We are finally able to distinguish Washington’s plans from behind the disinformation smokescreen that the corporate media has set around the creation of the so-called Turkish “Information Troops.” There’s no doubt that American special services are planning to use them to their full extent now against Russia, since Turkey is widely regarded in NATO as a bridgehead for conflict against Russia.
The primary working tool of Turkey’s new “information special forces” has become the so-called Onion Router, that was developed by the Center for High Assurance Computer Systems (CHACS) of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) within the Free Haven framework. The project was brought into life with the extensive assistance provided by theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in accordance with the demand of the federal government.
This project was developed with an extensive amount of financial assistance provided by the US Department of Defense and the Department of State. The thinking behind it is that it must serve as an alternative to the official “controlled Internet” to ensure anonymity for users, including those who are engaged in disinformation campaigns in specific states that NATO considers non-friendly.
Starting with the training of a little over 50 Turkish cyberspace commandos in Ukraine last June, instructors from the Pentagon and the CIA have managed to pass on American experience in information warfare to their new recruits. Now Turkey’s “Information Troops.” are going to take advantage of this experience to provoke certain Turkish Internet communities, transforming users into a reliable source of disinformation, who would then spread ideological sentiments favorable toTurkish authorities. The “test run” was executed by those cyberspace commandos in the preparation of the failed military coup in Turkey, along with the use of the local population as cannon fodder, by urging them to take to the streets.
Then, according to the plan drafted in Washington, those commandos launched “a wave of people’s fury” against the alleged masterminds behind the coup. This allowed Tayyip Erdogan to redraw various layers of Turkish society, arresting representatives of the military elite, intellectuals, teachers, judges and even diplomats in one quick sweep.
It’s doesn’t take a genius to establish that Erdogan was so quick to identify external and internal enemies only due to the fact that his actions were pre-planned in such a way as to strike his political opponents in the very heart. It’s no secret that all supporters and even sympathizers of the self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen were subjected to harassment and harsh treatement afterwards. Erdogan has already fired 1,700 servicemen, including 149 generals and admirals, shut down 40 media sources, and forced 88 diplomats to resign, including two ambassadors. According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, at a briefing in Ankara on July 28, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoglu announced that there can be other “supporters of Gülen” in the Ministry, so new resignations may be quick to follow. One of the diplomats who was employed at the Turkish consulate in Kazan has even fled to Japan.
Thousands of arrests have not slowed down Turkey’s President however, since the Pentagon and the CIA have clearly demonstrated to him the speed and efficiency with which they can train new cyberspace commandos in Ukraine, therefore Erodgan is convinced that he’ll be able to prepare a sufficient number of new managers and military commanders with relative ease.
There’s an ever increasing number of curious details we are not able to yet learn about the so-called Turkish “Information Troops.” In particular, the top priority for these cyberspace commandos has been selected by Washington and it’s opposing Russia by all possible means. Those troops, like Turkey itself, are under NATO’s command after all, and the North Atlantic Alliance considers Russia to be a primary threat. Therefore, its the Turkish military and not journalists or bloggers that will determine which information deserves the attention of various electronic media and social network groups. Turkish cyberspace commandos have also been trained to collect personal data on Russian soldiers deployed in Syria, forming the so-called list of “international crimes of the Russian army,” etc… All of this will be done under the pretext of carrying out volunteer tasks that benefit Turkey’ society.
It is therefore not surprising that the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché – Colonel Carol, along with Canada’s Attaché to Kiev, who is a well-know expert in information warfare, Colonel Ron Ubbens, are both engaged in the “learning process” of Turkish cyberspace commandos in Ukraine to provide them with the idea on how Russia should be targeted. Since the political prospects of Turkey are fairly uncertain, Turkish “Information Troops” are being tasked with confronting Moscow to prevent any attempts for rapprochement that Erdogan may take.
Under these circumstances, Erdogan’s recent desire to “rebuild bridges of friendship with Moscow” and go on a trip to Russia in early August for a personal meeting with President Vladimir Putin, looks at least strange. After all, if one really believes Erdogan intends to establish friendly relations with Moscow, why he does he carry on supporting anti-Russian training programs in Ukraine? And, what’s even more important, does Moscow need a duplicitous partner?
Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”
