Mr. Chairman, distinguished participants; within my allotted time, I will address three core themes: the structure of NATO and the challenges Türkiye faces as a member, the parameters surrounding the probability of war, and the necessary course of action.
A historical review reveals that NATO’s strategic doctrines have consistently reflected US National Security Strategies. The post-WWII doctrine of “Massive Retaliation,” grounded in nuclear superiority, shifted to “Flexible Response” once the Soviet Union achieved nuclear parity. Consequently, the US ceased providing absolute security guarantees to flank nations like Türkiye in the event of a global conflict. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, rather than disbanding, NATO was repurposed into an intervention force targeting newly defined threats such as terrorism and mass migration to sustain US hegemony. Türkiye’s NATO membership functionally relegated the nation to guarding imperialist interests and defining national security through Washington’s lens. Yet, the US has never treated Türkiye or its other allies as equal partners.
The current Turkish government’s claims of pursuing a “balance-of-power” diplomacy are fundamentally incompatible with NATO membership. Atatürk’s foreign policy was not a passive balance-of-power strategy; it was a region-centered, balanced policy grounded in complete independence. Full independence mandates self-reliance across economic, military, political, and cultural domains. Today, the Western system—detached from real production and anchored in fiat dollars and financial rentier capitalism—is undergoing a structural crisis. As its economic dominance wanes, the US attempts to preserve its hegemony by terrorizing global politics and provoking regional instability. Beyond financial volatility, the West exports socio-cultural decay, including individualistic atomization, the erosion of family structures, and neo-fascism.
Aligning with the rising Asian civilization is a logical necessity of Turkish historical trajectory. Whenever NATO allies attempt to chart an independent course, the internal mechanism known as the “NATO Law” activates, sparking domestic destabilization. Political assassinations, military coups, the sponsoring of separatist terrorism, and the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt represent the destructive footprint of the NATO-linked Gladio network in Türkiye.
Preventing a major war requires neutralizing the factors that embolden US aggression, primary among which is the fragmentation of emerging Asian powers. Establishing a strategic alliance between Türkiye, Russia, China, and Iran (TRÇİ) emerges as an objective geopolitical necessity. A new global financial framework, an alternative reserve currency, and a comprehensive security architecture must be constructed. Democratic public pressure must be cultivated within Türkiye to steer foreign policy away from the Atlantic system and toward Eurasian integration. I conclude with the immortal words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “Peace at home, peace in the world.”
