The issue goes beyond the CHP

Of course, I am referring to the court's decision of absolute nullity.

I asked an old bureaucrat friend of mine who follows these issues closely three or four months ago whether the government would pull the plug on the CHP.

He said that in order to foresee what will happen to the CHP, one needs to look at Barrack's statements and the meetings Tayyip Erdoğan held with Trump.

Journalists, because they generally live day-to-day, often do not place politics and diplomacy into a broader perspective.

A statement that saves the day or someone's remarks that pick fights and create controversy here and there...

We often read the developments in Turkey in recent weeks through the narrow window of daily politics. The debates within the CHP, Kılıçdaroğlu's statements, the issue of whether the party congress can be convened, Özgür Özel running around trying to respond to everyone, potential indictments, judicial processes, and internal party reckonings...

To see all of these merely as the ordinary tensions of domestic politics would be a serious oversight.

Because what is happening points to a much larger picture than the current state of the CHP. The goal of trying to neutralize the strongest actors of the opposition through legal means, narrowing the field of political competition, and concentrating the state mechanism in a single center is clear.

Let us try to explain it as best we can.

What kind of role did American imperialism carve out for Turkey in the Middle East, and what kind of regime does it want in Ankara that fits this role?

The answer was given by Barrack, whom Trump appointed as the "Presidential Representative" responsible for Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

“According to the approach of those who have been studying the Levant and Anatolia for many years, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey continue to form the strategic axis upon which lasting stability in the Middle East must be built. Maintaining the balance between these three countries requires a single and consistent American point of contact and influence that transcends tribal, religious, or sectarian differences. This vital mission, embraced by President Trump, aims to help the region's diverse elements align toward common prosperity by transforming them into an integrated structure based on order and mutual interests.”

Actually, what they are saying is quite clear and understandable. The man explained it as if he were explaining it to a child.

Let us put on our reading glasses anyway and look at the issue that way.

According to the Trump administration, these three countries are parts of the same strategic axis. In other words, Washington does not see the region as separate countries, but as an interconnected sphere of influence.

Once upon a time, didn't the Iraqi Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani – who would later become the President of Iraq – say, “My dream is a United States of the Middle East, with Istanbul as its capital”... That is exactly what this is about...

Let us continue.

At the center of this approach are single-man regimes. Leaders who will govern the Islamic ummah in the Middle East and who will not say no to anything America asks.

Democracy, human rights, the rule of law, etc., are of course just stories... In short, America wants someone in the Middle East who suits its interests.

Parliaments, political parties, or the will of the people have no importance; instead, it wants those whom America approves of and supports...

Actually, this is not a new idea.

Since the Cold War, we have seen similar preferences in the West's Middle East policies many times. They supported strong names instead of strong institutions; they preferred manageable stability over democratic oversight.

Let us remember German Chancellor Merkel's relationship with Tayyip Erdoğan!

She turned a blind eye to all the lawlessness in Turkey so that refugees would not come to Europe, and she never let a speck of dust touch Tayyip Erdoğan.

However, the picture emerging today is somewhat different. In the past, no one would act so brazenly; they would not do these things right in the public's face.

The phone call Tayyip Erdoğan had with Trump before the absolute nullity decision and Trump's subsequent social media post...

They feel no need to hide anything.

Returning to the absolute nullity debate; if the goal were only a leadership change in the CHP, they would not have mobilized such great energy.

America wants to make the single-man regime in Turkey legally and politically permanent so that it can serve Middle East politics more comfortably – as Barrack also said.

However, the biggest obstacle to this is the existence of an organized opposition that has the potential to win elections.

That is, the CHP...

What if the government in Turkey changes hands through democratic means one day, or what if the person at the head of the CHP – whoever that may be – puts a spoke in America's wheel under pressure from the base...

It seems that the strategic game-makers across the Atlantic do not want to take such a risk. They will continue with Tayyip Erdoğan as long as it goes, and they will likely think about what comes after when the time comes!

That is why Trump gave the green light to Tayyip Erdoğan to pull the plug on the CHP. With this green light, Özgür Özel's immunity could be lifted tomorrow, Mansur Yavaş could be arrested, and the doors of the CHP could be locked.

Let us make a note of this now.

On the other hand, the "We are in Gülhane Park, we are aware of everything" approach of the Kılıçdaroğlu faction also needs to be addressed. Bülent Kuşoğlu, while explaining what happened to Cansu Çamlıbel, spoke of state wisdom and such.

Let us ask, which state wisdom?

The state wisdom that founded the Republic?

The state wisdom that takes the principle of full independence as its basis?

Or is it another wisdom trying to redesign politics in Turkey?

What we see in the trap being set for the CHP is by no means a state reflex in the classical sense. We are facing a form of intervention that purges republican cadres, erodes the idea of the nation-state, and reshapes politics through identities.

For this reason, the issue is not "state wisdom" or anything of the sort; at most, it is Trump's wisdom, it is American wisdom.

Does Bülent Kuşoğlu not know this?

In short, while the CHP claims to carry the legacy of the republic founded by Atatürk, it is being forced to wear the suit that global centers have tailored for Turkey.

The absolute nullity debates are just the visible face of this great reckoning.

If Özgür Özel truly wants to turn a new page, he must draw a thick line not only between himself and Kılıçdaroğlu but also between himself and this guardianship mentality that has surrounded the CHP for years, if he truly has such an intention.

He must clearly declare that he has left the Kılıçdaroğlu era behind as a method, a mentality, and a style of politics. Otherwise, the crisis the CHP is experiencing will be nothing more than a theater where the names change but the minds remain the same.

We know very well that authoritarianism does not progress with a leap, but by crossing thresholds that seem small one by one.

Those who are curious can take a look at 20th-century European history.

For this reason, the CHP issue is far beyond the CHP, let us repeat it once more.

In other words, what we are facing here is a search that is greater than the effort to extend the life of the government.

The regimes of countries do not change overnight. Through imperialist interventions, their institutions are first weakened, the legal system is eroded with exceptions, and then politics is stripped of being a field of competition.

In the end, society begins to accept developments that should be considered extraordinary as ordinary.

That is where the trouble begins.

Let us end our article by saying that the real issue here is that the people of my country still cannot see the ruthless "zoning cleanup" being carried out so that Turkey can serve America's interests unconditionally.