Your lone wolf next door

Turkey's fight against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism has created some interesting undercurrents and deep tides in society that cannot be overlooked. Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov's assassination is a watershed event in terms of the security apparatus or lack thereof. 

Because dismissals linked to the Fethullah Terror Organization (FETÖ), almost half of Turkey's police force is either in jail or without a job. Those who remain could easily be the talent pool that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been dreaming of: Deeply Sunni, deeply religious, and dedicated to the cause. 

Before jumping to any early conclusions about the potential FETÖ links of the killer, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, let's remember that for almost a week there were mass demonstrations in big cities and outside Russian diplomatic missions in Turkey about Aleppo. "Killer Russia" banners were carried at the rallies. Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad were put in the same basket as Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic in the pro-AKP papers. Despite Ankara's reluctance to openly blame Moscow, all conservative NGOs and small political parties created a mass undercurrent against Russia's intervention in Syria. The climate was perfect for any militant or a lone wolf to act, and Russia and Iran were obvious targets.

From the moment of the killing, pro-government papers and TV channels spun the story in such a way that every ordinary person felt that the U.S. or the big Western powers were behind the assassination. After all, who other than FETÖ or the CIA could do such a thing? 

Let me humbly suggest that if Gülenists are still capable of killing such a high-value target right in the middle of Ankara while going undercover in the police...