TODAY’S ZAMAN
11 February 2009

Seven people, including five members of the military, were detained late on Tuesday as part of an investigation previously launched by the Air Forces Command into secret meeting places of a clandestine terrorist organization.

These covert meeting places, also known as Karargah Houses, were used by members of the Ergenekon terrorist group to discuss strategic plans to manipulate the decisions of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Ergenekon is a clandestine criminal organization charged with attempting to create chaos and undermine stability in Turkey in order to trigger a coup. Eighty-six of its alleged members are in jail and standing trial. Many other suspects are awaiting indictment.

The existence of Karargah Houses had been revealed as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. These places are also known to be meeting spots for generals plotting coup d’états as well as hideouts for hit men and ammunition storage.

AYŞE KARABAT - 03 February 2009

Police have identified one of the Ergenekon suspects as the provocateur of a flag-burning incident in Mersin during Nevruz celebrations in 2005, which led to mass demonstrations all over Turkey and sparked anti-Kurdish sentiment among the public.

It is also expected that as a result of this development, the flag-burning case against six young suspects, which is still in progress in Mersin, may be merged with trial of Ergenekon, a shadowy network nested within the state apparatus aiming to overthrow the government through provocation and preparing the groundwork for a military coup.

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İP leader Perinçek denies allegations in tearful defense

Workers’ Party (İP) leader Doğu Perinçek was visibly tearful during a video presentation he had integrated into his defense testimony at yesterday’s hearing in the trial of Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization nested within the state hierarchy and charged with attempting to overthrow the government.
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How Ergenekon evolved: the near past of a clandestine organization

Initial details about the Ergenekon terrorist organization were published by Can Dündar, a columnist from the Milliyet daily, and journalist Celal Kazdağlı in the book “Ergenekon,” published in 1997. Although Dündar denies the existence of the Ergenekon organization, Kazdağlı argues that the history of this organization can be traced back to the early ’90s.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Kazdağlı commented on the emergence of Ergenekon, saying: “Ergenekon, which is not defined as a state within the state or the ‘deep state,’ is an entity set up by the CIA in all NATO-member countries in the aftermath of the Cold War. This was an American invention to fight against communism. The organization, which did not rely on domestic legislation, was referred to as Gladio in many NATO countries, but while measures were taken against this sort of organization in these countries, it remained influential in Turkey.

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Justin Raimondo - September 29, 2008

While the American people are consumed with the news on the home front – economic implosion, job loss, a record number of foreclosures, failed banks – and a presidential election in which the usual amount of smoke is being blown, if you look behind the headlines the outline of an emerging crisis in – where else? – the Middle East is beginning to take shape.

What the heck is going on in Syria? The news of a huge explosion in Damascus, caused by a car bomb, has shaken the region, and it isn’t at all clear who or what is responsible. Whatever the source, however, the attack – which killed 17 bystanders, including possibly a top Syrian intelligence official – augurs ill for the future of peace in the Middle East (an increasingly elusive goal).

The attack occurred Saturday morning, near a major Syrian intelligence facility, although news reports in the West are focusing on the proximity of the Shi’ite shrine. Israeli media are emphasizing the possibility of an internal struggle within the Syrian regime itself, while the Iranians are saying the blast was the work of the Mossad and/or CIA. Suffice to say that this incident is shrouded in mystery, as the Syrians hint of attackers from beyond their borders, and the context – a series of equally mysterious attacks on targets in Syria over the past few years – indicates they may be correct.

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Steve Watson - Sept 24, 2008

Pakistani authorities investigating last Saturday’s huge bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad are looking into evidence that US marines were occupying two floors just days prior to the blast and were witnessed unloading a truckload of steel cases inside.

“The authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the government of Pakistan,” Pakistan’s largest newspaper The News reported.

The reports of the mysterious activity first surfaced in the Pakistani media on Sunday.

According to the accounts, several witnesses, including Pakistani government officials, described seeing a US embassy truckload of steel boxes unloaded while all entrances to and from the hotel were locked down at around midnight on the 16th September.

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