“What you sow is what you reap,” writes retired Turkish General Naim Barburoğlu.
In an article for the newspaper Sözcü, retired General Barburoğlu presents a picture of the Middle East at odds with the narrative offered by major Turkish media. He opens his analysis by referring to the overthrow of Assad in Syria; an operation he claims was supported and orchestrated by the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.
According to Barburoğlu, al‑Sharaa — the leader of Hayat Tahrir al‑Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al‑Qaeda in Syria — was appointed as the new head of Syria after Assad’s removal; he alleges that al‑Sharaa was trained by the United States and the United Kingdom. The general argues that Syria is now effectively under Israeli control, acting on American orders. He contends that Syrian territorial and airspace sovereignty has been eroded by continued Israeli use, and cites a July 21, 2025 statement by Israel declaring that “strong nation‑states are a threat to Israel,” which, Barburoğlu says, confirms a strategic goal by the U.S. and Israel to eliminate nation‑states in the Middle East.
A plan of dissolution
Barburoğlu says the first steps in this plan were the dismantling of Iraq and Syria. Only two nation‑states remain, he argues: Turkey and Iran. Iran, he says, has already been severely weakened through harsh economic sanctions and periodic strikes. He warns that Israel and the United States plan to launch a devastating operation in 2026, and that the U.S., Israel and the U.K. are continuing military preparations toward that end.
Turkey, he asserts, is another target. The new geopolitical situation in Syria constitutes a serious threat to Turkey, and for national interest and security reasons Ankara will attempt to prevent Syria’s handover to the U.S. and Israel. The general is sharply critical of past Turkish policies. He claims that in 1991 President Turgut Özal made the strategic mistake of opening the way to the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq; a mistake, he says, later repeated in Syria.
He contends that post‑2011 policy created the conditions for an autonomous Kurdish structure to emerge in Syria. This “fatal error,” he says, turned Syria into a dangerous zone for Turkey and “crushed the heroes who overturned the Treaty of Sèvres.” He then focuses on U.S. support for the YPG/SDF, which control strategically important water resources such as the Euphrates and Syria’s energy resources; support he blames on the administration of “his beloved Erdoğan’s friend,” Trump.
Trump’s actions
Barburoğlu lists a series of U.S. actions by President Trump that he views as hostile to the Turkish state: in 2017 recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; in 2018 celebrating the release of Pastor Brunson; in 2019 halting Turkey’s Operation “Peace Spring” against the PKK/YPG in Syria, which he says effectively ended Turkish operations against YPG/SDF; and in 2020 imposing CAATSA sanctions on Turkey — measures normally applied to hostile states, which prevented delivery of F‑35s (the general notably omits reference to Erdoğan’s decision to buy the S‑400). He also cites the U.S. rescinding temporary protected status for Syrians, ordering approximately 6,000 Syrians in the U.S. to return within 60 days; a step Turkey has not taken despite hosting the world’s largest refugee population, he adds.
The role of the PKK
On the “Turkey without terrorism” process, Barburoğlu claims the rhetoric that the PKK will lay down arms and that peace will follow hides another reality. He says a large number of PKK fighters in northern Iraq moved into Syria and joined the YPG/SDF, meaning the public narrative that the PKK is disarming has effectively become the reality of the PKK becoming a state in Syria. He asserts the real aim of the “Turkey without terrorism” process is the release of Abdullah Öcalan. Voices are heard, he says, arguing that granting Öcalan the right to hope will resolve the Kurdish problem. They are not concerned about the detention of former co‑chair Selahattin Demirtaş; the single goal, the general claims, is Öcalan’s release from İmralı and the establishment of an autonomous region that would include Hatay, leading to an independent Kurdistan and a fragmented Turkey.
Constitution, “equal citizenship” and the dissolution of the nation‑state
Barburoğlu refers to articles of the Turkish Constitution which, in his reading, are designed to preserve national unity: Article 42, which declares Turkish the only mother tongue taught in educational institutions for Turkish citizens, and Article 66, which states that anyone linked to the Turkish state by citizenship is Turkish. At the same time he criticizes the trend toward “equal citizenship” and reminds readers of Article 10, which proclaims equality before the law.
In his closing remarks Barburoğlu is stark and dramatic: this is not merely political disagreement or institutional failure; the objective, as he describes it, is the destruction of the nation‑state and the dismantling of Turkey. History, he concludes, is the field of nations: what you sow, you will harvest. If you sow a storm, the result will be an earthquake.
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According to Barburoğlu, al‑Sharaa — the leader of Hayat Tahrir al‑Sham (HTS), an offshoot of al‑Qaeda in Syria — was appointed as the new head of Syria after Assad’s removal; he alleges that al‑Sharaa was trained by the United States and the United Kingdom. The general argues that Syria is now effectively under Israeli control, acting on American orders. He contends that Syrian territorial and airspace sovereignty has been eroded by continued Israeli use, and cites a July 21, 2025 statement by Israel declaring that “strong nation‑states are a threat to Israel,” which, Barburoğlu says, confirms a strategic goal by the U.S. and Israel to eliminate nation‑states in the Middle East.
A plan of dissolution
Barburoğlu says the first steps in this plan were the dismantling of Iraq and Syria. Only two nation‑states remain, he argues: Turkey and Iran. Iran, he says, has already been severely weakened through harsh economic sanctions and periodic strikes. He warns that Israel and the United States plan to launch a devastating operation in 2026, and that the U.S., Israel and the U.K. are continuing military preparations toward that end.
Turkey, he asserts, is another target. The new geopolitical situation in Syria constitutes a serious threat to Turkey, and for national interest and security reasons Ankara will attempt to prevent Syria’s handover to the U.S. and Israel. The general is sharply critical of past Turkish policies. He claims that in 1991 President Turgut Özal made the strategic mistake of opening the way to the creation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq; a mistake, he says, later repeated in Syria.
He contends that post‑2011 policy created the conditions for an autonomous Kurdish structure to emerge in Syria. This “fatal error,” he says, turned Syria into a dangerous zone for Turkey and “crushed the heroes who overturned the Treaty of Sèvres.” He then focuses on U.S. support for the YPG/SDF, which control strategically important water resources such as the Euphrates and Syria’s energy resources; support he blames on the administration of “his beloved Erdoğan’s friend,” Trump.
Trump’s actions
Barburoğlu lists a series of U.S. actions by President Trump that he views as hostile to the Turkish state: in 2017 recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; in 2018 celebrating the release of Pastor Brunson; in 2019 halting Turkey’s Operation “Peace Spring” against the PKK/YPG in Syria, which he says effectively ended Turkish operations against YPG/SDF; and in 2020 imposing CAATSA sanctions on Turkey — measures normally applied to hostile states, which prevented delivery of F‑35s (the general notably omits reference to Erdoğan’s decision to buy the S‑400). He also cites the U.S. rescinding temporary protected status for Syrians, ordering approximately 6,000 Syrians in the U.S. to return within 60 days; a step Turkey has not taken despite hosting the world’s largest refugee population, he adds.
The role of the PKK
On the “Turkey without terrorism” process, Barburoğlu claims the rhetoric that the PKK will lay down arms and that peace will follow hides another reality. He says a large number of PKK fighters in northern Iraq moved into Syria and joined the YPG/SDF, meaning the public narrative that the PKK is disarming has effectively become the reality of the PKK becoming a state in Syria. He asserts the real aim of the “Turkey without terrorism” process is the release of Abdullah Öcalan. Voices are heard, he says, arguing that granting Öcalan the right to hope will resolve the Kurdish problem. They are not concerned about the detention of former co‑chair Selahattin Demirtaş; the single goal, the general claims, is Öcalan’s release from İmralı and the establishment of an autonomous region that would include Hatay, leading to an independent Kurdistan and a fragmented Turkey.
Constitution, “equal citizenship” and the dissolution of the nation‑state
Barburoğlu refers to articles of the Turkish Constitution which, in his reading, are designed to preserve national unity: Article 42, which declares Turkish the only mother tongue taught in educational institutions for Turkish citizens, and Article 66, which states that anyone linked to the Turkish state by citizenship is Turkish. At the same time he criticizes the trend toward “equal citizenship” and reminds readers of Article 10, which proclaims equality before the law.
In his closing remarks Barburoğlu is stark and dramatic: this is not merely political disagreement or institutional failure; the objective, as he describes it, is the destruction of the nation‑state and the dismantling of Turkey. History, he concludes, is the field of nations: what you sow, you will harvest. If you sow a storm, the result will be an earthquake.
www.bankingnews.gr
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