Is Turkey on the Chopping Block?

Penny’s post, “Turkey will not receive F-35s unless they eliminate the S-400s,” reminded me of this video that recently appeared in my YouTube feed. The video is from the World Liberty Congress, an organization that advocates for regime change. Turkish opposition figure Oğuzhan Albayrak talks about the failed 2016 coup attempt, the Saturday Mothers, and draws comparisons between Turkey and Iran and China, both of which are in the sights of the U.S. Empire. In his article on the WLC website, he also mentions Ekrem İmamoğlu, another opposition figure with connections to European and U.S. front organizations.

Sources are provided below my unfinished article on Turkey’s significance in The Grand Chessboard.

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Colonial Project: Inside ‘Israel’s Coalition for Regional Security’ and the Role of Arab Leaders

Twitter

Just hours after the Israeli aggression on Iran ended and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of “a new Israeli-led Middle East,” a campaign began promoting the so-called “Israeli Coalition for Regional Security,” which reportedly includes 10 Arab leaders, notably from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Colonial Project: Inside ‘Israel’s Coalition for Regional Security’ and the Role of Arab Leaders

H/T: Rachel Blevins & Sarah Bils

Related:

The Abraham Shield Plan

Beware of the Juan Guaidó of Türkiye

Ekrem İmamoğlu, mayor of Istanbul and a prominent figure in the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is widely regarded as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s primary political opponent. His arrest occurred just days before the CHP was expected to officially announce him as their candidate for the 2028 presidential election. Ironically, Wikipedia characterizes him as a “dark horse” candidate, a relatively unknown figure who emerged as a challenger in the 2019 Istanbul mayoral election. In other words, the Juan Guaidó of Türkiye.

During his tenure as Mayor of Istanbul, İmamoğlu appointed Yavuz Saltık as the Chief of Staff of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Saltık had previously served as an advisor for prominent international organizations, including the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS). Notably, the IRI and NDI are key elements of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), while KAS is closely linked to the German political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). NED gets the majority of its funding from the U.S. Congress. The origins of the NED trace back to the late 1960s, when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) came under scrutiny for covertly backing activists and opposition groups in countries perceived to be aligning with the Soviet Union. After these CIA operations were exposed, the agency faced widespread criticism for what many viewed as underhanded interference in the affairs of sovereign nations. Following years of debate over whether and how such funding should persist, Congress ultimately established the NED in 1983. 

Unsurprisingly, Trotskyist factions are rallying behind what appears to be another color revolution, aimed at “balkanizing” Iran, establishing Greater Kurdistan, and undermining China and Russia.

Related:

Flashback 2019: Could the US force regime change in Turkey- The short answer is yes.

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Russia, Iran were urged not to intervene militarily in Syria

Türkiye says its embassy in Damascus to open on Saturday (Anadolu Agency)

On the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime earlier this month in the face of rapid anti-regime advances, Fidan said Türkiye “paved the way for this to happen in a bloodless manner” by continuing to pursue talks with “two key actors,” referring to Russia and Iran.

*Fidan said before the latest developments, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was controlling an area where 5 million Syrians were living and highlighted that they have gained experience in providing municipal services, education services, basic services, transportation and many other services in the past 5-6 years. [Idlib]

Related:

New Syria govt won’t recognise PKK/YPG terror group’s authority  — Fidan (TRT)

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U.S. proxies target Chinese Convoy near Karachi International airport days before the SCO meeting in Pak

YouTube

China says two citizens killed, one injured in Pakistan ‘terrorist attack’

In August, the BLA launched coordinated attacks in the province, in which more than 70 people were killed. It has claimed attacks in Balochistan, including the killing of seven barbers in Gwadar in May and the April killings of several people abducted from a highway.

The BLA specifically targets Chinese interests – in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea – accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province.

In March this year, five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani national were killed in an attack near the China-backed Dasu hydropower project. Nine Chinese engineers were killed in a similar attack near Dasu in 2021.

The BLA has also attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.

The Port Qasim project involves the construction of two power plants near Karachi and is funded by China.

Pakistan is due to host the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in two weeks.

Related:

Balochistan Liberation Army

Newsy News and Views (Türkiye, India, Canada)

Newsy News and Views

Just leaving some links and some views

Aljazeera

  • India- Western media coverage is interesting. A clear pleasure in the election outcome is obvious. Advance polls had Modi winning another majority and contrary to those polls his party did not. Personally speaking, I wouldn’t be surprised if some western backed NGO’s tinkered with the election. The west has India on it’s radar for so many reasons. Continuing relations with China and Russia being just two of those reasons. The economy is in good shape. 

Turkey is looking to join the BRICS

Source

They may as well- It’s going to be the go to trading bloc by the looks of things. The EU has been giving Turkey the run around for nearly two decades, so why not.

Turkey would like to join BRICS and this issue will be discussed at the group’s ministerial meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during his visit to China.

“Certainly, we would like to become a member of BRICS. So we’ll see how it goes this year,” the South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper quoted him as saying.

According to Fidan, some European countries are against Turkey joining the EU, so the Turkish authorities are considering BRICS as an alternative integration platform. “We cannot ignore the fact that BRICS, as an important cooperation platform, offers some other countries a good alternative,” he said. “We see potential in BRICS,” the top Turkish diplomat added.

According to the SCMP, Fidan also said that he was hoping to attend the group’s foreign ministers’ meeting in Russia. According to the newspaper, “one of the topics on the agenda is expected to be the possibility of Turkey, a NATO ally, joining the BRICS grouping.”

On June 10-11, Nizhny Novgorod will host a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, the event will be held in an expanded format, including non-member partners.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a BRICS summit in 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin said then that Ankara could join BRICS in 2022. By now Turkey has not taken any steps in this direction.

And the Bank of Canada cut rates .25%

Given the way things look globally, this may be the only rate cut this year? Or maybe one of two? It’s just looking too ugly every where.