PRESIDENT RECEP ERDOGAN: FRIEND OR FOE?
With persuasion, Western superpowers present foreign policy as honest. However, it is sinisterly dishonest, in the wake of all we have known but conveniently forget. Those beyond the shores of America tend to act as if we do not recognize the various schemes of indoctrination. Foreign policy, which is directed by decisions of a loyalist, or else by the bureaucrats selected by them, or who are expected to develop, nurture, and support the next group of well-broken, undistinguishable generation like the one before it.
Its obligation, prior to all their other self-serving task, is to train the leaders of the future to be prepared to make the same decisions like the one that came before: loyal and unquestioning of their predecessors’ motives, antagonistic to all overseas ideologies, guarded against ethical considerations other than those of an appealing and self-opinionated kind which serve to preserve one’s own overall self-interest. These strategies do not exist to foster ethics. They exist to stabilize positions, while political propaganda bodies send their publicists out with guidelines for direct campaigns.
Recognizing the importance of disseminating a message at a strategic time, a government often approves a scheme whereby waffling against a historical NATO ally like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In the blink of an eye, the world is nurtured by lies, allegations, and scandalmongering. When men lose morality, they find the jungle and become wolves. Suddenly there are many around him; those who willingly smear him for political profit, those who overlook his contributions for an expected gain and those who betrayed him for political return. Since becoming a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952, Turkey has been among the countries that have contributed the most to the alliance and is among the top eight allies that have contributed the most to NATO funding. It is also assuming major leadership tasks within NATO with Ankara taking command of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2021. Turkey has been the frontrunner in the fight against terrorism, one of the main threats to NATO. It has been extraordinarily active in fighting terrorist organizations such as the PKK, PYD/YPG/PKK, Daesh, and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 deadly defeated coup attempt in Turkey.
WHEN DOES THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY BECOME MY FRIEND?
Perhaps it is a lapse in the American memory that in 2016, Turkey became the first country to deploy ground combat troops to fight the so-called Caliphate in Syria. President Erdogan’s commitment to stability in the region initiated a military incursion that severed the group’s access to NATO’s borders and impeded their ability to carry out terror attacks in Turkey and Europe. Contrary to Western media portrayal, Turkish soldiers are not smiling with appetites for injustice and nodding with satisfaction in their military maneuvers against the Kurds. However, they have cautionary memories of fellow members of the Armed Forces who have fought, those who died and continue to fight an undeclared war against the PKK terror on Turkish soil and of attacks launched by the Kurdistan Workers Party in Syria, listed as a terrorist organization not only by Turkey, but the U.S., and the European Union¬–who are responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants, in the last 30 years. The YPG is its Syrian offshoot. Are we, who do the watching, now to exist in moral seclusion within our imaginary conscience?
While the president of Turkey widely embraces democracy and the benefits of secularism, he will not allow himself to be targeted because of his dedication to Islamic rights. He has long been considered the president of not only Turkey but of the Muslims abroad. He is the voice of religious freedom and social justice, and unlike the dictators whose powers are inherited or appropriated by way of occupation, he plays a prominent and exceptional role in worldwide affairs of Muslims. Because of his faith, Erdogan plays a role of secular importance in the Islamic world.
We repeatedly hear about “homeland” in the news. Let anyone take a walk through the streets of Istanbul or Ankara and you will witness an international homeland to people who were poor and needed help. These people are from Yemen, these people are Shia, driven from Saudi Arabia only because they are Shia, and these people are from Syria whose homes are no longer inhabitable because of the destruction of the PKK.
There are two sides to every story, it is only fair to hear both.
The president opened the door to all of them. They were not arrested and not held in cages. No one forced them to drink toilet water. Children were not separated from mothers and fathers. He understood what many leaders in the modern world have forgotten, that these are human beings who want nothing but the chance to live out their lives in decency and to be rid of the fear that has kept them awake at night.
The issue of his religion may be seemingly overlooked by those with dissimilar beliefs, but it is omnipresent, it must be emphasized from the outset that President Erdogan understands that there are far more critical issues in the region, like the spread of ISIS influence, the pitiful condition of the Syrian people, the security of the Turkish homeland, his dedication to the NATO alliance. These are the issues that preoccupy the mind of Recep Erdogan and now arm his determination and commitment to the campaign to stabilize the region. Furthermore, they are not religious issues — for war and peace, freedom, and reconciliation, halting terrorism and eliminating the region of terrorist, know no religious barrier.
The media’s marketing of ideas lacks clarity in its schemes, and political policy exposes no factual evidence to support its allegations and lack authentication. Regrettably, perception is not an unreceptive receipt of these political ploys,
Disinformation, if nothing else, is methodical, created by tacticians and strategists, who think in terms of maneuvers and policies endeavoring to achieve an objective. Strategists know that if people are primed to think of an object as “evil,” it is more likely to perceive as destructive. President Erdogan has been described as a dictator, and dictators are naturally considered as “evil.”
The United States is no exception and has led the pack among nations in a newly contrived opinion. The people would be wise to ask its leaders, when did it decide to reframe the issues regarding the Turkish president? Currently, both Republicans and Democrats are denouncing President Erdogan’s actions in Syria. He emphasizes a faction of Kurdish fighters, being attacked, are terrorists. Most people across the world are left wondering if he is a trustworthy narrator. The world does not have to take his word for it. In 2015, Amnesty International documented the PKK of razing entire Arab villages to the ground and destroying thousands of homes belonging to ethnic Arabs.
Why not take the word of the entire NATO Alliance who designated the PKK a terrorist group. One might consult Germany, who sought higher methods of security after 17 attacks by the YPG/PKK terror group. The Europeans have also listed the PKK as a terrorist group. In 2015, Europol recognized the existence of PKK training camps in Belgium, as well as the foothills of the Alps in Switzerland in 2017.
Political propaganda serves a variety of purposes. It hopes that people in allied countries can be persuaded that legitimate movements should be blamed for terrorism, akin to rogue operations that are contrary to American interest.
The United States has utilized propaganda techniques repeatedly throughout its history, particularly during periods of international crisis. The U.S. government has traditionally employed propaganda on a massive scale as an accessory to military operations; institutionalized propaganda is used as a central component of American foreign policy.
For most Americans, propaganda has a negative connotation as a treacherous, deceitful, and manipulative practice. Americans have generally thought of propaganda as something “other” people and nations do, while they merely persuade, inform, or educate.
A LEADER MUST FIRST SERVE HIS PEOPLE
The Kurds that have indeed stood by American forces have also massacred innocent civilians, and flipping cannot change its past digressions, which include ISIS or its attempt at ethnic cleansing of Turkish people.
To ensure border security, President Erdogan has the responsibility and the right to ensure Turkey can ward off threats and attacks of terror groups, and like any other country. The United States bombed Afghanistan to secure this nation when Saudi Arabia was complicit in the 9/11 mass destruction.
The terrorist organization PKK/PYD-YPG and DEASH carried out attacks with rockets and mortar shells from Syria to Turkey dozens of times. Hundreds of innocent civilians lost their lives as a result of these attacks. Turkey wants to ensure the safety of its 82 million citizens. No infusion of psychological considerations and propaganda tactics will produce a practice of irresponsible diplomacy that induces a president from protecting a nation that has elected him to do so.
- Khalilah Sabra (@khalilahsabra)
