Neo-Ottomanism Surges in Middle East Politics

 

The fate of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hangs in the balance. The common perception is that everything depends on which way President Donald Trump moves – go by his own preference to bury the scandal over Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance or give in to the rising demand that Saudi-American relations can no longer be business as usual. Trump’s mood swing suggests he is dithering.

Erdogan threatens US with “Ottoman slap”

The following article is a roughly translated from German where no other known English version is available.

Fuer die, die auf Deutsch lesen moechte, kann man hier den originale Artikel finden.

 

Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to show the US, if necessary, what an “Ottoman slap” is. (Photo: AFP, krone.at graphics)

 

Tensions over the Turkish military offensive against the Kurds in northern Syria between the two NATO partners Turkey and the USA are intensifying. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly warned that he would not stand in the way of a possible Turkish attack on the Kurdish militia YPG. In a speech Tuesday before the faction of his AKP in Ankara, he threatened the stationed in the strategically important city of Manbijk US soldiers with an “Ottoman slap”.

“Of course we will not aim for it on purpose,” Erdogan said with applause. “But we are already announcing that we will destroy and eliminate every terrorist we see, beginning with those who stand next to them, and then they will realize that it would be better for them if they are not next to them Terrorists who they pat on the back, “said the Turkish leader.

In the video below you can see which technique is used in the Ottoman slap: (See Source)

Erdogan added, “It is very clear that those who say ‘We react harshly if they attack us’ have not yet been given an Ottoman slap in their lives.“ The New York Times quoted US General Paul Funk on a visit to Manbijk last week, who, according to the newspaper, said: “If you attack us, we will react harshly and we will defend ourselves. “

Pentagon Furious After Turkey Leaks U.S. Base Locations In Syria: “Hard Not To See This As A F-You”

#AA'nın 'PKK/PYD'ye ABD desteği' haberi uluslararası basında yankı uyandırdı https://t.co/8IJbm9w16D pic.twitter.com/svt4u9v5CD

— ANADOLU AJANSI (@anadoluajansi) July 19, 2017

 

So much for NATO-alliance members working for the common good.

In a move that has angered the U.S. for obvious reason, Turkey’s state-run news agency Anadolu Agency has leaked the precise locations of U.S. bases in northern Syria. The move – which exposes the exact locations of American soldiers on the front lines in the war-torn nation – has sent the ongoing feud between the two NATO allies to new lows. As Bloomberg details, in reports published in both Turkish and English on Tuesday, Anadolu provided detailed information about 10 U.S. bases in northern Syria, including troop counts and a map of the U.S. force presence in the Turkish version.

US Marines in Syria to defend Kurds against Turkey

The US has sent a group of US Marines armed with eight-wheeled Stryker armored carriers to northern Syria as a buffer between Syrian Kurds and Turkish forces, after Turkish air strikes killed 20 members of the US-backed Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) militia, injured 18 and destroyed the local Kurdish command headquarters. Clashes broke out between Turkish and Kurdish forces after the air strikes.

…

It was the second time American armored troops had stepped in to separate Turkish and the Kurdish YPG militia that leads the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF), to which the Americans assign a major role in the offensive to capture Raqqa from ISIS. On March 17, US Marines advanced towards the northern Syrian town of Manbij when the Turkish army was on the point of fighting the Kurdish militia for control of the town.

Germany’s Geopolitical Interests

BERLIN/ANKARA (Own report) – In spite of the Turkish government’s recent provocations, Berlin is steadfastly maintaining its cooperation with Ankara. Over the past few days, members of the Turkish government have affronted several EU countries as “fascist,” thereby again provoking sharp protests. For some time, human rights organizations and other critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have been up in arms over Ankara’s brutal violations of human and civil rights, its attempt to establish a presidential dictatorship and its arbitrary incarceration of citizens of foreign countries. Last week, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that her objective was to prevent Turkey from “becoming even more alienated from us,” which is why we must persist in our cooperation. Since some time, government advisors in Germany’s capital have been warning that Ankara is seriously considering joining the Chinese-Russian Alliance (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – SCO), and that, within the Turkish establishment, voices calling for Turkey to leave NATO are growing louder. That would be a serious setback for Berlin’s ambitions to become a world power, which for geostrategic reasons, is dependent on its cooperation with Ankara.

Turkey warns of ground offensive in Iraq if threatened

A member of the Iraqi forces holds a position at the al-Shura area, south of Mosul, on October 24, 2016, during an operation to retake the main hub city from the Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. (AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

 

Ankara vows forceful response in event of attack; foreign minister says ‘it is our most natural right’

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Ankara could launch a ground operation in Iraq to remove any threats to Turkey that may arise.

“If there is a threat posed to Turkey, we are ready to use all our resources including a ground operation… to eliminate that threat,” Cavusoglu said in an interview with Kanal 24 broadcaster.

Fiercely resistant ISIS seizes two Iraqi cities

 

US soldiers were Monday ordered to use gas masks after ISIS poured oil on a sulfur mine 70km south of Mosul that continues to burn near the US and Iraqi military center at Qayyarah.One obstacle after another – often unforeseen – is slowing the coalition’s advance on Mosul – as debkafile was the first publication to reveal last week. It is becoming obvious that ISIS is following a plan to circle around Mosul in a wide radius and pouncing on important spots for diversionary attacks:

Last week, they overran Kirkuk; this week, Sinjar and Rutba.

The big Mosul offensive is stuck, halted by ISIS

Less than a day after its launch, the big Mosul offensive prepared for more than a year by the US, the Iraqi army, Kurdish forces and others, ground to a halt Tuesday Oct. 17, debkafile’s military sources report – although none of the parties admitted as much.  Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi said his troops were busy opening up corridors for some million civilians to escape, while US sources suggested that the Islamic State would use primitive chemical weapons against the advancing Iraqi and Kurdish forces.

Both had the ring of cover stories to account for the spearhead forces, the Iraq army’s 9^th Armored Division and the Federal Police special anti-terror units, being thrown back Tuesday on their way to Mosul from the east and the south, while still 10-15km short of the city. They sustained heavy losses in lives and hardware.

The 9^th Division and its newly-supplied heavy US Abrahams tanks were stopped at al-Hamdaniyah outside Mosul and retreated, recalling a previous defeat at ISIS hands in June 2014, when troops of the same division fled under Islamist attack, leaving their tanks behind.

Islamist Turkey seizes ALL Christian churches in city and declares them ‘state property’

TURKEY’S Islamist government has stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the churches in one city and declaring them state property.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken control of six churches in the war-torn southeastern city of Diyarbakir in his latest move to squash freedom of speech and religious movement.

The state-sanctioned seizure is just the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel for its 80 million citizens.

Russian Media Outlets Slam Turkey: Discuss Option Of Nuclear Attack On It, Accuse President Erdogan Of Supporting ISIS

The Russian bear stamps out terror, but Erdogan prepares to stab it in the back (Sputniknews.com, November 24, 2015)

 

The Russian-Turkish conflict is reflected not only in the military, political and economic tension between the two countries but also in the Russian media, which expresses extreme hostility towards Turkey and its president.

This is evident, for example, in articles in English published recently on the Russian websites NEO[1] and Pravda.[2] One of these articles cites “a leading military expert” as saying that, in the event of a war between the two countries, “Russia will have to use nuclear weapons immediately, because the existence of the nation will be at stake.” The others focus on Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, presenting him as an enabler and supporter of the Islamic State (ISIS) and calling him a “madman” and a “murderer.” One even suggests that Turkey was “a prime mover in the [November 13] Paris attack.”

The following are excerpts from the articles.

Turkey Refuses To Withdraw Troops From Iraq, Threatens To Slap Sanctions On Russia

Last Friday, Turkey invaded Iraq.

That sounds more dramatic than it actually was. Turkey sent around 150 soldiers and two dozens tanks to Bashiqa, just northeast of Mosul in what Ankara described as an effort to replace an existing contingent of around 90 troops that have supposedly been on a “training” mission with the Peshmerga for the better part of two years.

As we documented over the weekend, this is hardly the first time the Turks have entered the country.

However, the circumstances are quite different this time around. That is, this isn’t a anti-terror mission aimed at tracking the PKK. Over the weekend, we asked if Turkey was simply trying to protect lucrative oil smuggling routes run by both ISIS and the KRG. On Sunday, an angry Iraq gave Ankara 48 hours to withdraw the troops – or else. 

Analysis: The real danger in Syria is not ISIS, but a war between major powers

There are many unpredictable aspects of the Syrian conflict, but the downing of the Russian bomber by Turkish jets on Tuesday was not one of them. Indeed, given the simultaneous military campaigns taking place in a relatively small swath of territory by Russian, American, French, Syrian, Iranian, and other forces, it is surprising that such an incident did not happen earlier. Nevertheless, the downing of a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 by Turkish jets marked the first attack on a Russian fighter aircraft by a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member state since 1953. Although this incident is not by itself sufficient to provoke an armed conflict between Turkey and Russia, it illustrates the main danger confronting the world in Syria, namely a conflagration between regional powers, many of which are armed with nuclear weapons.

Yes, the outcome of Turkey’s election and the flood of migrants into Europe are connected

Although it was fairly obvious since the refugee crisis started, you can now officially add Turkey to the list of nations successfully blackmailing and destroying Europe. Those already on the list include Greece, Libya, and Russia. Of all these, Russia is the most sinister of all.

As Kevin Freeman points out, this is economic warfare via migration. Moreover, the aim is of divide and disintegrate Europe to the point where it can be conquered because there is no unified approach to keeping the European continent secure while the nation states are busy bickering at one another. It’s a simple game of divide and conquer.

Don’t ever allow for the last few decades of peace to lull you into a false sense of security or think large-scale war can’t happen again. The next world war is already underway and this generation will live to see it. History always repeats itself and Europe seems to be leading the way to the next dark ages. Historically, it has always been home to the world’s bloodiest wars.

 

The resounding win by the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party: AKP) in the Nov. 1 parliamentary elections in Turkey relied heavily on the support given to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP because of his promise to resolve the strategic challenge to Western Europe caused by the influx of illegal migration from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan through Turkey, and from Libyan ports.

But evidence is now mounting that the upsurge in the migratory wave was the result of deliberate efforts by Erdogan to facilitate and push the flow of migrants in order to blackmail and punish the EU into supporting him.

Powder Kegs Exploding: Violence Escalates In Turkey, Yemen As Mid-East Tips Towards Chaos

On Friday we checked in on two of the world’s most important conflicts: 1) that which is unfolding in Turkey where President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has effectively granted Washington access to Incirlik (you know, for “anti-terror” sorties) in exchange for NATO’s acquiescence to a brutal crackdown on the Kurds as AKP looks to usurp Turkey’s fragile deomcracy, and 2) that which is unfolding in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting to restore the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

In Turkey, Erdogan has successfully undermined the coalition building process necessitating new elections in November when he hopes the escalation of violence across the country will prompt voters to restore AKP’s parliamentary majority allowing the President to rewrite the constitution and consolidate his power. Journalists are being arrested, a terror “tip line” has been set up, a 24-hour Erodgan Presidential TV channel is in the works, and the country has, for all intents and purposes, been plunged into civil war with ISIS acting as a smokescreen for Erdogan’s power grab. 

Putin Issues Ultimatum, Threatens War Over Erdogan’s Support of ISIS

In case you missed this overlooked breaking news from last month:

 

Putin issues an ultimatum to Turkey, “End all military support for ISIS”

Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting with the Turkish Ambassador issued a verbal ultimatum calling for an immediate end to Turkey’s support for ISIS and violations of Syria’s sovereignty.  In doing to, Putin has drawn a red line over Syria, after weeks of escalating NATO moves against that beleaguered nation.

In a startling move, Russian President Vladimir Putin castigated Turkish President Recep Erdogan, calling him a “dictator” and threatening to sever diplomatic ties with Turkey over what Putin claims is Erdogan’s continued support of the ISIS terror organization.