270 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 38 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 3/25/14

Syrian False Flag - Turkey's PM is Desperate

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   6 comments, 2 series

Michael Collins
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Michael Collins
Become a Fan
  (120 fans)

(Article changed on March 28, 2014 at 12:26)

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
(Image by Michael Collins remix)
  Details   DMCA

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left), is a desperate man. He faces a test of his government in the March 30 local elections in Turkey. If his party candidates (AK Party) fail to maintain their current standings, the PM will face a loss of his tyrannical power. If the AK Party results for mayoral and other local offices drop significantly, Erdogan could soon face prosecution for massive corruption. (Image)

Since December17, 2013, current and former government ministers, their adult children, and AK Party business cronies have been charged with bid rigging, bribe taking, and outright theft. Support for the charges come almost daily through the release of wire taps of Erdogan and his cronies engaging in these activities. In one notable tape, Erdogan is heard giving his son Bilal explicit instructions to remove millions of dollars from a family home and disperse it to avoid a possible police raid.

Erdogan has fired and transferred prosecutors and police behind the investigations after charges were brought. He has been unable to convince prominent Turks, a majority of the population, and the international community that the leaked tapes are fakes.  The audio files were broadcast on Twitter, which Erdogan banned last week.

The attack Syria false flag is Erdogan's last option to rally

Erdogan is out of tricks to maintain his popularity. Sixty percent of those recently polled said they believe that Erdogan's actions are deliberately stalling corruption investigations.   Sixty percent state that they would not vote for Erdogan in the July presidential elections, an office that was all but certain to be his until the corruption charges.

The mayoral races in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey's capital, are both within 2% for the AK Party and the main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP). That was before two prominent Islamic political leaders announced that they were abandoning support for Erdogan. The AK Party relies on a strong Islamic base to win. A recent poll showed the AK Party losing popularity in the local elections compared to 2009. Opposition parties fear election fraud in upcoming elections based on reports that the government is printing many more ballots than necessary.

A false flag operation by the Turkish military in response to a claimed Syrian attack may be Erdogan's last hope to survive the outcome of the March 30 elections. It appears that he has set this option in place over the past two months.

Turkish army "on alert' as border tension rises was the headline on March 24.  Prior to this "on alert" notice, Erdogan set up a false flag through the following actions:

March 20: Erdogan also announced that Turkey would defend the shrine of Süleyman Şah, founder of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. The shrine is 30 km inside Syria, just south of the Turkey-Syria border. There have been no indications that the Assad government had any intention of attacking the shrine.

March21: Erdogan claimed Syria was responsible for an attack on Turkish security forces. There was no evidence for this charge.

March23: A Turkish jet shot down a Syrian jet that came too close to Turkey's border

Erdogan's party gave him an overwhelming vote of confidence by passing a resolution in October 2012 giving the PM power to initiate hostilities against Syria should he feel the need. Once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Erdogan turned on him in 2011 and offered support to the Obama administration - Gulf oil oligarch attack on Syria.

Erdogan must retain the type of power he's had in the past few years to continue his efforts to stop corruption investigations. If his support cracks through a poor performance in local elections, there will be even more defections from AK Party support and Erdogan's power will be diluted.

Based on the polling results, the strong performance of the CHP to date in major cities, and defections by prominent figures in the Islamic political movement, Erdogan had incentive to create a false flag with Syria to squeeze out a few points of popularity.

END

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 2   Supported 2   Valuable 2  
Rate It | View Ratings

Michael Collins Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Ukraine President Once Agent for U.S. State Department

Worst President Ever - Barack H. Obama

It's official! You're on your own

Rigged Elections for Romney?

Real Unemployment at 23% - Dampening the Excitement

Humiliation And Death As A Tool Of National Policy

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend