Erdogan Worked With Gulen in Previous Military Purges
When Recep Tayyip Erdogan rose to power in 2003, he neutralized a potential threat from Turkey’s secular military leadership by promoting like-minded Islamists who were followers of a key ally, Turkish Imam Fethullah Gulen. Now Erdogan says the U.S.-based cleric is a sworn enemy who he says was behind last weekend’s failed military coup.