‘Al-Assad and al-Maliki are responsible’
“Why are they constantly attacking us in the world, why are we always the target?” main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu asked this question to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who paid him a visit for a briefing. Davutoğlu responded he would get back to this question, but was never able to. How can he get back to it when a terror organization has taken his foreign policy hostage? What answer can he possibly have?
Look at this list: the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Reyhanlı, Somalia, Afghanistan and Mosul attacks and even murders, tensions with Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and the EU. The target is always the same; attacks and fierce criticism are all toward us.
The dreams of Ottomanism and becoming a major power, despite murders and hostage crises, Davutoğlu does not seem to have learned his lesson.
Whoops
While he is explaining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attack on the map, Davutoğlu found the people responsible: “It is Bashar al-Assad and Nouri al-Maliki who are responsible for the situation in these days.”
Kılıçdaroğlu and his team are appalled, before they were able to say, “What do you mean?” Davutoğlu did not listen and continued explaining the way he saw things. Whoops.
Let’s look at his possible reasons for pointing out al-Assad and al-Maliki. ISIL is, as its name implies, aims to form an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It is not realistic that al-Assad would be ready to sacrifice his own capital Damascus.
What about al-Maliki? ISIL is moving to occupy Baghdad and topple al-Maliki. With his poor management, al-Maliki must have allowed terrorist organizations to flourish.
Why is our foreign policy in between a rock and a hard place, why has a terrorist organization taken our foreign policy hostage; the obsession with al-Assad and al-Maliki explains everything.
Davutoğlu, for months, has been daydreaming foreign policy dreams with gossip such as, “al-Assad will fall in two weeks, yesterday a colonel and three generals switched to the opposition; today, another general is defecting.” He cannot shake off his dreams and delusions.
Ankara handles the hostage crisis of truck drivers and diplomats separately. It is trying to save the diplomats through diplomatic means, through mediators. Their methods to save the truck drivers are different. Could it be paying ransom? I hope this crisis is solved without anybody being hurt.
Will the saving of the hostages save our foreign policy from captivity also? Situations that one only comes across at war times have become part of today’s Turkey’s routine daily events.
Foreign policy has become a life threatening factor for our people.
Absolute show at NATO
Our Mosul Consulate has been raided; our Foreign Ministry is very active. They immediately called for a meeting in NATO, but they did not ask for military assistance. NATO issued a statement saying there is no military option for the moment.
Turkey is calling NATO solely for consultations, it does not say, “There is an attack against me, come and help.” Actually, it cannot say so. NATO equals the U.S. And the U.S. is avoiding military operations. While it has withdrawn from Iraq, while it is withdrawing from Afghanistan, why should it enter Iraq once again? There can only be one reason: If oil is at risk. Right now, it does not detect a risk; if it does, it might intervene. For the moment, it is waiting. It is enough to “condemn” the attack.
Well then, why does Turkey call NATO to a meeting? It is an internal policy show. Supposedly, it is active politics, but they always hit a wall. NATO stories went out like a flash in the pan.