Turkey: The Failed Coup and Aftermath

At this point, all indications are that the attempted overthrow of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has failed. Erdogan is promising harsh punishment for the leaders of the coup, some of whom have fled to Greece, where they are asking for asylum.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/07/16/erdogan-calls-on-us-to-extradite-pennsylvania-based-cleric-after-failed-turkey-coup.html

 I regret the loss of life in Turkey, and I also regret that the coup failed. More than ever, it seems Turkey is headed down a dark path under Erdogan, a vicious, Jew-hating, Islamist tyrant. It will be interesting to see if a bloodbath follows. If it does, that will have serious consequences for Turkey's relationship with the West.

As for the extradition request of Fethullah Gulen, I don't know enough to judge it. Gulen is an opponent of Erdogan but denies having anything to do with the coup.

Last year, I attended an event at the Pacifica Insitute (which Gulen heads) in Irvine, in which several local Islamic leaders condemned terrorism. As always, I am skeptical of most of these figures, and I really don't know the true agenda of Pacifica. I regard them with a degree of suspicion though they stress interfaith dialogue. Gulen also heads up a network of charter schools (Magnolia Schools), which has come under criticism though I don't know enough about that to comment with any authority.