Bahadır Selim Dilek evaluates Erdoğan's 'we could enter Israel' remarks: 'Blank cartridge'
Journalist and foreign policy expert Bahadır Selim Dilek was the guest of journalist Mustafa Büyüksipahi on the 12punto program Gündem 12. Dilek made striking assessments regarding Erdoğan's 'we could enter Israel' statement.
12punto
In the program, which covered the Israel crisis that has become a focal point for both Turkey and the world, journalist Bahadır Selim Dilek evaluated Erdoğan's "we could enter Israel" remarks.
What is the purpose of Erdoğan's controversial words?
HERE IS BAHADIR DİLEK'S COMMENTARY ON ERDOĞAN'S STATEMENT:
"Actually, what Mr. Erdoğan said has no real value! It is neither compatible with foreign policy—or more accurately, with the rationality of foreign policy—nor with current realities, nor with international politics...
Therefore, the purpose of these statements is entirely to fortify his own domestic politics, to align his base that has begun to fracture, and to make society more polarized in some way. He does this by gathering the nationalist-conservative-religious segment behind him and demonizing the other side.
For this, he is using Israel as an apparatus, nothing more! Why did I call it a 'boatman's quarrel'? Erdoğan is doing this, but it serves Netanyahu in Israel the most. Netanyahu is, more or less, Erdoğan's counterpart in Israel when we look at it politically... He also gathers his own voters behind him by instrumentalizing foreign policy in the same way, aligns them, and thus manages to stay in power; he has been doing this for years and has been applying it successfully.
Just like Erdoğan has been doing since 2002, now, as a result of foreign policy being instrumentalized to this extent, the seriousness of the matter is lost. Now, if the words Erdoğan said had been spoken in a normal country under normal conditions, you would have to follow through with them. This would be the 'final straw'; you would send ships to the coast of Israel after uttering this sentence and initiate a military operation or a deterrent intimidation operation accordingly.
That is what should happen; in other words, when you fire a blank cartridge, it becomes clear that it won't hit anyone. This is a blank cartridge; it means 'I will not hit anyone...' Erdoğan has made this such a habit that it has lost all seriousness..."