Very sad, Claire. I visited Türkiye for a full month in the late 80’s in between my first two jobs as a young attorney. I took bus rides all over, sat near sheep, and drank many a small town’s water, of which those townspeople were fiercely proud. I fell into a kind of love with the colors, the food, the scenery in Cappadocia and on the Aegean cost, and of course the rugs. I’ve been itching to go back, but I cannot, in good conscience, and that’s painful. The country seems to have been in constant decline since then.
There's no reason not to go back. I haven't been, because I find the idea painful and because I think there's a risk I'd be arrested, but that's a personal matter. Many parts of Turkey are assuredly as you left them--with the color, the food, and the scenery exactly as you remember. The south, however, was destroyed by the earthquake and will never be the same.
But there's no reason not to return. You aren't supporting the government by going back, you're supporting the townspeople you warmly remember--and they could really use that support right about now.
I'm glad you understand what I loved about Turkey. Still love--but at a distance.
I shall! It’s a beautiful place. There is a retired radiologist here in Chicago who owns a carpet shop, originally from Erzerum (he knows my dad, also a retired radiologist). He too has encouraged me to return. Well, I now have two votes of confidence.
Very sad. The sheer level of corruption and indifference to suffering is beyond words. It all reminds me of the Thomas Sowell quote: "What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?"
You lived in Turkey a long time. If you were not emotional there would be something wrong with you. I started reading you then and I am a happy subscriber now.
Feb 17, 2023·edited Feb 17, 2023Liked by Claire Berlinski
One quick comment I will make that proves very little is I used to know someone who was a very high level person at Transparency International that has now gone hard hardcore Trump like hanging around with MyPillow Guy and Mike Flynn hardcore Trump. Nevertheless, this person back in the day had almost heroine status within Transparency International but now pals around with Mike Lindell.
You definitely wore your heart on your sleeve during that interview, Claire—no bad thing in my opinion.
Listening to you talk about Turkey, I was reminded of Chernobyl. The parallels between that catastrophe and Turkey's are difficult to miss, even allowing for different historical backgrounds. And these reflections led me back to the hobby horse I've been riding in re contemporary Russia: the toxic influence of despotic government on a country's institutions. Viewed from that perspective, corruption is but a symptom of a deeper disease. And while I'm generally skeptical about claims concerning the lessons of history, this one seems valid: despotic government, despite its facade of centralized authority and efficiency, is far less efficient than the most disorderly democratic regime.
Incidentally, I spent eighteen months in Turkey during my Army service—this was in the early Seventies. At that time, I believe, the military was running things. During in-processing I got a briefing about the "host nation." Basically, I was told that most Turks were well disposed to Americans, as long as we minded our manners, but that Turkish university students were a bunch of commies who hated us. By and large, this proved to be the case. Back then, my friends and I travelled all over western Turkey by dolmus with no problems. I have good memories of my time there, and I'm truly sorry for the Turkish people's trouble.
I'm not embarrassed that I'm emotional about the catastrophe. It would be sociopathic if I weren't. I just noticed that there was a difference between the way I thought I was presenting myself and the reality. I wouldn't have realized it had it not been on video.
I knew that I was *very* emotional and didn't want to come across as deranged or hysterical. So I was consciously telling myself, "Slow down. Take deep breaths. Modulate your voice." And I think my voice was calm enough--but my face gave it away.
It's no big deal. It's just something I'm noting for future reference: I'm not good at concealing how I feel.
Yes, you were given an absolutely accurate in-processing for Turkey in the 70s, as you discovered. And yes: Turkish students were a bunch of communists back then--and not the loopy, basically harmless kind you get on US university campuses, but murderous ones.
You could still travel all over western Turkey that way with no problems save the risk of traffic accidents. But Turkey has become significantly more hostile to Americans since then, which is a great shame. I should clarify: They're ideologically hostile, but not personally. Turks will never be anything but welcoming to foreigners, one-on-one; "hospitality" is too deeply engrained in the culture. But they now strongly dislike Americans, in theory. As I've explained many times--e.g. here: https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/04/24/guilty-men/--
"Polls show that Turkey is one of the most anti-American countries in the world. This is a recent development; it wasn’t true in the 20th century. A roughly accurate explanation for this is that some 30-40 percent of Turks hate us because they are Islamists or communists and truly do hate our values. But a considerable number—perhaps just as many—hate us because they embraced our values but feel we betrayed them. They are correct."
Our policy toward Turkey has been terribly self-defeating.
I just read your "City Journal" article and I have to admit that though I can recall reading or hearing about various terrorist actions in Turkey over time, I didn't realize that the situation was as bad as you described. Well, ideologues tend to be sociopaths and vice versa. Dostoevsky was right about that.
I was stationed at a base near the town of Karamürsel that I understand is still in use by the Turkish Navy. Back then it was home to various TUSLOG (Turkish/US Logistics) detachments—the cover designation for US military intelligence activities in Turkey. Basically, we were listening in on the military radio traffic and other electronic emissions of the Soviet military. The base's centerpiece was the Elephant Cage, a huge circular antenna array, now gone. I was a detachment supply sergeant and though my duties were routine I held a top secret clearance—everybody assigned to TUSLOG had to have one. That's the sum and substance of my career in espionage...
I've heard of the Elephant Cage! It's legendary! I'm trying to remember where I read about it--it was a satirical article, maybe in Hürriyet? Anyway, I found these instead:
Yes, that's the Elephant Cage, officially the AN/FLR-9 HF/DF direction finder. There were eight of them around the world and their mission was to locate high-priority targets. The Air Force ran the network, which was called Iron Horse, but the Army and Navy also used it. The last operational AN/FLR-9 was up in Alaska; it was decommissioned in 2016.
Thanks for sharing your collection, Claire. There is so much to unpack here. I too was impressed with Erdogan in the early days. He made a lot of the right noises and followed through on some.
I don‘t know what I find more perplexing: the turn of Erdogan and the AKP, or the fact that so many of the Turks seem to find this okay. And when I read and consider this juxtaposition, it could describe numerous countries that by rights should be uniformly prosperous and thriving societies-- yet are not.
What will future historians make of this period? I think about that quite often, which is an even surer sign of aging than crow‘s feet and grey hair!
But Turkey. I lived and worked there for almost a year in 1995-6 and remain fascinated by all its history and rich complexity. Even then the presence of journalists was not encouraged, and the Deep State* was real enough.
I was never positively impressed by him. I always found him sinister. But I didn't think he could do anywhere near as much damage as he did. I thought there were just too many obstacles in his way. I had no idea how quickly one determined man (with the help of the Gülenists) could destroy Turkey's institutions.
(cont‘d) In recent years I am unable to suppress a giggle when I hear certain Americans going on about “the Deep State” because a) you didn’t invent that notion, and b) YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Very sad, Claire. I visited Türkiye for a full month in the late 80’s in between my first two jobs as a young attorney. I took bus rides all over, sat near sheep, and drank many a small town’s water, of which those townspeople were fiercely proud. I fell into a kind of love with the colors, the food, the scenery in Cappadocia and on the Aegean cost, and of course the rugs. I’ve been itching to go back, but I cannot, in good conscience, and that’s painful. The country seems to have been in constant decline since then.
There's no reason not to go back. I haven't been, because I find the idea painful and because I think there's a risk I'd be arrested, but that's a personal matter. Many parts of Turkey are assuredly as you left them--with the color, the food, and the scenery exactly as you remember. The south, however, was destroyed by the earthquake and will never be the same.
But there's no reason not to return. You aren't supporting the government by going back, you're supporting the townspeople you warmly remember--and they could really use that support right about now.
I'm glad you understand what I loved about Turkey. Still love--but at a distance.
I shall! It’s a beautiful place. There is a retired radiologist here in Chicago who owns a carpet shop, originally from Erzerum (he knows my dad, also a retired radiologist). He too has encouraged me to return. Well, I now have two votes of confidence.
Very sad. The sheer level of corruption and indifference to suffering is beyond words. It all reminds me of the Thomas Sowell quote: "What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?"
You lived in Turkey a long time. If you were not emotional there would be something wrong with you. I started reading you then and I am a happy subscriber now.
One quick comment I will make that proves very little is I used to know someone who was a very high level person at Transparency International that has now gone hard hardcore Trump like hanging around with MyPillow Guy and Mike Flynn hardcore Trump. Nevertheless, this person back in the day had almost heroine status within Transparency International but now pals around with Mike Lindell.
You definitely wore your heart on your sleeve during that interview, Claire—no bad thing in my opinion.
Listening to you talk about Turkey, I was reminded of Chernobyl. The parallels between that catastrophe and Turkey's are difficult to miss, even allowing for different historical backgrounds. And these reflections led me back to the hobby horse I've been riding in re contemporary Russia: the toxic influence of despotic government on a country's institutions. Viewed from that perspective, corruption is but a symptom of a deeper disease. And while I'm generally skeptical about claims concerning the lessons of history, this one seems valid: despotic government, despite its facade of centralized authority and efficiency, is far less efficient than the most disorderly democratic regime.
Incidentally, I spent eighteen months in Turkey during my Army service—this was in the early Seventies. At that time, I believe, the military was running things. During in-processing I got a briefing about the "host nation." Basically, I was told that most Turks were well disposed to Americans, as long as we minded our manners, but that Turkish university students were a bunch of commies who hated us. By and large, this proved to be the case. Back then, my friends and I travelled all over western Turkey by dolmus with no problems. I have good memories of my time there, and I'm truly sorry for the Turkish people's trouble.
I'm not embarrassed that I'm emotional about the catastrophe. It would be sociopathic if I weren't. I just noticed that there was a difference between the way I thought I was presenting myself and the reality. I wouldn't have realized it had it not been on video.
I knew that I was *very* emotional and didn't want to come across as deranged or hysterical. So I was consciously telling myself, "Slow down. Take deep breaths. Modulate your voice." And I think my voice was calm enough--but my face gave it away.
It's no big deal. It's just something I'm noting for future reference: I'm not good at concealing how I feel.
Yes, you were given an absolutely accurate in-processing for Turkey in the 70s, as you discovered. And yes: Turkish students were a bunch of communists back then--and not the loopy, basically harmless kind you get on US university campuses, but murderous ones.
Some of them are still around and murdering: I wrote about that here: https://www.city-journal.org/html/they-kill-because-they-it-11162.html (Don't skip the diagram.)
You could still travel all over western Turkey that way with no problems save the risk of traffic accidents. But Turkey has become significantly more hostile to Americans since then, which is a great shame. I should clarify: They're ideologically hostile, but not personally. Turks will never be anything but welcoming to foreigners, one-on-one; "hospitality" is too deeply engrained in the culture. But they now strongly dislike Americans, in theory. As I've explained many times--e.g. here: https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/04/24/guilty-men/--
"Polls show that Turkey is one of the most anti-American countries in the world. This is a recent development; it wasn’t true in the 20th century. A roughly accurate explanation for this is that some 30-40 percent of Turks hate us because they are Islamists or communists and truly do hate our values. But a considerable number—perhaps just as many—hate us because they embraced our values but feel we betrayed them. They are correct."
Our policy toward Turkey has been terribly self-defeating.
I just read your "City Journal" article and I have to admit that though I can recall reading or hearing about various terrorist actions in Turkey over time, I didn't realize that the situation was as bad as you described. Well, ideologues tend to be sociopaths and vice versa. Dostoevsky was right about that.
I was stationed at a base near the town of Karamürsel that I understand is still in use by the Turkish Navy. Back then it was home to various TUSLOG (Turkish/US Logistics) detachments—the cover designation for US military intelligence activities in Turkey. Basically, we were listening in on the military radio traffic and other electronic emissions of the Soviet military. The base's centerpiece was the Elephant Cage, a huge circular antenna array, now gone. I was a detachment supply sergeant and though my duties were routine I held a top secret clearance—everybody assigned to TUSLOG had to have one. That's the sum and substance of my career in espionage...
I wasn't going to say anything until you mentioned the assignment, but you may have served with my father.
Alas, no edit button. After asking for a few specifics it sounds like you were on the same task, but not in the same location.
PS: Here's the diagram:
https://images.app.goo.gl/4A1h2Z5PzwkzmjGd7
Here's a better copy: https://www.marxists.org/turkce/konu/turkiyekom/tr_left_part_hist_diag.pdf
I've heard of the Elephant Cage! It's legendary! I'm trying to remember where I read about it--it was a satirical article, maybe in Hürriyet? Anyway, I found these instead:
https://www.diken.com.tr/fil-kafesi-istihbarati-amerikalilar-gagarinin-uzaya-gonderildigini-karamurselden-ogrenmis/
https://manifold.press/fil-kafesi-nin-golgesinde-basketbol-yerel-bir-hikaye
Yes, that's the Elephant Cage, officially the AN/FLR-9 HF/DF direction finder. There were eight of them around the world and their mission was to locate high-priority targets. The Air Force ran the network, which was called Iron Horse, but the Army and Navy also used it. The last operational AN/FLR-9 was up in Alaska; it was decommissioned in 2016.
(I just checked and the diagram is no longer online. A shame. I'll try to find it somewhere else.)
Thanks for sharing your collection, Claire. There is so much to unpack here. I too was impressed with Erdogan in the early days. He made a lot of the right noises and followed through on some.
I don‘t know what I find more perplexing: the turn of Erdogan and the AKP, or the fact that so many of the Turks seem to find this okay. And when I read and consider this juxtaposition, it could describe numerous countries that by rights should be uniformly prosperous and thriving societies-- yet are not.
What will future historians make of this period? I think about that quite often, which is an even surer sign of aging than crow‘s feet and grey hair!
But Turkey. I lived and worked there for almost a year in 1995-6 and remain fascinated by all its history and rich complexity. Even then the presence of journalists was not encouraged, and the Deep State* was real enough.
* in recent years
I was never positively impressed by him. I always found him sinister. But I didn't think he could do anywhere near as much damage as he did. I thought there were just too many obstacles in his way. I had no idea how quickly one determined man (with the help of the Gülenists) could destroy Turkey's institutions.
Did the Gülenists actively work against institutions or just serve as the excuse with the coup attempt?
Also, you mentioned the secularist constitution keeping most of Turkey’s women out of education. How exactly did that work?
1. The Gülenists systematically infiltrated the institutions. And probably perpetrated the coup attempt. (Almost certainly.)
2. It kept women out of universities by forbidding them to attend wearing a headscarf.
(cont‘d) In recent years I am unable to suppress a giggle when I hear certain Americans going on about “the Deep State” because a) you didn’t invent that notion, and b) YOU HAVE NO IDEA.