Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was assassinated today by Turkish special forces officer, 22-year -old Mevlut Mert Altintas. who was part of a security detail. Ambassador Karlov was delivering a speech at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara when he was shot several times in the back without warning, and then shot at least once more at close range as he lay on the floor. As he murdered the Ambassador, the assassin yelled 'Allahu Akbar' numerous times and quoted a follower of Mohammad, "We are the ones who pledged Bai'a (fealty) to Mohammed on the terms of jihad as long as we live.'' He also said in Turkish," "We die in Aleppo, you die here."
Three more people were wounded when the gunman shot into the crowd.
According to eye witnesses, the killer was captured alive by Turkish security, but it was reported afterwards by the heavily controlled Turkish press that he 'died in a shootout with the police.'
So, what's this all about?
Those keeping track on news in this part of the world may recall that Russia's relations with Turkey and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have been dicey for some time. Russia took exception to Erdoğan's support of ISIS and other Syrian jihadist rebels, and relations cratered in November of 2015 after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian fighter jet that had briefly entered Turkish airspace en route from a bombing raid in Syria. After Russia's Putin ordered sanctions on importing Turkish goods and began threatening even harsher retaliation, Erdoğan apologized and relations have slowly improved, but only up to a point. Russia allowed the Turkish military into northern Syria, something that worked for Putin because it freed up manpower for the war in Syria's jihadis and pleased Erdoğan, who wanted to prevent the Kurds from establishing a state there.
But Erdoğan's Islamist heart still beats for the Syrian rebels, and it remains a point of contention that will likely come to a boil once Putin tells Erdoğan to take his military back over the border to Turkey.
The flash point, of course, is the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Islamist jihadis are being pushed out of their strongholds in the city. Any time you have this kind of urban warfare, civilians get killed. That's particularly true when jihadis are involved, since they will happily put civilians in danger by using their homes, hospitals and other civilian areas as military outposts. Jihadis will cheerfully use civilians as human shields, especially women and children, and with the aid of our corrupt media will exploit any casualties as 'bleeders,' for propaganda purposes. It's a common tactic, one we've seen used in Gaza and Lebanon among other places. It is simply how they operate.
Just an aside,remember that the majority of these jihadis are 'moderate' Syrian rebels from groups like the al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusrah and are armed, trained and financially backed by the Obama Administration, Qatar and the Saudis.
The truth, of course is that at this point, the battle of Aleppo is almost finished and the jihadis there have one single objective...to delay things as much as possible so that the next flashpoint, the jihadi occupied city of Idleb near the Lebanese border can be fortified and reinforced.
So with this in mind, let's connect the dots.
Turkey, at this point is pretty much an Islamist dictatorship under the rule of Erdoğan and his AKP Party. He used the recent 'coup' attempt to cement his control over every aspect of Turkish society - the military, the police, the press, the government, the judiciary, you name it. Anyone remotely suspected of opposition to Erdoğan is rotting in Turkey's jails, especially if they were part of investigating or reporting on the many corruption scandals he and his family have been involved in.
Turkish public feeling has been manipulated quite thoroughly against Russia,Putin and Syrian Leader Assad over Aleppo, something that could not have happened without Erdoğan's consent.
Such things make a useful distraction for Erdoğan and his regime from other things going on in Turkey they might prefer Turks not concern themselves with just now. And in view of what Turkey's press has been serving up to them and the predominant Islamist mindset, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of Turks thought that Ambassador Karlov's murder was just what Russia had coming,particularly since Allah was invoked by the killer against the Russian infidels.
The killer himself, Mevlut Mert Altintas is a piece of the puzzle as well. He was no mere policeman,but a special forces officer, a member of Erdoğan's elite security squad. It's significant to me that several Turkish media outlets cited eye witnesses who saw him alive in police custody have all been scrubbed, and we're now being told he was killed in a shootout with police on the gallery's second floor. No witnesses except the police, of course and they're not talking. Neither is Mevlut Mert Altintas,since he's dead and can't be interrogated.
Erdoğan might well be ginning up public opinion to support him if Turkey decides to annex that juicy slice of northern Syria Putin allowed him to access with President Obama's connivance. Erdoğan is also undoubtedly aware of the Obama Administration's ongoing campaign to demonize Putin and Russia, and this could be his opening gambit to get Obama's support for Turkey if Erdoğan decides to challenge Russia.
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