Turkeys influence operation behind attack on US Marines

Abdallah Bozkurt/Stockholm

The September attack on two U.S. Marines on leave in the Turkish port city of Izmir was orchestrated by a neo-nationalist militant group and sanctioned by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to information obtained by Nordic Monitor. The attack was part of a covert influence operation aimed at domestic audiences as well as a warning to the United States.

Turkish intelligence was aware of the militant groups' preparations, but authorized the attack without intervening. The government has given tacit approval to the pursuit of Erdogan's political goals. The rapid release of the attackers strongly suggests that the attack was quietly state-sanctioned, part of a long-standing trend of increasing anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric under Erdogan's regime.

Members of the militant group, emboldened by government protection, staged a protest on September 7, just five days after the attack, in which they threatened to send American soldiers back to the United States in coffins. This demonstration took place in the same place as the previous attack.

The Marines, stationed aboard the USS Wasp, a naval assault ship docked in Turkey, were attacked on September 2 by 15 members of the neo-nationalist Turkish Youth Union (Trkiye Genlik Birlii, or TGB) and Pioneer Youth (nc Genlik, G). , both affiliated with the pro-Iranian Aydnlk network, led by Dou Perinek, an ally of Erdogan.

Although 15 suspects were initially arrested, only 10 were formally arrested, including the leaders of TGB and G. However, they were quickly released pending the completion of the investigation, a scenario not without recall past incidents where no significant sanctions were imposed. Perinek's youth organizations have long attacked U.S. troops without facing serious legal repercussions.

These groups have already targeted U.S. military personnel on multiple occasions, even infiltrating Turkey's Incirlik Air Base in Adana, which is home to the U.S. Air Force's 39th Air Base Wing. The last attack before the September incident took place in November 2021, when TGB activists assaulted a US sailor in Istanbul, putting a bag over his head. Although police arrested 17 suspects, none were formally charged or convicted.

The Perineks groups have been emboldened by their links to Turkish intelligence, law enforcement and judiciary. The Erdogan government has always been reluctant to take legal action against them, seeing such attacks as politically advantageous. Turkish police, despite being aware of the group's plans, did not intervene to arrest them, knowing that the activists benefit from state protection.

A prominent example of this occurred in 2012, when TGB activists planned to attack American sailors from the USS Abraham Lincoln. Although police initially arrested the suspects, after Erdogan's alliance with Perinek in 2014, the case was overturned and all suspects were acquitted. In a bizarre turn of events, a police officer was even sentenced to eight months in prison for arresting the activists, a decision that underlined the power of the Perinek faction within the Turkish justice system.

These groups not only targeted American soldiers, but also attacked other countries' NATO troops. In 2013, TGB activists attacked German NATO soldiers, putting bags over their heads. Despite the severity of the attack, the perpetrators suffered minimal consequences.

The influence of the Perinek group extends well beyond these militant actions. Although their political party, the Fatherland Party (Vatan), garners little electoral support and obtains only 0.1% of the national vote in the 2023 legislative elections, its real power lies in its links within the services of Turkish intelligence, army and police. Members of the group frequently appear in national media, promoting anti-NATO and anti-US rhetoric while advocating closer ties with Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela and Afghanistan.

With the unwavering support of the Erdogan government, the Fatherland Party and its youth wing, the TGB, continue to fan the flames of anti-American sentiment in Türkiye. They staged demonstrations in front of the US embassy and consulates and demonstrations at Incirlik Air Base, demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Turkish soil.

The attack on U.S. Marines in Izmir is not an isolated incident but is part of a broader state-backed influence operation intended to stoke anti-Western sentiment and promote the political goals of the Erdogan regime. The repeated lack of accountability for such attacks highlights the deep entrenchment of neo-nationalist groups in Turkish institutions, with Erdogan using these connections to bolster his domestic and foreign policy goals.