Published in: Asia & Americas, EU, Europe & Russia, International Organisations, Middle East, News, Turkey, US
America knew about the planned coup attempt in Turkey before it happened, the head of Al-Sharq Forum and former director of Al Jazeera network said.
In an interview with the Anadolu Agency, Wadah Khanfar said: “A coup of this magnitude would not be able to do anything without consulting or notifying the Americans.”
“We must not forget that Turkey’s army is part of NATO forces and America has a military base in Turkish Incirlik,” he added, “and we know that there are still issues in this base and Turkish officers have American colleagues there. ”
He continued: “I do not think that the Americans were unaware of this.” US Secretary of State John Kerry has rejected claims that the US was aware of the plan; however Khanfar said it was “expected that he would announce that Washington had nothing to do with it.”
Khanfar pointed out that Kerry’s first statement was “hesitant and not assertive in the first hour of the attempted coup.” After it was clear that the coup had failed, “the statements of US President Barack Obama and others were stronger in their support for the legitimate government in Turkey.”
With regards to the European position of the failed coup attempt, Khanfar said Europe’s political and media groups “insisted on painting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government as an authoritarian dictatorship, which we have seen clearly in recent years,” adding that “the late response and hesitant European reaction to what happened is the biggest indicator that Europe does not want Turkey to continue on its current course – led by Erdogan.”
“When the coup took place, we noticed a state of indecision in the media and western political attitudes, as they were not quick to condemn what happened; on the contrary, some of the statements were gloating and some wanted to wait and give the coup some time to prove itself.”
He went on saying that “there is no doubt that if the coup were to succeed, European attitudes towards it would have been positive. However, after it became clear to the West in general as well as many of the neighbouring countries that the Turkish people had foiled the coup, the statements of opposition to what happened started to emerge.”
20 July 2016