Conquer, for this is the last army of Islam…

First, let us discharge a debt: may the Mehmetçik's road be open, his sword sharp, and his fortune bright.

As of yesterday, the Turkish Armed Forces began the operation against Afrin, in northern Syria, where terror hotspots have nested. Our President had expressed on many occasions this month, at various levels and in various ways, that the knife had now reached the bone, that Turkey's border security was at stake, and that if the interlocutors took no measures in this regard, Turkey was ready and determined to do what fell to it.

During the visit to France, in the talks held with Russian President Putin, and in the talks held with the US at various levels, the sensitivities regarding Syria were constantly on the table. A request was also made to the NATO alliance, of which Turkey is a member, for the collective securing of the border (since the Turkey-Syria border is also NATO's border). Frankly, while the Transatlantic alliance Turkey belongs to preferred to beat water in a mortar on this matter, Russia and Iran understood Turkey's sensitivities better and developed a more reasonable approach.

In the end, our President had given the signal before news of the operation's start came, and had stated that the Afrin Operation had actually begun on the ground. Two hours after the statement, our warplanes took off and bombed the terror nests with a 95 percent hit rate.

While the bombardment by our aircraft continued, the voices rising from inside Turkey became the most serious indicator of by whom terror and terrorists are supported.

While the bombs were exploding over the terrorists' heads in Afrin, HDP spokespeople and some of its members were upset, and what is more, as if to show how far they had lost their senses, they committed the folly of calling people into the streets. On the other hand, they began preparations to stage a play similar to the one they staged over Ayn al-Arab, which ended in the savage murder of people dear to us such as Yasin Börü.

Interestingly, every time the Turkish army sends a blow to the terrorists, the HDP spokespeople, with the most vulgar hypocrisy, pretend to be concerned about the lives of Turkish soldiers and try to position themselves in a prestigious position vis-à-vis the outside world. Yet these terror-lovers do not use the same language when, for example in Kayseri, PKK terrorists carried out a treacherous attack on our unarmed soldiers who were out on leave to the town centre.

While these HDP members, the owners of such attitudes, busy themselves with their treason, for which they will be called to account through law and justice, the Turkish Armed Forces has launched the ground operation. In a short time, the settlements near the border held by the PKK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization began to be captured one by one. It is hard to say anything certain about how long the operation will last. What can be understood from the statements of both our President and our Prime Minister is that the operation is intended to be concluded decisively. This prevents a definite inference about its duration.

With the operation personally directed by our Chief of the General Staff, the aim is to clear the region of terrorist groups and for the local people who were forced to leave these areas under pressure from both the regime and the PKK/PYD/YPG/DAESH terrorist organizations to return to their lands. That the operation is being carried out together with units attached to the Free Syrian Army is also quite important. Because the operation Turkey is carrying out is being conducted on the basis of ensuring Syria's territorial integrity and the understanding that Syrian territory belongs to Syrians.

Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar, who made statements in the very minutes the Olive Branch Operation was launched, also underlined this reality. The military operation Turkey has launched toward Afrin rests on the right of legitimate self-defense recognized and defined by Article 51 of the UN Charter. The aim of the operation is to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and Turkey's border security. Even the rocket attack on Hatay's Reyhanlı district, which caused both loss of life and serious injuries, shows how necessary this operation is for Turkey and how legitimate it is in terms of international law.

While those who placed the Treaty of Sèvres before Turkey 100 years ago are preparing to impose a new Sèvres, the Turkish army scatters the plans being made with the Afrin Operation and leaves the eager ones' eagerness stuck in their throats. There should be not the slightest doubt that the Turkish army, cleansed of the elements of the treacherous network FETÖ, closed to external influence and devoted to Turkey, will complete this operation successfully. Let us conclude with the verses of Yahya Kemal:

This storm that has broken loose is the Turkish army, O Lord

The army that dies in Your cause is this one, O Lord

So that Your name may rise, supported by the call to prayer

Grant it victory; for this is the last army of Islam.