EREN KESKIN TO SPEAK IN MINNEAPOLIS

"I believe that the ideology of the perpatrators of the Armenian Genocide, the Committee of Union and Progress, and its special organization Teskilat-i Mahsusa, are the “founding ideology” of the Turkish Republic."
~ Eren Keskin.

For those of you in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, there will be a free conference on the Armenian Genocide this Friday, 5 February 2010, at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. It will run all day, from 0900 in the morning until 1700 in the evening.

There's more information at The Armenian Reporter.

Among the speakers will be Eren Keskin, who I have written about previously and it would be a great treat to be able to hear her speak.

Word is also that the Turkish embassy and the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF) will have representatives present at the conference. Rastî readers will remember that the TALDF represented Jean Schmidt in the Krikorian case, for which Sibel Edmonds was deposed last summer.

If you can go, please go and show your support for a legitimate and open discussion of the Armenian Genocide, to support the Armenian community in the face of the Turkish government and its lobbyist watchdogs, and to hear Eren Keskin. Then let me know how everything went by posting something in comments.


UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to visa issues, Comrade Eren will be unable to attend the conference at the University of St. Thomas in person but she will participate by video link. If you're wondering what Comrade Eren will have to say, please check out her current column at The Armenian Weekly:

Yes, in Turkey, all together, the genocide committed against the Armenian nation has been “swept under the carpet.”

Everybody has a share in that. And everybody is guilty.

Those who don’t explicitly say “genocide,” those who are still ambivalent, who remain silent, who are afraid, I want to remind you of the words of Dr. Nazim in a secret meeting of the CUP in the beginning of 1915: “…Armenians are like a deadly wound. This wound is first thought to be harmless. But if it is not treated by a doctor in time, it definitely kills. We must act immediately. If we act as in 1909, it will do more harm than good. It will awaken the other groups we have decided to eliminate, the Arabs and the Kurds, and the danger will become threefold…”

Apparently the TALDF has exchanged "words" with the law school and were rebuffed by the school (Bravo for UST!), so now TALDF claims that it will bring protestors. If you're in the area and you have a Kurdish flag (or a picture of Önder Apo), take it along and wave it at the TALDF.

SERKEFTIN!

THE TURKISH LOBBY, THE NEOCONS, AND THE CRUSADE TO FREE THE ERGENEKON TERRORISTS

"The enlargement of the Ergenekon investigation will improve the standards of our democracy. Not only the Ergenekon on the western side of the Euphrates River, but also the one on the eastern side should be investigated, and a real 'clean hands' operation should be started."
~ Ahmet Türk.

A very interesting video was brought to my attention by a reader in the comments section here.

Let's take a look:

Wayne Madsen makes some interesting speculations about Katil Erdoğan's visit to Washington last week, which ended up with the resignation of Turkey's ambassador to the US, Nabi Şensoy.

Madsen speculates that Obama spoke to Katil Erdoğan about the Ergenekon prosecutions with the intent of dropping them and freeing the Ergenekon terrorists. He points out that the paşas would like to see an end to the prosecutions. We know that the Ergenekon terrorists were actually sponsored by the US as part of the CIA's Gladio stay-behind program and that the charges they face today are minor in comparison to the terror they carried out against the Kurdish people in The Southeast--for which they are not being prosecuted.

Madsen mentions that Turkish lobby organizations in the US, like the American Turkish Council (ATC), have been trying to influence the US government into pressuring the AKP to drop the Ergenekon issue. Although I have not seen evidence of the ATC's overt involvement in this particular aspect of influence peddling, there is a Turkish organization that has been working on exactly this matter and it has a relationship with the ATC. That organization is the ARI Foundation.

As was brought up in comments in a post on Sibel Edmonds' website, the ARI Foundation hosted a seminar last month for the US Congress in which the members of the foundation urged Congress to "intervene urgently to stop the trial . . . " From VoltaireNet:

. . . [O]n 18 November 2009 a seminar was held at the U.S. Congress to deny the existence of Ergenekon, putting it down as a myth invented by the Erdogan Government to discredit Army Chief of Staff, General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt, and the U.S.-friendly officers in his entourage, in the hope of imposing an Islamic state.

The participants stressed that the United States should intervene urgently to stop the trial, but should not do so openly since it would feed into the "conspiracy theories" purporting that NATO has set up a "Deep State" in Turkey which has manipulated or attempted to manipulate public institutions for decades.

The seminar was organised by the ARI Foundation, a low-profile think-tank bent on promoting relations between Washington and Ankara. Actually, ARI is a front for the Atlanticist-Israeli lobby. In accordance with Robert Strausz-Hupé’s policies, ARI is promoting a Tel-Aviv-Ankara axis under NATO auspices for the control of the Middle East.

The piece mentions the ARI Foundation's connections to the Israeli lobby, especially the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). WINEP was founded by former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, who started his "public service" career as a research director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC. Indyk also served as a founding director for WINEP.

Yurter Özcan, the president of the ARI Foundation, works with Turk neocon Soner Çağaptay, who is the director of WINEP's Turkish "Research" Program.

The first of ARI Foundation's symposia was presented in 2002 and featured Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum. Other contributors to their symposia include AIPAC spy Steve Rosen, who now works with Daniel Pipes' Middle East Forum.

Former Florida congressman Robert Wexler has also been involved with the ARI Foundation. Wexler is a co-founder of the Caucus on US-Turkish Relations who recently resigned his congressional seat to take a temporary job with a minor pro-Israeli think tank while he waits out the one-year ban that former congressmen must wait before taking up lucrative lobbying jobs. My money says that, as soon as Wexler passes the one-year mark, he'll slide right into a nice, cushy, lobbying job for the Turkish government.

Also involved with the ARI Foundation is Zeyno Baran, an Ergenekon defender at the very neoconservative Hudson Institute.

For tax purposes, the ARI Foundation lists Gunay Evinch (Günay Övunç) as it's contact person. Övunç is, of course, the current president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA). The ARI Foundation has conducted anti-Armenian Genocide propaganda in conjunction with the ATAA, and you had better believe that if an organization or person is anti-Armenian Genocide, they're anti-Kurd as well.

Furthermore, those who've been moaning the most about the suffering paşas, current and retired, are the Israelis and neoconservatives. Here's a sample from a recent column in the Jerusalem Post:

TURKEY'S BREAK with the West; its decisive rupture with Israel and its opposition to the US in Iraq and Iran was predictable. Militant Islam of the AKP variety has been enjoying growing popularity and support throughout Turkey for many years. The endemic corruption of Turkey's traditional secular leaders increased the Islamists' popularity. Given this domestic Turkish reality, it is possible that Erdogan and his fellow Islamists' rise to power was simply a matter of time.

But even if the AKP's rise to power was eminently predictable, its ability to consolidate its control over just about every organ of governance in Turkey as well as what was once a thriving free press [Haha, good one! -- Mizgîn], and change completely Turkey's strategic posture in just seven years was far from inevitable. For these accomplishments the AKP owes a debt of gratitude to both the Bush and Obama administrations, as well as to the EU.

The Bush administration ignored the warnings of secular Turkish leaders in the country's media, military and diplomatic corps that Erdogan was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Rather than pay attention to his past attempts to undermine Turkey's secular, pro-Western character and treat him with a modicum of suspicion, after the AKP electoral victory in 2002 the Bush administration upheld the AKP and Erdogan as paragons of Islamist moderation and proof positive that the US and the West have no problem with political Islam.

[ . . . ]

In Turkey itself, the administration's enthusiastic embrace of the AKP meant that Erdogan encountered no Western opposition to his moves to end press freedom in Turkey; purge the Turkish military of its secular leaders and end its constitutional mandate to preserve Turkey's secular character [Turkey is not secular; read the constitution -- Mizgîn]; intimidate and disenfranchise secular business leaders and diplomats; and stack the Turkish courts with Islamists. That is, in the name of its support for its water-downed definition of democracy, the US facilitated Erdogan's subversion of all the Turkish institutions that enabled liberal norms to be maintained and kept Turkey in the Western alliance.

So, yeah, we all know that Turkey was an absolute paradise while under absolute paşa rule, but if the JPost writer wants to blame the Bush administration, she'd damn well better blame her neoconservative colleagues. Here's a blast from the past (circa 2004) from the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin, published by Daniel Pipes' Middle East Forum:

While Erdogan and other AKP leaders unabashedly affirm their private religious convictions, they advocate secularism in the conventional Western sense of the term. "Before anything else, I'm a Muslim . . . I have a responsibility to God, who created me, and I try to fulfill that responsibility, but I try now very much to keep this away from my political life, to keep it private," Erdogan told the New York Times last year. "A political party cannot have a religion, only individuals can . . . religion is so supreme that it cannot be [politically] exploited or taken advantage of," he explained.[5]

[ . . .]

Ironically, the old line Kemalists, who for 80 years preached about the need to modernize and Westernize Turkey, have in many ways become the reactionaries in Turkey, while the "Islamists" have taken the lead in promoting Western-style reforms. In spite of the dismal electoral fortunes of nationalist political parties in 2002, the Kemalist elite continues to dominate not only Turkey's military, but also its civilian bureaucracy, judiciary, and media. The so-called "deep state" in Turkey has resisted many of the changes introduced by the AKP.

[ . . . ]

Turkey, a country of about 70 million Muslims, most of whom are religious, is ruled today by a conservative party with an Islamic pedigree and a humane, tolerant, and democratic track record. Can we generalize from the AKP's experience? Not without some care. Turkey is quite different from the rest of the Middle East, whether Arab or Persian. What works in Ankara will not necessarily work in Tehran, Damascus or Baghdad. Nonetheless, there are definitely lessons to be learned.

Read the whole thing because it contains an accurate description of how the Bush administration pushed aside long-time American allies in Turkey . . . you know, the paşas, in favor of Islamists. Then think about how the US has always chosen Islamist regimes over secular ones. Do the terms "Afghan mujahedin" or "Taliban" ring any bells? In 2004, it would appear that everything was sweetness and light, with the pro-Israeli neoconservatives praising AKP and Katil Erdoğan to the heavens. What a difference a few years makes among fascists! But for the pro-paşa, pro-Israeli neoconservative opinion on Ergenekon, check the AEI's Michael Rubin or the Middle East Forum or the columnist section of the Jerusalem Post, and all those who cooked up the Clean Break.

In any event, we can see that Madsen is totally correct when he emphasizes the links between the Turkish and Israeli lobbies, and it's extremely unfortunate that more people in media aren't talking about the fact.

Did Obama actually talk to Katil Erdoğan about releasing the Ergenekon terrorists? I doubt it. Obama and Erdoğan certainly had more pressing matters to talk about, like coordinating NATO's heroin industry in Afghanistan in order to keep Goldman Sachs alfoat. The US has backed the AKP and Fethullahçı from AKP's initial rise to power and Gülen's movement provides some inside access to The Grand Chessboard of Central Asia. Certainly Gülen was deeply involved with the Ergenekon terrorists but it no longer serves his purposes to have anything to do with them nor does he have any need to try to save them from prosecution. Besides, Gülen is a valuable asset to the US right these days.

Gülen's disciples have followed his command to "work patiently and to creep silently into the institutions in order to seize power in the state". The paşas no longer force out Islamists from the TSK's officer corps. Fethullahçı moles inside the Turkish general staff leaked the information about the coup attempts metnioned by Madsen. Gülen's star slowly rises while that of the paşas slowly sets, and who is hosting Gülen? Who is protecting him? Who was it that approved Katil Erdoğan as the leader of Turkey while Erdoğan was banned from holding political office?

Let the CIA worry when Tansu Çiller is arrested.

FRIDAY UPDATES: TURKISH LOBBY, ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, KURDS

"No national security considerations can be an excuse for the annihilation of a population by means of forced displacement and massacres."
~ DTP parliamentarian Selahattin Demirtaş on the Armenian Genocide.

A few updates:

First, Sibel Edmonds, Peter B. Collins, and I have a chat together over at Sibel's place.

Second, at the end of October it was announced that Brent Scowcroft would be stepping down as the chairman of the American Turkish Council (ATC), to be replaced by Richard Armitage.

I have been doing some digging into Armitage's background and will have three posts up at Sibel's Boiling Frogs Post. The first is here and the second is here. The third installment will be up in the very near future.

Finally, there is a very good interview with Taner Akçam at The Armenian Weekly. The focus of the interview is the Turkish protocols with Armenia, but Akçam is also asked quiestions about the wider picture. Akçam compares the Armenian situation of the past with the current Kurdish situation:

VEK: Will any of these developments impact current discussions related to the Kurdish Opening in Turkey?

TA: Definitely. We can only understand the Turkish-Armenian protocols if we consider the big picture. The Kurdish issue certainly is another part of this big picture. The Kurdish Opening is a direct product of the transition we are experiencing in Turkey. In terms of the Armenian issue, the Turkish government should follow the exact same steps that it has pursued regarding the Kurdish issue. If we examine how the Turkish government has been trying to solve the Kurdish issue, we will find ways to solve the Armenian issue. For example, what does it mean when we discuss the concept of acknowledging the truth? Until 2000 or 2002, or even as late as 2007, the Turkish government denied that the Kurdish people even existed. I was put in prison in 1975 because I wrote about the Kurds in Turkey. So acknowledgment of the truth is a central aspect in solving the Kurdish Question. With the reforms introduced after 2002, the Turkish government has acknowledged that there are Kurds living in Turkey. It should be the same for Armenians; something terrible happened and a crime occurred in 1915. By acknowledging the existence of the crime you can solve 1915.

Secondly, in the process of solving the Kurdish Question, the government has tried to establish justice. If you want to solve a problem related to injustices in the past you have to rectify it. There must be a way of compensation for this injustice. There are two possibilities, two ways of establishing justice: One is retributive justice, which is exactly what is going on in the Kurdish areas right now. Some officers have been charged with killing Kurdish civilians in the past, and those officers have been detained or lost their positions. In addition, mass graves have been opened up. This is important for the establishment of justice. In the case of the Armenians, this approach is useless because the killings happened 100 years ago. But there is another way of approaching justice; justice can be achieved through the principles of restorative justice. Restorative justice can also play a role in the Kurdish issue. Many perpetrators are fearful that the crimes they have committed will be disclosed. You can follow the South African model and give amnesty to those who reveal their crimes, for instance.

I see a very strong correlation not only regarding the solution but also regarding the origins of the Kurdish and Armenian issues. If I may put it bluntly, the Armenian issue was the Kurdish issue of the 19th century. Or the Kurdish conflict today is the Armenian conflict of the 19th century because in both cases the same mentality produced similar outcomes. In both centuries, the Turkish and the Ottoman governments considered the democratic demands of minority groups as a security threat. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Armenian demands for social reform and equality were framed as a trap for the Ottoman state’s pursuit of security and territorial integrity. In the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s, and even until very recently, the Turkish state considered the Kurdish demands for cultural rights and equality as a challenge to its national security and territorial integrity. In both cases, the demands of the minority groups were suppressed. This caused the radicalization of both minority groups, and this very radicalization is ironically creating the security problems the governments were most scared of. The separatist movements and the challenges to territorial integrity became a problem as a direct consequence of governmental policies to repress these minorities. The parallels between the two cases are important to consider.

The interview is fairly long but it's definitely an excellent read. And lets remember DTP's position on the Armenian Genocide as stated by Selahattin Demirtaş in the TBMM:

“During the last period of the Ottoman Empire, in 1915-16, the Union and Progress Party systematically pursued a policy of extermination of the Christians who had been the native peoples of the country for centuries.”

[ . . . ]

“No national security considerations can be an excuse for the annihilation of a population by means of forced displacement and massacres,” he said. “Governments, in an effort to clear themselves of the guilt, resorted to denial and to distortion of historical facts to conceal the truth. They rewrote the history. In school books, Armenians are portrayed as hostile figures, exaggerating the incidents of violence by Armenian activists and never telling the truth about the massacred Armenians.”

“The word ‘Armenian’ has been used as an insult in this country,” continued Demirtas. “Even the president of the Republic of Turkey was accused of having secret Armenian ancestors, as if this was a sin. They did this to humiliate him. And what a shame that the president himself answered this ‘accusation’ in such a way as to confirm the humiliating connotation of the word, by trying to prove that this was not true.”

Demirtas suggested the formation of a history committee, consisting of independent historians from both sides, that would aim at revealing historic truths. “Without doing this, no real policy of peace can be pursued in foreign or domestic policy and no real resolution can be reached by ignoring the tragedy, by acting as if the loss of lives was a result of unwanted adverse circumstances. I know that what I say upsets those who remain loyal to the status quo. However for us to avoid recognizing historical truths just for the sake of the status quo would mean betraying our conscience and taking a politically unethical stance. So Turkey should lead the way to uncover the historical facts instead of continuing to carry the burden of a tragedy caused by the Committee of Union and Progress. In order for truly friendly relations between the two countries, it should be acknowledged that this is the only way for mutual trust.”

The author of the piece, Ayşe Günaysu, notes the following:

This was a first for the Turkish Parliament. There may be parts in Demirtas’ speech where one would disagree. But for me, these points of disagreement are less important than the declaration— in the Turkish Grand National Assembly—of the systematic extermination of Armenians in 1915. And it was a Kurdish MP who made this happen. The Kurds, some of whom actively took part in the Armenian Genocide, were also the first in Turkey to talk and write about the genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians.

Again, it's long but is another excellent read. And to Selahattin Demirtaş, I have this to say: You go, heval, you GO!!

Unfortunately, it looks like the Kurdish "opening" that Taner Akçam refers to is about to collapse.

FRIDAY NOTES

"One joy shatters a hundred griefs."
~ Chinese proverb.

Let me catch up with some things that I have wanted to post here this week but have not had the chance to do.

Firstly, thanks very much to the heval who pointed out to me that there is a series of twenty-one videos of the Peace and Democracy Groups in Diyarbakır on Youtube which were taken from Roj TV. When you watch these videos you will notice the celebratory mood of the people, something that has received intense criticism in Turkish media.

With that in mind, one should ask why these people are celebrating. Is it because this is a victory for PKK? In a way it is, but that's not the primary motivation for the celebration. Do the people celebrate because they are finally reunited with guerrilla family members that they never thought they'd see again? For some of these people, that is certainly the reason. They are seeing fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, and uncles that they never dreamed they'd see again. Every guerrilla goes to the mountains with the realization that they will not be coming back. Either they will die in the mountains or they will live out the rest of their lives there.

But the reunification of eight guerrillas with their families does not explain why ten thousand people descended on Silopi in joy, or why one hundred thousand showed up to greet the peace groups in Diyarbakır. So this cannot be the primary motivation for celebration either.

The primary motivation for the rejoicing we have witnessed in the last few days is that all of these people believe they can see the faint light that heralds the end of the long, dark tunnel of war. If there are tears being shed during these celebrations, they are not the tears of victory; they are tears of joy at the prospect of peace.

This is something that is not even remotely fathomed in Western Turkey because the people there--with rare exception--have no idea what has happened in The Southeast for the last twenty-five years. They have no inkling of the level of destruction that has taken place, whether that destruction has been physical or psychological. They have no idea of the level of poverty that still exists. They have no idea of the numbers of the missing, or the tortured, or the displaced. They have no idea . . .

Anyway . . . enough of that for now because I hate crying.

Next, Military.com ran a feature earlier this week on Sibel Edmonds and her claims of espionage at the Department of Defense. What's unique about this piece is that the author managed to get statements from some of the worst vermin that Sibel has named. Here's something from the Prince of Darkness himself:

“This woman is a nutcase. Certifiable,” [Neocon extraordinaire Richard] Perle said. “She makes wild accusations. She was fired from her job, and has been on a vendetta against … imagined demons ever since.”

There's also something from the guy General Tommy Franks called "the dumbest fucking guy on the planet":

[Doug] Feith, in an email to Military.com, said: “What I’ve read on the Internet about Ms. Edmonds’s claims about me is wildly false and bizarre.”

The only one who couldn't--or wouldn't--speak for himself was Mr. Susurluk, Marc Grossman:

Robert S. Tyrer, co-president of The Cohen Group, a Washington lobbying firm where Grossman is now a vice chairman, told Military.com in an email that Edmonds’ allegations against the former ambassador “are completely untrue and ludicrous.”

Okay. If these three little roaches think that Sibel Edmonds' claims are "completely untrue", "wildly false and bizarre", or that she "makes wild accusations", why don't they bring suit for defamation? Why don't they bring suit against all the publications who've printed Sibel's story or against those media that have interviewed her for television or radio? And that seems to be the general argument in the comments to The Brad Blog's report on Military.com's piece.

I'll tell you why these freaks don't bring suit against Sibel and that's because they know that they don't dare take this issue to court and let all the treasonous shit they've done in their lives be exposed to the light of day. If that ever happened, they ought to rightly find themselves dangling from a traitor's noose.

Thirdly, Luke Rosiak, who's been documenting the Turkish lobby for the Sunlight Foundation, notes that Robert Wexler (D-FL) has suddenly decided to abandon his seat in Congress to take a job at a little-known pro-Israeli think-tank. What's interesting about Rosiak's piece is that he discusses the sad state of Wexler's financial affairs. What links Wexler to the Turkish lobby is the fact that he was a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on US-Turkish Relations. One year from now we should definitely expect to see Wexler take a nice job working for the Government of Turkey as a lobbyist and--POOF!!--watch his financial woes disappear forever!

"Happy days are here again . . .

Finally, from a friend in Diyarbakir, the DTP's Union of Southeast Anatolian Municipalities has produced a tourist book for North Kurdistan which you can view at their website. If you click on the main photos for each city, you will be able to download a .pdf file which contains lots of photos of the cities and their surrounding areas as well as the history and culture of each region. The books are available in both Turkish and English and if you're going to the region, you should definitely read through the available files. I mean, there are tons more information about The Southeast in this book than in any generic travel book of Turkey that I've seen.

I have also posted a link to the book in the right margin under "Kurdish Cities".

WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM IN THE US?

“You must move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence, until you reach all the power centers, until the conditions are ripe."
~ Fethullah Gülen.

I came across something interesting the other day that I first noticed in an unusual place, the details of which are another story. However, there is a new book published called Who Speaks for Islam? It's the published results of a poll conducted by the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. The woman in charge of that center is Dalia Mogahed who was mentioned in Sunday Zaman as the Obama's appointee to the White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Mogahed was quoted in Zaman as saying:

. . . [T]he Gülen movement, a faith-based social movement named after Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, is a model and inspiration for all those working for the good of the society.

The guy who writes the book with her is John Esposito. He edited a book with Hakan Yavuz on the "Gülen Movement". Hakan Yavuz is running the Armenian Genocide denial program at the University of Utah, which Luke Ryland noted back in May. The Middle East Center at U of U, under which Yavuz's Armenian Genocide denial project falls, is also involving itself in the Kurdish issue through its PhD program (See page 5), notably mentioning one of their candidates as Emrullah Uslu, who claims to be a "terrorism expert" in the Turkish press, but that may be because he's police. Uslu publishes articles at a wide variety of websites, including the pro-terrorist Jamestown Foundation and Taraf.

Yavuz is also connected to the wider Turkish lobby system in the US, which continues to spread big bucks around--especially if the big bucks are meant to fuel Armenian Genocide denial. At this Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF) page, under the grantee listings for 2007, there are two grants to the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) listed, one for $150,000 and another for $750,000. These were passed to Hakan Yavuz's Armenian Genocide denial program at the U of U. That's a grand total of $900,000, almost $1 million. Here's a CV for Yavuz. Under "Grants" about midway down, we see that the TCA handed over the $900,000 in 2009. Here's a mailing list page from the U of U political science faculty notifying everyone that the grant was approved for Yavuz:

Second, Hakan Yavuz has just been notified that his proposal titled "Memory, Migration and Trauma" was awarded $900,000 from the Turkish Cultural Foundation to advance Turkish Studies at the University of Utah. This award is through the Middle East Center and College of Humanities and will provide funds to support scholarship, conferences, graduate students, and community outreach related to the topic of the shaping of Turkish identity in the Republic of Turkey.

The Turkish Studies Project at the U of U doesn't want you to know that its funding originally came from the TCF, though; it issued a retraction of the fact here. Isn't that strange, especially when it was listed so prominently on Hakan Yavuz's own CV and announced through email to the political science faculty at the U of U?

It might be worth remembering that Utah and the Fethullahçı were linked to "electronic leakage" in a campaign to "harm the prestige" of the TSK. Now with the information about the $900,000 grant from the TCF to the TCA to the U of U, we can see that these Turkish groups have a network of their own in the US and the usual principle of Islamist v Secularist don't totally apply.

There's another tidbit to this story: Who was it that was among those luminaries who wrote reference letters for Fethullah Gülen when he was asking for a green card? John Esposito.

There we have Daria Mogahed and John Esposito neatly wrapped in the Fethullahçı web and, by now, most of you are probably wondering if I'm ever going to make a point. I am.

Daria Mogahed is making some tours of World Affairs Councils in the US to speak about Who Speaks for Islam? and not only in San Francisco, but in Montana and Florida.

So who's going to speak for Islam in the US? Fethullah Gülen.

BARGAINING OVER THE OCCUPATION OF SOUTH KURDISTAN

“In this, our age of infamy
Man's choice is but to be
A tyrant, traitor, prisoner:
No other choice has he.”
~ Aleksandr Pushkin.

There was something very interesting in Phil Giraldi's interview with Sibel Edmonds regarding South Kurdistan. Here is Sibel speaking, with my emphasis:

The monitoring of the Turks [by the FBI] picked up contacts with Feith, Wolfowitz, and Perle in the summer of 2001, four months before 9/11. They were discussing with the Turkish ambassador in Washington an arrangement whereby the U.S. would invade Iraq and divide the country. The UK would take the south, the rest would go to the U.S. They were negotiating what Turkey required in exchange for allowing an attack from Turkish soil. The Turks were very supportive, but wanted a three-part division of Iraq to include their own occupation of the Kurdish region. The three Defense Department officials said that would be more than they could agree to, but they continued daily communications to the ambassador and his defense attaché in an attempt to convince them to help.

Meanwhile Scowcroft, who was also the chairman of the American Turkish Council, Baker, Richard Armitage, and Grossman began negotiating separately for a possible Turkish protectorate. Nothing was decided, and then 9/11 took place.

Scowcroft was all for invading Iraq in 2001 and even wrote a paper for the Pentagon explaining why the Turkish northern front would be essential. I know Scowcroft came off as a hero to some for saying he was against the war, but he was very much for it until his client’s conditions were not met by the Bush administration.

What is happening here is that the neo-conservatives were discussing a Turkish occupation of South Kurdistan but it looks like they weren't able to swing the deal in the end. Brent Scowcroft, as the chairman of the American Turkish Council, was definitely working for Turkish interests during the period Sibel is talking about.

But when Turkey didn't get what it saw as it's portion of Iraq--the Kurdish region--Scowcroft opposed the war because his client opposed it.

Now, picture this: If there had been an American deployment from Turkey into the north of Iraq, the Americans would have kept moving toward the south while Turkish forces could have just walked in behind the Americans and parked themselves permanently in the autonomous Kurdish region.

Does that sound far-fetched? Read Sibel's words again. Sibel's words also tell me that the TBMM voted against a US deployment from Turkey and denied an American northern front not because it opposed the invasion or occupation or even the carving-up of Iraq, but the TBMM opposed an American deployment from Turkish soil because it was not going to be allowed to occupy South Kurdistan.

If Turkey had, in fact, ended up as occupiers of South Kurdistan, would it then consider Kerkuk to be a part of South Kurdistan? Would it then insist that Kerkuk be added to the Kurdish region?

Sibel also mentions that some of the individuals that the FBI knew to be spying for the Turks and the Israelis were working at the RAND Corporation, too. That brings up something else that was in the news recently:

“Under pressure from the military and nationalists, the government of Prime Minister Erdoğan might launch a large-scale, cross-border incursion into northern Iraq designed not only to weaken the PKK, the Kurdish insurgent group that has attacked Turkish forces, but also to hold and occupy KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) territory to put pressure on the KRG government to crack down on the PKK or to forestall a KRG annexation of Kirkuk.”

It may very well be that the occupation of South Kurdistan is still on the Turkish table but my money says that if such an invasion takes place, Turkey will insist upon the annexation of Kerkuk. After all, there are millions of brother Turkmen there to bring into Ağabey's ever-loving arms.

THE INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE

"The original targets were intelligence officers under diplomatic cover in the Turkish Embassy and the Israeli Embassy. It was those contacts that led to the American Turkish Council and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations and then to AIPAC fronting for the Israelis. It moved forward from there."
~ Sibel Edmonds.

The Phil Giraldi interview with Sibel Edmonds is online:

Sibel Edmonds has a story to tell. She went to work as a Turkish and Farsi translator for the FBI five days after 9/11. Part of her job was to translate and transcribe recordings of conversations between suspected Turkish intelligence agents and their American contacts. She was fired from the FBI in April 2002 after she raised concerns that one of the translators in her section was a member of a Turkish organization that was under investigation for bribing senior government officials and members of Congress, drug trafficking, illegal weapons sales, money laundering, and nuclear proliferation. She appealed her termination, but was more alarmed that no effort was being made to address the corruption that she had been monitoring.

A Department of Justice inspector general’s report called Edmonds’s allegations “credible,” “serious,” and “warrant[ing] a thorough and careful review by the FBI.” Ranking Senate Judiciary Committee members Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have backed her publicly. “60 Minutes” launched an investigation of her claims and found them believable. No one has ever disproved any of Edmonds’s revelations, which she says can be verified by FBI investigative files.

John Ashcroft’s Justice Department confirmed Edmonds’s veracity in a backhanded way by twice invoking the dubious State Secrets Privilege so she could not tell what she knows. The ACLU has called her “the most gagged person in the history of the United States of America.”

But on Aug. 8, she was finally able to testify under oath in a court case filed in Ohio and agreed to an interview with The American Conservative based on that testimony. What follows is her own account of what some consider the most incredible tale of corruption and influence peddling in recent times. As Sibel herself puts it, “If this were written up as a novel, no one would believe it.”

Read the entire interview at The American Conservative.

UPDATE: Sibel has a link to an interview with Philip Giraldi, who conducted the American Conservative interview, and Joe Lauria. This interview deals with the credibility question that certain factions have brought up with regard to Sibel's story. I don't have a problem with Sibel's credibility because I know how things work in Turkey and Sibel's story fits the pattern of behavior. In addition, Sibel's story has been out in the public realm for some time and those who have been named as evildoers by her in the past--like Dennis Hastert and Marc Grossman--have not brought any libel or other charges against her for the issues she's brought up. And the reason for that is that they don't dare.

NEWSFLASH: SIBEL'S STORY FEATURED IN AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE

Check your news stands and bookstores next week for this:




See Sibel's place for information about accessing the article online.

According to Brad Friedman at The Brad Blog, the interview will be some 4,000 words, which means it will be a good-sized interview for a magazine.

The print version will be out next week and there is supposed to be an online version available sometime after that. However, if you want to do your part to encourage the media to cover stories like Sibel's, then I'd advise you to purchase a print copy in order to "reward" the magazine for its work in presenting this story.

For those outside of the US, when an online link is available, I will provide it.

FOLLOWING THE BLOOD MONEY TRAIL

"And, yes, I refer to it as blood money because where I come from, when you take money to deny the killing of innocent women and children, that is blood money."
~ David Krikorian.

Luke Rosiak at The Sunlight Foundation has more information on the Turkish lobby in the US and it's relationship to US defense contractors. Rosiak focuses on someone who's been highlighted here at Rastî--Yalçın Ayaslı of Hittite Microwave:

Turkey’s efforts have now been augmented by a domestic effort launched by a Turkish-American entrepreneur. Yalcin Ayasli founded Hittite Microwave in 1985 as a one-man company with a grant from the U.S. Air Force, and built the electronics company into a firm worth $1.2 billion, with half of its products sold overseas, according to a company presentation. The company had $180 million in revenue in 2008, according to SEC filings.

Since 2004, Hittite Microwave has received roughly $30 million in contracts directly from the government—mostly to sponsor research and development—and has also done business with Lockheed Martin and other prime contractors, many of whom use Hittite electronics in their jets and other equipment, sold to both the U.S. military and Turkey.

In 2007, Ayasli transferred $30 million in stock to fund a new endeavor, the nonprofit Turkish Coalition of America. The organization is headquartered in a Washington suite that has also been listed as the address for the Turkish Coalition USA PAC, the lobbying firm of Lydia Borland (who has represented the Turkish government), and the law firm of Bruce Fein and Associates (Fein comprises half of the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund).

The family of Hittite founder Ayaslin contributed nearly half a million dollars to federal politics in 2007-2008, donating near the maximum amount to the House campaign committees for both parties, but largely neglecting the Senate.

Read the rest and make sure to check out the great mind map Rosiak created to illustrate the connections of this web. Toward the end of the piece, Rosiak highlights the role of major US corporations that have lobbied Congress for their own interests in Turkey.

David Krikorian was completely on target when he labeled lobby money as "blood money", with that blood first being Armenian and then being Kurdish, and that's something that Sibel Edmonds confirmed on the day of her deposition.

This time, there's no need for me to ask what Sibel would think because she's got her own opinion of Rosiak's piece up at her place, 123 Real Change.

For more on Ayaslı, Hittite Microwave, and Schmidt v. Krikorian, see these:

Turkish Espionage Operations Target Congress

Who Is Paying the Piper?

THE SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION ON SCHMIDT V. KRIKORIAN

"Chase after the truth like all hell and you'll free yourself, even though you never touch its coattails."
~ Clarence Darrow.

It looks like The Sunlight Foundation is taking an interest in the Schmidt v. Krikorian Ohio Elections Commission hearing. From The Sunlight Foundation:

Backed by lawyers from the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, filed a false claims complaint against David Krikorian, who ran against her in 2008 as an independent and garnered 18 percent of the vote. Schmidt’s complaint stems from campaign literature in which Krikorian claimed she “has taken $30,000 in blood money from Turkish sponsored political action committees to deny the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children by the Ottoman Turkish government during World War I.”

Though Jean Schmidt doesn’t sit on the subcommittee responsible for the Armenian Genocide legislation, it’s clear that she’s a favorite of the Turkish community. With $18,450 in contributions from three Turkish-focused PACs since 2007, the second-term House member has received far more than even influential senior members, and nearly twice as much as the second-highest recipient, Virginia Foxx, whose son-in-law is Turkish. A list of fundraisers compiled by the Turkish Coalition USA PAC shows that the group held several events for Schmidt, raising thousands more. And four individuals who gave to Turkish PACs also donated a combined $8,700 directly to Schmidt’s campaign.

At issue before the Ohio Board of Elections is whether Krikorian’s language holds up—whether it was accurate to describe three Turkey-focused political action committees as “Turkish sponsored.” The false claims complaint against Krikorian comes after the board censured Schmidt for a “reckless disregard for truth” in her own campaign literature.

I don't know whether this part is funny or sad:

Schmidt expressed little familiarity with the workings of her campaign as well as the complex ties between Turkish groups, including the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, whose lawyers, she says, are being paid in campaign funds. (The latest expense reports don’t reveal the amount.)

“What is the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund?” she is asked.

“It’s a U.S. organization that has a PAC,” she answers.

“The Legal Defense Fund does?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t. I don’t know. I don’t know what it is.”

Ignorance is a killer.

I think truth will reign supreme soon. Very soon. For those with eyes to read, let them read this very carefully.

WHO IS PAYING THE PIPER?

"People who contribute get the ear of the member and the ear of the staff. They have the access and access is it. Access is power. Access is clout. That's how this thing works."
~ Rep. Romano Mazzoli.

In mulling over the Schmidt v. Krikorian case, I'm drawn back to the activity of Hittite Microwave founder Yalçın Ayaslı and the Ayaslı in the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), which also funds the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF). The TALDF is the organization that has provided legal counsel to Jean Schmidt in the case.

Both the TCA and the TC-USA PAC were established in February 2007. Yalçın Ayaslı is not listed on the TCA website but is listed on the TCA's 2007 Form 990 as the director of the organization. The TCA holds 600,000 shares of Hittite Microwave, which accounts for the vast majority of its assets. Ayaslı must have been involved with the establishment of the TCA, which is a propaganda organ of the Turkish lobby, and the next question would be if he were involved with the establishment of the TC-USA PAC. The TC-USA PAC is not a 501(c)3 so it is not restricted according to IRS exemption requirements for 501(c)3 organizations, most specifically in this case, the political restrictions:

In addition, it [a 501(c)3 organiztion] may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

This allows for the TC-USA PAC to pursue its "immediate goal":

The immediate goal, however, is to raise money from the Turkish American community in order to make political contribubtions to the campaigns of Turkish Caucus members. TC-USA PAC, as of July, has contributed to some 25 congressional campaigns. “This is the first time that such endeavors are being made,” says McCurdy. Due to TC-USA PAC’s activities, Turkish Americans, who are regarded as a relatively new US immigrant group, have begun to make their presence felt in the political arena. As the 2008 election approaches, the role of this Turkish American political action committee becomes even more important.

Following the money, although Ayaslı and his family members gave more than $300,000 in campaign contributions in the 2006 campaign cycle and most of that was not given to local New Hampshire candidates. Moreover, $39,000 was given to the TC-USA PAC.

If we look at Yalçın Ayaslı's campaign contributions for the 2008 campaign cycle, we find something interesting.

Going down the list, Dan Burton (R-IN) received money from Ayaslı and, lo and behold, Burton is a member of the Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans. Sibel Edmonds testified that Burton was involved in ""[E]xtremely illegal activities against the United States citizens who were involved in [covert] operations that were ... against ... foreign government[s] and foreign entities against the United States' interests."

Jean Schmidt (R-OH) received money from Ayaslı, even though she doesn't remember the guy, and, what do you know?? She's a member of the Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans!

Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) received money from Ayaslı and, what a coincidence! He's a member of the Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans!

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) received money from Ayaslı and, imagine it! She's also a member of the Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans!

Do you see a pattern developing here? These people are not from Ayaslı's home state of New Hampshire and they're all members of the Caucus on US Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans. Remember what the "immediate goal" was? Remember, too, that there is no significant Turkish-American constituency in Jean Schmidt's Ohio congressional district. Instead of constituents contributing to a politician's campaign, you have some rich guy in New Hampshire with a political agenda favorable to a foreign power helping to pay the bills.

And he who pays the piper calls the tune.

UPDATE ON SCHMIDT V. KRIKORIAN

"Corruption in the US government is something that no one wants to talk about, particularly if powerful foreign interests are involved."
~ Philip Giraldi.

I need to post an update of events that have happened this past week in the Schmidt v. Krikorian election case in Ohio. For some backgrounder on the case, check the Rastî post from 9 August as well as a post-deposition interview. Links to the full deposition video can be found here.

The Brad Blog has some follow-up news, including the fact that Bruce Fein, attorney for the Turkish lobby through the TCA-funded Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF), was deposed by Mark Geragos. As The Brad Blog points out, during Sibel Edmonds' deposition on 8 August, Fein didn't believe he'd be deposed for the Schmidt v. Krikorian case "'because this case has nothing to do' with the organizations he's associated with." Furthermore, The Brad Blog says:

Krikorian tells us he believes Fein is the "archtect of the entire Turkish Lobby's defense in the U.S. ... The guy who travels the country attacking anybody he can attack vis a vis the Armenian Genocide. ... We will now be able to take his testimony, which is highly unusual given that he is the opposing counsel in the case."

The Brad Blog also carries an excerpt of Jean Schmidt's deposition, in which she admits she doesn't know a damned thing about what happened in 1915, except to admit, after being prodded numerous times, that some people died. However, as was mentioned in the deposition, Schmidt wrote an editorial for Today's Zaman in which she says: "What happened in 1915 must never be forgotten. To quote the great poet Maya Angelou, 'History cannot be unlived, despite its wrenching pain, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.'"

Okay, if nothing happened in 1915 except that "People got killed on both sides. How many people? I don't know," then why should anyone have to worry about history being faced with courage so that it "need not be lived again"? People get killed every day, but it's nice to know Jean Schmidt has so much concern for "people [who] got killed on both sides. Will this great congressional humanitarian bother herself about these killings? Or these? Or maybe these killings?

Schmidt's excuse just doesn't wash with me. Everyone knows the events of 1915 were more than just people getting killed "on both sides" and anyone who says differently is a liar.

But Schmidt is not only willfully ignorant of the events of 1915. In addition, she claims ignorance as to why she received more Turkish lobby contributions during her 2008 campaign than any other member of Congress. I find that very difficult to believe, given that she participated in the ATAA's annual convention in 2008 or that, immediately after the convention ended, she commemorated Atatürk on the floor of the Congress. Then there was her participation in the Turkish Coalition of America's (TCA) first Congressional trip to Turkey, during which Schmidt dutifully made obeisance at Anıtkabır. Schmidt also claimed that she knew nothing about the Ayasli family, which donated lots of money to her campaign, even though they're not her constituents. And, as I've mentioned before, Yalçın Ayaslı owns the TCA and is listed as the TCA's director on the TCA's own filed IRS Form 990. Didn't Schmidt bother to find out who was footing the bill for her trip to Turkey?

It seems to me that anyone so completely ignorant of Turkey's history as Jean Schmidt would have to have been coached on what to say to commemorate Atatürk or place a wreath at Anıtkabır. It seems to me she's also been coached on what to say regarding people she knows or doesn't know.

If you would like a short cheat-sheet of Sibel's deposition, you might want to check The Brad Blog post on those congressmen mentioned in the deposition. There's also a post about the Schmidt v. Krikorian hearing that began on Thursday and ran over time, so that it will have to continue on 1 October. If that's the case, be prepared to see Sibel Edmonds testify at the hearing.

TURKISH ESPIONAGE OPERATIONS IN THE US: THE DEPOSITION

"There is no place where espionage is not possible."
~ Sun Tzu.

The video of Sibel Edmonds' deposition has been released and can be viewed here. The entire deposition is broken down into a series of five videos of about 10 minutes each.

A transcript of the deposition is available here in .pdf.

There's some information on the Krikorian-Schmidt case from a local Ohio newspaper, which is carrying links to the video and transcript, as well as an explanation of Sibel's role in the deposition:

In preparation for the Sept. 3 hearing, Krikorian's lawyer requested a subpoena for well known whistleblower and former interpreter for the FBI, Sibel Edmonds. The OEC declined to enforce the subpoena, however Edmonds agreed to speak to Krikorian and Schmidt's lawyers on a voluntary basis.

The video deposition was brought forward by Krikorian's counsel to provide background on the alleged involvement of the Turkish government in Congressional affairs through blackmail, bribery, and campaign contributions filtered through various organizations. Edmonds also describes Turkish infiltration of the Pentagon and Air Force.

Edmonds' deposition is significant because she has twice been "gagged" by a State Secrets exemption from testifying for a 9/11 investigation and a Congressional hearing.

By various Internet bloggers she has been called the most gagged woman in the U.S.

[ . . . ]

Edmonds (who is Turkish-American) called as a witness for Krikorian (who is Armenian-American) testified to infiltration, bribery, corruption, and blackmail within the U.S. Government, by current and former members of the U.S. House and other high ranking officials, on behalf of Turkish interests.

Take a look at the Ohio paper link and note the comments. There you'll see one by the ATAA's president-elect, Ergün Kirlikovalı, whose racism was mentioned previously on Rastî.

For more on the deposition, see the links at "Turkish Espionage Operations Target Congress".

SOUR GRAPES FOR THE TURKISH LOBBY

"I am sure the grapes are sour."
~ Aesop.

There's an update on the Krikorian-Schmidt case, for which Sibel Edmonds was deposed last weekend, at The Bradblog. First of all, a number of charges against David Krikorian have been dropped by Jean Schmidt (OH-R) and her legal counsel, the Turkish American Defense Legal Fund (TALDF) in the wake of Sibel's deposition.

Secondly, the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) issued a rant against Sibel Edmonds. Brad Friedman of The Bradblog, has all the news on that and does a fine job of rebutting TCA hysterics. As a result, I don't have anything to add, except to note something with which Kurds are well acquainted and that is that the moment the Turks begin to shriek any form of the word "DESPERATE", it means that they've stepped on their own weinies big time and are, themselves, "DESPERATE".

Enough said.

INTERVIEW WITH MURAT KARAYILAN

"An approach like 'I will not recognize your will, I will solve it my way, I will even talk to some sections of the society but I will not speak to you' will not bring complete solution. Kurdish question and the PKK problem are like nail and tissue, bound together. Separating them will not develop a solution."
~ Murat Karayılan.

Zerkesorg has just finished posting a three-part interview with the leader of the KCK Executive Council, Murat Karayılan. It's fitting that this interview comes now, just a few days before the twenty-fifth anniversary of PKK's first armed attacks against the Ankara regime, and right before we are due to hear from Öcalan.

You can find the interview here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Let's do a little comparison and contrast between Murat Karayılan and the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, İlker Başbuğ.

From Part 1 of the interview, compare:

Stopping the operations is at the top of requests made by various factions. In fact, stopping the operations [against the PKK] is seen as the first and important condition toward solution [to the Kurdish Question]. We ask about operations and he [Murat Karayilan] says 'there are still operations conducted but not as much as before'. He adds, "which means the state can stop the operations completely and turn the no-attack [from the PKK] period into no-conflict phase. Together we can develop a phase for complete cease fire where everyone stays put at their locations. We demonstrate, with all our might, our will for developing this phase". Then he says environment for dialogue can be created.

Contrast:

The Turkish Army is determined to wipe out the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the military’s Chief of General Staff, Ilker Basbug, said on Monday.

“This problem can only be solved with the collective efforts of all nations and in particular allied nations,” said Basbug at the start of the two-day Silk Road 2009 General/Admiral seminar. “We believe that countries need to merge their positions and politics and adopt a common stance,”

“Our aim while fighting terrorism is to end all hopes of the terrorists and their supporters. We believe that alongside the fight against terrorism, state actions in the economic, socio-cultural, security, propaganda and international relations fields form a whole and complement each other,” said Basbug.

From Part 2 of the interview with Murat Karayılan, compare:

He reminds us the decision to pull outside Turkey in 1999. He himself announced to the PKK forces the decision to mocve them outside the borders of Turkey. He spoke to the forces for one hour. We ask him about his emotions during that talk. "If I put it honestly, I wasn't very hopeful. But our leader had asked. I was seeing it as a risky move but I was thinking it needed to be done. I remember it as a sad speech."

He tells about over 300 guerrillas were ambushed and killed while retreating to outside Turkey's borders. He talks about the traps, mass executions and massacres on the road [committed by the Turkish forces]. "But we still didn't change our mind and stood by our decision" he says.

He he asks a question and answers himself: "We didn't move for five years. Was any step taken? No! Was this period utilized? No! Now a lot people say that period was not utilized properly. We acted responsibly but the [Turkish] authorities of the time didn't act responsibly. The importance of our decision to retreat to outside Turkey's borders is being understood better today."

Contrast:

Gen. İlker Başbuğ said in Washington that Turkey's fight against the PKK will continue until the terrorist group is eliminated.

Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ vowed on Monday to continue the ongoing fight against terrorist attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) until the organization is completely eliminated, while also underlining the need for “winning hearts and minds,” along with the fight against the terrorist organization.

From Part 3, compare:

[Karayılan] stresses that they [the PKK] have been acting extremely responsibly and they would try their best to open the doors for any positive development. He wants to make sure what he says is not misunderstood: "Why am I saying these? We have to be realistic. If we are really going to discuss the solution, we have to consider these facts."

He says that wrong information is being distributed about their situation. Their persistence on solution [to Kurdish question] is being interpreted differently and that it's not realistic to interpret their persistence as they are losing strength. "We are not desperate. But we are saying now that let's stop the violence. This is a societal problem and it can be solved with dialogue, with modern methods. The role of violence in solving societal problems is over now. Now the problem is in a form that can be solved through dialogue and democratic means. This is our strategy."

Contrast:

Basbug said: "We would say that in 2009 we are having a chance with which we could achieve more concrete results in the fight against the terror organisation. What is this chance? You may call it the elimination of the terrorist organisation... or destruction... or weakening... we have now a chance. And we say, let's use this chance..We have seized the opportunity. The terror organisation is in a very difficult situation. We must profit from this opportunity." Basbug gave the following answer concerning the search for a dialogue: "The state won't establish a relation with a terror organisation, it won't have any discussions and there will be no dialogue. Sometimes it is being misunderstood, as if the state will have a meeting with the terror organisation, this is not true. This would be the biggest mistake in the struggle against the terror. The state does neither respect the terror organisation nor have any relation to it."

Thus it remains crystal clear where the violence is coming from. As Karayılan remarked in Part 1, "[The] Kurdish question is not a problem that formed yesterday. It's not a problem created by the birth of the PKK either. [The] Existence of this problem has given birth to the PKK." Additionally, PKK is not a separate issue from that of the Kurdish question.

A few other of Karayılan's points should be noted: First, Karayılan recalls the massacres of guerrillas by TSK when PKK moved outside of Turkey's borders in 1999. That's some history to learn, if you don't know it.

Secondly, there is no trust of the state on the part of PKK, so there need to be concrete steps taken toward a peaceful solution and no one should insist on immediate disarmament or movement of PKK outside of the region it inhabits now. Either insistence would be seen by the PKK as a first step toward Başbuğ's much recently touted annihilation.

Thirdly, everyone should remember that after the retreat from the borders in 1999, the KDP, PUK, and "international forces" worked as the proxies of the Ankara regime and also attempted the annihilation of the PKK. This point reinforces my belief that neither the US nor the KRG need to have any part in "solving" the Kurdish situation in Turkey. As Karayılan notes in Part 3, Kurds in Turkey have elected representatives so there's no need for two-timing outside meddlers.

Fourthly, for all the retards who still don't get it on the phony "separatism" charge, Karayılan says that even if independence were offered, PKK would not want it and he explains why.

I highly recommend a read of all three parts of the interview in preparation for Öcalan's Road Map.

On another subject, please check out the new podcast at Sibel Edmonds' place. This one features the CIA's former chief of base in Istanbul, Philip Giraldi. There's a lot of interesting stuff there about Turkish spies, Israeli spies, espionage tactics, the police state, and much more.

VIDEO TAKEN AT SIBEL EDMONDS' DEPOSITION

"From my opinion, if I'm some of the current members of Congress, I'd be very very worried about the information that's going to come out of this."
~ David Krikorian.

Here's a short video taken at Sibel Edmonds' deposition on Saturday, 8 August, 2009, at the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition offices:

See yesterday's post for more on Saturday's struggle between the Turkish lobby and those devoted to truth and justice.

TURKISH ESPIONAGE OPERATIONS TARGET CONGRESS

"Sex and espionage certainly go together - that's an old tradition."
~ Markus Wolf.

Yesterday's deposition of Sibel Edmonds in the Schmidt-Krikorian legal battle seems to have gone off without a hitch. The day was live-blogged by Brad Friedman and you can read all about it at The Bradblog. Luke Ryland also has numerous posts at his place.

Here's some backgrounder on the legal battle between Schmidt and Krikorian:

Nationally renowned lawyer Mark Geragos will lead a legal team of attorneys from across the nation to represent Democratic Congressional Candidate David Krikorian in connection with a complaint initiated by Ohio Representative Jean Schmidt before the Ohio Elections Commission.

[ . . . ]

Schmidt has brought charges against her likely Democratic opponent in the 2010 election for what she claims are false statements made by Krikorian in connection with her vocal opposition to Congressional measures to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

During the last election cycle, Schmidt received more than $30,000 in contributions from individuals and political action committees advancing the Turkish government’s position to deny the fact of the Armenian Genocide and oppose Congressional measures to commemorate what is widely acknowledged as the first genocide of the 20th century. The trial on Schmidt’s charges is scheduled for Aug. 13 before the Ohio Elections Commission.

Since her election to Congress, Jean Schmidt has become an active and vocal apologist for the Turkish government’s position on the Armenian Genocide, and has solicited and received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Turkish Americans and affiliated political action committees. David Krikorian has been working to expose the connection between Schmidt’s actions as a Member of Congress and her political contributions.

It would appear to be the same old story: Turkish lobby goes over the top to cultivate assets that will stymie any Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress. But there is something much darker going on here. Check out these bombshells that David Krikorian dropped yesterday at the deposition, via The Bradblog:

[Dan] Burton (R-IN), described as basically accepting bribes and involved in espionage for the Turkish government...she could not discuss the extremely illegal activities that Mr. Burton committed against U.S. interests, as she put it.

Also, a current female Democratic [ed note: I misheard, he later said he didn't know if she was Dem or Rep] member of Congress who has been blackmailed by the Turkish Government...called a 'hooking exercise'...she's apparently bi-sexual and they bugged her apartment, she's married with children, and they set up a relationship with another female who went in and had sexual relationships with her. And they had all the episodes bugged within this current Representative's home and they blackmailed her. ... She wouldn't give her name, but her photograph [is the one with the question mark on it in the "Sibel Edmonds Rogue Gallery." ]

Later, Friedman asked Sibel for a clarification on the congresswoman mentioned by Krikorian:

First, I asked if she specified whether the sitting bi-sexual, married Congresswoman who had been taped sleeping with a woman, without knowing, and then bribed by Turkish interests with the tape, to vote against the Armenian Genocide resolution had been a Democrat or a Republican. She said she is a Democrat, and that she testified to that during her deposition.

Friedman characterizes the blackmail tactic used against the bi-sexual Democratic congresswoman as a "hooking exercise"; however, there is a more widely known term for this tactic in espionage circles. It's called a "honeytrap" or "honeypot" operation:

In espionage, a honeypot or honeytrap is a trap set to capture, kill or compromise an enemy agent using sex as the lure.

[ . . . ]

The most common employment of this technique is by women, either female intelligence agents or (if the purpose is simply to obtain material for blackmail) prostitutes. Some intelligence agencies, particularly in the Soviet bloc, are alleged to have specially cultivated agents for this purpose. Not all traps are carried out by women, however — sometimes, women are ensnared by male agents, and sometimes, same-sex traps are used. (The latter were particularly effective eras or countries where homosexuality was frowned on, and the very fact that an agent was homosexual was material suitable for blackmail). . .

Obviously, a honeypot was set up for the congresswoman, according to the description by Krikorian:

. . . [S]he's apparently bi-sexual and they bugged her apartment, she's married with children, and they set up a relationship with another female who went in and had sexual relationships with her.

"[T]hey set up a relationship . . . " Who is "they"? The Turkish lobby. But this is an espionage operation, which leads me to believe that those old Cold Warriors of the MİT were the ones who really set out this honeypot. Isn't this the very reason why USAF officer Douglas Dickerson and his wife, Melek Can, tried to recruit Sibel, so that she could help them shield Turkish espionage activities in the US?

According to The Bradblog, a reporter for Horizon Armenian TV, Elizabeth Chouldjian, freelanced the deposition and managed to question Jean Schmidt's lawyer, Bruce Fein:

The reporter, Elizabeth Chouldjian, freelancing coverage today for Armenian Horizons TV, is also with Armenian National Committee of America, and she continue to press her points, and asked Fein if he didn't have a conflict of interest in this case. She had earlier told me that Fein was a Board member of the Turkish Coalition of America, Turkish American Legal Defense Fund and legal counsel for Assembly of Turkish American Associations. She wondered if it was appropriate for Fein to represent Schmidt, since he himself could be called to testify, as a witness on behalf of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations.

Chouldjian had told me that he's been flying around the country, essentially trying to deny that the genocide ever occurred, has sued the state of Massachusetts to put Armenian genocide "denialist" material in text books, is suing the Southern Poverty Law Center for putting out an article last year called "State of Denial" which, she says, focused on Turkish interests trying to block Armenian Genocide resolution from being passed.

Conveniently for Schmidt, Bruce Fein is one of two attorneys listed on the contact page for the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF).

[Note: The other attorney listed at TALDF is David Saltzman, who has a law partnership with Günay Övünç, who happens to be the current president of the ATAA and would-be mercenary-advisor for Blackhawk Security, Inc. A "consultant" for Blackhawk is Şenkal Atasagun, a former MİT undersecretary. Interestingly enough, the domain name for the Saltzman-Övünç partnership is turklaw.net.]


According to a press release by the TALDF that features an interview with TALDF attorney David Saltzman, and posted by the ATAA's racist president-elect, Ergun Kirlikovalı, we learn that it's common knowledge that the TALDF's Bruce Fein is representing Jean Schmidt:

Recently, the TALDF has been retained to represent Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH) in her case before the Ohio Elections Commission in which she alleges that one of her opponents in her last re-election, David Krikorian, violated Ohio election law by lying about her campaign funding (that it was derived from the Turkish government) and that she has in effect been bribed to not favor Congressional resolutions on the Armenian allegation of genocide. This case will go to trial before the end of the summer. This is a particularly important case because the TALDF feels strongly that Members of Congress should not have to yield to intimidation by Armenian activists who claim, without foundation, that the Turkish government is behind any Member's studied decision that the Armenian case constitutes a genuine historical controversy, one which is best studied by historians and not opined upon by Congress.

But the question is, Mr. Saltzman, should members of Congress be the targets of honeypot operations by the Ankara regime?

Saltzman goes on to explain TALDF's funding:

The TALDF is supported by the Turkish Coalition of America, a 505(c)(3) public charitable organization. Donations to the TCA that will benefit the work of the TALDF can be made by check and are tax-deductible. Please see the TCA website for contact information.

The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) is actually a 501(c)(3) and, as such, is required to make its tax returns public. TCA's 2007 filing can be viewed here [Many thanks to the friend who passed this along].

On page 1 of the return, one can see that the total revenue, including assets, of the TCA is some $30 million. On page 4, one can see that the TCA has $29,706,000 in investments. Page 18 explains where the investments lie: in 600,000 shares of Hittite [Microwave] stock. Furthermore, on page 5 of the return, one can see that Yalçın Ayaslı is listed as the director of the TCA. Coincidentally, Yalçın Ayaslı is the founder of Hittite Microwave and, in 2008, his family donated more than $300,000 to political candidates of both parties, "and particularly to candidates supporting Turkey." And there's more:

Yalcin Ayasli, whose family hails from Turkey and now lives in Nashua, founded Hittite Microwave, a manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits for communications systems, in 1985. He built it into a company that reported $45.5 million in revenue, with a profit of $13.7 million, in the last quarter.

In 2007, about half of its revenue came from government contracts, primarily the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force and NASA.

Although Ayasli resigned as chief executive in 2004 and as board chairman in 2005, his family still controls about a third of the company's stock according to latest filings with the SEC.

Ayasli and other family members gave more than $330,000 during the last election cycle, and for the most part did not give locally. The two top recipients were the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($74,000) and the National Republic Congressional Committee ($72,000).

Nearly $39,000 went to the Turkish Coalition PAC, which at one point gave Hittite's address as its own, along with that of the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

The groups support Turkey in its various disputes, including the conflict in Iraq, supporting occasional Turkish military operations against Kurdish groups that cross back and forth over the Iraqi border. The groups also disputed the Armenian claim--and a U.S. congressional resolution--that the Turks engaged in genocide against the Armenians in 1915.

The Ayaslis spent nearly $14,000 to back Katrina Swett's aborted attempt to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in New Hampshire. Swett is the daughter of the late Congressman Tom Lantos, who condemned Kurdish attacks in Turkey, though he also supported the congressional resolution against the Armenian genocide. Swett bowed out of the race after Shaheen declared her candidacy.

Nearly $11,000 of the Ayaslis' money went to Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who sponsored a resolution congratulating Turkey for celebrating Republic Day. Foxx's son-in-law is a Turkish businessman and Foxx herself is a member of the congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish Relations. She has been a leader against the Armenian genocide resolution.

In his spare time, Yalçın Ayaslı also enjoys escorting congressional staffers around Turkey on the American Turkish Council's (ATC) annual trips.

Members of the Ayaslı family have donated to Jean Schmidt. In the 2008 cycle, the Ayaslı's donated $2300 to Schmidt and $2300 to Dan Burton, accoding to OpenSecrets. They're still working on the 2010 cycle. The Ayaslı family seems to continually funnel the money into the TCA, an organization which, for all intents and purposes, the Ayaslı's own.

Strangely enough, Yalçın Ayaslı is not mentioned as the director of the Turkish Coalition of America's website, although both Bruce Fein and David Saltzman, also of the TALDF, are listed.

At yesterday's deposition, when reporter Elizabeth Chouldjian questioned Bruce Fein about having a conflict of interest with regard to the Schmidt-Krikorian legal battle, she was absolutely on target. No wonder Fein "became very defensive". The question that needs to be asked next is whether or not the TALDF is working pro bono for Schmidt? If so, that means that the TCA is funding Schmidt's side of the legal battle. Isn't that also a conflict of interest for Schmidt, given that she's been accused of taking Turkish "blood money" and using her congressional seat for the interests of the Ankara regime?

And why is it that the worthless American media is not reporting on the very obvious Turkish espionage operations that are targeting members of the US Congress? Or why isn't the worthless American media doing some deep digging to trace the financing of the multi-headed Hydra known as the Turkish lobby?

Why is the worthless American media helping to hide this information?




UPDATE: I just came across a blog that refers to a Wayne Madsen Report that has named the bi-sexual Democratic congresswoman mentioned above. I don't know if this information is correct and I don't know where the WMR got the name, but I know it wasn't from Sibel Edmonds. However, it comes as no surprise to me to learn that congresswoman named is from Illinois. Once again, here's what Sibel had to say about Chicago, from the Vanity Fair article:

. . . in December 2001, Joel Robertz, an F.B.I. special agent in Chicago, contacted Sibel and asked her to review some wiretaps. Some were several years old, others more recent; all had been generated by a counter-intelligence that had its start in 1997. “It began in D.C.,” says an F.B.I. counter-intelligence official who is familiar with the case file. “It became apparent that Chicago was actually the center of what was going on.”

Mehmet Çelebi was based in Chicago and helped fundraise for Rahm Emanuel back in 2002. The ATAA's president, Günay Övünç (mentioned above) is also from Chicago. Susurluk's Abdullah Çatlı spent ten years in Chicago, from the mid-1980s until right before the Susurluk scandal in 1996, as I mentioned recently in a post on Sibel Edmonds' blog last week. While he was living in Chicago--with a US green card--Çatlı went by the name Mehmet Özbay (later Özbey). Oh, yeah, Çatlı was also wanted by Interpol at the time.

The Seminal, which is carrying the WMR information, has more about the honeypot operation:

Perhaps the most explosive part of the deposition involved the Turkish government being engaged in a sexual blackmail operation against a sitting member of the House of Representative [sic]. In what the FBI termed a "hooking process," an ATC female operative enticed a female member of the House into a lesbian sexual encounter at a Washington, DC townhouse. A Turkish intelligence surveillance team had placed surveillance bugs throughout the townhouse, including the bedroom and captured the lesbian tryst on tape, according to Edmonds's testimony. To ensure the surveillance team successfully completed its technical surveillance operation, another Turkish operational team was present outside the townhouse to make sure the surveillance team carried out its task.

After the surveillance recordings were made known to the House member, she changed her support for the Armenian genocide resolution and announced her opposition to it.

[ . . . ]

The first sexual encounter between [the congresswoman] and the Turkish lesbian prostitute reportedly occurred at a vulnerable time for [the congresswoman], just after her mother's death. The first sexual encounter was followed by numerous others, according to U.S. law enforcement sources.

Let me translate for you: "Turkish intelligence surveillance team" and "another Turkish operational team" both mean "MİT".

Then what do we make of the "ATC female operative" and the "Turkish lesbian prostitute"? Does this mean the ATC is engaged in human-trafficking operations in the US? Or is this something the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is running through it's embassies and consulates, kind of a side industry to go along with Turkish embassy heroin trafficking?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Stay tuned.