On April 14, Basbug stressed that the military sought to establish what
he termed "healthy relations" with the Erdogan government. In an address to
the War Academy in Istanbul, the chief of staff stressed that the military,
regarded as the bastion of secularism, was not opposed to religion.
"The military has never been against religion," Basbug said. "What we
oppose is the abuse of religion for personal and political interests."
The speech, which broke months of silence by the chief of staff, was
meant to outline a new military doctrine. Over the last eight months,
Turkish police, in a campaign said to target secular critics of Erdogan,
have arrested hundreds of people and prosecuted 150 officers, journalists
and professors on charges of being linked to a coup plot.
"Turkey has come to a dangerous point," Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu,
president of the Judges and Prosecutors Association, said.
In his address, Basbug did not address the crackdown on secular critics
of Erdogan. Instead, the chief of staff urged the government to recognize
the military as an important element in national policy.
"The responsibilities of military leaders are important," Basbug
said. "The final decision belongs to the civilian authority. However,
politicians would be responsible for any outcome that may emerge from a
failure to consider sincere and realistic recommendations made by the
military."
On April 29, Basbug continued his cautious attitude, playing down the
prospect of a U.S. request from Turkey for American troops to help in the
withdrawal from Iraq. Regarding the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border,
Basbug cited Erdogan's demand for an Armenian withdrawal from
Azerbaijan territory.
"We share this [Erdogan's] view," Basbug said.
The sources said Basbug's new reconciliation policy was influenced by
the new U.S. administration of President Barack Obama. They said the General
Staff was stunned by Obama's support for Erdogan and the president's
definition of Turkey as a model for Islamic states.
Obama also supported Erdogan's opposition to Sweden's Anders Fogh
Rasmussen to become NATO's new secretary-general on grounds that he was
anti-Islamic. The U.S. president backed down under pressure from France and
Germany.
"At this point, Basbug and his generals realized that nobody was going
to support the military in any confrontation with Erdogan," the source said.