Let's talk Turkey

[MacCruiskeen]

Some terrifying footage of helicopter- (and ground-) gunfire in Ankara and Istanbul here:

https://twitter.com/Conflicts/status/75 ... 16?lang=de

Poor bloody Turkey.

[Iamwhomiam]

Awful footage on their home page.

[backtoiam]

Turkish soldiers thought coup was military ‘exercise’
Published time: 16 Jul, 2016 17:12
Edited time: 16 Jul, 2016 21:03



Soldiers arrested during a failed coup attempt in Turkey told interrogators that they thought that they were taking part in military exercises.

A group of 678 troops and 10 officers, headed by a colonel, was detained by authorities at Ataturk International Airport overnight.

During the interrogations, some of the soldiers claimed that, initially, they had no idea that they were taking part in an attempt to topple the government, thinking that it was just a military drill.

“Only when people began to climb on the tanks, we understood everything,” the soldiers said, according to Hurriyet newspaper.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has reported that 2,839 soldiers and officers implicated in the overnight coup attempt have been arrested.

At least 265 people have been killed, including 104 pro-coup participants, while 1,440 people were injured in military action in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, and the country’s largest city, Istanbul.

A faction of the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday night, employing tanks and attack helicopters.

READ MORE: 'Gift from God': Erdogan sees coup as ‘chance to cleanse military’ while PM mulls death penalty

The conspiracy failed, as the organizers of the coup were unable to gain wide support from the military or population and didn’t manage to capture any high-ranking officials.

https://www.rt.com/news/351639-turkish- ... -exercise/

[PufPuf93]

http://www.kswo.com/story/32465897/the- ... k-air-base

The Latest: Turkish journalists condemn raids against media

Published:Monday, July 18th 2016, 10:51 am PDT

Updated:Monday, July 18th 2016, 10:51 am PDT

Compilation of items by time regarding the failed Turkey coup from last 48 hours at link.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk ... -in-turkey

The H-Bombs in Turkey

By Eric Schlosser , July 17, 2016



Among the many questions still unanswered following Friday’s coup attempt in Turkey is one that has national-security implications for the United States and for the rest of the world: How secure are the American hydrogen bombs stored at a Turkish airbase?

The Incirlik Airbase, in southeast Turkey, houses NATO’s largest nuclear-weapons storage facility. On Saturday morning, the American Embassy in Ankara issued an “Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens,” warning that power had been cut to Incirlik and that “local authorities are denying movements on to and off of” the base. Incirlik was forced to rely on backup generators; U.S. Air Force planes stationed there were prohibited from taking off or landing; and the security-threat level was raised to FPCON Delta, the highest state of alert, declared when a terrorist attack has occurred or may be imminent. On Sunday, the base commander, General Bekir Ercan Van, and nine other Turkish officers at Incirlik were detained for allegedly supporting the coup. As of this writing, American flights have resumed at the base, but the power is still cut off.

According to Hans M. Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, underground vaults at Incirlik hold about fifty B-61 hydrogen bombs—more than twenty-five per cent of the nuclear weapons in the NATO stockpile. The nuclear yield of the B-61 can be adjusted to suit a particular mission. The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima had an explosive force equivalent to about fifteen kilotons of TNT. In comparison, the “dial-a-yield” of the B-61 bombs at Incirlik can be adjusted from 0.3 kilotons to as many as a hundred and seventy kilotons.

Incirlik was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the wake of the Second World War; when Turkey joined NATO, in 1952, it became a crucial American base during the Cold War. With a flight time of about an hour to the Soviet Union, the base hosted American fighters, bombers, tankers, and U-2 spy planes. And, like many NATO bases, it stored American nuclear weapons. NATO strategy was dependent on nuclear weapons as a counterbalance to the perceived superiority of Soviet conventional forces. The threat of a nuclear attack, it was assumed, would deter Soviet tanks from rolling into NATO territory. And granting NATO countries access to nuclear weapons would strengthen the alliance, providing tangible evidence that the United States would risk a nuclear war for NATO’s defense.

more at link

[FourthBase]

Kratman with an interesting take. (Also interesting: The fact that many leftists and right-wingers support Kemalists with equal vigor. Not sure what that means. Ataturk was simply that fucking awesome?)

http://www.everyjoe.com/2016/07/18/poli ... orehand/#1

So what are the possibilities?

A. The coup attempt could have been more or less spontaneous, incited by word that Erdogan’s government was about to start arresting soldiers that either adhered to liberal Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen, or on some other pretext.

B. It could have been preplanned for a later date and only moved ahead because of the fear of arrest.

C. It could have been a small scale plot, as per B., above, but one of which Erdogan was fully apprised, and the timing of which he was able to control by issuance of arrest warrants, as per A. and B.

D. It could have been, start to finish, Erdogan and his party’s attempt at a Reichstag Fire, a staged incident, employing ignorant dupes, started and sabotaged in order to justify massive repression, bloodshed, and tyranny. You know; getting off the train.

E. It was a subplot of a larger Armed Forces-run plot for a real coup.

No doubt most here would also see an F, a G, an H, etc. And would take umbrage at his dismissal of D, of course. But his theory of C is interesting, no? An overlooked template for understanding more than a few major events, maybe, yeah? Could be generally called something like Controlled LIHOP.

None of the evidence for C rises above the circumstantial, of course, but taken together, the body of evidence is persuasive. Consider: 1) Erdogan was out of town at the precise right times, yet, 2) he was able to get back to Istanbul at the precise right times, while 3) easily avoiding capture, 4) having lists already prepared of military officers to dismiss, very nearly the entire Turkish officer corps above the rank of captain, I’ve heard, and 5) also had extensivelists of prosecutors and judges to purge.

That last one is the most persuasive to me, because we don’t have any evidence that the judges or prosecutors had anything to do with the coup. Mere opportunism? Maybe, but the speed of the thing and the thoroughness, given the lack of time…no, I’m not buying opportunism; Erdogan was ready! Why? Because he knew! How? Because he was forewarned, possibly well in advance, even as to timing because he dictated the timing.

I think.

[slimmouse]

The coup attempt could have been more or less spontaneous, incited by word that Erdogan’s government was about to start arresting soldiers that either adhered to liberal Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen, or on some other pretext.

liberal Islamic cleric?

[RocketMan]

The coup attempt could have been more or less spontaneous, incited by word that Erdogan’s government was about to start arresting soldiers that either adhered to liberal Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen, or on some other pretext.

liberal Islamic cleric?

Yeah...

I see what you just did there, sir!

[RocketMan]

Greenwald is back!!

https://theintercept.com/2016/07/18/wou ... nsylvania/

Would Turkey Be Justified in Kidnapping or Drone-Killing the Turkish Cleric in Pennsylvania?

[FourthBase]

The coup attempt could have been more or less spontaneous, incited by word that Erdogan’s government was about to start arresting soldiers that either adhered to liberal Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen, or on some other pretext.

liberal Islamic cleric?

I read it as "an Islamic cleric who is liberal compared to other Islamic clerics" rather than "a liberal who happens to be an Islamic cleric"...would even the first reading be wrong?

[tapitsbo]

Let's remember people have been arrested in Germany for criticizing Erdogan. We are being told by people like Doug Saunders in Canada that he is an "anti-extremist" at the same time as he gloats about intentions to execute his opposition. These are the same people that talk about Trump as a radical departure from political norms - which may be so but what is the standard here?

The neo-ottoman rhetoric is more disturbing than much other political extremism because it often praises actual death squads in Syria, Kurdistan etc.

To their credit a lot of Western media seems to have been asking questions about the coup and its aftermath. The CBC in Canada signal boosted solely pro-Erdogan media as the "coup" happened though - and this is just after extremely repressive actions being taken *before* the supposed coup attempt.

The ambivalent of positive reception of the regime in the public sphere is what surprises me. The Islamist government in Egypt, for instance, that Western media loved to praise, had a way more fragile hold on power than Erdogan now does. Or we hear people talking about Erdogan the "fascist dictator" when his supporters explicitly understand him as "anti-fascist" (just look at their social media accounts).

Of course something like the Polish government has its parallels with Erdogan's. But where are the Polish-backed death squads operating in neighbouring countries, etc.? The Polish opposition has been trying to protest the government quite actively, I gather, but they aren't being jailed for life as some of Erdogan's opposition was before the coup... And the Polish government is thoroughly denounced by Western media, whereas Erdogan receives ambivalence or praise.

[conniption]

Information Clearing House

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Teflon Sultan

By Pepe Escobar

July 18, 2016 "Information Clearing House" - "Sputnik" -

When Turkish President/aspiring Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport early Saturday morning, he declared the attempted coup against his government a failure, and a “gift from God.”

God apparently uses Face Time. It was via that iconic iPhone footage from an undisclosed location shown live on CNN Turk by a bewildered female anchor that Erdogan managed to call his legion of followers to hit the streets, unleash People Power and defeat the military faction that had taken over state TV and proclaimed to be in charge.

So God does work in mysterious mobile ways. Erdogan’s call was heeded even by young Turks who had fiercely protested against him in Gezi Park; were tear-gassed or water-cannoned by his police; think the AKP governing party is disgusting; but would support them against a “fascist military coup.” Not to mention that virtually every mosque across Turkey relayed Erdogan’s call.

Ankara’s official version is that the coup was perpetrated by a small military faction remote-controlled by exiled-in-Pennsylvania cleric Fethullah Gulen, himself a CIA asset. As much as responsibility remains debatable, what’s clear is the coup was a Turk remix of The Three Stooges; the actual stooges in fact may have been the already detained 2nd Army Commander Gen. Adem Huduti; 3rd Army Commander Erdal Ozturk; and former Chief of Air Staff Akin Ozturk.

As over-excited former CIA ops were blaring on US networks – and they do know a thing or two about regime change — rule number one in a coup is to aim at, and isolate, the head of the snake. Yet the wily Turkish snake, in this case, was nowhere to be seen. Not to mention that no top generals sounding convincingly patriotic went on the TRT state network to fully explain the reasons for the coup.

(Erdogan) love is in the air

The coup plotters did aim at the intel services – whose top positions are at Istanbul’s airport, the presidential palace in Ankara and near the ministries. They used Cobra helicopters – with pilots trained in the US – against these targets. They also aimed at the army’s high command – which for the past 8 years is designated by Erdogan and is not trusted by many a mid-ranking officer.

As they occupied the Bosphorus bridges in Istanbul they seemed to be in touch with military police – which is spread out all over Turkey and have a solid esprit de corps. But in the end they did not have the numbers – and the necessary preparation. All key ministries seemed to be communicating among themselves as the plot developed, as well as the intel services. And as far as Turkish police as a whole is concerned, they are now a sort of AKP pretorian guard.

Meanwhile, Erdogan’s Gulfstream 4, flight number TK8456, took off from Bodrum’s airport at 1:43 A.M. and flew for hours over Turkey’s northwest with its transponder on, undisturbed. It was from the presidential plane, while still landed, that Erdogan had gone on Face Time, and then, on the air, managed to control the countercoup. The plane never left Turkish airspace – and was totally visible to civil and military radars. The coup plotters’ F-16s could have easily tracked and/or incinerated it. Instead they sent military choppers to bomb the presidential abode in Bodrum a long time after he had left the building.

The head of the snake must have been 100% sure that to board his plane and stay on Turkish airspace was as safe as eating a baklava. What’s even more startling is that the Gulfstream managed to land in Istanbul in absolute safety in the early hours of Saturday morning – despite the prevailing notion that the airport was occupied by the “rebels”.

In Ankara, the “rebels” used a mechanized division and two commandos. Around Istanbul there was a whole army; the 3rd command is actually integrated with NATO’s rapid reaction forces. They supplied the Leopards positioned in Istanbul’s key spots – which by the way did not open fire.

And yet the two key armies positioned in the Syrian and Iranian borders remained on “wait and see” mode. And then, at 2 A.M., the command of the also key 7th army based in Diyarbakir – in charge of fighting the PKK guerrillas – proclaimed his loyalty to Erdogan. That was the exact, crucial moment when Prime Minister Binali Yildırım announced a no-fly zone over Ankara.

That meant Erdogan controlled the skies. And the game was over. History does move in mysterious ways; the no-fly zone dreamed by Erdogan for so long over Aleppo or the Syrian-Turkish border in the end materialized over his own capital.

Round up the usual suspects

The US position was extremely ambiguous from the start. As the coup took over, the American embassy in Turkey called it "Turkish uprising". Secretary of State John Kerry, in Moscow to discuss Syria, also hedged his bets. NATO was royally mute. Only when it became clear the coup was in fact smashed President Obama and the “NATO allies” officially proclaimed their “support for the democratically elected government”.

The Sultan went back to the game with a vengeance. He immediately went live on CNN Turk demanding Washington hands over Gulen even without any evidence he masterminded the coup. And that came with an inbuilt threat; “If you want to keep access to Incirlik air base you will have to give me Gulen”. It’s hard not to be reminded of recent history – when the Cheney regime in 2001 demanded the Taliban hand Osama bin Laden over to the US without offering proof he was responsible for 9/11.

So the number one eyebrow-raising possibility is a go; Erdogan’s intel services knew a coup was brewing; and the wily Sultan let it happen knowing it would fail as the plotters had very limited support. He also arguably knew – in advance — even the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), whose members Erdogan is trying to expel from parliament, would support the government in the name of democracy.

Two extra facts add to the credibility of this hypothesis. Earlier last week Erdogan signed a bill giving soldiers immunity from prosecution while taking part in domestic security ops – as in anti-PKK; that spells out improved relations between the AKP government and the army. And then Turkey’s top judicial body HSYK laid off no less than 2,745 judges after an extraordinary meeting post-coup. This can only mean the list was more than ready in advance.

The major, immediate post-coup geopolitical consequence is that Erdogan now seems to have miraculously reconquered his “strategic depth” – as former, sidelined Prime Minister Davutoglu would have it. Not only externally – after the miserable collapse of both his Middle East and Kurdish “policies” – but also internally. For all practical purposes Erdogan now controls the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary – and is taking no prisoners to purge the military for good. Ladies and gentlemen, the Sultan is in da house.

This means the neo-Ottoman project is still on – but now under massive tactical reorientation. The real “enemy” now is Syrian Kurds – not Russia and Israel (and not ISIS/ISIL/Daesh; but they never were in the first place). Erdogan is going after the YPG, which for him is a mere extension of the PKK. His order of the day is to prevent by all means an autonomous state entity in northeast Syria – a "Kurdistan" set up like a second Israel supported by the US. For that he needs some sort of entente cordiale with Damascus – as in insisting that Syria must preserve its territorial integrity. And that also means, of course, renewed dialogue with Russia.

So what's the CIA been up to?

Needless to add Ankara and Washington are now on a certified collision course. If there is an Empire of Chaos hidden hand in the coup – no smoking gun yet — that certainly comes from the Beltway neocon/CIA axis, not the lame duck Obama administration. For the moment Erdogan’s leverage only amounts to access to Incirlik. But his paranoia is ballooning; for him Washington is doubly suspicious because they harbor Gulen and support the YPG.

Hell hath no fury as an underestimated Sultan as well. For all his recent geopolitical follies, Erdogan’s simultaneous ballet of reconnecting with Israel and Russia is eminently pragmatic. He knows he needs Russia for the Turkish Stream and to build nuclear plants; and he needs Israeli gas to consolidate Turkey’s role as a key East-West energy crossroads.

When we learn, crucially, that Iran supported Turkey's "brave defense of democracy", as tweeted by Foreign Minister Zarif, it’s clear how Erdogan, in a mater of only a few weeks, reconfigured the whole regional picture. And that spells out Eurasia integration and Turkey deeply connected to the New Silk Roads – not NATO. No wonder the Beltway – for whom, overwhelmingly, Erdogan is the proverbial “erratic and unreliable ally” — is freaking out. That dream of Turkish colonels under direct CIA orders is over – at least for the foreseeable future.

So what about Europe? Yildirim already said that Turkey might reinstate the death penalty – to be applied to the coup plotters. This means, in essence, bye bye EU. And bye bye to the European Parliament approving visa-free travel for Turks visiting Europe. Erdogan after all already got what he wanted from chancellor Merkel; those 6 billion euros to contain the refugee crisis that he essentially unleashed. Merkel bet the farm on Erdogan. Now she’s talking to herself – while the Sultan is able to dial God on Face Time.

~~~

18.07.2016 Author: F. William Engdahl
Behind The CIA Desperate Turkey Coup Attempt
http://journal-neo.org/2016/07/18/behin ... p-attempt/

[MacCruiskeen]

Let's remember people have been arrested in Germany for criticizing Erdogan.

Please. No one has been "arrested" in Germany, least of all "for criticizing Erdogan". Twenty private individuals, followed by Erdogan himself, filed criminal complaints against a German comedian (Jan Böhmermann) who had composed and recited a really stupid, nasty, racist bit of doggerel about Erdogan on prime-time national TV. Called him a goat-fucker (ho ho!! Anatolia, geddit???) and a watcher of child pornography, for instance.

There is an old law in Germany against insulting representaives of foreign states, Paragraph § 103 of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch). It was due to be repealed in I think 2018 but is still operative. The legal process is ongoing, Böhmermann has never been "arrested" (nor has anyone else) and it would be good if hysterical shitstirring untruths didn't get repeated here, where most people speak no German and therefore have little hope of discovering the truth behind such untruths.

[Cue claims of me "defending Erdogan"... For the record, I detest the little bastard. And for the record, there is far less evidence (namely: none) that Erdogan ever fucked a goat than there is that David Cameron fucked a dead pig's head. But heroic "satirists" of Böhmermann's ilk would never go so far as to recite obscene and slanderous doggerel about Cameron or any other northern European head of state, um Gottes Willen nicht!, he knows damn well which side his fucking bread is buttered on. As for "child pornography" don't get me started on what people have called "Paedominster". On this too, of course, Böhmermann remains discreetly silent. He can safely slander a Turk, though, or at least he thought he could.]

[tapitsbo]

Nice gotcha. Arrested/charged etc. Fair difference. You can bet that "outdated law" is being selectively applied, as all these regulations are (who from the "radical centre" was charged for calling for rape and murder of opposition during the Brexit campaign or French elections? Nobody, right?)

The rest of the framing you're applying to this situation would look quite absurd if we tested it with a few hypothetical analogies. I think other people reading this can do that for themselves though, I'll spare myself the task.

[MacCruiskeen]

Nice gotcha. Arrested/charged etc. Fair difference. You can bet that "outdated law" is being selectively applied.

The rest of the framing you're applying to this situation would look quite absurd if we tested it with a few hypothetical analogies. I think other people reading this can do that for themselves though, I'll spare myself the task.

What does the bolded bit mean?

[tapitsbo]

Figure it out. The Germany you're defending (?) has one similarity to Turkey I can think of - efforts to ban opposition parties.

Isn't your modus operandi here that you're asking for consistency and due process, etc?

You're not too charitable with these things yourself.