Istanbul's
Occupation Would Mean Achievement of Multiple Goals for
the British Deep State
Turkish
bravery during the Battle of Gallipoli completely humiliated the British deep
state in the international arena. They were convinced that if they occupied the
capital of the Islamic world, they would have taken their revenge. The truth
is, all the politicians involved in the planning, declaration and
implementation of the Gallipoli campaign, were following the orders of the
British deep state and naturally, after the defeat, they fell from grace with
the public. They hoped that the occupation would gain them their lost influence
and power. This had been their main goal.
Istanbul
was not only the capital of the Ottoman Empire, but also the capital of the
Islamic world. It was a city where the Caliph of the Muslims lived. To the
British deep state, an occupied capital would be a tour de force of British
prowess, especially in terms of influencing the Muslims living under British
rule, most notably in India. They hoped that the occupation would stem any
potential anti-British sentiment or independence movements, as well as
preventing Muslims from uniting under a single flag, and that British rule
would be further cemented.
The decision to occupy Istanbul involved
the control of two straits, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The British navy
anchored in the Bosphorus Strait supervised exits from Marmara, and the
Dardanelles Strait was also kept under the control of the British. In other
words, the British had the control of the entrance and the exit to the Marmara
Sea, and consequently to the Black Sea. Thus, they could keep the Russian
warships under control and impose taxes on Russian trade. This meant having the
upper hand of the newly established Bolshevik Russia. St. Petersburg, or
Leningrad as it was known during Soviet times, was the only Russian port close
to Europe. It was frozen for 6 months of the year and lacked the geographical
or strategic infrastructure wanted by the Russian navy. The Russians always
wanted to have access to warmer waters. Although the Black Sea was under
Russian control, any state that controlled the Straits could easily override
that control. The British,
through the occupation of Istanbul and the Straits, also wanted to keep
post-revolution Russia under control.
The
British deep state was anxiously watching the growing affinity between the
Bolsheviks and the Turkish independence movement. They feared the Russians
could get stronger again and pursue an imperialist policy and believed that if
it could control the Straits and Istanbul, it would be able to prevent such an
expansion.
Another objective of the British occupation
of Istanbul was undermining the authority of the Caliph over British colonies
to give the impression that British rule had now taken the place of the Sultan;
the Caliph and the entire Ottoman Empire was now under British control. The
British hoped they could
dishearten the Muslim subjects and intimidate the regional tribal leaders,
religious leaders and minority leaders. They wanted to give a clear message to
everyone that there is no coming back for the Ottoman Empire. The occupation
marked the peak of the British Empire. Through occupation, they wished to
suppress the Islamic awakening and find new prospective colonies.
The most
important symbolic message of the Istanbul occupation was the removal of the
Turks from Europe, whereby the Ottoman Empire would no longer be considered a
part of Europe. Istanbul had always been the 'Eastern Capital' of Europe.
Ancient Greeks, Venetians, Romans, Genoese and Byzantines had chosen this
beautiful city as their home. The 600-year Ottoman rule in Istanbul made the Ottoman
Empire European. An occupation would, therefore, mean the removal of the Turks
from Europe.
The
British public considered the Ottoman alliance with Germany in WWI as a
betrayal and wanted this 'betrayal' to be punished. However, as reviewed in the
previous pages, this alliance was somehow forced by the British deep state, but
various circles voiced that this so-called betrayal should not be left
unpunished. The British deep state was convinced that the occupation of
Istanbul would give the Ottoman Empire the harshest punishment and would make
the Turks pay the heavy price of betrayal. Indeed, many believed that Istanbul
being taken from the Turks would be the surest sign of their defeat and the
Islamic world would stop viewing the Turks as the 'victorious soldiers of
Islam'. According to the British deep state, this occupation had to be
extremely humiliating and conclusive so that everyone would be convinced that
the Turks were irreversibly defeated. The British deep state believed that this
was essential for the purposes of its domination policy, yet another display of
its twisted mentality regarding the Ottoman Empire.
However, the British plans wouldn't work
because they didn't take Anatolian people into account. The Anatolian
independence movement led by Mustafa Kemal and his colleagues reminded the
whole world once again why the Turks were considered the victorious soldiers of
Islam. Over the next three years, the victors of the WWI completely retreated
from Ottoman lands, having suffered a humiliating defeat. French, Italians,
Greeks and British, one
by one, conceded defeat, signed peace treaties and sent their troops back home.
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