However, the national power that is quietly aiming for Islamic pre-eminence is Turkey. Up until 1924 the Ottoman Sultan was also the Caliph of the entire Ummah — or at least the Sunni portion of it. Now that the relentless secularization instituted by Kemal Ataturk is finally crumbling, the emerging Islamic regime in Ankara is eyeing its traditional role as the supreme leader of the Islamic world. A Turk is the head of the OIC — which is setting itself to be the Caliphate reborn — and many of its most important meetings are held in Turkey. The Saudis bring the big money to the table, but the Turks supply the brains, organization, and military clout.
The Sunni-Shi’ite divide is the major obstacle to a united Ummah, and Turkey and Iran are both jostling for the position of leader. Iran’s nuclear program seemed to give it the upper hand in the game, but Turkey has just played a high card with its attempted probe through the Israeli blockade into Gaza.
The Turks and the Persians are now vying for control of the Islamic aftershocks that are rumbling throughout the Middle East and Asia. Each country wants to lead the charge for Islamic unity in the face of Zionist perfidy. The Turkish prime minister has set the stage for the total isolation of Israel and possible military action against what he hopes will become a pariah state. According to Hurriyet:
Turkish PM Calls Israeli Raid on Gaza Flotilla ‘State Terror’
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of committing “inhuman state terror” with its deadly raid on a fleet of aid ships bound for Gaza.
“It should be known that we will not stay silent and unresponsive in the face of this inhuman state terror,” Erdogan said in live televised remarks ahead of his departure from Chile to Turkey, cutting short a Latin American tour.
“International law has been trampled underfoot,” he added.
And here’s where he plays another high card:
- - - - - - - - -
Erdogan also called for a meeting of NATO ambassadors, who will hold emergency talks Tuesday, spokesman James Appathurai said.
Mr. Erdogan is attempting something that no other Islamic country could ever manage: he wants to obtain the military support (or at least passive acquiescence) of his NATO allies, based on their treaty obligations to Turkey as a member state.
Prior to the coronation of Barack Hussein Obama, Turkey would have stood no chance of success in such an audacious endeavor. But the American administration has already made it quite clear that Israel’s security — not to mention its very existence — is of no great concern to it. A green light for Turkey under the current circumstances is not unthinkable.
For decades Israel maintained good relations with Turkey, both military and diplomatic, but that’s all over now.
Once again, from Hurriyet:
Raid on Flotilla Puts Final Nail in Coffin of Turkish Ties With Israel
As details slowly emerge in the wake of Israel’s deadly attack on a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip, leaders from Turkey’s ruling and opposition parties raise their voices to condemn the action. It is the latest and worst incident in a long line of troublesome encounters over the last year and a half between the two NATO allies and some say this could be the final act. ‘Our relations will never be the same,’ says a member of the ruling AKP
Israel’s deadly attack on a Palestinian aid convoy is likely to be the last straw in already fraught Turkish-Israeli relations, according to senior officials in Turkey’s ruling party.
Though the identities of the killed civilians were still unknown late Monday when the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to print, it is believed that many of the dead are Turkish citizens.
Yes, many of the dead and injured are undoubtedly Turks, because the Free Gaza Flotilla was a thinly-disguised Turkish military operation.
And Turkey is planning to cash in on what happened this morning by leading the Islamic charge against Israel:
On Monday, Turkey appeared to be taking the lead in gathering international support against the Israeli attack, with the government already pressing international organizations such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, the European Union and the Arab League to take action.
“The worst possible scenario has happened,” said the head of the Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis, or TÜRKSAM, Sinan Ogan.
“Israel has made a suicide commando move, and has committed suicide internationally, he said. “The Turkish-Israeli relationship is now open to every different scenario.”
He said, “The relationship between Turkey and Israel will face its biggest test in history, with the possibility of Turkey taking this issue to the European Union.”
[…]
Crisis desks were established at the Turkish Prime Ministry and the Foreign Ministry on Monday morning. Speaking to reporters after an emergency meeting, Arinç said 400 of the Mavi Marmara’s 581 passengers were Turks.
“I strongly condemn the use of force by Israeli military forces on an aid convoy composed of 32 countries, including Turkey,” he said. “This attack must not remain unanswered.”
And here comes the absurd cover story:
Arinç said the government was not involved in the organization of the flotilla, saying it was a pure civil society initiative.
Yes, of course. And if you believe that one, I’ve got a little bridge in Brooklyn that you might be interested in purchasing…
The threats have begun:
Turkey on Monday warned Israel of “irreparable consequences” to bilateral ties after more than 10 people died in an Israeli operation on aid-carrying ships bound for Gaza, among them Turkish vessels.
The Israeli envoy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry as hundreds gathered outside Israeli missions to protest the assault that came atop already badly worsened ties between the two former allies.
“By targeting civilians, Israel has once again shown its disregard for human life and peaceful initiatives. We strongly condemn these inhumane practices of Israel,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
[…]
“Israel will have to bear the consequences of this behavior, which constitutes a violation of international law,” it said.
[…]
[The Israeli ambassador] was told that “Turkey retains all its rights under international law concerning this assault,” a Turkish diplomat, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
“We are considering the actions that we may take under international law,” he said.
So far there is no official indication as to what “actions” Turkey might consider appropriate.
Moving next door to Iran, are the Ayatollahs going to sit idly by while Turkey claims the mantle of worldwide Islamic leadership?
No, of course they aren’t. According to PressTV:
‘Israel Deserves Collective Punishment’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s deadly attack on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip as an act of “maritime terrorism.”
“The regime’s attack on the ships and its passengers is reminiscent of the acts of ancient pirates,” a Foreign Ministry statement read Monday.
This is amusing, coming from a country that not too long ago boarded a British naval vessel and took its crew hostage, milking the occasion for its maximum propaganda value.
“Under the (1988) Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, this is a blatant example of maritime terrorism,” the statement added.
[…]
“This is the time for the international community to adopt a resolute stance against the recurring crimes of this belligerent and occupationist regime.”
Also from PressTV:
Iran: Muslims Must Unite Against Israel
The mullahs are not thinking of Muslim unity under Turkish leadership, however. The Islamic Republic — in its role as the leader of all Shi’ite Muslims, and with a mandate to usher in the reign of the Twelfth Imam by abetting the emergence of violent chaos in the world — is the obvious choice to lead the followers of the prophet against the aggressions of the Zionist Entity.
Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has urged Muslim countries to adopt a united stance on condemning Israel’s raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.
“It is necessary for all Muslim states to assume a unified and common stance on condemning the latest crime committed by the Zionist regime,” Larijani was quoted as saying on Monday by IRNA.
“This tragic incident which reveals the true nature of Israel is a disgraceful stain on the reputation of this occupying regime,” he added.
[…]
Larijani also proposed that the issue be fully discussed in the upcoming Tehran summit of the Gaza Troika, a body formed by the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) to help the besieged people of Gaza.
The APA has tasked a troika of parliament speakers from Iran, Indonesia and Syria to tour the Middle East for finding initiatives to provide aid to the impoverished people of Gaza.
It’s important to remember that although the Hamas terrorists are Sunnis, they are also Iranian clients, as is the Sunni-Alawite Syrian dictatorship.
This is going to get ugly, but the Islamic assault on Israel is just one facet of the coming ugliness. Islam has its own longstanding intramural scores to settle, and the current crisis may well provide the opportunity for another round of traditional Islamic fratricide.
All hat tips: C. Cantoni.
21 comments:
Israel, hold on to your nuclear weapons, you just might have to use it. Don't trust the US, don't trust anyone, except yourselves.
One upside to this is that it will become obvious to everyone that Turkey has reverted into an Islamic anti-US state. I can't imagine that the EU would allow it to join, unless the Europeans are even bigger blockheads than we think they are.
Turkey and the rest of the Islamic cesspool will beat its chest for a while but it won't amount to much. Even if the EU and the US join in it won't matter. Remember that Israel has nuclear weapons and can exterminate the EU and Islamic worlds, and all sides know it. Israel may have to hunker down for a while until the big B.O. is out to pasture and the EU looses interest.
Arius: One upside to this is that it will become obvious to everyone that Turkey has reverted into an Islamic anti-US state.
A point that should have been abundantly clear when this supposed ally betrayed America during the invasion of Iraq and effectively blockaded a northern pincer movement which might have foreshortened the entire conflict by weeks or even months.
I can't imagine that the EU would allow it to join, unless the Europeans are even bigger blockheads than we think they are.
To paraphrase H.L. Mencken:
No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of European Socialists.
In a sane world, this would be the ideal opportunity to eject Turkey from NATO and permanently slam the door on any future EU membership. Few better chances are likely to present themselves. Unfortunately, European anti-Semitism is now so en vogue that Turkey is far more apt to be applauded than condemned.
Remember that Israel has nuclear weapons and can exterminate the EU and Islamic worlds, and all sides know it.
Which − were it not for the genocidal cast of all Islamic endeavors − would make this entire Middle Eastern grand guignol into the abject farce it long has been.
‘Israel Deserves Collective Punishment’
If one correctly interprets this Islamic doublespeak, it is a direct indication of how desperately the West needs to begin a campaign of collective punishment against the Muslim world.
Terrorism and dhimmitude alike rank among the most dismal forms of collective punishment that there can possibly be. While I would much rather just see the top echelons of Islam scraped away like the rust stains they are on this world's toilet bowl, if collective punishment is all that is available, so be it.
Turkey is such a typical Islamic hell-hole that my usual starship and baboon analogy has no place. I will instead liken Turkey's latest round of saber rattling to that of a bunch of febrile purple-arsed mandrills trying to beat a long dead rust-laden tractor back to life in the midst of a barren, drought stricken field.
Turkey, like Iran and the entire MME (Muslim Middle East), has all the moral authority of a child molester.
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS! I wish the State Run Media had the guts to run it!
Steve
Common Cents
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
"because the Free Gaza Flotilla was a thinly-disguised Turkish military operation."
How is that? The flottilla was organized by Milli Görüs. Why would it need to be organized by the Turkish armed forces? Generally non-state forces are much more agile, innovative and effective these days than state militaries. If the Turkish armed forces would have tried to organize this they would have botched it, just as the Israeli Navy commando's botch this raid by walking into the trap set by this Turkish group. To think that any state military can pull off such a coup is old style thinking.
Otherwise great aand enlightening article.
Regards,
Snouck
In hoc signo vinces
@Zenster,
"In a sane world, ... "
"European anti-Semitism is now so en vogue ... "
Why are we not able to counter this madness in our own people we should have been able to bury this nonsense long ago, less we now become the dead burying the dead we should now declare Western civilization as in a state of civil war.
I really don't get how this is antisemitism though. If a European country would have done it, the same reaction would have happened. It's just part of the narrative of the Western civilization. And Europeans don't act in a biased way related to Jews, to call it antisemitic. They believe the same things about their own countries and people.
IDF Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LulDJh4fWI
The Turkish organizers of the Gaza Strip-bound flotilla that was boarded this morning by Israeli commandos knew well in advance that their vessels would never reach Israeli waters. That's because the organizers belong to a nonprofit that was banned by the Israeli government in July 2008 for its ties to terrorism finance.
The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA's radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. Like many other Islamist charities, the IHH has a record of providing relief to areas where disaster has struck in the Muslim world.
However, the organization is not a force for good. The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/terror-finance-flotilla
God Bless Israel!
Via ReliaPundit. . .
Holy Sweet Lord, Turkey has announced they will send another flotilla to Gaza—escorted by the Turkish Navy!
2010 May 31
by Ian Welsh
If they actually do this, it is the very definition of throwing down.
Wow.
Does Israel want a war with Turkey? They can’t win it, short of using nukes, and Turkey is a NATO member, if Israel attacks NATO ships, Turkey can invoke Article V (in fact, they can invoke it already, since the ships were attacked by a non NATO power on the high seas.) If Turkey does so, of course NATO nations will refuse, but doing so will break NATO.
This is high stakes.
HIS SOURCE:
New Delhi: Turkey has threatened Israel with unprecedented action after Israeli forces attacked an aid vessel, killing 10 peace activists headed to Gaza.
Israel said 10 people died while those on the ship said at least 15 were killed.
A shocked world has responded with outrage. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel and warned of unprecedented and incalculable reprisals.
Two Turkish activists were reported to be among those killed in the flotilla. Ankara warned that further supply vessels will be sent to Gaza, escorted by the Turkish Navy, a development with unpredictable consequences.
Israel has sounded an alert throughout the country fearing rocket attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Arab League has called an urgent meeting on Tuesday to decide on a common response. Egypt is under pressure to end the blockade of Gaza while Greece has cancelled a military exercise with Israel.
4 symbols said - 'Why are we not able to counter this madness in our own people?'...because the younger/middle age generation has been so dumbed down and relentlessly brain washed that they believe all they have been told. There is no balanced discussion to any thing in schools or the media any more. The BBC for example are a disgrace.
Snouck --
Of course I don't mean that the Turkish military organized and directed the operation. What I am trying to say is that by using the flotilla, the AKP accomplished what would otherwise be a military objective. It tested the strength and capabilities of the Israeli defenses, discovered the limits to Israel's willingness to use force, and learned what world opinion thinks about such operations (it doesn't mind them at all, and only objects to Israeli self-defense). So when Turkey sends in the real military operation, it will already have the intel it needs, gained by other methods.
Perhaps I should have said it "accomplished a military objective by using non-military means".
Snouck: Generally non-state forces are much more agile, innovative and effective these days than state militaries.
Any doubt regarding this fact was buried by the 9-11 atrocity.
4Symbols: … lest we now become the dead burying the dead…
It becomes painfully and increasingly clear that the 9-11 atrocity's dead were buried by a nearly brain-dead populace.
Although I took major criticism for it at the time, my own immediate response to the Twin Towers attack was that the USA should use fuel-air bombs to obliterate the hometown of bin Laden confederate Mullah Omar. Doing so with the implicit message of "DO. NOT. EVER. DO. THAT. AGAIN."
There should have been identical responses in other locations of our choosing to Bali, Beslan, Bali II, London and Madrid as well.
Had this pattern of retaliation been established early on, we might not be facing the global Islamic threat that now exists.
rebelliousvanilla: I really don't get how this is antisemitism though.
A careful reading of the news will reveal that Turkey has tied up a lot of political capital in becoming a member of the EU. That it felt at liberty to facilitate (through IHH), this test of global support for Israel is a direct reflection of how little it has to fear from the EU's Jew-hating elite.
gatesofvienna: That's because the organizers belong to a nonprofit that was banned by the Israeli government in July 2008 for its ties to terrorism finance.
Which effectively rendered this entire political circus as a terrorist attack. While this one was conducted through the media, the usual Islamic signature of genocidal language featured prominently.
One glance at media headlines like "Israeli Commandos Gun Down 19 Peace Activists in Raid on Gaza Ships With 28 Britons on Board" and "Israel Deserves Collective Punishment" tells all that needs to be known about how this was an obvious effort to polarize and precondition world opinion just prior to "The Summer War".
her: "Holy Sweet Lord, Turkey has announced they will send another flotilla to Gaza—escorted by the Turkish Navy!
Two words: Casus Belli
If Turkey does so, of course NATO nations will refuse, but doing so will break NATO.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Baron Bodissey: Perhaps I should have said it "accomplished a military objective by using non-military means".
No better description exists for modern day Islamic jihad.
For years the Israel lobby played a huge role in protecting Turkey from criticism. Whilst Iraq's treatment of Kurds was condemned as oppression Turkey's similar treatment of Kurds was called "anti-terrorism". The Israel lobby protected Turkey from Congressional resolutions regarding the Armenian genocide. Abe Foxman was particularly protective of Israel on this matter. But this year following a decline in relations since the Gaza war AIPAC seemed to be let the resolution pass in order to send a message to Turkey: Don't mess with Israel. I guess Erdogan and the Turks took a different message.
It'll be interesting to see if AIPAC and the pro-Israel media in the US continue to demand Turkey's membership of the EU (or is that pointless now that Euro is up the creek?). Richard Perle was the head of a lobby group with the mission of bringing Turkey into the EU, with, of course, the right of all Turks to live anywhere in the EU.
The deterioration in Israeli Turkish relations has been extraordinarily rapid.
BTW I fully expect some of the Europe-haters among the pro-Israel crowd to blame Europe for this. If only Europe had not been so racist and xenophobic and let the Turks into Europe Turkey would not have turned away in disillusionment from the West.
Turkey is now calling on America to condemn the attacks and they are sending more ships as of 6-1. And RV, it is anti-Semitic mostly because it's coming from Muslim and pro-Muslim forces. If it was merely secular forces protesting, you would be right.
The Muslim world is uniting, slowly but surely. Once that happens, I fear to see what will happen. I'm beginning to think the end of European Imperialism circa WWI was the worst thing that happened. We didn't have crap like this when all these crazy religious fanatics were suppressed.
Europe has wanted to avoid war ever since WWI, which can be seen as the origin point of the Left's anti-war attitudes. I suspect only war will cleanse this attitude away. I wonder if this is the spark of that war.
NorseAlchemist: I wonder if this is the spark of that war.
Possibly not as BHO certainly cannot be counted upon to sprout a set and do the Right Thing™ in this, our time of need.
That said, the current situation involving Israel and her enemies will continue to be what it always has been since day one. Namely, a micro-scale version of the larger macro-war being fought against Islamic jihad.
Every last Islamic feint, lie and terrorist attack being experienced by Israel are merely miniature models for the large-scale jihadist conflicts that threaten to engulf our world.
Just as the miracle of life lies in how it is utterly dependent upon death, so is it true that the only way to obtain peace is through war. Barbarous entities such as Islam literally assure that this second maxim will remain true for some time to come.
The turks are a bunch of savages.
The people of my old country know this very well.
For over four hundred years they fought these savages. They were forced to pay jizya, to give them young boys for the yanicher army and beautiful girls for their filthy harems. They suck all the wealth and blood from our ancestors.
They destroyed our churches and killed untold thousands.
And, now, they are going back to their old hellish ways.
Folks, the turks are very, very dangerous. They must be resisted by all means.
I would start by throwing them out of NATO.
Zenster, I don't see the European elite hating Jews as Jews. They hate what Israel does and they hate the same actions when taken by their own countries. If you ask me, they're not prejudiced, which is a requirement for antisemitism. And the right thing to do of an American president is to not drag his country into wars that don't benefit the US. I wonder when will Americans learn this.
Avery, those pro-Israel Europe haters should take the Turks into Israel. I don't see why we should take them into Europe.
NorseAlchemist, my question was leaving the Turks aside, obviously. And yes, I agree with you about the imperialism thing, but more because any nation that doesn't expand, shrinks, not necessarily because of these nutjobs not existing.
cobra, I didn't know that we had to give them girls too. I knew about tribute and boys. Anyway, the Romanian Parliament gave its ok to Turkey's EU membership bid, which pissed me off, but in a way, I agree with them. I mean, Turkey is our biggest trading partner and we can't trade with them properly due to stupid EU regulations and those would disappear if Turkey would be a EU member.
Rebel,
Turkey was never part of EU, so it would be foolish for the EU to allow them as a member.RO's trade with them should not be a factor in this decision.
Besides, the EUSSR is falling apart fast, fortunately.
In any case, a rising militant islamic Turkey is not welcome news for the countries in RO's neighbourhood. Not at all.
Do you think Serbia needs more troubles with Albanians, or Greece with Turks, or Bulgarians with Turks?
Isn't Bosnia a muslin enclave in Europe a big enough trouble?
Things are getting really bad fast.
Fasten your seat belts, because this summer and fall will be from hell.
Destroy jihadis wherever they arise.
Turkey.
Iran.
Saudi Arabia.
Waziristan.
Detroit.
Kosovo.
This war against Civilization was declared by the theocratic tyrants of Islam in 622 A.D.
Failing to destroy this threat will mean a Dark Ages that will make the Fall of Rome and the Black Plague look like Candyland.
___________________________________
Well said, as usual, ZENSTER.
Cobra, yes, trade is relevant because the EU tariffs and all that influence it. Economically, for Romania it would be really good to have Turkey in the EU due to this. And as one of the biggest trading partners we have, we didn't afford voting no. The no vote should come from a country that isn't directly involved with Turkey.
I agree though, we shouldn't let Turkey in and if it becomes an Islamic Republic, it might get ugly for the region. For Romania it wouldn't be that bad considering we're in NATO though.
Avery Bullard wrote:
"BTW I fully expect some of the Europe-haters among the pro-Israel crowd to blame Europe for this. If only Europe had not been so racist and xenophobic and let the Turks into Europe Turkey would not have turned away in disillusionment from the West."
Very prescient, Mr. Bullard.
Gates Says EU Pushed Turkey Away
U.S. Defense Secretary Blames Bloc's Resistance to Granting Membership for Ankara's Turn from Israel and the West
How the hell can anyone possibly believe that? I despise the EU as much as anybody but that WSJ article is nothing but an offensive and demagogic caricature of a complex political phenomenon.
"Cobra, yes, trade is relevant because the EU tariffs "
So much for free market Europe standing over and restraining the evil nation states who would surely follow an aggressive policy of protectionism and foreign domination just like the Third Reich did amirite?
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