The mission assigned to Turkey and the map drawn by the Greater Middle East Project governor!..

When President Trump sent Tom Barrack to Ankara—whom he appointed first as Ambassador to Ankara and then as Special Envoy for Syria—he reportedly said, “We need to get some things done. I want to build a better relationship with Turkey. The Middle East is going through a difficult period. You come from this background; your business history in this region spans 50 years. Go and get a result.”

Don't let the title "Ambassador to Ankara" fool you; the man was based in Istanbul, and every day when he looked at the Bosphorus from his window, he was supposedly thinking about how “a new strategy is taking shape on a global scale”!..

It is so obvious that Barrack came to “handle Turkey” that he steps on our nerves every single day; he is active everywhere from Syria to Lebanon, Israel to Iran, and Azerbaijan to Armenia.

Let us recall the main points: He claimed that the source of the “Kurdish issue” was the Treaty of Lausanne... He praised the Ottoman millet system... He became buddies with Mazlum Kobani, the head of the Syrian PKK... After sweet-talking Ankara with statements like, “The SDF is the YPG. And the YPG is a derivative of the PKK,” and “We owe no state debt to the SDF,” he mocked our intelligence by saying, “I never said the SDF is a derivative of the PKK. The YPG emerged from various derivatives of the PKK. The SDF, on the other hand, emerged from various derivatives of the YPG”... He declared that nation-states are dangerous for Israel and that Israel would prefer to see a fragmented and divided Syria... Under the name of “criteria,” he imposed demands on Syria such as “making peace with Israel, joining the Abraham Accords, and protecting the SDF”... He said, “Turkey is the key to opening a new path” regarding Israel’s integration with the Muslim world and Iran issues... He emphasized that Iran is “definitely an enemy for the US”... He proposed that the Zangezur corridor, which is a subject of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, be leased to an American logistics company for 100 years... He claimed that, supposedly, “the US has no position regarding the possibility of a defense agreement between Syria and Turkey.” But for some reason, our “man” Colani-coded Ahmet El Shara has not signed a military base or maritime jurisdiction agreement with Turkey so far, and has instead started a visa requirement for Turkish citizens...

Finally, he assigned the following tasks to our country:

“Turkey should not just be a defense partner in NATO, but our regional partner. Together with what they do in the field of defense and what they do in production, we need to be the center of this security mechanism not only for the region extending to the west with America, but for the entire region extending to the east... My boss wants results. And what he wants here is this: Turkey reaching a higher level of importance, side by side with America. The Middle East achieving peace within the framework of a kind of Abraham Accords. Everyone can maintain their own perspective, but there must be harmony. And he wants to do this within his own term.”

And he drew a map regarding our region as follows:

“Just imagine, combining the Abraham Accords with Turkey, one of the region's powerful players—which is increasing its importance in the region every day. But not just Turkey; as a country with a non-Arab, Muslim-majority population, Turkey, Israel, the Gulf, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and moving north, Azerbaijan, Armenia... When you combine these, the world's most powerful region emerges. Why not?”

“WHAT OUR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR FOR YEARS”

He is not a diplomat; he is officially a Greater Middle East Project (BOP) governor!.. When the only answer to be given to such a person should have been declaring him persona non grata, what kind of attitude was displayed?

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who should be protecting Turkey’s independence and rights, praised Tom Barrack as follows:

“The American Ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrack, whom Mr. Trump sent to the region, was also made the Special Envoy for Syria. He is truly a representative of a new approach that understands and knows the balances in the region, strives to reflect a certain impartiality, and believes that American interests are winning everyone's heart in the region. We truly appreciate this; it is important. It is an original vision we have been waiting for for years; I hope this vision continues in this way... Mr. Barrack’s meetings with Israel, Syria, Jordan, and us... They are very intense, I mean incredibly intense. He has put in a very intense effort within such a four-way traffic. We are experiencing a certain calmness right now, I hope it continues this way.”

Of course, this satisfaction is not one-sided; while defending the “Ottoman millet” system, Barrack had also offered these praises:

“At a very, very important period in history, it began with a personal relationship, closeness, and understanding based on mutual trust between two presidents and their foreign ministers, four people... We are all of the opinion that there is a tremendous opportunity because we have two leaders who trust each other. We have Secretary Rubio and Minister Fidan who know very well how to implement this vision.”

In his latest statement to Habertürk TV, Barrack expanded the scope of his praise and said the following:

“You have one of the best foreign ministers in the world. Hakan Fidan deals with the most complex issues around him every day, and he does it with grace, subtlety, and deep thought. Likewise, İbrahim Kalın, and your intelligence agency as well... As you can see, our intelligence services are not enemies of each other. On the contrary, America, for example, is in cooperation with Hakan Fidan. Turkey played a major role in one of the most successful counter-terrorism operations that took place six days ago; we, Turkey, and Syria together neutralized an important ISIS component.”

This Barrack also met with Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler in recent days. According to the statements from both sides, they “exchanged views on regional and international security issues and discussed opportunities to deepen cooperation in the defense industry.”

It seems our officials do not have the slightest discomfort. In that case, let us just ask them: Which of Barrack’s “visions” did you like the most; his opposition to Lausanne, the Ottoman millet system, or his intention for us to continue being the battering ram for the US in the region on a larger scale?!

IS A SUDDEN NIGHT OPERATION POSSIBLE?

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan signaled an operation again if the PKK-YPG, disguised as the SDF, does not join the Syrian administration, but Abdülkadir Selvi does not think so at all.

Stating that “claims that a military operation was discussed” during the Yaşar Güler-Tom Barrack meeting “are speculation,” and that “Turkey is working to complete this process without the need for a military operation, but the military operation option is kept on the table,” Selvi claimed, “If Mazlum Abdi continues to resist, then he will also lose American support. Only the comprehensive military operation option will remain. Then let’s see if Israel will be able to save Mazlum Abdi.”

Will the US, which has been dividing and fragmenting regional countries for the Greater Israel project for decades, give up on the SDF-PKK-YPG it has invested so much in, and furthermore, allow Turkey to conduct an operation, really?

Abdülkadir Selvi must have also forgotten that during Trump’s first presidential term, he stopped operations with the threat of “I will destroy your economy,” sent a “don’t be a fool” letter to Erdoğan, and asked him to make a deal with Mazlum Kobani.

Let us listen to Tom Barrack again for today; while explaining that it will take time for the SDF/YPG to integrate and that he is proud of Mazlum Kobani’s stance, he blurted out, “It does not pose a threat to Turkey. I don’t think sudden events, especially here, lead to anyone’s military intervention, because you never know exactly who the culprit is.”!..

GET THE NEWS FROM THE PRINCE OF “OPENINGS”

Based on Foreign Minister Fidan’s statements, let us explain where we have come from and where we might be going regarding the Syrian PKK.

Eight months ago, on December 13, 2024, Fidan said the following regarding “Turkey’s YPG strategy”:

“The elimination of the YPG is our strategic goal. Either they dissolve themselves or they are dissolved, meaning they disappear... In the first phase... PKK cadres coming from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Europe must leave the country as of today. In the second phase, the entire command echelon of the YPG, including those who are Syrian, must leave the country. In the subsequent phase, non-PKK cadres must lay down their arms in a consensus with the new administration, return to their normal lives, integrate, and continue their lives within a national, egalitarian, and holistic Syria.”

On January 7, while repeating the same conditions by saying, “If you don’t want a military operation,” he noted that it would be handled by “Damascus talking to them, saying it once, saying it again and again, meaning through admonition...”

On January 27, he answered the question, “Will a solution be found that does not anger the US while solving the SDF problem?” as follows:

“The YPG saying it will not give up its weapons is not an acceptable situation. This is currently a problem for Syria itself. As for the problematic part regarding Turkey; you know the YPG is an extension of the PKK. More than 2,000 PKK members, international terrorists, and foreign fighters from Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Europe are in the ranks of the PKK, managing the structure we call the SDF in the ranks of the YPG... This man (Mazlum Kobani) is actually an administrator of a sub-organ of the PKK. Above him, there are PKK administrators in Syria. There is Sabri Ok, there is Fehman Hüseyin... Therefore, it is unacceptable for a terrorist organization to operate in this way in the new era in Syria... Now we need an equation that will ensure the YPG gives up its terrorist activities and also protects the rights of the Kurds. What is this equation? First, the YPG will lay down its arms, the new administration in Damascus will immediately take over the management of prisons and camps... Apart from that, armed groups must liquidate their weapons, but other ethnic groups there must also exercise their cultural rights. The formula for this is very simple.”

After Mazlum Kobani and Colani signed the March 10 agreement, was the PKK-YPG recognized as the “SDF”? Yes, it was... Is there anyone talking about more than 2,000 PKK members leaving Syria? No... Ankara’s only expectation and hope now is the integration of the SDF-PKK-YPG into the Syrian administration!..

If you ask, “What’s next?”;

AKP member Mehmet Metiner asked for “the SDF to be made a friend and ally of Turkey”...

More importantly, Cengiz Çandar, a deputy for DEM—the new partner of the People’s Alliance and the lead actor of all openings since the Özal era—warned a few days ago that a hostile attitude toward Mazlum Kobani and the SDF would “endanger the safety of the process” in Turkey... He argued that telling them, “Surrender your weapons to the administration in Damascus and dissolve all the structures you have,” means asking the sheep to offer its neck to the butcher’s knife, and that this is neither realistic nor moral... And he ordered that Mazlum Kobani be invited to Ankara...

Allegedly, MİT President İbrahim Kalın, who visited political parties regarding the new opening process, said, “They will not accept a federal structure or autonomy in Syria.”

They had said the same for Barzanistan!..

Since the direction has become somewhat clear; let us repeat our question from April: let’s see, “Who will be the first to link arms with Mazlum Kobani?”

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 1, 2025