Audio Interview (Radio America) with Dr. Walid Phares on the Turkish Coup: Turkey crisis may unleash Islamist wrath
‘The U.S. is perceived as weak. We’ve got to change that perception’
Greg Corombos/WND Radio/July 19/16
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fought off a coup attempt late last week, but a top foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump says the fallout may lead to a more Islamist Turkey bent on crushing any dissent.
And that uncertainty, he says, adds even more evidence that a change is needed in U.S. foreign policy.
Military elements launched the coup on Friday, but just hours later it was a clear failure. Nonetheless, Turkey will remain in a state of upheaval for some time.
“This does not mean that the tensions are gone. Tensions will remain. It all depends on how the Erdogan government is going to behave after crushing the coup,” said Dr. Walid Phares, a longtime terrorism and Middle East expert. He was announced as a foreign policy adviser to Trump back in May.
Since the failed coup, the Turkish authorities have rounded up thousands of military personnel, many of whom have nothing to with the plot to oust Erdogan. In addition, thousands of judges and other government workers are in custody.
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Phares told WND and Radio America he finds this especially worrisome.
“One thing is to stop a military coup. We don’t like to accept military coups in the 21st century,” Phares said. “Another thing is to use that military coup to have a counter-coup and then eliminate an entire political opposition.”
He said Erdogan may well use the coup as grounds to trample rights and ditch Turkey’s secular legacy.
“This could be an excuse that this government could use to control political life completely and then move the country toward becoming an Islamic regime,” Phares said.
