, and military issues, based on a strategic partnership."

On March 7-8, 2008, when the then Iraqi President Jalal Talabani came to Ankara, an agreement was reached for the first time to establish a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

When Erdoğan went to Baghdad on July 10, 2008, he signed a joint political declaration with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki based on the 2007 memorandum of understanding. The section titled "Security and Military Cooperation Areas" of the declaration summarized the following:

"Respecting the security of both countries' territories, supporting joint efforts by Iraq and Turkey to prevent the passage of terrorists and illegal weapons from Iraq to Turkey or from Turkey to Iraq, strengthening cooperation between Turkey and Iraq in monitoring common borders, and preventing all kinds of illegal trade, including financial, logistical, and all other resources of terrorists and terrorist organizations, rejecting the use of all rhetoric that encourages violence and terror... Completing the Counter-Terrorism Agreement between the two countries... Cooperating on possible security arrangements that will bring peace and stability to the region."

As for the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which came to the agenda with Talabani's visit to Ankara; this council, established on July 10, 2008, met for the first time on October 15, 2009, and exactly 48 agreements and declarations were signed. After the second meeting on December 25, 2014, the declaration signed by the then Prime Ministers Ahmet Davutoğlu and Haider al-Abadi mentioned joint struggle against ISIS and Turkey's training of Iraqi security forces, and then stated the following:

"Turkey and Iraq will continue their cooperation against the threat posed by the PKK terrorist organization."

There you go; while the PKK was called a "terrorist organization" 10 years ago, now we are happy that it is declared a "banned organization"!..

It Was Bafel Talabani, Not Qubad, Who Filmed It

In the article titled "The sack is still on our heads," which we wrote on August 13 upon the illegal appointment of a PUK figure as governor of the ancient Turkmen city of Kirkuk, we emphasized the reason why the US placed a sack over the heads of our soldiers in Sulaymaniyah on July 4, 2003, and explained that that disgrace was filmed by Qubad Talabani, who is now a close friend of Ankara.

Upon this, a commander who called us and served in northern Iraq at that time explained that the perpetrator of the video, which everyone has known as such for 21 years, was not Qubad Talabani, but his older brother Bafel Talabani, who is now at the head of the PUK.

He explained that even back then, Bafel Talabani was being prepared for these days, that he was sent to the UK after the sack incident for his protection, and that they were asked not to disclose that it was Bafel Talabani who filmed it, but that they gave Bafel Talabani's name in the reports they sent to the General Staff.

Why Was Kirkuk Taken from the TSK?

In the same article, we stated that the reason for the sack was the discomfort caused by the TSK's interest in Kirkuk and the Turkmens, and indeed, it was decided that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would look after the region after the incident.

The same commander made the following interesting claims on this subject:

"Until 1996, the MIT (National Intelligence Organization) was dealing with the region. After this date, the TSK began to deal with it. When the AKP government wanted to bring a person with various connections to the head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, the General Staff opposed this and sent their documents, so that person could not be appointed to this position. But revenge for this was taken by giving Kirkuk and the Turkmens to the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Afterwards, we heard that the MIT was dealing with the region again, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again. Now, it is not clear who is involved or responsible."

Why we are failing so much in foreign policy, well, it is clear as day.