http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/obama-turkey-225659 Did Obama get Erdogan wrong?
'You have to deal with the Turkey you have, rather than the one you'd like to have,' a former U.S. ambassador says.
By Michael Crowley
07/16/16 07:25 PM EDT
A few months before Friday’s attempted coup in Turkey, pro-government media outlets there published reports that the United States was actively plotting to depose Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Things came to a head at a State Department briefing in late March, when a Turkish reporter confronted spokesman John Kirby with the rumor: “Does the U.S. government try to overthrow the Erdogan government?” he asked.
Kirby called the question ridiculous and refused to dignify it with an answer. There was no evidence to the charge. And when Turkey’s military actually did move against Erdogan on Friday, the Obama administration swiftly condemned the action.
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