Türkiye is deeply "hurt" due to the two earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes, respectively, that occurred on Feb. 6. Besides tens of thousands of killed and injured people, many houses collapsed and are non-livable. Since the quakes were quite destructive, Turkish people have looked for someone to accuse as the perpetrator. The usual and acceptable suspect is earthquake faults, but conspiracists and many people think it was artificial; thus, they finger out the United States.
For instance, someone accused the U.S. destroyer ship named USS Nitze, which had anchored in Istanbul days before the earthquakes, of sending signals to Kahramanmaraş to instigate the quakes, which means an attempt made 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) far from the epicenter. Some others argued that American oil explorers had dug a well and inserted a giant bomb into it to cause the quake. There are more conspiracy theories, and all have buyers; the author of this piece is one of the exceptions.
If you ask conspiracy lovers why the U.S. administration might have wanted to initiate an earthquake, they will say Americans want to invade Türkiye. Yet, Americans did not send their armies, nor did they seem to be. Also, when a similar destructive earthquake occurred in 1999, Americans did not invade our country. Moreover, our army was not affected by the quakes; thus, they could respond to a likely invasion.
Regarding quake-triggering technologies, indeed, our government's security bodies like the army, police, and intelligence service would be aware of such an attack, and they would counter it. However, contrary to the allegations, security officials deny heinous plans on Türkiye. In addition, Turkish geologists refuse the existence of such technologies. If there are, then it should be the claimant's duty to prove it. Just saying "I believe there is" is not evidence, as there are counter-beliefs.
Furthermore, U.S. allies like Japan experienced more significant magnitude quakes, and thousands died. Does it mean that the U.S. punishes its ally? And why not punish Russia with a quake since Americans are indirectly at war with Russians? Would it not be suitable for Washington to cause an earthquake in Russia with its remote devices instead of supplying weapons to Ukraine? If they do not, might the reason be that there is no such technology?
Finally, Türkiye is a country where earthquakes happen regularly. We have several quake faults across the country, which sometimes break and cause quakes. While the U.S., a country 250 years old and has been a superpower for only the last 70 years, quakes have a much longer history. For example, an earthquake in 1114 B.C. destroyed Kahramanmaraş and killed nearly 40,000 residents.
This does not mean quake-triggering technologies cannot be developed, but there is still no evidence they have. Moreover, Turkish-American relations are not at the desired level, but both countries are not enemies. Only their interests clash, and such fluctuations in regard always happen. What is more, while on the one hand, such accusations make the U.S. an almighty and omnipotent country, on the other hand, it discredits and humiliates Turks' intelligence and power. America is a strong country, but it does not have god-like abilities, and Türkiye or any other country is not so weak or ignorant of such malicious plans.
When looking at the issue from a psychological perspective, people tend to find a perpetrator after an unwanted event, whether an artificial or natural disaster. They are not relieved until finding the criminal. If there is no apparent suspect, then fictions replace reality. Since people look for some answers for satisfaction, they quickly give an ear to conspiracy theories.
Perhaps, some of the conspiracy theories are correct, but none knows which of them unless proven by someone. In our case, two independent earthquakes occurred within nine hours, and the culprit was fault lines. Yet, since people think that the unconscious earth cannot do it, they return to someone with a brain and strength. The way of thinking looks correct, but it mostly ends up with the wrong perpetrator.
