US gets in way of friendship between Turkey, Russia: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with E. Michael Jones, editor of the Culture Wars Online Magazine from Pennsylvania, about Turkey’s persistence for extradition of Fetullah Gülen, a senior Turkish cleric, from the United States.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Fetullah Gülen’s attorney says enough evidence has not been presented to the US to prove his client’s involvement in the failed coup, what do you think Ankara would have to present to Washington to get that extradition approved?

Jones: Well, first of all I don’t think that’s what this really is all about. I don’t think anybody in his right mind thinks one 80-year-old living in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, can orchestrate a coup in Ankara without the help of agencies like the CIA. So, the only power that Gülen has is his alliance with the CIA, which means the CIA was behind the coup.

Well, Turkey doesn’t want to say that because that would be too serious a charge that would jeopardize this whole relationship known as NATO and the war against terror; so they are using this as kind of like a kabuki theater, kind of proxy warfare here of one side warning the other. So, on the one hand you have the United States which I think was involved in the shooting down of that Russian fighter jet because it was shot down by an AWACS plane. You don’t shoot these things down simply with a gun. You pull out your gun out of holster; you have to have the collaboration of the whole infrastructure.

So, that was the United States warning Turkey, don’t get too close to Russia, stay away from Russia. And now, we have the coup here which is apparently also another warning. Don’t get too close to Russia. And now Gülen is pushing back and says OK you don’t want to get too close to Russia. You’d better back off now, because I can see what you’re trying to do. So, I think that’s what’s really going on here.

Press TV: Turkish President Erdogan insists on this extradition. Do you think Washington will seek to its guns or ultimately cave in to Ankara’s demands and extradite to Turkey to preserve the relationship with an important Mideast ally they have in Turkey?

Jones: They want to either one. What they’ll do is they’ll use the legal process to string this out for months and months and months; and then, just hop that everything will go away. There’s no reason why they have to give in. Kerry is flying over there at the end of August and Joe Biden is probably going to fly over too. They’ll kiss his hand and say we’re sorry but they’re not going to give in.

And basically what they’re going to say is “Don’t ally yourself with Russia.” So, that’s the game that’s been played. Erdogan doesn’t want to say and in the open and the United States doesn’t want to say any open. So, they’re going through charade with pretending that’s about Gülen in Pennsylvania. 

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