89 years ago, in an interview given to American newsman Isaac Morcosson, Atatürk was recorded to say,

"Uprisings and riots in these artificial states formed in Middle East after the WW I, in near future, are unavoidable.

Unless the leaders of our young republic side up with these people when trouble starts and not share & follow the devious ways of the imperialistic powers, fate of Turkia will not be any different from those of her neighbors."

Believe it or not !  

89 years is not exactly near future.

89 years ago from today; troubles started around 1990 with US luring Iraq to move into Kuwait. That was about 67 years after the interview.

Does  "67 years" qualify as near future, in the context of world history ?

No. Who could have seen in the stars even ten years earlier that the USSR was going to collapse? Changes are rapid and often surprising.

My point is why do you have to quote someone from 89 years ago in order to prove how he was able to see behind the corner? Most certainly there are as good and more adequate analyses of the Near East situation from more recent thinkers. Even from the Turkish point of view.

I bet there were many people who knew approximately when USSR would collapse, about 10 years before she actually collapsed.

Say hello to Mr. Gorbachov, pls ! He should have informed you too....

You are mixing history and geology, AlphaF. In history 89 years is a very long time.

Mikhail Gorbachev only said they should never have allowed it to happen. It is hindsight.

1. just what is the % of 89 years to known history ?

2. Gorbachov....I always thought he organized the collapse himself...

everybody guess something, some happens some not.

sultans, presidents, prime ministers even dictators guess, too. Guessing is their job actually to prevent loss and damage.

sultan abdulhamid guesssed WW1, ataturk guessed, WW2, someone guessed the collapse of USSR. and today someone else guessing the collapse of USA!

It is not hard to guess something. If something is not based on justice, if someone always suffering the current stuation, you can absolutely guess it will change sooner or later.

Look at china, in order to produce the cheapest products in the world, one billion people suffering in poverty. They (the governing part) seem succesful today if we ignore the one billion people! Will it continue a 100 years, i dont think so...

about syria, there is absolutelly something wrong about it. but the question is, are we in the right side. i dont think so. syria will change, must change but i do not trust the allias trying to change it, i do not want to be a part of this dirty game with bad boys (usa, nato, ...)

Who do you think has organized the shelling of Turkia from Syrian side of the border, if anyone ?

1. Essad

2. PKK

3. KGB Agents

4. SAVAK Agents

5. CIA Agents

6. tunci

If and when that something does happen, it is no longer called a "guess"; It is called "vision".

MADEM ÇIKTI TEZKERE; MECLİS GİTSİN ASKERE

Başbakanımızın pek sevdiği bi laf var: Hafıza-i beşer nisyan ile maluldür.

Quoting AlphaF

MADEM ÇIKTI TEZKERE; MECLİS GİTSİN ASKERE

Başbakanımızın pek sevdiği bi laf var: Hafıza-i beşer nisyan ile maluldür.

E başbakanımız ha bire “hafıza, beşer” filan deyince… İster istemez Hafız’ın oğlu Beşar geliyor insanın aklına.

Hatırlayın, 3 sene önce… Durup dururken “Suriye sınırındaki mayınları acilen temizlememiz lazım” dediler mi? Dediler.

“Günler torbaya mı girdi, niye acilen?” diye soranlara… “Ottowa Sözleşmesi var, en geç 3 seneye kadar temizlememiz şart” dediler mi? Dediler.

“Bu ne biçim Ottowa birader, niye illa Suriye sınırı? Mesela, niye İran sınırı değil? Suriye sınırındakiler mayın da, İran sınırındakiler karpuz mu?” diyenlere… “Faşist” dediler mi? Dediler.

İhaleyi İsrail’e vermeye çalıştıkları ortaya çıktı mı? Çıktı. “Biz temizlesek olmaz mı?” diyenlere… “Paranın dini, milleti olmaz” diye akıl öğretip, “ırkçı” damgası yapıştırdılar mı? Yapıştırdılar.

Sınırı temizleyene, sınırı 44 seneliğine verecekleri ortaya çıktı mı? Çıktı. “Toprağımızı niye veriyorsunuz, orası babanızın malı mı?” diye itiraz edenlere… “Adam masraf yapacak, masrafını çıkarmak için de organik tarım yapacak, win-win” dediler mi? Dediler.

“Evini temizlemeye gelen gündelikçi kadına, 44 seneliğine kullansın diye balkonunu veriyor musun?” denilince… Mahkemeden dönüp, iptal edildi mi? Edildi.

Ahali unuttu mu? Unuttu.

Mayınları temizliycez ayaklarıyla “tampon bölge”yi “bu tarafa kuramayacakları” anlaşılınca… İngiliz ve Alman basınında, bangır bangır, “Türkiye, ordusunu Suriye’ye sokacak, sınırın öte tarafında tampon bölge oluşturacak” manşetleri atıldı mı? Atıldı. Dışişleri Bakanımız “sığınmacı sayısı 100 bin olursa, Suriye tarafında güvenli bölge oluşturmak lazım” dedi mi? Dedi.

Başbakanımız, Gaziantep’teki yetmez ama evet mitinginde, “Sevgili kardeşlerim, zaman tünelinde geriye gidelim, ne yaptılar, sanal tehditler ürettiler, endişelere maruz bıraktılar, milleti korkuttular, biz ne yaptık, Esad kardeşimle oturduk, vizeleri kaldırdık, kapılarımızı açtık, bütün o tehditlerin, o korkuların ne kadar boş olduğu ortaya çıktı, kim kazandı, Gaziantep kazandı, vizyonumuzun en canlı tanığı Gaziantep’tir” demişti miydi mi? Demişti. Gaziantep’te bomba patladı mı? Patladı.

Gaziantep’te patlayan bombanın…
ABD’deki sözde düşünce kuruluşu Brookings’in “savaş oyunu”nda, adıyla sanıyla “Gaziantep bombası” olarak yer aldığı ortaya çıktı mı? Çıktı.

Hazır, ahalimiz unutmuşken… Biz temizleyemiyoruz, mutlaka İsraillilerin temizlemesi gerekiyor denilen, Suriye sınırındaki mayınların bir bölümü Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri tarafından sessiz sedasız temizlendi mi? Temizlendi. Suriye sınırımız taaa 877 kilometre uzunluğundayken, küçücük bi şerit, sadece 2-3 kilometrecik mi temizlendi yoksa? Hayret ama evet!

Neresi orası yahu?
Akçakale!

Kaderin cilvesi işte, tam da “kafamızı bozmasınlar, sınırın öte tarafına iki-üç top mermisi düşüverir” diyen rahmetli Özal’ı kabrinden çıkardıkları gün… Sınırın bu tarafına top mermisi düştü mü? Düştü.

“Hudut, şümul, miktar ve zamanı sayın hükümetimiz tarafından takdir edilmek kaydı”yla, tezkere çıktı mı? Çıktı.

Ve, hâlâ deniyor ki:
Bu tezkereyle ne yapılacak?

Söylediler ya size kardeşim…
Organik tarım.

 

Great article. Why don´t you translate it to English?

ALL IN A BOMBSHELL

I do not mean to start a dispute here, but as an American, I am puzzled why the U.S. comes in for so much blame. I understand that Mr. Erdoğan would like the U.S. to back him up in his tough talk toward Syria with military support or a safe zone for Syrian refugees. But President Obama, it seems to me, is trying to send strong messages about Syria while also staying out of what is a confusing and dangerous situation for all involved. The allegiances within the Syrian opposition are difficult to sort, and the U.S. has found itself before in the midst of a Sunni-Shiite fight that it didn´t really understand -- in Iraq -- and see how well that turned out. We also had this problem in Libya to some extent, but in Syria the players in the opposition are even more difficult to identify. ... You don´t think that the U.S. is pushing Turkey and Syria toward war, do you? Because, believe me, that is the last thing Mr. Obama wants. ... Americans would like to see a free and democratic Syria. We feel for the civilians caught up in the fighting. We hate to see what is happening along the border with Turkey. But we are also wary of stepping in where we don´t really belong. This is a lesson we have learned the hard way. The line we tread here is a difficult one. ... Please take my words in the spirit they are intended -- in peace and goodwill. ... Trip

We can ask to ourselves, which united states! is there more than one? yes because the president of usa has not full control of its country, whoever he is. the presidents are under control! ...

2011 witnessed worldwide weapon sales of 85 billion dollars, 60 billion dollars worth of merchandise came from the USA. 40 billion dollars worth of US weapons were sold to Middle East countries. Think about this, pls.

I am sure you are sincere in your opinions, but you lack the necessary data to be able to see the situation clearly.

Is that what they tell you in the US press? Who do you think controls press and media in your country ? (no offense, but 1 000 000 people died in Iraq during and after US invasion and the country is now divided into three; the country is reduced to ruins, complete historical heritage, museums, libraries etc have been robbed by invaders)

Ask yourself why America is not just as keen to see a democratic and free Saudi Arabia or Qatar....

An editorial cartoon     Artist: Mohammad Kargar

NO COMMENT

For safe survival of Israel in Middle East, Arab states must be kept divided and ruled by collaborators.

Iraq is already divided into 3, Syria seems to be in for a 4-way division. Lebanon is in a mess and Iran is in deep trouble.

Guess who will be next !

All right, one by one I will take on your arguments. I know I will not change your minds, but some things must be said.

One: Yes, in the United States, Congress has a say in foreign policy, but ultimately it is the president who is commander in chief. Mr. Obama is trying to take the U.S. off the path it has been on for so long in the Middle East. Yes, it was wrong for the U.S. to support Hosni Mubarak for so many years when there was no real democracy in Egypt. Yes, it was wrong for the United States to confuse issues in Afghanistan with issues in Iraq after 9/11. And when it comes to Israel, you can see that our relations with Mr. Netanyahu are not smooth these days, in large part because Mr. Obama presses for fair relations with the Palestinians and an end to settlement construction. But, unfortunately, the mistakes of decades cannot be made over in a day. 

Two: Yes, the U.S. sells weapons, but someone in the Middle East is buying them. The other huge arms seller there is Russia. And in the events of the past two days, we can see that perhaps Turkey´s problem in Syria is not the United States, but Mr. Putin. ... The media in the United States is free. Every possible opinion is expressed in our newspapers and on media Web sites and on blogs written by everyday citizens. There are no strictures against criticizing the current president -- or George Washington. Opinion in the United States is not monolithic, and many Americans spoke out forcefully against the war in Iraq, including then-Sen. Obama. ... As for seeing a democratic Saudi Arabia or Qatar, many in the United States would like to see such countries change, if only for the benefit of women´s rights. Yes, the U.S. is torn when democracy brings to power people we do not know or trust, but that is the nature of democracy. Hamas is in control in Gaza -- that is the will of the people.

Three: If Middle Eastern countries are divided, perhaps it is because they have internal animosities that are rushing to the fore when there is no strongman to suppress them -- a Saddam Hussein, a Hosni Mubarak, a Bashar al-Assad. Perhaps what is happening today is a natural progression from the lines drawn by Western powers in the early 20th century. The West made a mess of things then, I admit. But now the responsibility lies with the peoples of the Middle East themselves. Peace comes from within. It is time to stop blaming others and for the people themselves to shape a new destiny. Turkey has done this for nearly a century. Now Iraq is doing it, Tunisia is doing it, Egypt is doing it, and Libya is doing it. If these countries become Islamist, if these countries side with Iran, so be it. That is their choice. 

As for Iran, the supreme leader makes the ultimate choices. Is that good for the people of Iran? I will let you make that determination.

Nobody is innocent.

.

A look at Turkish-Syrian relations today, by a pro-Israeli US columnist - Barry Rubin,

"The second thing Obama did was his romance with the Islamist regime in Turkey. He constantly portrayed that government as his best friend in the region, despite their anti-American, anti-Israel actions. This conveyed the message that the United States could be easily suckered. Looking at Turkey, Arab Islamists concluded that the “Turkish model” — pretended moderation combined with continued but patient radicalism — could bring them to power. And that’s what happened in Egypt and elsewhere."

Does he make sense to anyone here ?

There is an article in the Washington Post this morning (the top story on the home page at the moment) that relates to our conversation a week ago about the U.S., Turkey and Syria. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/2012/10/19/98b4f104-1a1e-11e2-b235-9cd54b35db6f_story.html