By Theodore Shoebat
As I said last night, Turkey keeping troops in Afghanistan to fill in the vacuum left as a result of America’s withdrawal is really the Turks taking the opportunity to expand its hegemony. What would not be surprising is if the Taliban (or some other terrorist group) started wreaking havoc in Afghanistan, thus giving Turkey the pretext to widen military deployment. The presence of Kurdish militants in Syria (in conjunction with America giving the green light to Ankara) gave Turkey the opportunity to expand its military might into northern Syria where locals are now using Turkish currency (a sign of Turkish domination in the region). Now the Turks don’t want to be alone in Afghanistan, they want Pakistani troops and Hungarian soldiers to support them, an echo to the Great War when Austro-Hungary allied with the Ottoman Empire. As we read in TRT World:
Besides US “diplomatic, logistic and financial assistance,” Turkish President Erdogan says Ankara is looking for Pakistan and Hungary’s involvement in new mission in Afghanistan following departure of US-led NATO troops.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country would need “diplomatic, logistic and financial assistance” from the United States if it were to maintain troops in Afghanistan to protect and run Kabul’s international airport, following the withdrawal of other NATO troops.
Speaking to reporters on Monday at the end of a series of meetings with NATO leaders on the sidelines of the alliance summit, Erdogan also said Turkey was seeking Pakistan and Hungary’s involvement in a new mission in Afghanistan following the departure of the US-led NATO force.
Turkey is reported to have offered to guard the airport as questions remain on how security will be assured along major transport routes and at the airport, which is the main gateway to Kabul.
Defense cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan has been in discussion for years. In a 2017 report from the Turkish Defense Magazine, it reads on how in a dialogue group Turkey and Pakistan “deliberated upon various areas of interest, including security, counter terrorism and the prevailing regional environment particularly with reference to Afghanistan and the Middle East.” Turkey’s partnership is expedited given their common religion; at the same time Pakistan is Saudi Arabia’s biggest Islamic ally, so this could be Turkey (a rival of the Saudis) working to pull Pakistan to its side and isolate Saudi Arabia. There has been talk within the Pakistani media about a possible Iranian-Turkish-Afghan-Pakistani alliance against NATO. For example, the Pakistani writer, Umar Waqar, wrote in 2010 how NATO
“could lose their foremost ally Turkey for good. Since frustration will lead to new
conflicts and the possible formation of Iran-Turkey-AfPak nexus, it is
better to leave just as the Soviets did and say: “I have learnt it the
hard way that Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, as I have myself
experienced it.”
That Turkey wants to join forces with Pakistan in Afghanistan is a sign of the new world we are entering in which the US will not be the sole power over the world. Rather, the world will be under blocs of power, such as a European bloc under the Germans and an Islamic bloc under the Turks. US intelligence understands the reality of the American empire’s future loss of world empire and the rise of multipoles of power. In Global Trends 2040 (a report based on US intelligence) it speaks of how by the 2040s the world will be “fragmented into several economic and security blocs of varying size and strength, centered on the United States, China, the EU, Russia, and a few regional powers, and focused on self-sufficiency, resiliency, and defense.” It also states how Turkey “probably will seek to take advantage of new opportunities and to take on roles previously filled by a major power to shore up regional stability or gain influence.” The fact that the CIA knows that Turkey wants to fill in the role of America in certain parts of the world is telling. It indicates that the powers that be understand that former powers are going to rise again, and Turkey is one of them.
Moreover, Turkey is in the midst of trying to form a Turkish NATO. Hence why it is leading the Cooperation Council of the Turkic-Speaking States (the Turkic Council), a confederacy of Turkic countries. This is really a strategy to shrink the power of the American security umbrella and carve out an alliance based on ethnic identity (Turkish) and religion (Islam). This is a part of the current phenomena of the shortening of the American empire and the rise of the multipolar world. If Turkey goes through with its effort to keep troops in Afghanistan, it will see it as an opportunity to replace the US’ in the country, and will most definitely take advantage of terrorism (such as from the Taliban) to accelerate massive deployment of troops. A substantial presence of Turkish troops in Afghanistan — and with the United States allowing Turkey to be its proxy — will give Turkey a serious position as the leading military power of the Islamic world. With Turkey in Syria, Libya, Iraq and the South Caucasus, we are currently witnessing the rise of Turkish empire. Hence why shoebat.com is affirming this position regarding Turkish troops in Afghanistan. Moreover, we cannot forget the underlying ideology that Turkey is advancing: pan-Turkism, and this not only connects with Turkey’s expanding influence in Central Asia, but in its interest in joining forces with Hungarian troops in Afghanistan. As we have stated many times, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, sees himself and his race as being related to the Turkish race.
“Cooperation is a question of force, not of intention. Perhaps there are countries where things don’t work that way, for example in the Scandinavian countries, but such a half-Asiatic rag-tag people as we are can unite only if there is force.”
Turkey is in a good location, and although there are now wars on its borders, strategically it is in one of the world’s most important locations. It has an enormous private sector. Why should it pay any attention to the Hungarians – aside from friendship and the intellectually intriguing question of common origins lost in the mists of ancient history? Why should any member of its business community divert their gaze to Hungary? I believe that there is one fact which even the most successful Turkish businesspeople would be wise to consider: Hungary is a country of ten million, and we are capable of generating exports worth 110 billion dollars; meanwhile Turkey is a country of eighty million, which is capable of generating exports worth 145 billion dollars.
To sum up, we have the legend of common Turkish-Hungarian origins. We have mutual respect. We have an outstanding political and personal relationship between the leaders of the two countries. We have an enormous Turkey and a strengthening Central Europe. And we have a Hungarian investment and business environment without rival in Europe.
Turkey’s and Hungary’s pan-Turkic ideology, alongside their history of being war allies in WW1, truly indicates to us that the Turkish-Hungarian alliance presages that the two will be a part of a coming axis of evil. Turkey and Hungary have been deepening their defense ties. In the 14th of June, 2021, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and spoke about “bilateral military and defence industry cooperation”. This makes sense given that Hungary plans on revamping its military with the help of Turkey. According to a 2018 report from Hungary Today:
On another subject, Orbán said that Hungary and Turkey would raise the level of military cooperation and build “powerful ties” in the military industry. He added that in recent decades “there have been no money or energy left to develop the military” but “we will make up for that now; Hungary’s goal is to build a modern and effective national army”.
lso according to Hungary Today:
…Orbán said that Hungary and Turkey would raise the level of military cooperation and build “powerful ties” in the military industry. He added that in recent decades “there have been no money or energy left to develop the military” but “we will make up for that now; Hungary’s goal is to build a modern and effective national army”.”
Peter E. Uhde talks about a military plan for Hungary that is set to be in full materialization by 2026:
“Zrínyi 2026” is the name of a ten-year defense and military development program. This includes a voluntary reserve system for territorial protection, ie homeland security.”
So here we see the presaging events of a Turkish-Hungarian military alliance, and a indication of its future manifestation is the fact that Turkey wants to join forces with Hungary in a country that is losing its American presence: Afghanistan. With America withdrawing from its position of leader of the world, other regional are rising to fill in the void. We are seeing this in the rise of German power with the push for an independent pan-European military force, and we are also seeing this in Japan’s struggle for military independence. We are entering a return to history, wherein America will be surrounded by old empires.