'US denial of involvement in Turkish coup attempt rings hollow'

America’s denial of involvement in the failed Turkish coup d'état attempt rings hollow, as the track record of the US-sponsored coups spans decades, says Professor Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.

Etler, a professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Saturday, after the American ambassador to Turkey said Washington was not involved in last month's failed military coup attempt against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"I just want to say again, as I've said before and as we've said from Washington, the United States government did not plan, direct, support or have any advance knowledge of any of the illegal activities that occurred the night of July 15 and into July 16. Full stop," John Bass told the English daily Hurriyet Daily News on Saturday

Professor Etler said the United States, “like a thief who cries ‘stop thief,’ is no longer believed in its denials of involvement in coups and coup attempts throughout the world.”

“The track record of the US-sponsored coups spans decades and has resulted in the overthrow of duly constituted governments of dozens of sovereign nations, replacing recalcitrant leaders with those more amenable to and compliant with US interests. As a result when a coup attempt such as recently occurred in Turkey takes place suspicions immediately focus on the role the US may have played in it,” he added.

“Starting with the overthrow of Iranian [Prime Minister] Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 and Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán in 1954, the US has honed its regime change skills into a fine art. It knows how to cover its tracks and plead innocence, requiring others to produce a ‘smoking gun’ to support allegations of US involvement. Thus no matter what the circumstantial evidence may be the US can maintain ‘plausible dependability,’” he stated.  

Why did the coup attempt occur in Turkey?

“In evaluating a situation such as occurred in Turkey a geo-political analysis must be undertaken. Why did the coup attempt occur at the time it did, what were the possible reasons behind it and who was involved and would benefit from it?” Professor Etler said.

“The geo-political context of the Turkish coup attempt is extremely complicated involving multiple actors. There is the [proxy] war in neighboring Syria, the Kurdish insurrection, relations with Russia, the US, Iran and other regional players,” he pointed out.

“Turkey straddles both the East and West. It has long been a part of NATO and aspires to join the EU. On the other hand, stable relations with Russia are of utmost importance for its domestic economy. With the EU imploding due to the refugee crisis spurred on by the US-sponsored war in Syria, and US/NATO interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, combined with the NATO's aggressive stance towards Russia, Turkey's position as become more and more untenable,” the analyst noted.

“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thus found himself between a rock and a hard place, trying to balance his position between two diametrically opposed camps, the US vs. Russia,” he said.

“At first it seemed in his best interests to support the US-backed rebel forces in Syria attempting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but Russian military intervention in support of Assad has turned the tables and the [anti-government] forces are being decimated,” he observed.

Which straw broke camel's back?

“This has led to a change of heart on Erdogan's part. The downing of the Russian Su-24 jet by Turkish forces in November 2015, which soured bilateral relations between the two nations, led to Russian economic sanctions against Turkey, devastating Turkey's important tourist industry,” Professor Etler said.

“With tensions mounting in the region, Erdogan finally relented and made amends with Russian President Vladimir Putin by apologizing for the incident in a personal communication,” he said.

“This reconciliation between Erdogan and Putin seems to have been the straw that broke the camel's back, for shortly thereafter the coup attempt in Turkey was launched. The suspected leader of the failed coup, Fethullah Gulen, who is safely ensconced in the US, is undeniably a US asset, available to be called upon in a moment's notice to do the bidding of the US,” the academic said.

“Given the volatile situation in the region and the geo-political contention between the US and Russia, the coup could only serve US interests and none other,” he stated.  

“It speaks to the desperation of the US in the region that such an ill-conceived plot was actually launched. The CIA backing of the coup can be assumed, but the US will continue its feigned outrage at the suggestion that it may have been directly involved,” Professor Etler concluded. 

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