The source of inspiration of this political party is the Cold War era's paramilitary organizations of irregular warfare. The primary goal of such entities, which were created in all European countries that were members of the NATO defense organization, was to wage an ideological war. It required an advanced network of civilian organizations. These organizations -- just like the Marxist-Leninist armed propaganda organizations -- relied on an approach of considerable violence. Within a short time, special warfare techniques were transformed into means to intervene in political administrations and in the politics of the Turkish military. To justify the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, critical support was given to the violent environment by this entity.

The Cold War, the ideological war which served as the basis of these irregular warfare strategies, is over. Such organizations were disbanded in all democratic countries; their activities were taken under prosecutorial investigation. However, this entity was preserved in Turkey in an attempt to keep its influence on political actors. Its structure has changed over time. It is obvious that this entity was used in the Feb. 28 process to justify the previously planned actions. That "the information support plan" dismissed by the General Staff in two press statements greatly resembles the "Western concept" prepared by Çevik Bir during the Feb. 28 process has gone unnoticed. It is inevitable that every attempt to have influence over civilian life is included in the irregular warfare approach.

In Turkey, there is no prospect for a direct military coup because there is not a single country in the world that could be ruled by a military administration. Instead, means to control democratic life are appealing to those who are eager to maintain their rule based on the logic of war. The idea of subjecting society and politics to a certain hierarchy through irregular warfare methods constitutes the very basis of Ergenekon. By this, the major influential actors in the process seek to maintain comprehensive control over media, civil society, the judiciary, universities and even the economy. The Third World leftist version of Kemalism, the militant interpretation of secularism and laicism and anti-globalization ultra-nationalism that sees any development in the world as part of a conspiracy make up the ideological elements of such control. That the traditional bureaucratic leftist movements have no chance to come to power in Turkey makes this organization attractive to those who remain outside of the conservative sphere. The protests by those who campaign against the investigation carried out by the prosecutor give clues about the massive support for this illegal party.

The project to keep the country under control in reliance on irregular warfare methods is a primitive idea. An organization which wages irregular warfare on its public may inflict the greatest harm on the country. Moreover, the failure of the organization to take effective measures vis-à-vis the recent operations are sufficient to indicate that this project is actually just a dream.

It is essential to eliminate this organization for the sake of the survival of the Turkish state, the future of the nation and security of the country.

todayszaman.com