Speaking today in an interview with al-Jazeera, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believed unnamed foreign countries were involved in last Friday’s failed military coup, which he has blamed on the Gulen Movement.
Erdogan didn’t explicitly name any foreign country in the comments, but said he believed cleric Fethullah Gulen’s organization “has another superior mind” from another country calling the shots. Gulen is living in exile in the US, and Erdogan had previously talked of the coup being orchestrated “from Pennsylvania.”
Turkish officials have also suggested that overseas critics of the post-coup purge amounted to supporters of the purge. Erdogan took a shot at French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, saying he needs to “mind his own business” for criticizing the purge, and that he could come to Turkey to “get a lesson in democracy from us.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also went after the New York Times, accusing them of wanting the coup to succeed, citing a Twitter comment advertising an article as evidence that they were brooding over the failure of the coup.
Turkish officials had also previously hinted they suspected the US of involvement in the coup, and made a point to arrest the commander of the Incirlik Air Base, home to many US troops, as part of their early post-coup arrests.
So how far will the US go to support this clown?
The real question is how much will the USA offer him not to play nice with Putin? Will the USA let him repeat the Armenian genocide on the Kurds?
They’re late for that. Erdogan has been playing very nice with Putin lately.
Is it about “Erdogan” or “Putin”? Or are neocons guilty of fracturing the Middle East and alienating Turkey? Turkey — not the dreaded “Erdogan” tried for the best of past decade to integrate itself into Eurasian economy, infrastructure, development and trade. It is a natural geographical orientation for Turkey. Economic and energy interests tie Turkey with Russia, not “Erdogan” with “Putin”. However, for as long as the “West” thinks that every economic advantage for Turkey should be squashed, and economic interests of
Turkey destroyed, for the sake of NATO geopolitics. This is the best way to destroy friendship, mutual respect and alliance. Neocons keep on destroying, and we keep on coming up with excuses for them. And every time neocons start demonizing people, we fall into trans, and repeat the stupid assertions after them. Neocons may find out — to their utter surprise, that even Israel they champion, may find out others to be valuable allies. The new foreign minister Lieberman has a remarkably good relationship with Russia and, yes, “Putin”, if you will. The man is looking into diversification of foreign policy options — and under Russia’s auspices, signing an agreement with Turkey. He is not a dullard. As US has now only one or two friends — Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, it is time to put out feelers to others in the region.
Certainly Bianca gets it. After we screw around in Ukraine, Syria,Yemen and it now appears…Turkey too, how have we made any of their lives better..?? How has this meddling made the lives of the American people better…..????? Well unless you werk in a bomb factory….?????
And he is a clown because? Neocons said so?
I have no idea what the neocons have to say about Erdogan. More on my reply to McGuy.
Jeez Rick, wouldn’t expect you to turn against him so fast, especially when he is target of probable CIA orchestrated coup. Sibel Edmonds has Turkey milieu bona fides as CIA Turkish language translator and whistleblower, and a woman subject to Congressional gag orders….. Rick, for God’s sake man… Watch the boilingfrogsblogspot.com latest video on this coup… With James Colbert, Sibel Edmonds and Spiro Skouras….BEFORE you make too many more possibly unfounded assumptions…. @ boilingfrogsblogspot.com I’m sure you will find it quite informational.. Have you ever seen James Corbett go very far wrong..??
Also Sibel predicted a coup against Erdonan SIX MONTHS AGO. There is that video too at boilingftogsblogspot.com also. It’s an info goldmine, a must see to be up to speed essential..
Has anyone out there got a better source THAT PERDICTED THIS COUP MONTHS AGO…..???????
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I didn’t turn against Erdogan, I was never for him. Granted, his support for the Palestinians is admirable, in fact Turkey seems to be the only nation to do so.
But then, he starts picking fights with Russia, perhaps at the orders of the US/neocons. He’s no Assad for sure. He doesn’t get my support.
On the one hand Erdogan is taking his country into an questionable Islamic direction, on the other hand he’s desperate to be considered European. And that desperation to join the EU makes him too vulnerable to do any crazy thing.
I understand that many want to consider America’s “foes” as their friends, including other unsavory characters like Chavez and the Castros, but I wouldn’t rush to their support either.
I see no reason to believe that the US is behind the coup or that he’s next on the list or some such thing. If that were the case the US wouldn’t suddenly be silent about his purges or support him otherwise.
Feel free to give us the important bits about the Edmonds video. I’m not crazy about here either since she out of the blue turned viciously against Russia Today.
Coup Instigating Agency, CIA
Darker forces but inapt.. Turks arrest Incirlik commander…… Oooooooo…. Ouch…. Can you imagine the treatment HE is receiving…????? My very longtime friend, and political adversary, a Republican and Fox Newz affiectionado calls to tell me of his angst horror that the coup failed…. Now we learn that Gulan is “more” Israel and secular inclined: And moe Rusdisphobic too…????
In my opinion, this coup has the potential to fracture not just US Turkey relations, but NATO’s East wing too… So, with that said I guess my position puts me in the US involvement.camp, A rogue operation behind the back of our great leaders, sold out and clueless Trojan Whorez….????? Lots of angles to this 1… Will this failed putsch cause 1 here…????? Or more likely just the purge…?!?!?!? Get the popcorn and start duckduckgo-ing the back channels…. .’
OMG…. Update….. Sibel Edmonds/ Newsbud is up to their eyeballs in this coup opp. In her video, Sibel posits: Were Austria, Georgia and Turkey : special services involved in training the Istanbul Airport terrorist… WTF.. To see the video: boilingfrogspost.com
Whether or not there was foreign involvement, the consequences are much the same if Erdogan believes it. He seems to, and to have some reason.
If the US were well run in this matter, it would be laid to rest to Erdogan’s satisfaction ASAP. It won’t be. Likely it can’t be, because it is true. Even if it could be, the US is far too arrogant to try.
We were not to arrogant to help out in Ukraine
Erdogan or his allies staged the entire faux-coup so that he could tighten the iron grip beyond any ability to resist dictatorship.
No real coup would have allowed Erdogan and his son complete unfettered freedom. They would be dead or taken hostage if the coup was ever real, which it was not.
I think you hit the nail on the head ,It sure was a easy coup to defeat and he also found out who a lot of his enemies were . Now he can finish them off completely . No one is left to try that again .
And do you think that the opposition to Erdogan’s party and his policies would be better for Turkey? Any country has a right to defend its citizens from anarchy, chaos and the foreign inspired coup. That said, if Erdogan already was “dictator” and complete “autocrat”, who is he trying to eliminate? Who are his enemies? Are they sharing with the people of Turkey just exactly what they stand for? There seems to be a lots of pining for the failed coup in strange places, and under strange pretexts.
his enemies were the secular military that organized coups in turkeys past . Erdogan is a Islamist that has purged his military the best he could ever since he took office . I don’t know but I suspect this is just another military purge . I suppose you think Morsi the Egyptian Muslim brotherhood president of Egypt was thrown out by some foreign backed coup.too ?.. I surely don’t have any idea who that could have been ? Do you think that was the USA too ? I don’t think so . I think both the Bush administration and Obama favored Mosi and his Egyptian democracy .I also believe if Mosi could have stayed in power as long as Erdogan has . He too would have purged his military and made a coup impossible .
Few people here think Ukraine had that right
Anyone still falling for such neocon fantasy land explanations?
It’s almost impossible to believe that the US government either didn’t know about this coup attempt before it happened or didn’t help to orchestrate it in some way.
A lot of conspiracy-types are trying to claim that Erdogan faked this coup-attempt, but there is already a video available on the internet showing the plotters attempting to seize him at the hotel he was staying. They just barely missed him. That wasn’t faked. Most likely, he was tipped off by Russian intelligence; he wouldn’t be implying that the US was behind the coup if the CIA had tipped him off.
Think about it. Erodgan makes nice with Russia as reports circulate that he offered to let Russian aircraft use Turkish bases; he’s offered to end Turkish involvement in Syria by recognizing Assad’s government…both things that neocons in the US are opposed to. Then, suddenly, there is a coup attempt against him by a guy who lives in the US, has strong connections in Turkey (including their military and police), and has long been suspected of being a CIA asset – a federal investigation into potential fraud perpetrated by his network in the US was conveniently memory-holed a few years ago. Wink wink. It’s not like the US hasn’t had a long history of doing exactly that kind of thing.
Neocon coup stopped by mass mobilization call from mosques.
Neocon iraq war supporters back on fox this time supporting coup
If NATO loses Turkey to Putin then Ukraine’s goose is cooked. In fact Putin is already threatening Ukraine as his position in the Black sea is greatly strengthened.