If Dede Korkut came, he would name what has happened

An important role of the Great Oghuz Sage is also to bestow names upon newborns—to interpret what has transpired and name it as well. It is to create a clarity of mind and heart through a wise approach that resolves disputes in matters that confuse people's minds.

In the face of what has transpired in recent days, there was actually not much to confuse anyone's mind. Everything unfolded in a very clear manner. Everyone responded to what happened according to their own nature, stature, disposition, and will.

What if Dede Korkut were to come and, according to his own wisdom, name what has transpired—what would he say?

It befits a brave man to be truly brave,

Not to put on airs of bravery, my Lord!

To be brave means, beside an unarmed man,

To feel shame for one's weapon,

Not to show the tip of the blade, my champion!

This is the tradition of heroism.

So says the poet Cahit Koytak, in the tongue of "Dede Korkut in Sisiphus's Village." For a long time, I have thought that listening to what is happening through Cahit Koytak's poetry is a distinct privilege. He literally "names" what is transpiring, just like Dede Korkut. When Dede Korkut named children, he observed their deeds and chose a name that represented the person far more than their physical body.

Just as Mehmet Akif named Çanakkale... No one could have experienced Çanakkale more vividly than the miracle expressed in Akif's poem.

Cahit Koytak also names the turmoil we are actively living through, preventing it from boiling away into the well of history. First, his poem on Hrant Dink, then his poem quoted by Rasim Özdenören regarding the April 27 memorandum attempt, and now his poem about the bomb detonated in Ulus and those who immediately perceived this bomb as an "invitation to Iraq or domestic politics"...

These poems breathe fresh air into poetry, which has long withdrawn from life. I expect them to initiate new and fertile debates on the meaning and function of poetry.

The poet continues as follows:

While the weapon is on the hero's shoulder,

With the elected lords of the tribe,

To consult either like brothers of the same mother and father,

Or like companions sharing the same path and trace,

Or to remain silent like stone,

Does this not fall upon the hero?

While two brothers are exchanging words in the square,

Winking at one,

Saying 'aye' and giving courage,

While showing a dagger to the other,

Does that fit into heroism?

The wise poet's long poem continues. You can read the full text at www.haber7.com. Still, let us not pass without conveying his reaction to those who immediately converted the incident into a tool of political gain while nothing was clear about it yet.

Does it not fall upon you to chase in the mountains

The jackal, the boar, and the bandit?

Taking heroes with five horse-tail standards by your side,

Like a fire brigade sergeant of forty years,

What business do you have at the site of the fire?

Well, putting that aside, you speak saying, "Look out,

Fires might break out in other places too!";

Is that right now, my Lord? Shouldn't one ask,

What else is the arsonist's intention,

If not to make the elite utter this

And throw everything into panic?

When Dede Korkut names an event, he resolves disputes and ends the debate. Today, however, our problem is that we lack the discernment to appreciate the value of wisdom and to lend an ear to it for our own good.

Who is inviting the Turkish military to Northern Iraq?

If we ask the right questions, there will be no need for answers. So let us ask the right questions: Why are the bomb attack in Ulus and the landmine attack in Şırnak immediately treated as an invitation for the Turkish military to enter Iraq?

Why are we expected to believe right away that this invitation was sent by the PKK?

What interest does the PKK have in conveying this invitation so persistently?

Why is the PKK, which has not dared to engage in any face-to-face conflict for a long time, eager to confront the Turkish military in Northern Iraq?

Is the PKK's greatest logistical support truly in Northern Iraq? Through what combat techniques is the terrorist organization—whose domestic logistical support Turkey has failed to prevent from increasing day by day despite all measures taken over 23 years—expected to eliminate its extensions in Northern Iraq in a short time?

All things considered, if a cross-border operation is necessary for these conflicts that have been ongoing for 23 years, what is the urgency? Could it not wait a few more months?

Why did "urgent" codes start being attached to invitations right on the eve of elections?

One final question: Does the General Staff, which we have no doubt knows all of this better than I do, truly want to enter Northern Iraq? I do not think they do.

So then, does the door to Northern Iraq open to somewhere else that we cannot see? What is it?