If there is a problem at the border, the problem cannot be solved without expanding the border

For two days, Turkey has been crying for its 12 soldiers who wore the honor of our nation as a uniform and used their bodies as a shield in the conflict with terrorists in the Operation Claw-Lock region in the north of Iraq. But we also know those who don't cry, those who shed crocodile tears, and those who smoke their happiness sticks. What we need to happen is to feel pain, grief and despair within the framework of Ibn Khaldun's famous "Theory of Irritability". But in every house with a smoking chimney, in every hamlet. We know and want to understand that the whole of Turkey is devastated by the martyrs it lost in 48 hours. We are aware of another well-known fact, it is sad but true, fire really burns and burns the place it falls on. Yes, dear readers, like you, I wish God's mercy on our martyred soldiers, my condolences to the families of our heroes and our beloved nation, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured soldiers. I wholeheartedly salute these heroic children of ours, who saw no harm in having their bodies wrapped in the red flag before they were able to live their youth for the unity and solidarity of the country in the prime of their lives. You know, undoubtedly, if you believe, you will know, and you will keep it alive in your heart. Being a veteran and a martyr in the military is a rank, a rank and an important otherworldly stage. In Islamic belief, the highest rank after Prophethood is the rank of martyrdom. The rank of martyrdom, which Allah (swt) does not grant to everyone, is one of the most valuable ranks in the sight of Allah. All the sins and flaws of the person who leaves the world as a martyr are forgiven by Almighty Allah, and those who sacrifice their lives in the way of Allah attain the rank of martyrdom. It is expressed in the verses of the Holy Quran and the hadiths, this is how we know and this is how we believe. This is how they are taught in the military academy.

The anti-terrorism doctrine of our Turkish Security Forces, including the Turkish Armed Forces, the General Directorate of Security and the MİT, is directly the doctrine of "domination of land and area". Turkish Security Forces abandoned the approach of firefighters going to extinguish the fire, as was once customary, and made the "Preventive Attack Doctrine" dominant in the field and area. At some point, this is like preventive medicine, hygienic, as Halil Rıfat Pasha succinctly put it, "The place where you cannot make your presence felt is not yours." , the place you cannot reach, the place you cannot touch, the place you cannot make your presence felt is not yours. These words of the famous governor of Sivas, Halil Rıfat Pasha, are written at the entrance of Sivas. The motivation of Halil Rıfat Pasha, who equipped Sivas with roads in the 1880s, explains the importance of transportation and communication. This statement summarizes it. By building roads, Halil Rıfat Pasha aimed to bring the existence, service and power of the state to the villages, and he was successful in this. Because where you are not, someone else will definitely be dominant there. (1) Substitute someone else where you are not. You cannot, and especially, you cannot benefit from the terrorist organization by pitting it against another terrorist organization with a different tendency. In other words, the expansionists' "dog-running" approach, as it is commonly called, is a completely wrong attitude. The fight against terrorism can only be done through the security forces written in the constitution, all other countermeasures are wrong, in the medium and long term, things will turn into "Arabian Hair" and become identified with a dead end that cannot be gotten out of. Westerners call this the "China Syndrome", inspired by a nuclear disaster. Let's not forget that this saying is used for nuclear disaster, not nuclear war.

Let's come to the doctrine of domination of land and area. Operations and operations in the style of "finding and destroying at the source", which aim to restrict the freedom of movement of members of the terrorist organization, are based on neutralizing terrorist elements before they can achieve their actions, with strong intelligence support, and aim to take away the power of the organization to create an impact by taking action. This is a doctrinal principle. For example, the continuous execution of UAV and UCAV-mediated point operations against the Separatist Terrorist Organization (BTÖ), the use of land and area as a base to hold, the ability of outposts to provide strategic protection against terrorist actions, and the coordination of flying unit operations carried out in raid style 24/7. The fact that it is carried out continuously around the clock has limited the opportunities and abilities of the targeted terrorist groups to take action, leaving them in uncertainty and significantly reducing their willingness and motivation to take risks. But this style of action and determination expresses either determination or uninterrupted permanence in the land and region. It is difficult, it is a difficult craft.

  In this sense, organizing military operations against BTÖ, which is based in rural areas with a guerrilla-style structure, based on land and area domination, will exhaust the will of terrorist organizations for armed struggle due to movement and operational restrictions, It seems to be important in . Such operations, especially against terrorist organizations that mythologize rural and mountainous areas as inaccessible and untouchable, make the members of the terrorist organization psychologically meaningless to take action and operate within the organization and imprison them in the inertia of conflict. (2)

So far, this is good, but the land and area in question is not a residential area like the Gaza Strip, where even Israel does not dare to stay in the security zone south of the Iraq and Syria border. The place where our holy martyrs drank the sherbet of martyrdom is the Hakkurk and Metina regions of Northern Iraq, on the Iran-Iraq trade route, which was established by the Mountain Commando Brigade and whose locations were frequently changed against ambushes and raids. As a result of the infiltration of members of the Terrorist Organization, the "Hakkurk Sur Tepe Temporary Base Area", where we had 6 martyrs and 6 injured, is a complete snow hell. Due to the snowfall, it is almost an invitation for ambushes and raids. Shall we make a summary now? A total of 125 security officers, including 1 Major, 4 Lieutenants, 9 Lieutenants, 9 Petty Officers, 63 Specialist Sergeants, 31 contracted privates and 8 guards, have been martyred in the Claw Lock Operation since April 17, 2022. The price is life and the sacrifices offered on the altar and altar. The price is very heavy. On top of that, let's not forget that the USA also provides open intelligence support to the Separatist Terrorist Organization, just as it provides to the Israeli Zionazi Administration.

For this price, an uninterrupted security zone with a depth of 32 kilometers (20 miles) was established in Iraq and Syria. In other words, Turkey has locked the border in both Syria and northern Iraq with the Claw-Lock operation area, and the passage of terrorist organizations into the country has been prevented. A control area with a depth of 32 kilometers has been established in Iraq, just like in Syria.

However, a counter-device has been developed by Iran, Turkey's partner in the Astana process developed to solve the Syrian problem. The name of this apparatus, as will be clearly stated, is "Shiite Crescent". The name of the corridor planned by Iran to reach Syria via Iraq and then to Lebanon by land and provide logistical support to its own groups is "Shiite Crescent". (3) It is the 'Shia Corridor', which starts from Iran's Kermanshah and extends to Lebanon via Iraq's Diyala, Hanekin, Kifri, Kirkuk, Makhmur, Mosul, Tal Afar, Syria. The Shiite Corridor targeted the secure zone established by Turkey, extending from Iran-Iraq-Syria-Lebanon. Let's reiterate in a more understandable way that Iran primarily attaches importance to the Kirkuk-Mosul-Tel Afer line and is trying to outplay Turkey in this area. For this reason, especially in the elections held in Kirkuk on December 18, 2023, Iran used its influence to force the PUK to act jointly with Shiite Arabs and Shiite Turkmens, and gave the KDP the message of "endangering its interests in Baghdad".

While the local elections in Iraq on December 18 were held with a low turnout of 41 percent, ethnic and sectarian fault lines continued to shake with high targets. The election participation in Kirkuk, where the Kurds called it the 'Jerusalem of Kurdistan' and wanted to annex Kirkuk to Kurdistan with a referendum, the Turkmens wanted a special status with the dream of Turkmeneli, and the Arabs wanted control of the center, was 66 percent. It can be noticed at first glance that the interest in Baghdad has more than doubled. The gap in participation in the elections held after 14 years in Iraq and 18 years in Kirkuk reflects the people's despair towards politics on the one hand, and their fears and concerns on the other.

Even though the Kurds fell short of their goals, they achieved a result that revived their dreams regarding Kirkuk. However, the result was disappointing for the Turkmens. Shiite Turkmens, who were offended by Turkey in the face of the horror inflicted by ISIS, opened new channels to Iran by getting closer to the forces in Baghdad; It must be sadly stated that the Turkmen card is no longer under Ankara's monopoly. Iran is more interested in the future of Kirkuk and its regional equation than whether the governor is Kurdish or Arab. (4) More accurately, after the election, Iran attempted complete political engineering in Iraq and achieved a situation close to the environment they wanted.

The second is that Iran insists on keeping the Separatist Terrorist Organization in Sinjar and does not compromise on this in any way. Behind the scenes of this thought apparatus, Iran's initiative of "ensuring the security of the Shiite Corridor" in the region reveals itself. For this reason, Kurdish politicians and political experts in Iraq believe that the Separatist Terrorist Organization's insistence on staying in the Sinjar district of Mosul is behind the scenes of Iran's "establishment in the region." They constantly talk about "ensuring the security of the Shiite Corridor".

Taking advantage of the security gap that emerged when the terrorist organization ISIS attacked the regions under the control of Peshmerga forces affiliated with the KRG in 2014, BTÖ, Qandil and the militants it brought from Syria It is located in the Sinjar, Mahmur and Kirkuk regions. In the disputed regions where the organization has an active presence, PUK's Peshmerga and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces are generally present. Şahevan Muhammed, a lecturer at the Department of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences at Salahaddin University in Erbil, KRG, strengthens his argument by stating that BTÖ receives direct or indirect support from the Shiites in Iraq and the central government in order to maintain its foothold in the region.

Muhammed said, "BTÖ is currently receiving both military and financial aid from Shiites in order to hold on to the region. In return, BTÖ will ensure the security of the corridor opened for Iran's Shiite Crescent project in all regions where it is deployed." After saying this, in return, "BTÖ moves freely with its weapons in 16 provinces of Iraq." The accuracy of this claim is also confirmed by Aydin Maruf, Erbil Deputy of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) of the KRG Parliament, who said that the separatist terrorist organization can clearly act in many parts of the country without any restrictions. (3)

Yes, dear readers, in this article, we tried to see behind the scenes of the incident that broke our hearts with the martyrdom of 12 BTÖ soldiers in the Hakkurk and Metina regions of Northern Iraq and to examine the factors that affected the incident.

However, today, once again, it is seen from the flags hoisted on the houses of the families of the martyrs that the makeshift houses, which have difficulty standing in an environment where hearts are torn to pieces, continue to keep the homeland and the honor of the nation alive. A mountain of young people are passing away before they can enjoy the prime of their lives.

It should not be forgotten that every glorious Turkish soldier who falls to the ground dictates, even if it is painful, the end and atrophy of a generation that was not and will not be born from him. Unfortunately, each of our soldiers symbolizes the loss of a generation that will not be born after him in the future. What needs to be done is, as the Great Turkish Khan Başbuğ Atilla said:

"IF THERE IS A PROBLEM AT THE BORDER, THE ONLY WAY TO SOLE IT IS TO EXPAND THE BORDER", Dear Readers.

Footnotes

(1) Murat Yıldız, “Gidemediğin yer senin değildir”, Dünya Gazetesi, 23 Ocak 2014; https://www.dunya.com/kose-yazisi/gidemedigin-yer-senin-degildir/18943/ Erişim Tarihi 24.12.2023/

(2) Rıfat Serav İlhan, Terör Örgütlerinin Mücadele İradesini Tüketmenin Yolu: Askeri Operasyonlar, 2020 ; https://www.teram.org/Icerik/teror-orgutlerinin-mucadele-iradesini-tuketmenin-yolu-askeri-operasyonlar-52/Erişim Tarihi 24.12.2023/

(3) Anadolu Ajansı, “PKK’nın amacı Şii hilalini korumak”, 20.03.2017; https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/-pkk-nin-amaci-sii-hilalini-korumak/775456/ Erişim Tarihi 24.12.2023/

(4) Fehim Taştekin, “Kerkük Kördüğümü”, Gazete Duvar, 22 Aralık 2023; https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/kerkuk-kordugumu-makale-1655672/ Erişim Tarihi 24.12.2023/