RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Coup in Turkey Happening Now

Listen goys. This was not a real coup attempt. This was a false flag orchestrated by Erdogan.

What does erdogan gain by this?

He gets to be a victim, a champion of democracy while getting a chance to execute and completely purge all his potential enemies in the military. He'll also get a chance to completely restructure military, the constitution, and the judiciary. He basically obtained the legitimacy for extraordinary executive powers.

Signs, contradictions, and absurdities that prove this was a carefully calculated conspiracy by erdogan – not an actual coup attempt from inside the military

1) Coup D'Etat 101: You capture the head of the state. This is non-negotiable and the absolute primary target of any non-mentally retarded coup. Get the leader, and 90% of the job is done.

Absurdity in this case: Of all the possible days to stage the coup, the faction chose a day when erdogan was away. They did not seriously attempt to capture him.

2) Coup D'Etat 101: You cut mass communications first things first. At the very least you prevent mainstream networks from broadcasting.

What happened in this so called coup: Only the state owned media was captured, all the others kept broadcasting government propaganda all throughout the night.

3) There were no identifiable leaders. There were only a handful of troops. We don't actually know who operated the helicopters and jets that were involved. A government operative inside the military could have easily duped a contingent of troops to get on the streets.

4) The targets that were first captured makes no sense. Cutting traffic of the Bosphorus Bridge? Give me break. What does that achieve? Why didn't they eliminate far more important targets (such as cabinet members, erdogan himself, city governors) first, instead of cutting off traffic on an irrelevant bridge.

5) The soldiers had virtually no will. They didn't look like they were given strict orders, they looked very confused and very reluctant to use deadly force – in a coup d'etat mind you.

6) erdogan looked and acted very calm. This is not his MO. During Gezi protests in 2013, he was absolutely terrified, you could tell it from his face. In the aftermath of the Gezi protests, he didn't even had the courage to come back to the county for several days.

7) In the middle of an ongoing coup, edogan's plane landed on the largest airport of the country. Again, this is not his MO. Unless he was absolutely sure he was safe, he wouldn't let the plane land. If the coup was actually serious, they could've easily shot down his plane.

To sum up, common sense tells us that this was a very clever but still a blatant ruse on the part of erdogan – to basically become a tyrant with unlimited powers. Sadly, even if we could prove that this was a government conspiracy, he already achieved his goal of creating a zeitgeist that will enable him to assume tyrannical powers.

Welp. Looks like its lost. They fucked it up big time.

They might have had a shot if the soldiers didn't surrender like a bunch of pussies.

The military have handled this like total professionals.

The purge after the failed Turkish coup attempt in numbers:
◾30 provincial governors and 47 district governors dismissed
◾8777 Interior Ministry staff (incl. police) dismissed
◾2745 judges dismissed
◾Over 3000 soldiers and high ranking officers detained
◾Close to 1,500 staff at the ‘Ministry of Finance’ dismissed
◾At least 20 news websites have been blocked in Turkey

by Isabel Hunter, Daily Mail, Istanbul
18 July 2016

President Erdogan has wreaked revenge on nearly 18,000 people across the country with more than 7,500
military personnel, police and judges
arrested for plotting the coup that failed to topple him in midnight raids last Friday.

A further 10,000 police officers, judges, state governors and civil servants from the Interior and Finance
Ministries were suspended in a series of shock announcements throughout the day.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is Turkey’s first president to survive an armed challenge to power, was in Ankara
today attending funerals of some of the 208 people who died during the attempted power grab.


Yesterday Erdogan made clear his intention to ‘cleanse’ the country of the ‘cancer’ that had plotted to
overthrow him and today his will came into full effect.

Senior military officers from across the country have begun to appear in court facing charges of establishing

an armed terrorist organization, attempting to abolish the constitutional order and ‘intentional killing’.

One third of all the country’s military and navy generals and admirals have been detained and almost
every major military unit across the country has lost a commander.

One hundred high-rank officers have been charged with ‘high-treason’ and are currently testifying to
prosecutors for what might become a trial for their lives.


Mr Erdogan’s loyal Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addressed reporters in Ankara after a cabinet meeting that
discussed public demands to reinstate the death penalty.

'There are 208 people who have been unfortunately martyred in this coup attempt: 60 of them police officers,
three of them soldiers and 145 civilians are our hero martyrs,' he said.

Adding that 7,543 people have been arrested over alleged ties to the failed putsch, he said that the numbers
were liable to change.

'A hundred of them are police officers, 6,038 of them are soldiers of different ranks, 755 judges and
prosecutors, and 650 civilians.'

Thousands of supporters waving red
Turkish flags and chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’
came to the streets and squares across the country as President Erdogan warned the danger of a second coup had not passed
and urged people to come out to the streets all week.

Amid a backdrop of pulsing music used in Erdogan's Presidential campaign in 2014 crowds shouted for the
coup plotters to be publicly executed.



The iconic Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul’s Taksim Square is now draped with two huge pictures of the President
and a Turkish flag, and lies in stark contrast to the secular Gezi Park movement in 2013 when it was covered in
colourful banners and standards.

The speed and depth of the purge has led to questions about if the failed coup had merely provided President Erdogan
with the excuse to ‘clean house’ in the institutions he says has links to his former ally and now rival in
self-imposed exile Fetullah Gulen.


"It looks at least as if something has been prepared,’ said Johannes Hahn the EU commissioner dealing with
Turkey’s membership bid.

‘The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage,’ Reuters
reported Hahn as saying.

Erdogan’s plea to the people was repeated by Turkey’s Defence Minister Fikri Isik outside of the President’s
Istanbul home this morning.

‘As of today the coup was prevented, but we can’t say the threat is gone,” Isik said according to state news
agency Anadolu Agency.

‘That is why dear Istanbulites we ask you to closely follow every statement of Mr. President, and stay at the
squares until Mr. President says, ‘Ok, you can return home now’.’

Fears of a resurgence grew yesterday as clashes intensified at an airbase in Konya, southern Turkey, although
officials have now said the situation is under control.


Turkish media reported that mobs attacked Syrian refugees in the city, whose presence has become synonymous
with President Erdogan’s rule.

In the east of the country more than 100 soldiers were arrested at the Diyarbakir air force base.

The city is at the centre of the violent unrest that has plagued Turkey’s southeast as Kurdish PKK militants fight the army,
and also hosts tensions between the Islamist Kurdish Huda Par (Party of God), and the Kurdish PKK.

Several cities have been under military curfew in the last year with entire neighbourhoods flattened after the lockdown was lifted.


The iconic Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul’s Taksim Square is now draped with huge pictures
of the President and a Turkish flag

Washington (CNN) — The Turkish government appeared to be regaining control of major cities Saturday the morning after a faction of the Turkish military tried to take over the country. A failed coup in Turkey -- a longtime ally of the U.S. and member of NATO -- could have significant and wide-ranging implications for the U.S.

That's particularly the case, since Turkey is one of the world's few Muslim majority democracies and it sits at a key crossroads between the West and the Middle East, with Turkey playing a critical role in the fight against ISIS in Syria, the handling of Syrian refugees and in serving as a transit point for foreign ISIS fighters.



The impact was felt almost immediately as a key asset in the U.S. anti-ISIS campaign, the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey just 60 miles from the Syrian border, was forced to halt operations amid the uncertainty.

As of Saturday morning, Turkish military authorities had closed the airspace around Incirlik, making it impossible for U.S. airstrike missions against ISIS from that location, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

RELATED: Turkish government says situation under control







"U.S. officials are working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible," Cook added.

He also said the U.S. military was working to adjust its counter-ISIS operations "to minimize any effects on the campaign."

A U.S. defense official told CNN that the Pentagon is looking to conduct operations out of other bases in the region because of the Incirlik shutdown, which the military specifically needs to operate drones to fight ISIS, also known as ISIL.

Even once the airspace is reopened, though, the U.S. military may be reluctant to restart operations until it is certain who is in control of the Turkish armed forces.

Additionally, tensions between the U.S. and Turkey could increase as an extradition battle now looms. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, who currently lives in Pennsylvania, of being behind the coup and demanded the U.S. hand him over, though the exiled cleric has denied any involvement.

Here is a look at what else this could mean for the U.S.


WHITE HOUSE CONCERNS ABOUT TURKISH DEMOCRACY

President Barack Obama convened an emergency meeting in the White House Situation Room Saturday morning to discuss the events in Turkey. According to an official White House statement, the President was briefed on the latest developments on the ground in Turkey and "reiterated the United States' unwavering support for the democratically-elected, civilian government of Turkey." Obama also underscored shared challenges such as counterterrorism "that will require continued Turkish cooperation."

The U.S. came out early in favor of the Turkish government, led by its democratically elected president, Erdogan.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement Friday night saying he spoke with the Turkish foreign minister and that he had "emphasized the United States' absolute support for Turkey's democratically-elected, civilian government and democratic institutions."

Another statement from the administration noted that Obama had spoken to Kerry about Friday's events: "The President and secretary agreed that all parties in Turkey should support the democratically-elected government of Turkey."



U.S./TURKISH RELATIONS COULD GET A LOT WORSE


But even though the Obama administration doesn't want to see one of the world's few Muslim-majority democracies taken over by the military, it has experienced increasingly frosty relations with Erdogan, whose Islamist party has reversed years of Turkish secularism, maintained power for more than a decade, clamped down on the free press and dissidents, and shown less than full-throated support for the U.S. effort to rout out ISIS and other Islamist extremists.

Now things could get even worse between the two capitals, representing a considerable downgrade from years of strong U.S.-Turkish ties.

During the decades of the Cold War, the two countries enjoyed close relations, with the U.S. successfully collaborating on a range of issues with both democratically and military-led governments headed by many pro-western secularists.

In contrast, the U.S. has struggled with Erdogan's AKP Party and its moderate Islamist policies, including his diplomatic spat with Israel and his outreach to Islamist parties like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.












Erdogan's more anti-Western tone and authoritarian behavior -- it now ranks behind Russia, Venezuela and Algeria in press freedom -- has concerned the U.S. "It's no secret that there are some trends within Turkey that I have been troubled with," Obama said in April.

Now there are fears that Erdogan could go much further.

In an early warning sign, the Ankara chief public prosecutor's office took nearly 200 top Turkish court officials, including members of the supreme court, into custody, Anatolian News Agency reported Saturday. Though Erdogan has frequently railed against and curtailed the judiciary, there has yet to be any evidence that has indicated that its members were behind the coup.

If Erdogan continues to crackdown aggressively on the opposition and jail dissidents not involved with Friday's events, this could further strain in U.S.-Turkey relations.



U.S. MILITARY COOPERATION WITH NATO COULD SUFFER

Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has the second-biggest armed forces in NATO and is one of only two Muslim-majority members of the 28-nation defense alliance.

Turkey and the U.S. have had a very close military relationship, with the U.S. operating several military installations there, including the Izmir Air Station and Incirlik Air Base. NATO's Allied Land Command headquarters, led by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, is also located in Izmir. And NATO announced last week at its summit in Warsaw, Poland, that it would deploy its AWACS reconnaissance planes to Turkey to help combat ISIS.

The spokesman for U.S. European Command, Capt. Danny Hernandez, told CNN that five U.S. military installations in Turkey, including Incirlik, had been placed under the highest threat warning.

The decision to move to the highest level, Hernandez said, was not only because of the current situation but also based on potential threats to U.S. citizens, service members, families and other personnel.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg took to Twitter early Saturday to announce that all NATO personnel were safe and accounted for. He also issued his support for the democratically elected government.

And NATO's top military officer, U.S. Gen. Curtis Scapparotti, said Saturday that "Turkey is a strong NATO Ally and an important partner in the international Coalition against ISIL."

The Turkish Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, is "highly regarded" in the U.S., Aaron Stein, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, D.C., told CNN.


During the coup attempt, Erdogan said Akar had been held hostage by the plotters. Akar appeared with the prime minister on Saturday, signaling strong backing of the government.

But the fallout from the failed coup could have a disruptive impact on this military-to-military cooperation.

"This is not supposed to happen in a NATO country," Stein, who specializes in U.S.-Turkey relations, said.

Still, Turkey is no stranger to coups, with the military seizing power in 1960, 1971 and 1980. The military was also instrumental in convincing the government to resign in 1997.

During those previous coups, the Turkish officers, largely pro-Western and secular, sought to maintain close relations with NATO and the U.S.

Some of the officers involved in Friday's putsch said they intended to maintain Turkey's NATO commitments according to an announcement made on state TV in the early hours.

In contrast, the U.S. has had difficulties working with Erdogan's Islamist-oriented AKP, which has opposed some U.S. moves in the Middle East. Washington has often felt that Ankara could do more to crack down on Islamist groups in Turkey, stop the flow of foreign fighters against its borders and prioritize the fight against ISIS over its historic rivalry with the Kurds, a key ally of the U.S. in fighting terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

While military-to-military cooperation between American and Turkey has improved significantly in the last six months, according to Stein, the upheaval in the army and the potential decrease in authority for pro-Western factions in the military could affect the course of this cooperation.




THE TURKISH MILITARY COULD BE LESS ABLE TO HELP THE U.S. EVEN IF IT WANTS TO

Turkey's already strained military will likely face further constraints, the Atlantic Council's Stein noted.

He pointed out that Turkish forces have been in an intense battle with the Kurdish separatist group, the PKK, in the southeast while also contending with ISIS to the south, a threat encapsulated by ISIS' recent deadly attack on Istanbul's airport. Turkey's domestic security forces are similarly burdened by multiple threats on multiple fronts.

In the wake of the failed coup, Erdogan is likely to purge the military of coup-backers and others he deems to be disloyal. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said Saturday that more than 2,800 officers, including some generals and colonels, had already been detained.

Forced to endure purges and internal turmoil, Turkey's military would face even more pressure on its personnel as its leadership comes under suspicion by the ruling party.


Erdogan had previously sacked hundreds of high-ranking military officers for disloyalty during his tenure as Turkish prime minister from 2003-2014. On Friday night, Erdogan vowed to clean up the military.

A destabilized military would be unlikely to be able to provide any additional support to the U.S.-led fight against ISIS despite American efforts to boost Turkish participation.

"ISIS may take advantage of a likely security reshuffle and intensify spectacular attacks in Turkey after a failed coup by military officials on July 15," according to a report on the situation put out by the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.

Turkey is also a major recipient of U.S. arms sales, ranking third among importers of American weapons in 2015. Such sales might be put in danger by a military experiencing widespread upheaval.




THE WAR WITH ISIS COULD BE HINDERED IN OTHER WAYS TOO

In addition to a potential disruption in military cooperation in the war against ISIS, there could be other setbacks from the U.S. perspective.

The U.S. has long pressed Turkey to stem the tide of foreign fighters that have traveled across Europe through Turkey and into Syria, believing more could be done to stamp out the phenomenon.

"The Turks let them in believing they were going to fight Assad," Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN in June.

Aliriza added that the fact that many of these fighters would go on to join ISIS was "an unintended byproduct" of Turkey's prioritizing its enmity with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. would also like to see Assad leave power but believes the fight against terror groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra that exploit the long-raging Syrian civil war should take priority.

A distracted Turkey -- which has called the criticism over its handling of foreign fighters unwarranted -- will now be even less inclined and able to intensify its focus on the hard-to-solve problem of keeping foreign fighters from transiting through the country.




EXACTLY WHAT THE U.S> DOESN'T WANT: MORE INSTABILITY

The coup attempt in a major NATO ally comes as other countries throughout the Middle East are in chaos or on the brink of it, creating safe havens for terror groups, feeding extremism and undercutting the historic U.S. interest in a stable region.

Turkey has been a relative bulwark of stability across Europe and the Middle East, though riots, terror attacks and snap elections have already disrupted the country. Now there's a possibility of armed clashes between various political camps, or at the very least prolonged infighting and disruption.

One product of such turmoil could be even more Syrian refugees flooding Europe -- a phenomenon that those countries already see as destabilizing.

About 3 million Syrians have fled to Turkey to escape the civil war. Turkey recently struck a deal with the European Union in an effort to control the number of refugees going to Europe, with the EU providing Turkey with billions of dollars in aid.

In the coup fallout and ensuing crackdown, these refugees could seek to escape Turkey for Europe further complicating the situation of crucial U.S. allies on that continent.

"The assumption has always been that Turkey is problematic but stable," Stein said.