According to Turkish government sources, Ergenekon is a conspiracy formed among various disparate journalists, retired military officials and opposition party leaders. To date over 80 have been detained and brought in for questioning.

It’s a rather strange conspiracy in which those ideologically attached to the left of center, such as Labor Party leader Doğu Perinçek and leading secular liberal journalists, have attached themselves to those that are normally considered to be right of center, such as the military and capitalist businessmen— specifically, retired military officers and the head of Ankara’s Chamber of Commerce. Not only is it being alleged that this motley collection of individuals with presumably differing ideologies attached themselves to each other, but that they have found something so intoxicatingly in common so as to inextricably unite and form a criminal terrorist enterprise whose aim is to promote large scale violence to justify a military coup.

What could bring so many with so many differing political ideologies together to allegedly form such a vast criminal enterprise with such fantastic goals?

Many allege the motive was that each of the individuals collected and accused of participating in Ergenekon oppose the AKP and its Islamic ways, that these individuals are a new brand of die-hard, ultranationalist secular jihadis. And, without questioning this hypothesis, European and other western media have enthusiastically jumped aboard this train of thought. Demeaning and pejorative labels are liberally heaped upon these individuals. They are anti-democratic, they are ultra-nationalists, described in terms that can only lead to the conclusion they are fascists.

What does Europe, which so suspiciously views the hijab and goes so far to prohibit it in educational institutions in France, have to gain from an Islamic government in Ankara? Why is the west in which secular thought and anti-Islamism is common (have you noticed how desperate Obama is to shed the Muslim label?) so eager to label Turks who believe in secular democracy in this way? What is their motivation? What do they have to gain?

Many conclude the allegedly cooperative collection of individuals with different political ideologies accused of Ergenekon membership all have in common that they oppose the AKP. Perhaps. But, is that all they have in common? Suppose this group were to achieve the alleged purpose of a coup, then what? What kind of singular government do people from such disparate political ideologies then form?

Little known is that Erdogan and his AKP have pronounced themselves co-leaders of George W. Bush and his hawkish neo-cons Greater Middle East Initiative. This Initiative’s goal is to re-draw boundaries in the Middle East to allegedly achieve stability or controllable chaos, depending on which side of the issue you fall upon, and thus have greater control over the Middle East’s vast reserves of natural resources. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, heightening tensions with Iran are all part and parcel of this Initiative. Among others, trump cards played by the west against Turkey to ensure its favorable participation in this Initiative include Armenian genocide claims and PKK separatists.

What’s interesting, and that no one discusses, is that those who are allegedly members of this fantastical Ergenekon scheme are all opposed to the Initiative, or have taken action to undermine the so-called trump cards held by the west and used to pressure Turkey into supporting and actively furthering the Initiative’s goals.

For example, in an April 27, 2005 interview, Mehmet Perinçek, the Turkish scholar discovered a complete copy of Armenian Prime Minister Hovhannes Katchaznouni’s manifesto and who continues to uncover other Russian archival documents undermining Armenina genocide claims, stated—

As we have seen in the Soviet documents I’ve mentioned, the Armenian question belongs neither to Armenians, nor to Turks. The Armenian question is actually an issue created to weaken Turkey.

As they used the Armenians to reach the point to sign and implement the Treaty of Sèvres, they are putting pressure on Turkey with this issue. Actually, it’s neither the Armenians in Turkey, nor the Armenians in Armenia. It’s the Western diplomacy as it was in 1915 and 1920s.

It’s interesting what Wolfowitz said when our deputies went there about a month ago. He said “These [genocide resolution] bills will keep coming to the Senate.”He said, “If you do this about the base in İncirlik and that about the seminary in Heybeliada, and cooperate with us against Iran and Syria, we will not ratify these bills. But if you take action otherwise we will ratify these bills.”

So, all this reveals that the Armenian question or the genocide allegations are not [about historical truths]. They are completely political issues like they were in the past. Wolfowitz did not say, “Let’s study the issue, open the archives, examine the documents and accept or reject the genocide according to the facts.” He said “Your attitude will determine whether there was a genocide or not.”

Doğu Perincek, the Labor Party leader imprisoned for alleged Ergenekon membership, has challenged Armenian genocide claims in such a way that the issue of whether one can deny the genocide occurred in Switzerland, and hence whether a genocide actually occurred, is ripe to be brought before the European Court of Human Rights. What better way to stop him from obliterating this trading card than to imprison him for being a terrorist?

The Turkish military has amassed 100,000 troops on the border with Iraq. They oppose the formation of a greater Kurdistan and the PKK, which the U.S. has armed with its own weapons and is trying to train to become the new army for the Northern Iraqi Kurdish region. The Turkish military opposes an invasion of Iran which would leave Turkey with two destabilized neighbors in which sectarian conflict is rife. What better way to try to make the Turkish military back down from this stand-off than to diminish their reputation by accusing their highest ranking officers of participating in a criminal anti-democratic terrorist enterprise?

As for the Turkish journalists who stand accused, with their almighty sword—the pen—those who know the players can connect the dots for themselves.