The Mecca Agreement and the TSK

The Mecca agreement signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will be discussed and voted on in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) tomorrow. It will most likely be accepted.

This agreement, in terms of the course of our region and the world, is perhaps much more important than the March 1 memorandum that foresaw the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but it has neither been debated as much as that, nor has the public been left with the energy to care about it.

Why is it important?

Because, based on the imperialist powers' decades-old coding of a “Sunni full moon against the Shiite crescent,” there is a possibility that we will be pitted against Iran, which is one of the main targets of the Greater Middle East Project (BOP).

Defense Minister Yaşar Güler stated clearly, “Turkish soldiers will not clash with the Houthis,” but we only need to look at these expressions in the agreement:

“The Parties shall use all necessary methods to eliminate this threat(s) or danger(s)... In the event that one of the ‘Parties’ is subjected to armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the ‘Parties’ shall immediately assist the ‘Party’ under attack by using all mutual assistance capabilities they can provide to each other.”

When Were the Foundations of the Alliance Laid?

How and where did the need for the Mecca Alliance, which suddenly entered our agenda, arise?

It follows the US-Israel attacks on Iran, Iran's subsequent targeting of US facilities in Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia... And after the allegations that the Houthis, who are stated to be an Iran-backed group, attacked holy sites in Saudi Arabia in addition to Israel in the war that has already been going on for a long time between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen.

This is the situation on the surface, but I think we need to dig a little deeper.

It has emerged that Saudi Arabia and Israel, which have no diplomatic contact between them, have been secretly sitting at the table in India, Italy, and the Czech Republic since 2014 to act together against the Iranian threat, and in this context, two important figures from the two countries met in Washington in June 2015.

These figures were Dore Gold, known to guide the foreign policy of both Saudi Arabia and Israel, and Anwar Eshki, a government advisor to Saudi Arabia; what they discussed was a “7-step plan against Iran.” The main outlines of the plan were as follows:

“Making a peace plan between Israel and the Arabs... A regime change in Tehran... The creation of a joint Arab army... And the establishment of an independent Kurdish state on the Turkish border.”

Let us also note that shortly after these developments, Israeli Dore Gold and the then-Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioğlu, whom Erdoğan now nominates for the UN Secretary-General position, met secretly in Rome to discuss the “normalization” of Turkish-Israeli relations, and that Erdoğan said, “We need Israel.”

NATO: “We Cannot Fight for Muslims”

Let's come to December 8, 2015; when it started to be discussed that NATO would intervene against ISIS's terrorist acts in Syria, then-NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg stated that the conflict in Syria was not a war between the West and the Islamic world, but a “war against radicalism and terrorism,” and then said, “In this fight, Muslims are on the front line, most of the victims are Muslims, and most of those fighting against ISIS are also Muslims. We cannot conduct this struggle for them.”

Exactly one week later, it was announced that a military force would be created for an “Islamic alliance against terror” under the leadership of Saudi Arabia. When it came to the agenda that Turkey would also participate in this formation, which was called the “Islamic army” in the media and public opinion, the then-Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said that the “creation of a military force” was not in question, and that “emphasis would be placed on military and intelligence cooperation in the alliance.”

In response, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, when asked, “Does the alliance include ground forces?” replied, “All options are on the table. It depends on the request, the need, and the willingness of the countries to provide the necessary support.”

And after Erdoğan's Riyadh visit at the end of December, then-Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu emphasized, “We will take part in all stages of the mechanism to be established in Riyadh.”

Hulusi Akar’s Camouflage

A month later, in January 2016, when then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu went to Riyadh, Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar was with him, and it drew attention that he attended the official meeting in a camouflage uniform, which was reported to be new.

Necdet Özel was the first Chief of General Staff to go to Saudi Arabia in 2012 after a 20-year hiatus. Ahmet Davutoğlu explained Hulusi Akar's presence during that 2016 visit as follows:

“This is a matter that should be considered natural. Our Chief of General Staff does not attend such things. During our President's last visit, it was decided to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council mechanism with Saudi Arabia. There is intense defense industry cooperation... That is why I wanted our Chief of General Staff to be there. We made this decision before... From now on, our Chief of General Staff will attend such meetings. This should not be seen as an extraordinary development. There is a harmonious working environment at the top level of the state, and this is reflected downwards... When our Chief of General Staff is aware of the meetings I hold and sees the decisions we actually take, the reflection of this on the field is very different.”

It was immediately after these developments that Saudi planes began to arrive at and depart from Incirlik. Saudi Ministry of Defense Undersecretary Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri began to give dates for a possible ground operation against ISIS together with the international coalition. US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter also supported this statement made by Asiri at a meeting held at NATO headquarters under US leadership, saying, “This kind of news is very welcome. I look forward to discussing this and other contributions Saudi Arabia can make with the Saudi Defense Minister.”

As is known, US President Trump also welcomed the Mecca agreement with great enthusiasm!..

US Senatör Joe Wilson, who stated that the Mecca alliance has the “potential to be the NATO of the Middle East,” said openly, “I am grateful to our allies Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia for mobilizing the alliance in the face of Houthi-backed Iranian aggression.”

Get the News from Barrack: “Israel is a NATO Ally”

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also says that “the Mecca Agreement is a complement to NATO” and that “technically it resembles the 5th article of the NATO Treaty regarding collective defense”; let us recall two more notes regarding this.

On the first anniversary of the Hamas-Israel war that began on October 7, 2023; while NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg was saying, “Israel is not alone,” European Commission President Von der Leyen, who held a moment of silence for Israel together with commission members, emphasized that they would not hold a moment of silence for those killed in Gaza on the grounds that “They are Muslim.” Her deputy Margaritis Schinas also called, “Turkey must choose its side. Will it be on the side of the EU, NATO, and their values? Or will it support Russia, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah? Let them decide which side of history they want to be on. They must have a clear answer on this.”

Colonial governor Tom Barrack, on the other hand, while explaining recently that he has been “Israel's best friend” since 2016 and “led the way for Arab countries to join the Abraham Accords,” said the following:

“Turkey is a NATO ally, and Israel is a NATO ally. So finding a way between these two NATO allies is like finding a way between two teenage children who grew up side by side and suddenly started fighting. Right now they hate each other. It's madness. But most of this is at the level of rhetoric, isn't it? If these two worked in harmony, the region would change completely. Only the Iran issue needs to be handled and Iran needs to adapt to this order... If Saudi Arabia joins an alliance based on the Abraham Accords with Israel, a chain reaction will begin. This harmony would be the most powerful thing we have.”

While Commanders Opposing Trump are Praised

This is the picture. Whether or not there is a possibility of war, there was no need even for the Mecca agreement to be discussed in the TBMM National Defense Commission. More precisely, the National Defense Commission said, “There is no need for us to discuss it,” and the agreement was handled directly in the Foreign Affairs Commission and accepted by majority vote.

If a war breaks out, it will not be the ambassadors but our soldiers who will go to the front; but apart from official rhetoric, we do not know the TSK's findings, warnings, and suggestions on this matter—if they exist and were asked.

Yet, it was said that the TSK, whose “tutelage” in domestic politics was ended, would focus entirely on external security. However, as can be seen, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the MIT are carrying out the patronage of this process, the TSK is not even mentioned!..

Let alone the Mecca agreement; unfortunately, we now have a TSK/MSB that, while announcing the martyrdom of Infantry Contracted Private Yusuf Sait Ünlü in Yüksekova four days ago as “due to fire opened during an intervention in a border crossing incident,” cannot explain who wanted to cross the border and who opened fire on our soldier!..

One cannot help but recall these praises of MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli regarding the US commanders who opposed Trump's attack on Iran:

“It is expected that American soldiers will continue and win a war whose political goals are determined by Netanyahu. This is, first and foremost, contrary to reason and logic. As a matter of fact, high-level commanders from different elements of the American Army are rightly opposing this. However, instead of listening to them, Trump is choosing to dismiss those who object. While Trump loses the support of the American people day by day, American soldiers are losing their motivation for war.”

İbrahim Karagül, the famous pen of Yeni Şafak, which supports the government, pointed out yesterday that plans for a nuclear attack on Iran are being made and argued that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan should form a joint “nuclear shield,” and used the following expression:

“The time has come to turn into a Soldier Nation!”

When Karagül says “nation,” he most likely means “ummah”; but let us still ask on behalf of the Turkish nation:

Are we not already a “soldier nation,” or were we not?.. If not; when, how, and why did we lose this quality?..

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 4, 2026