Editor Of AKP Mouthpiece To Turkish Opposition: 'Even Biden Cannot Save You... You Would Call The American Army To Istanbul's Streets'

In his November 10, 2020 column, titled "Are You Going To Request A Colonial Governor From The U.S.? Will You Call U.S. Troops To Istanbul's Streets?" in Turkey's Yeni Şafak daily, which is a mouthpiece for the ruling AKP, the paper's editor-in-chief İbrahim Karagül accuses the opposition in Turkey of treason for, among other things, its celebration of the victory of Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election.[1]

Karagül, right, on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's plane.

Karagül's column addresses mainly Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the country's leading opposition party, the CHP. Indeed, Kılıçdaroğlu was criticized recently for allegedly seeking assistance from U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden.[2] However, Karagül's column also addresses an imaginary united opposition including the opposition parties CHP, İYİ Parti, HDP, and the Saadet Parti, the PKK, which is a terrorist organization, and former AKP politicians former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan and former prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who left the AKP to form their own parties. The fear of such a political formation seems to have motivated Karagül to write this column.

Referring to a December 2019 interview in which Biden said of Turkey: "We should be... making it clear that we support opposition leadership," and embolden them "to be able to take on and defeat Erdogan,"[3] Karagül writes: "Who does Biden think he's going to oust. Let's see him try!" To his addressee, he writes: "You grew excited, filled with hope, and rubbed your hands together in anticipation. When Biden was elected, you were the first to congratulate him, even before his presidency was made official." Kılıçdaroğlu was reportedly the first leader from Turkey to congratulate Biden on the outcome of the election.[4]

The English text reads: "Biden cannot help you; you will be burdened as the traitors you are." The Turkish might be more directly translated as: "Biden cannot help you; you will be caught in the middle with your treason."[5]

He accuses his addressee: "You would call the American army to Istanbul's streets" and, marking President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP government as the exclusive heir to the heritage of past and present Turkish states, writes: "You would have the Seljuks, the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey, the continuity of all these states, this nation's political legacy, history-making and geography-building power forgotten." He accused his addressee of planning to shape Turkey "with new Sevres[6] maps open for discussion, with formulas to shrink Anatolia being promoted like a 'national issue.'"

Boasting of Turkey's military strength, he writes: "Now our fleets are everywhere in the Mediterranean. They are in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf. They will soon be in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic."

Following is the text of the column, as translated by Yeni Şafak.

"You Would Call The American Army To Istanbul's Streets"

"If you could, you would fetter Turkey to the U.S. You offer it up as hostage to the U.S. You would request U.S. colony governors for Anatolian territory. You would call the American army to Istanbul's streets. You would want U.S. aircraft to hover in Turkish skies.

"If you could, you would have the U.S. assign its new President Joe Biden from Washington to Ankara. You would turn the country into a 'front,' a 'bridge,' a 'garrison' once again. You would re-establish tutelage, and demand a mandate government all over again.

"If you could, you would have the Seljuks, the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey, the continuity of all these states, this nation's political legacy, history-making and geography-building power forgotten; you would destroy this people's memory, wear out their identities, and enslave them.

"You want terror to hit our cities... You want a terror corridor, a siege map!

"If you could, you would drive this nation through economic difficulties, poverty, terrorism, primitivity, so it would lose its self-esteem again and beg for a million dollars to pay salaries."

"You Would Shape A Turkey... With New Sevres Maps Open For Discussion, With Formulas To Shrink Anatolia Being Promoted Like A 'National Issue'"

"If you could, you would shape a Turkey whose cities are struck by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose borders are attacked, with new Sevres maps open for discussion, with formulas to shrink Anatolia being promoted like a 'national issue,' and with the plan to downsize Turkey being presented as a national cause and as a road map for terrorist states under the name of 'internal peace.'

"Terror used to come from Iraq and thwarted. Attacks were launched from Syria and they were stopped. Our cities were stained in blood and it was stopped. A terror corridor, a siege map spanning the Iranian border and the Mediterranean was being designed and it was destroyed.

"We will cross the Mediterranean. We will be present in the Indian Ocean, in the Atlantic...

"They tried to drown Turkey in the East Mediterranean but it blew up in their faces. All their plans in the Aegean blew up in their faces. Now we are receiving good news of oil and natural gas from the East Mediterranean and the Black Sea."

Turkish Fleets "Will Soon Be In The Indian Ocean And The Atlantic"

"Now our fleets are everywhere in the Mediterranean. They are in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf. They will soon be in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.

"If you could, you would stop all this. You would render Turkey a pitiful country afraid of its own shadow once again; a country that is controlled from Brussels, London, Berlin, and Washington.

"The U.S., Europe, and Israel are behind terrorism, internal conflict plans, operations to isolate Turkey in the region, and siege attempts. Yet, you see Turkey as the enemy and them as allies. You tried to stop Turkey and exalt them.

"Who does Biden think he's going to oust. Let's see him try!

"You had no shame. You never felt disgrace or dishonor. You praised the U.S. and Europe, and backed the coup plotters of the Middle East. You even cooperated with terrorist organizations. You were perturbed by this country's national identity, sentiments, and rise.

"New U.S. President Biden said, 'We are going to support the opposition and remove Erdoğan.' You grew excited, filled with hope, and rubbed your hands together in anticipation. When Biden was elected, you were the first to congratulate him, even before his presidency was made official. You competed to 'receive orders.' You disgracefully pleaded 'to be seen, to be supported and brought to power.'

"They attempted to assassinate Erdoğan, and you even supported this!

"You pinned your hopes on a U.S. president who is trying to topple your country's president. You could not say, 'What is it to you, why does it concern you, who do you think you are.' You could not say, 'This is Turkey, it decides its own future.'"

"Biden Cannot Help You; You Will Be Burdened As The Traitors You Are"

"They broke out the Gezi Park uprising, and you supported them. They were the ones who perpetrated the Dec. 17-25 intervention, and you supported them. They openly attacked Turkey on July 15, 2016; they attempted to invade the country, bombed this country's Parliament, attempted an assassination on the country's president in Marmaris, and you supported them.

"Biden cannot help you; you will be burdened as the traitors you are...

"What are you going to do now? What sort of coup are you going to attempt in collaboration with the U.S., Israel, and Europe? You are going to work with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), and the PKK. But who else are you going to call as partners?

"Are you aware that you are fighting against Turkey, that you built partnerships with Turkey's enemies? What you are seeking and pursuing is not an election, not a democracy but a form of invasion. Do you not understand?

"Biden cannot help you. The U.S. cannot help you. Even if it could, it would fail. Your plans to beat Turkey with the U.S. stick would go down the drain. You will be burdened with your treachery. You will be lost among the wrong pages of history. And you deserve it; you will be remembered by the detriment you caused Turkey.

"Those who lean on the US will lose. A new world order established.

"The U.S. was not even able to reveal election results for days. It no longer has the power to change regimes, assign power, and design internal policies. It is striving to keep its own system standing; it is struggling within. It will have no benefit to you.

"A new world order has been established, new powers have emerged, the world's order has changed, the power map has changed, a map of rising and collapsing countries has developed, and you cannot interpret even this.

"Those who lean on the U.S. will lose. Those who lean on Israel, Europe, and Arab regimes will lose. Those who lean on Turkey, on this country, this nation, its rich history, its political legacy will win; they are the ones soaring.

"July 15 masterminds established a new internal front. But the world is discussing the 'Turkey orbit.'

"Today, Shusha's liberation, Azerbaijan and Turkey's victories in the Caucasus are being discussed. Turkey's regional rise from Libya to Somalia, from Syria to Iraq are being discussed. 'Turkey's axis' is being discussed in the world now. No country can do anything against such a power anymore.

"Those who planned the July 15 coup attempt also planned the 'Nation Alliance.' They gathered unrelated political parties under a single roof. They made them embrace terrorist organizations. A new pro-mandate, pro-tutelage front was established. It includes the Republican People's Party (CHP), the PKK, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), the 'conservative opposition,' and the FETÖ influence groups that appear as nationalists."

"This Was The Only Reason CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Congratulated Biden Early, It Was A, 'Task Us, See Us, Support Us' Message, It Was A Congratulation Extended On Behalf Of That Entire Front – It Was A Declaration Of Loyalty"

"Your fury towards Erdoğan turned into hostility towards Turkey. But why Erdoğan?

"This country never adopted a stance in support of Turkey with respect to national matters. An intervention was made in Syria against the terror corridor, and they opposed. An intervention was launched in Iraq to stop terrorism, and they opposed. A terror baron like Khalifa Haftar was defeated in Libya, and they opposed. The three-decade-long occupation in Karabakh is being ended, and they are nowhere to be seen. They even pinned their hopes on French President Emmanuel Macron in the East Mediterranean.

"Their anger towards Erdoğan turned into hostility towards Turkey. Why are the U.S. and Europe angry with Erdoğan? Why do they want to remove him from power? The truth is that he saved Turkey from their influence; he started a new march, he pioneered a revolution, he started the rising period after the founding of the Republic, and built a great and powerful Turkey.

"They're saying, 'If we oust Erdoğan, we can stop Turkey'

"The West is approaching us with a new version of the Crusade Wars. So, why are you with them? You were pro-state, pro-nationalism, you were conservative/Islamist; now why are you on the same front as those who call themselves the Crusaders? Why are you raining bullets down on Turkey from their fighting positions?

"They are saying, 'If we oust Erdoğan, we can stop Turkey.' They are striving to destroy Turkey. So, why are you attacking Turkey? Why are you on the same front as those attacking Turkey and not on 'Turkey's front'? Why are you dragging this country down while it is rising?

"Message from CHP leaders to Biden: 'Task us, see us, support us'

"Your ambitions and fury have blinded you. You have turned into useful structures. Hence, they are taking full advantage of this. Just as they used FETÖ and the PKK, now they are trying to use you. But you are more than willing.

"This was the only reason CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu congratulated Biden early. It was a, 'Task us, see us, support us' message. It was a congratulation extended on behalf of that entire front. It was a declaration of loyalty."

"Even Biden Cannot Save You"

"Even Biden cannot save you

"The July 15 coup attempt changed Turkey and the region's destiny and history. There is no turning back. Regardless of to whom you appeal, with whom you partner up, whom you plead help from, nothing like this will ever happen again.

"Do your worst! Even Biden cannot save you.

"Turkey's axis is going to change the region. You will see very soon."