What is Yemen to us?

Last week, we said the world had come unhinged and added: Unfortunately, Turkey is in an even worse state. Especially the drift in foreign policy is growing. Objective observers who analyze actions rather than rhetoric can understand the gravity of the situation, particularly through the failures experienced in the last few years. However, as if to say there is always something worse, a much more difficult test awaits the country in the coming days: the Mecca Agreement, which is said to have been signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Since it is not known exactly what the Mecca Agreement is, what it does or does not contain, or even whether concrete provisions were written down from the very beginning, it is impossible to form a sound opinion on this subject. The ambiguity surrounding this agreement, which has been presented to the public as a NATO-like defense alliance, continues to this day.

Apart from this, it must be underlined that according to the relevant articles of the Constitution (90 and 92), parliamentary approval is mandatory for any international agreement to enter into force and/or for Turkish soldiers to be deployed abroad. Therefore, we will have the chance to learn the details when the subject enters the parliamentary agenda. Beyond this legal procedure, questions such as why Turkey would support the Saudis, who are already a party to a burning conflict, and why it might be dragged into a war in Yemen, are awaiting answers.

While it is known that the Iran-backed Houthis, who are fighting bravely against Israel, are also in a struggle with the Saudis, it is understood from the crumbs of information leaked to the public that Ankara has committed to providing security to Riyadh together with Pakistan, the third partner of the agreement.

The ironic part of the matter starts right here.

While government circles on one hand utter all kinds of negative words against Israel, on the other hand, they do not hesitate to position themselves against the Houthis, who are actually fighting against Israel. In this process, which will indirectly benefit Israel, it is seen that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who drew public reaction with his statements during the war that the US started against Iran at the end of February, is very enthusiastic.

Moreover, US Congress members are openly praising the Mecca Agreement, and British experts are pleased to encourage Turkey. Finally, US President Trump says regarding Turkey's possible intervention in Yemen, 'I think Erdoğan will do whatever I ask of him.' When we look at the issue structurally, it is necessary to understand that these developments are not coincidental at all and that there is a web being woven step by step in the background.

The US, whose hegemony has ended, is trying to be the first among equals with more limited forces and resources in the renewed international system. In other words, instead of acting as a gendarme all over the world, the essence of this new strategy is now to lead in its own region and engage in power competition with other actors, primarily China, in various fields on a global scale.

In this framework, the US is switching to a tactic of providing indirect rather than direct support for its old allies in the geography we are in. It wants actors like Turkey to take on direct security. This situation creates the impression that the US will withdraw partially, not completely, from the region and will switch to small but effective attacks to balance the actors it considers opponents.

It is a known fact that the US, which was sufficiently worn out in the Iran war, is fueling the Turkey-Iran clash to contribute to Israel's security in the future. In fact, it is clear that they have tried hard in the past to pit the two countries against each other! Indeed, they tried this in the recent war through Turkey and Azerbaijan as well. After these failed attempts, they are now trying their luck through the conflict between the Saudis and the Houthis. The Mecca Agreement is based on this foundation. A Sunni-Shia conflict, which would produce the most irrational and disastrous results for these lands, is being attempted in Yemen. If successful, the scale will undoubtedly grow, and this will be a godsend for Anglo-Saxon and Israeli interests.

Turkey's transition to a 'new' format, the initiation of the PKK (s)opening at home, and even the reinterpretation of its own history are all related to the task given to Turkey in this renewed system. No longer a Turkish nation-state, but a regional Sunni power center. Of course, not every plan works on the ground.

But for some reason, Israel is very pleased with this scenario.

Do not be fooled by the mutual volleys of words; I reminded you at the very beginning that an analysis of actions, not rhetoric, is required to look at what is happening with a clear mind. Beyond all this, when Turkey's means and capabilities are taken into account, the situation is not very bright. Ultimately, we are talking about a country that gives up on natural gas drilling right under its nose in the Mediterranean and searches for energy off the coast of Somalia, and talks about Bab-el-Mandeb while not making a sound when its ships are hit in the Black Sea.

We have come from a country that could say no to the US, the master of the unipolar world order of that time, in the March 1, 2003, memorandum, to a country that is now trying to provide security support to the Saudis without any national interest.

From where to where!

What can we say, if Syria was not a lesson in recent Republican history, they should look at Yemen in the final period of the Ottoman Empire and the 'What is Yemen to us' folk song that was sung in Anatolia afterward. May God never make this nation sing Yemen folk songs again!