Istanbul attack: When will Turkey end the blame game and look for solutions?

Turkey is so deeply polarized around the powerful persona of its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan that instead of asking  why terror attacks are happening and how they can be stopped, the country's pro- and anti-Erdogan blocks are blaming  each other.  This leaves one deeply worried about Turkey (old Ephesus) and its ability to stem down further terror attacks through the vigor of its institutions and unity of its citizens.  Including last night's attack on a nightclub in central Istanbul, which killed at least 39 people, by my count Turkey has suffered 33 major terror attacks since summer 2015. These attacks, which have killed more than 730 people, are connected to two terror groups: ISIS and the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The PKK has a penchant for going after security targets in its attacks. Most recently, on December 11, the group carried out a devastating suicide car bomb attack on a bus carrying police officers in which at least 38 people (both civilians and security officials) were killed, and another 150 wounded. No one has claimed responsibility for the New Year's Eve attack in Istanbul, but it would not be surprising that ISIS were behind this attack. For weeks now, Islamists in Turkey had argued that New Year's Eve celebrations are un-Islamic. Shocking as it is in a country with a deep-rooted Christian legacy -- St. Nicholas himself was born in Turkey in the early Christian era -- Islamists have even carried out mock-style executions of Santa Claus in public to protest against New Year's Eve celebrations, which they confuse with Christmas, and to which they object in their distorted ideology.  It would not be surprising if ISIS or jihadist individuals radicalized by ISIS carried out last night's heartbreaking New Year's Eve attack in Istanbul. But if the perpetrators of Turkey's terror are so obvious, why does Turkey seem unable to prevent the tide of terror that it is facing? This is because the Turks are too busy fighting each other, rather than focusing on fighting terror together. Since coming to power first as prime minister in 2003 and then as president in 2014, Erdogan has won elections on a platform of right-wing populism. He has demonized, targeted, and brutally cracked down on electorates that are not likely to vote for  him.  These groups, including leftists, liberals, social democrats, Alevis (who are liberal Muslims), secularists and Kurds, together constitute nearly half of the country's population. Erdogan's strategy has left Turkey deeply polarized. And coupled with Turkey's economic growth under Erdogan, it has  built him a loyal, right wing constituency, including Turkish nationalists, conservatives and Islamists, constituting the  other half of the country.  The pro-Erdogan block adores the Turkish leader and thinks that he can do no wrong. At the same time, the anti-Erdogan  block loathes him and believes that he can do no right. This is also the prism through which Turks, unfortunately, view the terror attacks and the rising violence.