Aftandilian Publishes Op-Ed on Egypt’s Response to Turkish Coup
Gregory Aftandilian, Lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed on Egypt’s reaction toward the the July 15, 2016 Turkish coup attempt.
Aftandilian’s Op-Ed, Egypt’s Reaction to Turkish Coup Attempt Scuttles Prospects of Rapprochement, was published in The Arab Weekly on August 7, 2016.
From the text of the article:
The support Egypt’s establishment displayed towards the July 15th Turkish coup attempt appears to have stymied Turkish government plans to improve ties with Cairo. Militant statements by Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders in exile in Turkey will also keep relations strained.
As the Turkish military coup was unfolding, Egyptian officials and state-run media could not conceal their enthusiasm. All of the establishment newspapers jumped the gun and printed front-page stories about the supposed success of the coup. As these newspapers hit news stands the next morning, the failure of the coup was apparent, causing a major embarrassment for the Egyptian establishment.
It is not surprising that Egypt officialdom supported the coup, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a thorn in their side since Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Morsi was ousted as president in 2013.
You can read the entire Op-Ed here.
Aftandilian spent over 21 years in government service, most recently on Capitol Hill where he was foreign policy adviser to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (2007-2008), professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and foreign policy adviser to Senator Paul Sarbanes (2000-2004), and foreign policy fellow to the late Senator Edward Kennedy (1999). Learn more about him here.