Fethulla Gulen
why do the Turks want this guy so bad? seems kind of dumb to the an economic beating over one American pastor.
what is it? the principal of the thing?
Fethulla Gulen
The Turks double-crossed President Trump according to this:
“Report: US asked Israel to free terror suspect in deal for pastor held in Turkey”
This is where Trump and American muscle will stomp on the fingers of a chickenshit foreign strong man who pisses us off.
Erdogan is a blow-hard petty-tyrant. When he said “no” to this request, when the issue was small, he sealed his fate.
Another Asian dictator who just doesn’t get Trump.
Trump also knows that years of Erdogan’s corruption had put the Turkish economy on a precarious footing. He just kicked the supports.
I don’t know if the Turkish Army has the clout it once did, but don’t be surprised to see a coup in the near future.
“why do the Turks want this guy so bad?”
On the one hand, he is a hostage they have taken, to trade for a political opponent of Erdogan’s, who lives in the US (Gulen).
On the other hand, there are other people in Turkish prisons, who may be part of the deal, but are not mentioned - people who worked in and for the US embassy in Turkey, at the time of the 2016 coup attempt.
Also, Erdogan has built an over-sized political image of himself as a strongman and a winner, for domestic political consumption. It is hard for him to climb down from a position politically (and perhaps psychologically).