COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY PETE WEATHERBY IN THE
INDEPENDENT
Some conspiracy
theorists think Erdogan himself was behind the coup – indeed, that is Gulen’s
contention. Yet the reality is more straightforward: he has seized an
unexpected opportunity
Yes, at the first, more than a few suspected the coup was a
black government operation. It remains entirely possible.
Erdogan not only consolidated dictatorial powers, he gained
public sympathy, and the coup revealed all the people in important positions who
shouldn't be in them from his point of view. He carried out, quite literally, a
state-controlled revolution.
If he indeed did create the coup, he really is an evil
genius. Rarely has an event gone so well for its intended victim.
But simple observation of his week-to-week actions and words
do confirm a very clever and diabolical man.
He publicly strongly criticizes Israel, making his Muslim
followers happy, yet works secretly with Israel on some projects, as he did in
Syria.
He attacks Russia in frustration for ruining his Syrian
plans, but emerges building a new relationship with Russia, including the
re-emergence of the Turkish Stream gas project. That relationship with Russia
is also used to help keep the United States in line.
By having taken huge numbers of refugees from America's
Middle East bombing horrors, he keeps a hammer over the EU's head while at the
same time gaining credit with his own people as a humanitarian. Etc, etc, etc.
He slips up now and then - as with the stupid downing of a
Russian jet - but he has enough goodwill at home and he has enough leverage in
the international community - as with NATO and keeping the EU on the hook
constantly - to just slip through.
