Gen. Başbuğ’s last angry performance

Gen Basbug has ordered investigations into the allegedly leaked documents

?Our patience has a limit.?

On Monday a furious Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug complained about continued attacks on the military. This was sparked by the most recent revelations that a plot code-named Balyoz (Sledgehammer) allegedly planned a military coup to be staged in 2003, right after the AKP came to power. (click here for more on Balyoz) The Istanbul chief prosecutor launched a probe into the plan after receiving the original documents from the newspaper Taraf, which seems to have access to documents through leaks in the military. The Sledgehammer plot comes on the heels of a number of other alleged plots poetically code named Blonde Girl, Moonlight, Sea-sparkle and Glove. (click here and here for my previous posts on these.)

The head of Turkey’s armed forces has responded angrily to a newspaper report …
BBC News
Some of the allegations, relating to a sinister “deep state” network known as Ergenekon, have already resulted in the arrest and trials of dozens of people,

Coup Plans and “Information Leakage” on General Staff’s Agenda

Is the AKP up to the task?

When the Turkish military becomes a threat

Hard-line secularists, the real danger to Turkey?s democratic and Western orientation

Çongar: There is a coup plan in the garb of war games

Yasemin Çongar, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Taraf daily, gives no credence to explanations coming from some in military circles that the senior members of the Turkish military were only making plans for war games and that such a thing is normal.

MEPs concerned over Constitutional Court ruling
Today’s Zaman
The only proper role for military justice is in regard to disciplinary and combat matters, which is not at issue in the Ergenekon case

Military To Be Tried By Military Courts. Coup Plot Investigations In Chaos.

Turkey?s top court has annulled legislation allowing military personnel to be tried by civil courts, a decision likely to deal a blow to investigations of alleged coup plots against the government.

Sledgehammer

Pasha TV 24/7

Dream interventions vs. Dream country by Sevgi Akarçeşme

The unfolding of horrifying details regarding a coup d?état plot named Sledgehammer — among several others — within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) once again proves that civil-military relations in Turkey are as problematic as ever despite the promising reforms that took place early during the European Union process.

Banality of the Sledgehammer

Hearts and minds

Does The Turkish Military Make Plans to Kill Turkish People?

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] Have you taken a look at the recent exposure about the amazing adventures of Turkey’s Dr. Strangelovish generals? It is a must-see. What I am referring to is the action plan called “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) that the liberal daily Taraf published a few days ago. The extensive document, whose full name is the “Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan,” was apparently drafted in 2003, a little after the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, came to power. This was a popularly elected government that most generals disliked – as they probably still do today. Hence they brainstormed together to save the nation from its mistake. And, quite patriotically, they planned a road map for a military coup that would, allegedly, cost the lives of some innocent citizens. (Don’t be surprised: Collateral damage has never been an obstacle to the heroic efforts of our mighty military.)

Toward a Liberal ‘Political Islam’?

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] Political Islam, as you probably have noticed before, is a dirty term. It often refers to angry men who impose veils on women and ban anything that is fun. It even reminds us of the horrific reign of the Taliban, whose heaven on Earth in Afghanistan looked rather like hell for most of us. There is a good reason for this notoriety of political Islam. Its main proponents, such as the Pakistani thinker Abul A’ala Mawdudi (1903-1979), defined it as the effort to create an “Islamic state,” whose main mission would be the imposition of shariah, or Islamic law, within its most rigid and medieval interpretation. This idea has become so dominant in Islamic circles since the mid-20th century that “political Islam” has become associated with the goal of establishing this authoritarian “Islamic state.”

130th court sitting to hear Ergenekon case opens in Turkey
EuropeNews
The 130th court sitting to hear the first Ergenekon case has started in Turkey. The Turkish Zaman newspaper reported that 22 accused persons were on the

?We are not the CHP, we are not socialists, but a reformist new left to counter the AK Party?

?Turkey needs a new left party which does not make conservatism in society a target, categorically opposing the military?s tutelage over politics and aiming for social justice instead of neo-liberal economic policies,? Associate Professor Mesut Yeğen from the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) sociology department said, adding that such a party is coming very soon.

The TSK in politics and democracy under the sledgehammer by Özer Sencar & Ünal Bilir

Amidst debates on the ?sledgehammer,? that according to the public was going to be used against the people and according to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was to be used against imaginary internal enemies, the Constitutional Court has unanimously decided to annul the law that allows military personnel to stand trial in civilian courts.