Warning regarding NATO: 'They want to drag Turkey into war'

The authority to decide on the presence of foreign armed forces in Turkey and the declaration of war in cases recognized as legitimate by international law belongs to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey under Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey; however, these actions were carried out without compliance with the legislation. 

On the other hand, since the day the US and Israel began their attacks on Iran, the claims of 'ballistic ammunition and missiles'—which, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MSB), were 'determined to have been fired from Iran' and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense elements—are considered by some experts to be a perception operation aimed at legitimizing NATO. 

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Zafer Party Foreign Policy Chair Prof. Dr. Şükrü Sina Gürel shared his assessments on the matter with 12punto.

'NATO HAS LOST THIS QUALITY'

Commenting that 'an alliance exists to strengthen security, not to diminish it,' Gürel stated regarding the current state of NATO: 'We see that NATO has now lost this quality. It was already clearly stated in 1964, with Johnson's letter to İnönü, that NATO's Article 5 would not be invoked for us. Therefore, we are seeing a NATO where neither Article 5 nor Article 4 can be invoked.' 

'FALSE FLAG OPERATIONS ARE BEING CONDUCTED'

While alleging that false flag operations are being conducted, Gürel said, 'With these operations, they talk about a number of missiles whose appearance we do not know, and whose altitude—and therefore whether they were even in our airspace—we do not know. None of them have fallen on our soil. Only the remains of the missiles that supposedly shot them down fall onto our territory.' Describing the MSB's statements as 'strange,' Gürel commented, 'The Ministry characterizes missiles of unknown appearance, whose altitude of interception is unknown, as missiles that were 'fired from Iran and aimed at our territory.' These are incorrect.'

'IT IS NOT POSSIBLE'

Describing this operation as an effort to drag Turkey into a war against Iran, Gürel stated: 'The United States aimed for internal turmoil in Iran, first by using the Turkish Armed Forces and perhaps adding other elements alongside them. Their primary goal was even to use the Turks, who are the original owners of the Iranian state, in opposition to the regime. When all of this yielded no results, they turned to other goals. Otherwise, it is not possible to believe that they could carry out any ground operation.' 

'WE KNOW FROM OUR RECENT HISTORY'

Stating that he finds the 'NATO corps' planned to be established in Turkey extremely dangerous for the country's security, Gürel said: 'This was also planned on July 15. Later, there were people like Ahmet Davutoğlu who spoke of this: saying 'an external intervention can always be called for, invited.' Now, if these demonstrations in the Southeast lead to chaos, this NATO force will certainly be used for intervention. However, we know from our experience in recent history that such forces should never be trusted.'

'USED TO STRENGTHEN THE PKK'

'Operation Provide Comfort was used to strengthen the PKK,' Gürel stated, reminding that it was used to prevent Turkish soldiers from entering Northern Iraq, and added: 'We know them. I was the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the American intervention in Iraq. We know they wanted to deploy 60,000 troops in the Southeast. And, of course, we can guess how they could be used, given all the practices of the United States. Therefore, this is extremely objectionable.'

'A STEP BACK MUST BE TAKEN'

Commenting on the Maritime Component Command as a foreign force planned to be stationed in the Bosphorus, Gürel said it is 'completely contrary to the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits,' adding: 'They have started to implement the first steps. This is an attempt aimed at dismantling Montreux. It will inevitably bring us face-to-face with the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid this and take a step back. This must be prevented. Otherwise, we would be nullifying an international regulation that is one of the cornerstones of Turkey's security with our own hands.'

EXTERNAL INFLUENCE?

Regarding whether the foreign policy pursued in light of all these developments is open to external influence, Gürel replied: 'Influencing a country like Turkey from the outside, where all decisions are made from a single center and one person is the authority on every subject, is one of the easiest things to do. You can use individuals, use their desires and ambitions related to politics, and gain the opportunity to influence this single person, that is, this single center. Therefore, in a state like Turkey, which possesses a Veteran Assembly and which even conducted the War of Independence under the leadership of Atatürk through the hands of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and under its supervision, this situation is extremely dangerous.' He added, 'The foreign policy compass of a nation-state points to its national interests. It does not point to personal or religious community interests. If decision-makers in a nation-state are conducting foreign policy in such an order, it is to distance that nation-state from its nation-state character.'

News: Cenk Başboğaoğlu

News Source: 12punto