MORE ON THE DEEP STATE

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
~ George Orwell.

There are a few things I'd like to point out today.

The first is Hevallo's new blog. It looks excellent. Already there are posts on Ken Silverstein's Harper's article, questioning the conflict of interest around Joseph Ralston's appointment as "PKK coordinator"; a link to Sibel Edmonds' recent article; a commentary on the recent decision by a federal judge in Los Angeles to put the brakes on "blacklisting" through The List; a post honoring PKK şehîds; Ehmede Xani's take on the Kurdish situation in 1692 (the more things change, the more they remain the same); and a little something about the Şêx Seîd rebellion. There are lots of pictures, too.

Hevallo has been in the battle for a long time, so I suggest that his blog be bookmarked and visited regularly. Who knows? If you're not careful you might learn something.

Kurdish youth from the US are in the news, in the James Madison University newspaper. The article features one of the young activist Kurds in the American community, Sheinei Saleem. Goran Sadjadi and Ara Alan are two other young Kurdish activists interviewed for the article, and all are involved with the Kurdish American Youth Organization (KAYO). Take a look at that article to get an idea of their goals.

Moving on to some heavier stuff . . . There's another article out about Turkish heroin-trafficking, which Lukery is carrying at Wot Is It Good 4. This is more fallout from the recent Sibel Edmonds' articles and not only talks about the Turkish state's heroin business, but also gets into Huseyin Baybasin, Rep. Dennis Hastert, the ATC, Susurluk . . . you know, the stuff we've known about for a long time but no one paid attention to because this kind of thing used to come down heavily only on Kurds.

Lukery includes the full article by Adrian Gatton for Druglink Magazine. It's aptly titled, "The Susurluk Legacy" and gives a quick background of the Susurluk scandal, while focusing on the narcotics side of things. While the article focuses on the heroin traffic in Britain, it's possible to discern the usual pattern of behavior by the governments involved, as Lukery states:

One similarity is the use of the Turkish Consulate.

[ . . . ]

Another obvious parallel with the UK situation is the high level protection conferred upon the perpetrators . . .

I find it difficult to believe in the TC's "efforts to clean-up" its narcotics and money-laundering businesses. I think Gatton must find it difficult to believe, too, because he goes on to point out how Turkish drug traffickers busted in the UK are replaced immediately by others, as it there were an endless supply of these traffickers. Obviously, there has been no "clean-up" on the part of the Turkish state.

Hugh Pope, an author of a couple of books on Turkey, is quoted as saying that Susurluk caused the barbarians who run the TC into "a 'virtuous cycle' of reform and soul-searching."

Bullshit. Hugh Pope is either a dupe or a liar.

Then there's a quote by Mehmet Eymur, former head of the MIT (Milli Ishtibarat Teskilati--Turkish National Intelligence) "anti-terror" department, who supposedly has been "dish[ing] the dirt" on all the Susurluk rats. Unfortunately, Eymur himself is one of the biggest Susurluk rats who is now backing another of the Susurluk rats, Mehmet Agar, in his DYP campaign for the 2007 Turkish elections. Maybe Eymur and Agar will manage to create a sincere, heartfelt, and genuine change in Turkey if they get into office? Don't hold your breath on that.

As Lukery points out:

Many of the key players in Susurluk are all still key players in Turkey today--with one of them, Mehmet Agar, a favourite to become Prime Minister next year. The sole survivor of the 1996 Susurluk car crash [Note: Sedat Bucak] was found guilty, last month, and given a 1-year sentence, suspended. It's outrageous.

Not only is it outrageous, it's normal. It's business as usual. Remember Semdinli? The intended victim of the Semdinli state bombing, Seferi Yilmaz, has been arrested and is still held in detention in connection with that bombing and with alleged claims of membership in PKK from a so-called former PKK "confessor." The punishment of the victim by the state is also outrageous and normal in Turkey.

As quoted by Adrian Gatton:

Edmonds has testified in secret, to how she discussed hearing Turkish consular officials in the USA apparently discussing drug deals. She told Druglink: "In Turkey everything is run by the military. These activities cannot take place without the permission of the military and the permission of Turkish intelligence."

Indeed. Welcome to our world.