Turkish ("blood") bath:

Turkish (blood)bath

By
RALPH PETERS

Last Updated: 8:55 AM, June 1,
2010

Posted: 12:21 AM, June 1,
2010

Yesterday's "aid convoy" incident off the coast of
Gaza wasn't about bringing humanitarian supplies to the terrorist-ruled
territory. It wasn't even about Israel.

It
was about Turkey's determination to position itself as the leading Muslim
state in the Middle East.

Three
ships of that six-ship pro-terror convoy flew Turkish flags and were crowded
with Turkish citizens. The Ankara government -- led by Islamists these days --
sponsored the "aid" operation in a move to position itself as the new champion
of the Palestinians.

And
Turkish decision-makers knew Israel would have to react -- and were waiting to
exploit the inevitable clash. The provocation was as cynical as it was
carefully orchestrated.

The
lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, just happened to have an al-Jazeera TV crew on
board to film Israel's response. Ironically, the early videos would've been
counterproductive, had world leaders and journalists not been programmed to
blame everything on Israel.

Those
videos showed Israeli commandos rappelling onto the ship with both hands on
the rope (making it rather hard to use a weapon), yet activists claimed the
Israelis opened fire as they descended.

Purely by coincidence, dozens of "peace activists"
waited with sharpened iron bars, clubs, slingshots -- and rifles. Of course,
the nine dead in the melee were all Israel's victims.

The
first wave of Israeli commandos reportedly were armed only with paintball
rounds for crowd control. Inspect those videos of maddened peaceniks
assaulting the soldiers as they landed on deck. You don't see any Israelis
pointing rifles -- they're fending off blows.

But
the claims of pro-terrorist "peace advocates" are given instant credence.

The
US government's initial response was restrained, but Israel's Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu understandably canceled his meeting with President Obama,
scheduled for today. Bibi's got an emergency on his hands back home, as
well-organized protests sweep the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Europeans and UN bonzes rage at
Israel with unseemly relish, but ignore the luxury lifestyles of Gaza's
insider elite and the fact that no Palestinian's going hungry. The Israelis
had even offered to transfer the aid aboard those ships to the Palestinians --
as long as they could inspect it.

But
neither the activists nor the Turkish government wanted a negotiated outcome.
This was a stunt from the start.

Now,
as we wait to see if Hamas and Hezbollah up the ante, the world ignores
Turkey's decisive role in this fiasco.

The
US and the European Union cling to the fiction that Turkey's a "westernized
Muslim democracy." But Turkey's moving to the east as fast as the Islamist
leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) can drag it there.

Turkish leaders visit the West and sing, "Democracy,
democracy, democracy!" We coo and clap. Then they go east and cry, "Islam,
Islam, Islam!" And we insist they don't mean it.

Then
there's Turkey's unfortunate NATO membership. Since the rise of its Islamists,
Turkey has been a Trojan horse, not an ally. What happens now if Ankara
provokes a military confrontation? How would we respond, given NATO's
mutual-defense agreements?

The
madcap agenda of Turkey's current rulers is to create a 21st-century version
of the Ottoman Empire. Turks even mutter about the caliphate -- headed for
centuries by the Turkish sultan. This is explosive stuff. And the Turks are
playing with matches.

But
we've obstinately ignored every warning sign. First, our "ally" stabbed us in
the back on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, denying our troops their
planned routes into Iraq. Then the Turkish media intensified its anti-American
fantasies.

Headscarves became de rigeur for the wives of top
officials in Ankara as the Turks made mischief in Iraq. Emulating the
history-obliterating Saudis, the Turks began work on the vast Ilisu Dam --
which will permanently submerge pre-Islamic and Kurdish archaeological sites
of incalculable value. (The Bamiyan Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban were of
comparatively minor interest to researchers.)

Then,
just last month, the Turks moved to provide the Iranian regime with cover for
its nuclear program. And we still didn't get it.

The
most dramatic transformation in the Middle East since the fall of the shah is
playing out before us. And we can't see behind the mask of the "plight of the
Palestinians" (a key Obama administration concern).

In
yesterday's confrontation, Israel behaved clumsily. The peace activists
behaved savagely. The Turks behaved cynically. The world reacted predictably.

And
Washington scratched its head.

Ralph Peters' latest book is "Endless
War."

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