Seems this author saw it coming this spring.
http://www.newsweek.com/will-there-be-coup-against-erdogan-turkey-439181
I am not one for conspiracy theories (I find them entertaining to no end but I give credibility to very, very few) but I can’t help but think that this was orchestrated by Erdogan to grab even more power.
Do I have any real proof of this? No. It’s just a weird gut feeling.
^ Good heavens. The world must really be going crazy. Here’s proof if Romani is suggesting a conspiracy theory of her own.
areal military coup by the Turkish military which is very powerful would have rounded up everyone of the ruling party including erodgan and they would have ended up like Mussolini. this was a handful of soldiers, very suspicious…and now erogdan has cover and will increase his brutal repression and reign of backwards heading nonsense.
I visited Istanbul this past October with my sister, just as a tourist. One of the tour guides we hired burst into tears when I asked about their political situation. We thought she was being a bit dramatic at the time, but I guess not.
I’m really glad I visited, as the window for safe travel there seems to have closed.
Regardless of how awful the President of Turkey is - the last thing we need is another destabilized state in the region. He was democratically elected and seems to have the backing of a majority of Turks. It’s none of my concern that they choose an authoritarian despot.I have enough to worry about not electing one ourselves.
Yup, like, say, Hitler.
It’s only the Neocons who think democracy is the answer to all international problems.
^i’d rather we left Saddam in power in Iraq, too. Our biggest blunder ever. We wouldn’t be where we are today if we had left well enough alone.
^You are forgetting Lybia. Don’t you also wish they left Gaddafi in power? ISIS wouldn’t be as prevalent if he was in power.
It all goes back to Iraq and our invasion. Everything flows from that.
My friend’s windows were shattered last night by an explosion. 265 people have been killed. I am absolutely horrified.
“Yup, like, say, Hitler.
It’s only the Neocons who think democracy is the answer to all international problems”
Hey, if the government says that’s how the people voted, that must be what they wanted, right? Erdogan didn’t need any real competition, may as well just not allow them to participate. Kind of reminds me of this gem back in 2002, "Iraqi officials say President Saddam Hussein has won 100% backing in a referendum on whether he should rule for another seven years. There were 11,445,638 eligible voters - and every one of them voted for the president, according to Izzat Ibrahim, Vice-Chairman of Iraq’s Revolutionary Command Council.
The government insists the count was fair and accurate."
There is a Turkish young man I know from the gym and we have always discussed politics, elections and other current events. He is very liberal. I saw him yesterday and asked him about this situation.
He said the citizens were strongly behind the current government- as was he. The country wants to be close allies with the US but are being pushed towards Russia because we are arming the Kurds in Syria who in turn are using the weapons in Turkey. Putin was in Turkey yesterday.
He was a student of the Pennsy cleric when he was younger.
He believes the coup was lead by a number of military leaders who were scheduled to be displaced in August. He told us that in Turkey every August there are some number of military staff replaced. The list of who was to be replaced was leaked and those on it were the leaders of this attempted coup.
Re: #51
The 2015 elections in Turkey were heavily contested, despite the ruling party’s increasing restrictions on the press.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_general_election,_2015
In any case, the coup attempt can only result in either bad or worse being the winner, though people may disagree with what is bad and what is worse.
a French official kind of called out turkey as an ally in the fight against ISIS and than had what he said walked back.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/france-says-marks-over-turkeys-role-fight-islamic-105734902.html
not sure why we have to pretend turkey’s president does not support ISIS and helps them. now that he will purge his enemies with the “coup” as cover…the Turkish military who was secular will no longer be a counter balance to turkey’s support of ISIS.