Portrait of Turkey’s New Top Military Commander
Photo from Turkish Daily News…While he was commanding his troops to eliminate terrorists inside and outside of the country’s borders, Gen. Ilker Basbug was also pondering … ways to stop young Kurdish boys joining the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK…. He had proposed taking social and economic steps to make life better in the southeastern region of Anatolia, one of the country’s poorest regions, in order to stop youngsters from choosing to join the PKK. “We cannot fully eliminate terrorism through solely military means,” he said, in an indirect call to politicians to do more for the development of the region.
Under his command, Turkish troops launched the first cross-border ground operation into northern Iraq in years, seriously damaging the terrorists’ hideouts in the region. More air operations against the PKK are expected during Basbug’s tenure, but it is not yet certain whether the military will ask for the extension of parliamentary authorization for cross-border operations, as the current authorization will expire November 17.
What has led to Basbug’s reputation as a ‘hawk’ is his support for the secular order of the country….
Basbug was born in Afyon on April 29, 1943 to an immigrant family from Bitola, known as Manastir during the Ottoman Empire. He started his military career in 1957… He attended the Royal Military Academy of England and the NATO Defense College. He served as an intelligence officer at NATO International Military Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Having been promoted to the rank of general, he served as intelligence plans chief at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, or SHAPE, and as chief of National Military Representation, or NMR, in Mons, Belgium.
He is married to Sevil Basbug, who is also the daughter of an army officer, and has two children. Basbug is fluent in English and studied sociology and international diplomacy. He is also interested in movies and theatre.
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