Death to the Crusade
September 18, 2005
The New York Times
By TED WIDMER
[...]
Near the bazaar, Istanbul's new bookstores are selling out [...] "Metal Storm," [...] available only in Turkish (as "Metal Firtina"), [...] Written by Orkun Ucar (a science fiction writer) and Burak Turna (a reporter), this surprise best seller will give palpitations to anyone concerned about the image of the United States overseas.
[...]
[...] "Metal Storm" offers a highly realistic account of an American war with Turkey. [...]. To be sure, the book is trashy - its wild speculations include a shadow ruler behind the unnamed American president and arms smuggling via the Mexican drug mafia - and readers are presumably taking it with a grain of salt. Yet it's a sign of how far America's reputation has plummeted that "Metal Storm," first published in late 2004, is now in its eighth printing of 50,000. The book is said to be very popular with the Turkish military, and men aged 18 to 30.
[...]
That tinderbox demographic plays a part in the book, in the form of a secret service outfit that recruits 14-year-old orphans. At the start of the three-year training, each boy is given a puppy. At the end, he's ordered to shoot it - a lesson in how to banish all love from his heart except love of country. "Come time, you may have to kill a little baby, maybe a whole family or the girl you love, in order to save your country!" the boys are instructed.
[...]
The plot of "Metal Storm" unfolds something like this. American forces invade Turkey over two weeks in 2007. After war planners discover Turkey has a high concentration of borax, a strategic mineral needed for nuclear weapons and space technology, G.I.'s overrun Turkey from their position in neighboring Iraq. [...] . The Americans have no difficulty taking over Turkey's primary cities, where they allow cultural vandalism. They fail to secure the countryside, however, and slowly their hubris begins to do them in.
Things get stranger in Phase 2 of the war, named Operation Sèvres after the Treaty of Sèvres, which was signed after World War I and intended to carve up Turkey as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In this phase, the United States attempts to partition Turkey between two historic rivals, Greece and Armenia, and allows a Kurdish state to come into being. [...]. First, the Turks form a new alliance with China, Russia and Germany. Then, a brave Turkish secret agent named Gokan [...] steals a poorly guarded nuclear weapon and takes out Washington. At the moment of impact, everything turns to vapor, including one Washington mother welcoming her children home from school. [...] and Turks can go to bed knowing the invader has been soundly and justly defeated.
The story is outlandish, and one hopes the Turks are reading it the way we watch "Star Wars," [...]. The American government includes Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and a grinning, nameless president who seems to enjoy war almost as much as his naps, speaks glowingly in terms of "crusades," and is close to evangelical Christians, who want to build a megachurch in Istanbul. [...].
The book's anti-Americanism is all the more disturbing since Turkey is one of America's most important allies [...].
So it's not surprising the book has attracted attention in Washington.[...]. In March, Zeyno Baran, a Turkey expert from the Nixon Center, told the senators that "Metal Storm" was "essential in understanding the Turkish mind-set today."
But the popularity of "Metal Storm" is not the only disturbing literary trend in Turkey today. In the past year, Hitler's "Mein Kampf" has sold tens of thousands of copies in Turkey, ever since an inexpensive version was published that costs only six new Turkish liras, or $4.50. This vexes Germany, one of Turkey's most important allies, where the book is banned (the state of Bavaria owns the copyright). Turkey has been relatively tolerant toward Jews [...]. But the popularity of "Mein Kampf" suggests countercurrents are never far from the surface.
[...] Only a few weeks ago, one of the authors of "Metal Storm" published another book, a spinoff of sorts. It still features the secret agent Gokan, only this time around, Turkey and Israel go to war. It could be a long century.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
The New York Times
By TED WIDMER
[...]
Near the bazaar, Istanbul's new bookstores are selling out [...] "Metal Storm," [...] available only in Turkish (as "Metal Firtina"), [...] Written by Orkun Ucar (a science fiction writer) and Burak Turna (a reporter), this surprise best seller will give palpitations to anyone concerned about the image of the United States overseas.
[...]
[...] "Metal Storm" offers a highly realistic account of an American war with Turkey. [...]. To be sure, the book is trashy - its wild speculations include a shadow ruler behind the unnamed American president and arms smuggling via the Mexican drug mafia - and readers are presumably taking it with a grain of salt. Yet it's a sign of how far America's reputation has plummeted that "Metal Storm," first published in late 2004, is now in its eighth printing of 50,000. The book is said to be very popular with the Turkish military, and men aged 18 to 30.
[...]
That tinderbox demographic plays a part in the book, in the form of a secret service outfit that recruits 14-year-old orphans. At the start of the three-year training, each boy is given a puppy. At the end, he's ordered to shoot it - a lesson in how to banish all love from his heart except love of country. "Come time, you may have to kill a little baby, maybe a whole family or the girl you love, in order to save your country!" the boys are instructed.
[...]
The plot of "Metal Storm" unfolds something like this. American forces invade Turkey over two weeks in 2007. After war planners discover Turkey has a high concentration of borax, a strategic mineral needed for nuclear weapons and space technology, G.I.'s overrun Turkey from their position in neighboring Iraq. [...] . The Americans have no difficulty taking over Turkey's primary cities, where they allow cultural vandalism. They fail to secure the countryside, however, and slowly their hubris begins to do them in.
Things get stranger in Phase 2 of the war, named Operation Sèvres after the Treaty of Sèvres, which was signed after World War I and intended to carve up Turkey as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. In this phase, the United States attempts to partition Turkey between two historic rivals, Greece and Armenia, and allows a Kurdish state to come into being. [...]. First, the Turks form a new alliance with China, Russia and Germany. Then, a brave Turkish secret agent named Gokan [...] steals a poorly guarded nuclear weapon and takes out Washington. At the moment of impact, everything turns to vapor, including one Washington mother welcoming her children home from school. [...] and Turks can go to bed knowing the invader has been soundly and justly defeated.
The story is outlandish, and one hopes the Turks are reading it the way we watch "Star Wars," [...]. The American government includes Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and a grinning, nameless president who seems to enjoy war almost as much as his naps, speaks glowingly in terms of "crusades," and is close to evangelical Christians, who want to build a megachurch in Istanbul. [...].
The book's anti-Americanism is all the more disturbing since Turkey is one of America's most important allies [...].
So it's not surprising the book has attracted attention in Washington.[...]. In March, Zeyno Baran, a Turkey expert from the Nixon Center, told the senators that "Metal Storm" was "essential in understanding the Turkish mind-set today."
But the popularity of "Metal Storm" is not the only disturbing literary trend in Turkey today. In the past year, Hitler's "Mein Kampf" has sold tens of thousands of copies in Turkey, ever since an inexpensive version was published that costs only six new Turkish liras, or $4.50. This vexes Germany, one of Turkey's most important allies, where the book is banned (the state of Bavaria owns the copyright). Turkey has been relatively tolerant toward Jews [...]. But the popularity of "Mein Kampf" suggests countercurrents are never far from the surface.
[...] Only a few weeks ago, one of the authors of "Metal Storm" published another book, a spinoff of sorts. It still features the secret agent Gokan, only this time around, Turkey and Israel go to war. It could be a long century.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 6:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home