‘Americans have become a commodity’: Non-profit CEO says attack on military in Turkey is a warning

On Monday, September 2, 2023, at 4 p.m. local time, two US Marines in civilian clothes were assaulted by a group of 15 Turkish Youth Union (TGB) members in Izmir, Turkey's Konak district.

A video of the attack shows the group restraining a US Marine while attempting to put a hood over his head. Another Marine, who made an unsuccessful attempt at freeing the American hostage, was accosted by the crowd as well.

“The incident, which was observed from a distance by five other US soldiers in civilian clothes, was swiftly intervened by our security forces,” the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC, told The Media Line via email. “The 15 suspects involved in the incident were apprehended and detained upon the orders of the on-duty public prosecutor.”

The mob that attacked the US Marines consisted of 13 men and two women. Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the US Department of Defense’s press secretary, called the attack a “troubling incident” but said the two US Marines are safe.“They were aided by other Marines in the area,” Ryder said, “and subsequently taken to the local hospital for evaluation as a precaution but were not injured.”

This isn't the first time the anti-American Turkish organization has accosted US service members. It has become a calling card of sorts for the extremist group. In 2011, TGB attacked a US sailor in Bodrum; in 2014, the group attacked three US sailors in Istanbul and put hoods over their heads. In 2021, they conducted a similar publicity stunt against US Navy employees.

In protest of Hamas war

Many of their attacks have been in the name of Palestine and Syria and include chants of “Yankees, go home.”

According to published TGB literature, the group is “fighting against US imperialism and Israeli Zionism” and that it wages “war against them in every field.”

TGB members support terrorist groups such as Hamas. On July 31, 2024, the organization released a “Letter of Condolences” in memory of former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in early August. The letter, which praised the late Hamas leader, read: “The Palestinian cause is the Turkish cause, and Ismail Haniyeh is the martyr of Turkey. … The Zionist terrorists, slashed by the Sword of Jerusalem, will drown in the Aqsa Flood!”

TGB is “a nationalist and socialist group. So, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to call them a Nazi movement,” Mario “MAD” Duarte, president and CEO of Project DYNAMO, told The Media Line.

Project DYNAMO is a nonprofit organization led by US military veterans and donor-funded that specializes in rescuing people from warzones and other precarious global situations. Its teams of special operations military veterans and intelligence professionals have rescued over 7,000 people to date. The nonprofit has been awarded the [US] President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The ambush of the unsuspecting US Marines happened while on a port call with the USS Wasp (LHD 1). The USS Wasp (LHD 1) is a Norfolk, Virginia-based amphibious assault ship that supports US

Marines in combat and provides humanitarian assistance globally. It is the flagship of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group-24 th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). It has been participating in bilateral at-sea training with the Turkish Navy amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu (L-400) and the Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gökova (F-496)” before docking in Izmir.

According to a post on the USS Wasp’s official Facebook page, Izmir was the “third liberty port while deployed to Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) area of operations.”

The post also described how excited the crew was “to taste the famous Turkish coffee and experience the rich history and culture Izmir has to offer.” It emphasized that the visit provided “an opportunity to further enhance strategic partnership” between the US and Turkey.

However, the two US Marines who TGB members attacked got more than a taste of Turkish coffee.

The Turkish Embassy’s spokesperson told The Media Line, “A judicial investigation has been initiated regarding the matter.”

Maj. Gen. Ryder confirmed as much in his Tuesday press conference. “Local Izmir police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident. No Marines have been detained by local authorities, and those involved are cooperating with investigators,” Ryder said.

According to Duarte, aside from roughing up American service members, TGB has not turned violent yet, and placing hoods over the heads of Americans is a stunt done mainly for publicity.

Still, Duarte said, “it should serve as a warning” to all Americans as “Americans have become a commodity” for radical groups around the world.