’This is not a coup preparation but stupidity..’

He is a well-known man but for those who don’t know him I’ll remind you briefly.

In August 1999 he retired as a result of a very dubious council.

Vice Adm. Kıyat represented Turkey in NATO (TMR) and was a very competent and well-respected commander.

He was the Northern Sea Area Commander with prospects. He was an officer expected to ascend to the title of admiral, fleet commander and finally to commander of naval operations. But he also possessed some qualities not liked by the TSK. He had a liberal view.

He became famous for expressing his views openly and having a sharp-tongue. He was at odds with some unspoken rules of the TSK.

Quite frankly, Kıyat was wasted because of these qualities. He was dispatched for retirement. The commander was very offended by this but did not say a word. He did not complain about anybody. But he never gave up what he believed in.

Together with Rıdvan, we invited him to discuss the subject that has bothered our heads for months now.

Where is the relationship between the military and civilians going?

He made such interesting evaluations that I changed my article.

What struck me the most were his answers to questions regarding the TSK’s general attitude. Why does the TSK behave as if it does not quite assimilate democracy? Why does it conduct coups, constantly interfere in the government’s work and make up the political agenda?

According to Kıyat, the civilians have no right whatsoever to complain about TSK’s attitude. If I were to summarize, he made the following evaluation:

"ÉYou accepted whatever the military said. You did not attempt to control its budget or steps that it took.

You accepted whatever the military wanted. You never questioned anything. The military identified the danger, determined a strategy and weapons against this danger.

And you watched and paid the invoice. You did not oppose. You did not want to lose your comfort.

We made coups, justified or not, and you applauded us. Part of you applauded. You carried us on your shoulders.

When you didn’t like it you pressured us to leave the governmentÉor delegated dirty and difficult jobs to usÉ now you are complaining."

These were correct identifications. I’d recommend them to those who don’t think of it this way.

"AKP caused confusion and resistance in the military"
According to Kıyat, the AKP coming to power caused confusion and resistance in the military. Kıyat saw coup preparations since 2003 and actions subject to Ergenekon as a reflex to resistance and said, "But none of these ventures became concrete.

None were carried into action. And does this reflect the TSK’s common sense? You just complain, but don’t you in fact reward the TSK for developments that never went anywhere?"

Within this framework, he thinks the latest plan to "dismantle AKP and Gülen" is funny. He said that if there were people trying to prepare such a coup they could only be called "fools."

He underlined that this document carrying the signature of a colonel should not be misunderstood.

He said another subject nobody touched on until now was that Büyükanıt should have resigned when he saw what happened after his memorandum came out on April 27.

"The memorandum said that Gül must not move into Çankaya and drew attention to the dangers of voting for the AKP. Gül became president, meaning commander-in-chief of the military, increased his vote in the AKP and received 47 percent. In this case did our Chief of General Staff not need to resign?"

There were many more interesting points in this chat. For those who like to take a different look at the TSK, I recommend to go onto the Web site of 32.GÜN (www.32gunhaber.com) and follow the complete chat.