US Centcom Commander Denies Involvement in Turkey Coup

Terms Turkish Accusations of Complicity 'Unfortunate'

US Central Command (Centcom) has issued a statement on behalf of their commander, Gen. Joseph Votel, formally denying any involvement in the failed coup in Turkey earlier this month, saying any claims he had done so were “unfortunate and completely inaccurate.”

While Turkish officials, and the media have repeatedly talked of US involvement in the coup, Gen. Votel had mostly not been mentioned until yesterday, when he spoke at the Aspen Security Forum, saying that the post-coup purge was having “longer-term” damage on their militaries’ relationship, and on the war against ISIS.

President Erdogan responded to Votel’s comments with an angry rebuke, accusing him of taking “the side of the coup plotters.” Turkish officials have repeatedly insisted that anyone critical of the purge was supporting the coup, and adding that the “putschist is in your country already.”

Previous suggestions of US involvement centered on personnel stations at the Incirlik base, where a major anti-US protest was held yesterday, as well as Gen. John Campbell, the former commander of the Afghan War, who Turkish media outlets have claimed was the “mastermind.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.