Pro-Gov't Editor: Turkey Has Potential To Destroy Major US Cities

Turkey has the potential to wreak havoc on several cities that are important symbols of the US, the Takvim daily's pro-government columnist and Editor-in-Chief Ergün Diler wrote on Monday.

Based on information from an unnamed source whom he refers to as “my friend” throughout his column, Diler claimed Turkey has its “own methods” of keeping the American government in line, saying even though Iran is one of the most important playmakers in the region, it pales in comparison to Turkey when it comes to dealing with the US.

“My friend told me Iran is being underestimated. But it is one of the important powers. For instance, the state of California is full of Iranians. That's why Iran has done a lot to make the US take steps backward. Many Iranians who migrated to the area during the reign of [Mohammad Reza] Shah [Pahlavi] were organized by Iranian intelligence [until the Islamic Revolution of Feb. 11, 1979]. When the US and Israel began to suppress Tehran, all of a sudden world-famous Californian forests erupted in flames. Even though the American government knew Tehran was behind the fires, the FBI and the CIA could not catch those who were responsible,” Diler wrote, adding: “When I asked my friend if Turkey had such power, he smiled and said: ‘Turkey has the potential to destroy some of the most important cities in the US. What is Iran [compared to Turkey]?'”

Diler also wrote that the Middle East has been going through a period of transition and it is thus really difficult to follow what is going on in the region. The Takvim columnist said Muslims have always been deceived, as was the case of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, who was sentenced last week to 20 years' imprisonment on charges arising from the killing of protesters.

Praising the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government for being a strong supporter of Morsi, Diler wrote that Turkey has always raised its voice against wrongdoings in the region. However, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has maintained his silence in the face of Morsi being sentenced to 20 years in prison, prompting speculation that Erdoğan has turned his back on his once-close ally.

The Egyptian military ousted Morsi from power on July 3, 2013 after millions of Egyptians turned out for four days of protests. Morsi's removal followed protests by Egyptians angry over what they saw as his efforts to impose control through the Muslim Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the country's many problems.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)