Cüneyt Ülsever - English

If I don’t lose my mind during the Ergenekon crime gang case and related investigations, I will never lose it. I am confused more every day. Let me ask you this question first. Who did tell the following? *(...) Who is İbahim Şahin whom the former Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz as well said, ’he is the leader of killers?’ Şahin (...) is a hero who fought for 10 years exactly against the bandits of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, up in the mountains in the East and Southeast. He was injured three or four times but never gave up. Şahin continued his struggle..." Answer: Nazlı Ilıcak. She is waging a war against gangs and poking the ammunition dump that was explored in the light of a sketch drawn by Şahin into the eyes of people who are having reservations about the Ergenekon!

An article by Rıza Zelyut titled "Nazlı Ilıcak was Şahin’s guard," and published in an online newspaper (Sol Birlik -- www.solbirlik.net) includes excerpts from Ilıcak’s article published in the Akşam daily on Dec. 12, 1993. Why is Ilıcak lashing out at Yılmaz? Following the Susurluk incident, Yılmaz as the leader of the Motherland Party, or ANAP, then, said in a letter to president of the time, Süleyman Demirel:

Special Operation Unit is in the body of the Security Department. Some members of this unit are involved in drug trafficking, gambling, racketeering and murdering. Confessions of the killers of Ömer Lütfi Topal are quite interesting. Although they came clean, these individuals were sent to Ankara and are free nowÉ It’s being told that some state officials are given orders by the head of the Special Operation Unit, Şahin, and that several high posts including the Interior Ministry is aware of the situation. There are at least 100 to 120 people involved in such crimes. They are murderers working under the state." Ilıcak’s article was said to be a response to this letter! A friend of mine reading the said online newspaper told me that there is nothing wrong with Ilıcak’s change of attitude so I shouldn’t go nuts about it. My friend says Şahin is the man of the Erbakan-Çiller government at that time. And the government today is against Şahin!

As my friend put, Ilıcak is a journalist of the governments not Şahins!

*All right. But what about the following? After the 10th wave of detentions, all retired generals under arrest were released only Professor Yalçın Küçük was kept! No one knows why the generals were taken in first and released afterward. However, according to my friend this is not a surprise either. My friend points out to the visit of Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who keeps shouting, "The judiciary is independent." "This is normal, quite normal," says my friend talking about the cooperation at the top of the state.

* According to Şahin’s deposition leaked to the press, two active generals assigned him a special task; he was even asked to pick 300 men for the task. I expected the General Staff to fiercely react this outrageous claim. We finally heard a disclaimer toward noon. "In Şahin’s game, every lie is lawful," says my friend.

* Şahin is crazy enough to forget the sketches at home but smart enough to write a book. This is normal too, according to my friend. In our state tradition, there is this İsmet İnönü opening. He was hearing impaired but was said to be hearing whatever suited him.

* "All right. There is an answer for everything. But how could’ve Yalçın Küçük committed a coup?" I asked my friend. "He was to lash people into a fury," my friend said. "How come?" I asked. "While you were watching Küçük on television, what kind of a feeling you were having?" my friend asked me. After I said, "I was feeling agitated," I kept my silence.

According to my friend, the reason is why I am going nuts is that I am clueless. My friend believes I do not understand the sensitive texture that was born out of Turkey’s own historic conditions and based on a tradition of hustle bustle, a blind conflict of interest and bias. This is such a texture that never needs reason and solid information.

Electing an African-American as the president of the United States is a revolution itself. To elect a member of the minority who are always in struggle with the majority is such a democratic behavior that one takes off his hat to. But if President-elect Barrack Obama a revolutionist is subjected to a test!

I write when occasion serves that in decent states, such as United States, two different mechanisms are at work while main policy of the country is being shaped up: Chefs in the kitchen and waiters in the dining room!

Chefs are the appointed and represent the establishment. Waiters on the other hand are secretaries taking orders from the head waiter and serving U.S. citizens and the world what’s cooking in the kitchen. There are surely good and bad waiters. Some sell the menu very well and cause a bit of change in it while they convey customers’ demands to the kitchen.

But even a selected head waiter cannot change the menu against the spirit of the kitchen. If I must give an example from Turkey, if let’s say it is Antep cuisine, no matter how high the demands are fish never is cooked in the kitchen.

The establishment is the sovereign spirit of a country and is not subjected to elections.

Since he, as an African-American, reached to the summit in the ranch of Anglo-Americans, Obama beyond dispute is the most important persona of the world in 2008. He is certainly a genius in politics, but will play the role of a "good headwaiter" only for he is a Democrat and becomes the president after a "bad headwaiter" such as George W. Bush.

His duty is to protect the interests of the establishment. Obama, however, will try to do this in a more sharing way. He will undertake the role of a gracious imperial state rather than an imposing imperial state, Bush.

Obama will push forward the concept of the "winner United States among equals" instead of a "sole winner United States."

But to turn the establishment upside down as the meaning of the word "revolution" requires will never be his maxim. For instance, Obama will never utter a sentence like "The United States will no longer control the world energy corridors." The otherwise is against the nature of things.

I am of the opinion that as he appointed other waiters Obama immediately proved that he would act in line with the above picture. Some tasks are critical as far as the establishment is concerned. Obama appointed retired navy general James L. Jones, a former commander of all NATO forces, as the national security adviser and kept Robert Gates as secretary of defense and appointed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

Obama and his team will take over the U.S. administration two weeks later. Some, by referring to his middle name Hussain, blessed him as if a Muslim was elected to lead the country. Everyone expects him to do a lot for aggrieved Muslims, for African-Americans and for other nations.

I on the other hand think that Obama’s being president-elect has already laundered the establishment after the Bush period. And now the same task will continue.

Obama and Clinton! World nations have high expectations of them!

We’ll wait and see. Gaza is there and Obama will be in office in two weeks!