Turkey's adversaries may not have been able to make the country fall, but they did slow us down and wear us out. They are constantly plotting, and we are doing our best to shed light on their shady dealings and manipulations. It is not cool to fight evil though. Part of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) base, whom I call concerned AK Partiers, has been aware of this for some time. Some of them warn that they are too tired to fight and call on the government to adopt a positive agenda. Others urge politicians to stop bickering and focus on research and development investments. Yet another group has started asking how Turkey intends to meet the government's 2023 goals.

To be clear, this is perfectly normal. But it is unclear whether concerned AK Partiers are where they are supposed to be. The country would have made more progress had they taken some initiative to fight Turkey's adversaries.

The Turkish people have not received political stability, social peace, a robust economy and a prominent role in the international arena in a gift basket. If anything, a number of interest groups with domestic and international links have been actively working to slow the country down.

Certain special interest groups have been desperately trying to convince the Turkish people that the country is headed in the wrong direction. They have been telling the public that the international community, led by the United States, would like to get rid of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

For years, they have been trying to frame Turkey as a state sponsor of terrorism and to make sure that Erdoğan be tried at an international court. They claim that Turkey had provided weapons to DAESH fighters with no evidence. People like the Cumhuriyet daily Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar have been saying the same thing over and over to make it stick.

Currently, the same people, citing Iranian-Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab's arrest in the United States, claim that Turkey has been involved in a money laundering scheme under Erdoğan's supervision. One should ask what concerned AK Partiers are doing to reveal the truth and bring those who conspire to undermine the country's credibility to justice.

In recent weeks, the Hürriyet daily has been actively supporting a smear campaign orchestrated by the Republican People's Party and the Gülen Movement. Concerned AK Partiers have not only turned a blind eye to a major news outlet presenting Zarrab's arrest as part of an international corruption investigation, but also refused to take a stand against bad journalism. They simply looked down and said it was not their job to defend Zarrab - as if they were asked to.

Concerned AK Partiers should do nothing more than to defend their country's interests and help shed light on the smear campaign. We are obviously asking too much of people who were not even able to take a clear stand regarding the espionage trial involving Dündar. Could it be that these concerned AK Partiers simply cannot see what the country is up against? Could they be unaware that their actions are weakening a righteous movement against Turkey's adversaries?

Turkey has overcome a number of major challenges since 2013. During this crucial period, these concerned AK Partiers were too busy badmouthing Erdoğan's personality and political vision. There is no doubt that they will go down in history as untalented aspirants. One still wonders, though, what else will be written about them.