Even though our soldiers interfere in daily politics -- an act illegal even under Turkish law -- under the pretext of protecting the state, I concur with him that Turkey needs a very strong army. I also think that the army needs our help in this regard.It seems that our army has been losing credibility in the eyes of the masses, and a recent survey showed that people are not happy with the army's interference in politics. Under such circumstances, taxpayers will increasingly be unhappy about their money being transferred to the military budget and expenditures, and in the future, commanders will find it increasingly difficult to convince their civilian bosses that such expenditures are necessary. But, it seems that our generals are either unaware of this trend in society or are simply waiting for their retirement so that they will not have to bear the burden of reforming the military's mind. If our generals are sincere in their demand for a stronger army, they have to know that today's Turkey insists that the army has to be transparent in its financial dealings and expenditures. So far civilians have been unable to control, monitor and inspect the military's expenditures. Even the mighty Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has been unable to achieve this. But in return, the generals keep losing their credibility, and this will of course negatively affect their demands for more money. If our generals do not want to see this coming, I doubt their strategic thinking and wisdom, if not sincerity.
Another important issue with regard to having a stronger army is related to the division of labor. It is now a universal law of nature and economics that the division of labor helps humans to produce effectively and more. Our generals seem to think that in addition to their military duties, they have to act as politicians, police and even public opinion makers (I do not want to mention business). But this is mission impossible. As far as we are aware, even though we like to think that our soldiers are heroes, they are obviously not superheroes. Before being accepted to military schools, we were educated in the same schools, and as far as we could see, they were as normal humans like anyone else. So, it is obvious that our generals will never be able to fulfill many tasks that would normally be carried out by several individuals. If they think about politics all day, who will prepare our army for the defense of the nation? It should not be puzzling for our generals then when civilians react very negatively and harshly to their failures such as in the hood affair when our first-class soldiers were arrested by the Americans in northern Iraq, or Dağlıca, when Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists killed several of our solders and kidnapped many of them across the border while our military was unable to help, let alone making use of the intelligence gathered informing about the forthcoming attack.
I think civilians can help our army in this regard, as well. They must start this by establishing first-class civilian research and teaching defense academies at respected universities. There are such institutions in the West, and they have not inflicted any harm on Westerners. These civilian defense academies can help civilians, administrators, journalists, governors and politicians have a better understanding and a deeper knowledge of defense and military issues so that we can get rid of the absolute monopoly of the generals on these issues, a monopoly that harms the military itself. Civilian eyes with credible knowledge on defense issues will bring quality civilian input to the military and will increase its legitimacy in the eyes of the masses. The next step may be working on strategic military issues. These institutions can also monitor and analyze both the military and individual commanders and let us know if they have been effective and successful. International scholars, retired soldiers and so on can also work at these academies.
These civilian defense academies will help the army get stronger by simply helping it to be more transparent, if nothing else. The generals should be woken up to the fact that if the military remains in darkness, every dark scenario, however incorrect and unjust, will continue to stick to the military.
