Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan undoubtedly played some role in the July 15th coup attempt to oust Turkey�s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former chief-of-staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell Lawrence Wilkerson told Sputnik.





WASHINGTON �(Sputnik)�� On Tuesday, US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner rejected media allegations that the United States had any involvement in�Friday�s military coup in�Turkey that resulted in�300 deaths and more than�1,400 wounded.
"No doubt in�my mind that John Brennan and others knew what was going down�in Turkey [and] damn straight we had something to�do with�it," Wilkerson stated on�Tuesday. "Either we were on�the inside�advising against�it, which happens from�time to�time, or we were on�the inside�very, very forcibly influencing it, or somewhere in�between."


The United States, Wilkerson noted, has long since�institutionalized coups as�a standard political and military tool to�remove problem governments inimical to�US interests.
"Don�t you think it�s not going on�because once you institutionalize covert operations the way we have, once you become the �New Rome� like�we have, you are inescapably caught in�these operations," Wilkerson added.


During the presidency of�Ronald Reagan, 58 covert operations took place under�the CIA directorship of�Bill Casey, Wilkerson observed.

"Put on�your caps for�a moment and think what�s going on�right now that your grandchildren, children will read in�25 years like�people read about�the overthrow of�Iran [Prime Minister] Mohammad Mosaddegh in�1953, and don�t you think for�a moment that it isn�t going on�in Caracas, in�Kiev, indeed perhaps in�places like�Ankara, Damascus and in�Baghdad," Wilkerson maintained.

Wilkerson is a distinguished adjunct professor of�Government and Public Policy at�the College of�William and Mary in�the US state of�Virginia.

By Sputnik News