The attack coinciding with an operation against the Ergenekon gang, an ultranationalist group suspected of plotting a military coup against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has immediately raised questions about a possible relationship between the gang and the incident. When police reports later showed al-Qaeda was behind the attack, such speculation was dismissed, and a debate started on what the political motives of this attack could have been.Sabah daily's Emre Aköz, considering the fact that no American was dealt harm and that there was low-intensity violence in the attack, comments that the attack targeted the policemen protecting the US Consulate General; however, its message was meant for the US. Comparing Wednesday's attack with other al-Qaeda attacks, he says it was a rather hastily carried out attack and even somewhat poorly planned. In consideration of this, he says even though the assailants are al-Qaeda members, the attack was not a typical al-Qaeda attack, for the terrorist organization generally carries out more sophisticated attacks. As for the message of this attack, he thinks this attack is something that will gladden seemingly conservative fascists such as Michael Rubin and allow them to say "Look, we are not comfortable in Turkey because there is an Islamist government in power," while the perpetrators of the attack say to the US, in Aköz's view: "Do not support the incumbent Turkish government. They cannot protect you; you can be attacked." He further comments that the attack was also meant to punish Turkish security forces, which have achieved remarkable success by improving their technological infrastructure and professional skills. "This is the political interpretation of the attack in my opinion," adds Aköz.
Milliyet's Sami Kohen, thinking that the Turkish police was attacked for protecting the US Consulate General, says the target of the attack was the US and not the Turkish police. "If the Turkish police had been the real target, this attack could have been carried out somewhere else, not in front of the US Consulate General. No matter what the motives behind the attack were, it is obvious that a strong message was intended for the US. The media's extensive coverage of the attack has ensured that the attack affects many people," he says. For Turkey's part, he questions why Turkey and İstanbul were chosen for the venue of an attack that targeted the US, adding that İstanbul, being the site of similar attacks in the past -- like the attack against the British Consulate General in İstanbul in 2003 -- leads to various scenarios and concerns, at the very minimum. "Did the attack take place in Turkey, as a country in the Middle East, and in İstanbul, a city possibly seen as popular in the eyes of the assailants, in order to echo widely or to drag Turkey somewhere?" asks Kohen.
