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July 15, 2016
Turkish Military Takes Down Wannabe-Sultan?

There are some signs that the military in Turkey is currently launching a coup against the wannabe-Sultan's government.

This is developing and unconfirmed.

Some very recent tweets (All time stamps on a unified timeline):

12:18 PM – 15 Jul 2016 agitpapa @agitpapa

Something fishy's going on military blocking Bosphorus bridge, jets buzzing Ankara. Tayyip took Turkey back decades is it already 1980?

12:20 PM – 15 Jul 2016 ilhan tanir @WashingtonPoint

Bosporus Bridge currently blocked by Turkish Military. Everybody is asking: what is going on? Turkey. Istanbul. pic.twitter.com/7pqwTY9zQw

12:21 PM – 15 Jul 2016 agitpapa ‏@agitpapa

Curfew declared in Ankara.

12:30pm · 15 Jul 2016 Mahir Zeynalov @MahirZeynalov

Reports of significant military presence in urban areas in Turkey. Two Istanbul bridges on lockdown by military.

12:32 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Mahir Zeynalov @MahirZeynalov

Turkish fighter jets flying low over Ankara pic.twitter.com/wqcPmLBOyW

12:39 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Moon of Alabama @MoonofA

Moon of Alabama Retweeted Mahir Zeynalov

Smells of army coup?!?

12:54 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Piotr Zalewski @p_zalewski

Roads to the General Staff headquarters in Ankara have been blocked: TR media t24.com.tr/haber/ankarada…

12:56 PM – 15 Jul 2016(((Michael Koplow))) @mkoplow

The lack of Turkish govt officials visible anywhere at the moment is…odd.

1:03 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu

#BREAKING Turkish PM Yıldırım says there has been "an attempt" and his government won't allow it.

1:08 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

Helicopters hitting the Intelligence service building and army surrounding the army HQ. Getting hotter. #Turkey

#BreakingNews: F-16 over Ankara and Helicopters opening fire in Ankara against Army building. #Turkey

It is obvious that the #Turkish Air Force is splitting and it is a real coup d'etat.

I am watching an RT live feed which is, for over an hour, supposed to show a live Kerry and Lavrov press conference in Moscow. Everybody is still waiting for them. I wonder what is holding those guys up. (12:09PM)

An arch Gülenist … 🙂

1:21 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Abdullah Bozkurt @abdbozkurt

Rumor has it this may be a false flag to create pretext for govt to redesign @NATO 2nd largest army to the pleasure of its current rulers.

1:26 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Mahir Zeynalov @MahirZeynalov

Turkish army announces it has taken over the authority in entire Turkey. Gov't denies, says the coup attempt is failed

Lavrov – Kerry press conference just started (1:30PM)

1:30 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Breaking News Feed @pzf

BREAKING NEWS: TURKISH STATE NEWS AGENCY SAYS EXPLOSION BEING REPORTED AT POLICE SPECIAL OPS HQ IN ANKARA.

1:34 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Omar Al Saleh @AJEOmar

#Turkey military says "it has taken over authority to maintain democracy and human rights "

… and to save unicorns.

1:38 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Aron Lund @aronlund

While the Turkish coup seems to be real, reports of gunfire in Bashar al-Assad's office in Damascus are false. Those are champagne corks.

1:48 PM – 15 Jul 2016 David Cenciotti @cencio4

Friend was told minutes ago they were about to board Turkish 1841 from IST. Now they have informed them that flight is cancelled

1:47 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Mahir Zeynalov @MahirZeynalov

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taken to a safe place in Marmaris by his guards.

Turks withdraw money from ATMs after reports of coup.

1:47 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

#BreakingNews: The Army arrested the Chief of Staff (pro-Erdogan) and is bombing the Intelligence HQ, again. #Turkey.

2:00 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

#BreakingNews: The Presidency (Pro-Erdogan) is "asking the support of the population". (This is the beginning of the end).

agree – when no other resources are left to a president than "the people", it's over …

2:04 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier ‏@EjmAlrai

All @facebook @twitter and @YouTube suspended in #Turkey by the Army.

Journo at ongoing Lavrov & Kerry press conference: "France, Belgium told their citizen in Turkey to stay at home." Lavrov: "Russian citizens should too."

2:11 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Talking Points Memo Verified account @TPM

#BREAKING John Kerry says he hopes for stability in Turkey as coup apparently under way http://bit.ly/29WqHS6

"Stability" – that's pro military coup talk …

2:11 PM – 15 Jul 2016 i24NEWS English @i24NEWS_EN

#BREAKING Moscow calls on Turkey to avoid all 'bloodshed'

Also pro-coup in my book.

It seems that the big guys have agreed on something quite significant in today's talks in Moscow.

2:13 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Andrew Duff @AndrewDuffEU

Turkish military say they will uphold NATO & UN commitments.

That seals the deal with Moscow and Washington!

Now compare Kerry's "stabilty" talk with the NATO's Warsaw Summit Communiqué (July 8-9 2016)

NATO’s essential mission is unchanged: to ensure that the Alliance remains an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security, and shared values, including individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

"Stability"? I don't find "stability" in there. Hmmm…

2:26 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1

Senior US military source tells NBC News that Erdogan, refused landing rights in Istanbul, is reported to be seeking asylum in Germany.

Woah – probably the last guy any German would grant asylum. But Merkel made a deal with Erdogan to welcome every  unqualified "asylum seeker" from Turkey. She'll be damned though should she stick to that and let him in. Could she point him to Damascus?

2:42 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

#BreakingNews #Breaking The Turkish Army orders its units to pull out of #Iraq (Ba'shiqa) positioned against #Baghdad's will,close to #Mosul

More sealing the deal. This above move will soother Iraq and Iran.

3:50 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Mustafa Akyol @AkyolinEnglish

#TurkeyCoup summary:
1) This is a clique within military, not the whole military.
2) It is failing.
3) It will further empower Erdoğan.

2:52 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Hisham Al-Omeisy @omeisy

Erdogan back in second frantic internet call. Seems all he can do when army cut him off from all other coms. #Turkey pic.twitter.com/U3tqLmWx2B

How come the coup plotters missed to shut down the internet – MAJOR mistake.

3:03 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

It is not excluded that #Turkey might face a rise of extremists Islamists (pro-Erdogan) if these lose power. Grey future ahead.

#ISIS and #AQ adore a state of "savagery" to support and proliferate if the coup lasts and a lack of stability dominates#Turkey for a while.

3:06 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Iraqi PMU English @pmu_english

#BREAKING #Turkish army leaving #Bashiqa camp after #TurkishCoup. We thank military for respecting #Iraqi territory pic.twitter.com/siZtYqmOsP

3:07 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Elijah J. Magnier @EjmAlrai

#Turkey Air Force commander and ground troops commander are anti-erdogan. Both behind the coup. @widar01

3:22 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Sky News @SkyNews

Flag-waving crowds gather in Istanbul's Taksim Square after Turkey's President urged people to take to the streets snpy.tv/2agURye

3:30 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Sam Tamiz @SamTamiz

This looks like a game of cat and mouse that the military is going to lose

4:02 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Caspar Schliephack @SerioSito

#TurkeyCoup: Apparently police, MİT, 1st Army Command (Istanbul), Navy, parts of Air Force & Special Forces remain loyal 2 government

4:05 PM – 15 Jul 2016 DavidKenner @DavidKenner

Obama urges support for "democratically-elected government of Turkey."

Obama talked to Kerry (White House Statement). There seems to have been some disagreement between them. Obama, from the tone of it, practically ordered his line to be followed.  Flag in the wind …

4:15 PM – 15 Jul 2016 DavidKenner @DavidKenner

I wonder if an attempted coup requires a dramatically strengthened Turkish presidency.

4:16 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Thomas van Linge @arabthomness

#Turkey: authorities have retaken full control of TRT studio in #Ankara, arresting soldiers & confiscating weaponry pic.twitter.com/VhZ3rlf0Vy

4:18 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Hussain AbdulHussain @hahussain

If Erdogan gets through this, he will have a long list of people to settle scores with, inside and outside #Turkey

4:25 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Tom Coghlanتوم کوگلن @TomCoghlan

After a significant pause (sniffing the wind?)- US and others now queueing up to back the 'democratically elected govt' #Turkey

4:28 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Ludwig W @LudWitt

Now Germany joins in (after POTUS leads the way) supporting Gov – another sign that coup failing #Turkey

4:34 PM – 15 Jul 2016 U. Klein @smukster

Just half an hour after the publication of the #28pages, what coincidence…not. #TurkeyCoup

4:47 PM – 15 Jul 2016 Ryan Evans @EvansRyan202

No matter who wins in #Turkey, deeper autocracy is the result

to be continued …

It is getting late here and I will end live coverage for now (5:00 PM on timeline). It will be interesting to analyze why the coup failed, as currently seems likely, or succeeded. Control of ALL mass media – not only TV but especially the Internet as means of mass communication – seems to be a decisive factor.

Posted by b on July 15, 2016 at 19:59 UTC | Permalink
Comments

thanks b — came here first of course

Posted by: annie | Jul 15 2016 20:07 utc | 1

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy! Goodbye, Gollum…

Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 15 2016 20:08 utc | 2

If you’re interested in the Twitter minute-by-minute:
https://twitter.com/search?q=turkey+coup

Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 15 2016 20:10 utc | 3

http://syrianperspective.com/2016/07/how-the-mighty-have-fallen-turkey-prepares-for-new-ties-with-syria-isis-prepares-for-its-own-dissolution-saudi-arabia-on-the-verge-of-collapse-yawn.html
Nothing he doesn’t deserve.

Posted by: rm | Jul 15 2016 20:13 utc | 4

Would a Coup be a good thing? It wasn’t good for Ukraine, wasn’t good for Muslim Brotherhood supporting Egyptians either

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:13 utc | 5

If the coup turns out to be true, is this the real/biggest reason for Erdogan the terrorist to so quickly and desperately appeal to Russia ?

Posted by: tom | Jul 15 2016 20:14 utc | 6

@6 he certainly did a piss-poor job of it

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:15 utc | 7

@6 he certainly did a piss-poor job of it

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:15 utc | 8

I know it’s early, but interesting to see how it plays out how the CIA and other western terrorist organisations rebelled against their formally favourite Turkish terrorist.
Was appealing to Russia the final straw ?

Posted by: tom | Jul 15 2016 20:24 utc | 9

Every DOG has their day. Apparently erDOGan’s day has passed.
Oh to be a fly on the wall in Moscow.

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 15 2016 20:24 utc | 10

@10 this might be CIA-led

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:29 utc | 11

@11 gee ya think? it’s only been a few weeks since the rapprochement

Posted by: annie | Jul 15 2016 20:36 utc | 12

Erdogan MUST GO.
Hollande MUST GO.
Obama WILL GO.

Posted by: Bluewolf | Jul 15 2016 20:39 utc | 13

Holy crap, this is big and not good at all. WHy would people here even cheer this?
#5 bbb,
Muslim brothershood was elected in Egypt there was no coup as in Ukraine or perhaps now in Turkey.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 20:45 utc | 14

Cartoon: Coup in Turkey?

Posted by: Anonymous 2 | Jul 15 2016 20:48 utc | 15

I get the sense its already over, a small group tried to commit a coup? And now the military aligned with the government try to reestablish order,
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/group-in-military-attempted-uprising-turkish-pm-says-top-general-may-be-held-hostage.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101669&NewsCatID=341

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 20:48 utc | 16

@14- yup and they were coup’d out

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:49 utc | 17

14 bbb,
They were elected not sure why you claim otherwhise, you got it right that they in turn got ousted in a coup though.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 20:50 utc | 18

@14 No coup in Ukraine? Are you serious? Why didn’t Yanukovych finish his democratically elected term then? Oh right, the US backed coup! Were you not following Ukraine at all?
Also they cheer this because Erdogan has become more and more dictatorial. Still, considering the aftermath of the coup in Ukraine, as much as a I absolutely loath Erdogan, I’m not exactly convinced this is a great thing.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 15 2016 20:51 utc | 19

@ b
This site also is good:
https://twitter.com/agirecudi

Posted by: Yul | Jul 15 2016 20:52 utc | 20

Is the military sick of erdogan or is the CIA pissed that erdogan apologized to Russia? This could be bad or good.

Posted by: Alaric | Jul 15 2016 20:54 utc | 21

All I know is that Turkey started ‘making peace’ with Syria, and a coup would possibly undermine that completely.

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 20:59 utc | 22

As reported by Sputnik News …
“Turkish military has now released a statement saying that they have seized control of the government.
The Turkish military has taken to television to say that the “power of the country has been seized in its entirety” and that the Turkey’s leadership have been detained by the troops which conflicts with official statements by the government saying that President Erdogan is in a safe location.
The Chief of Staff of Turkey’s military, Hulusi Akar, has been taken hostage by the military coup plotters according to Turkish government officials.
Sources indicate that Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in Ankara. The Turkish prime minister has confirmed that an unauthorized campaign of military violence has been undertaken against the government with some calling it a coup.
A gunfight has now broken out in front of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace.”
source – http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160715/1043072542/ankara-gunfire.html

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 15 2016 21:00 utc | 23

Golan @16,
I agree, they will all be rounded up and shot.

Posted by: sillybill | Jul 15 2016 21:01 utc | 24

holy shit this exciting stuff!!!

Posted by: Au | Jul 15 2016 21:06 utc | 25

@22 my sentiments exactly. this is likely about syria and somebody’s plans for a kurdish state

Posted by: annie | Jul 15 2016 21:08 utc | 26

Massinissa
I might have phrashed myself bad, I meant contrary to UKraine, where there was a coup, there was no coup in Egypt when MB was elected.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 21:12 utc | 27

sillybill
Well atleast hopefully this will soon be over, that the turkish government dont have any knowledge about this huge conspiracy which some sources seems to imply is a gigantic failure, amazing that this could happen 2016 in Turkey.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 21:15 utc | 28

@28 Turkey’s leadership got pwned for sure. That’s what makes me suspect it’s CIA

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 21:16 utc | 29

Great bit of comedy from Reuters …
Turkey, a NATO member with the second biggest military in the Western alliance, is one of the most important allies of the United States in the fight against Islamic State.
source – http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-primeminister-idUSKCN0ZV2HK
CIA backed coup or City of London/City of Rome putsch. For sure.

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 15 2016 21:20 utc | 30

Nato leadership about to support another coup? What will the response be?

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 21:23 utc | 31

#5
Coups are NEVER good. Governments, even dictatorships, should never change through force by the military. Especially not Erdogan’s government, which could’ve been changed through elections or impeachment.
I was born in Peru; the Velasco Coup chased my family out of the country. It doesn’t matter if a golpa is right or left wing. I want the era of Latin American coups to be in the past. I was outraged at the most recent coup in Honduras; I don’t want any coup in Venezuela, or the rest of Latin America.

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Jul 15 2016 21:27 utc | 32

Guess what? Yet another one going before Bashshar! If true
I ll celebrate!

Posted by: Mina | Jul 15 2016 21:28 utc | 33

Gulen did a good job of clearing out old secularist military brass, but I don’t think they could do this on their own. There would have to be agreements made. US support means they were.

Posted by: Cresty | Jul 15 2016 21:28 utc | 34

Posted by: Inkan1969 | Jul 15, 2016 5:27:58 PM | 32
yep
Emre KIZILKAYA ‏@ekizilkaya
. @jorgen83 @reportedly the worst democracy is better than the best military rule…

Posted by: somebody | Jul 15 2016 21:35 utc | 35

I have not followed this area very closely over the past few months but I would not suspect a CIA backed coup. The Turkish Military has direct ties with the US Military. I suspect that the US military gave the green light and not the CIA. The Turkish military may finally go work towards shutting down the terrorist networks in their country.
I do not think that military men like terror groups/4th gen warfare/CIA funded mercenaries killing their countrymen and comrades. I would lean towards them wanting to rid the world of these forces to protect their control over force in the region.
We may be witnessing a internal war between the spy community and military communities in both Turkey and America.
Over my course of reading it has always seemed that the Air Forces prefer 4th gen/jihadis more than ground forces (Army/Marines). If the Air Force did not split from the Turkish state then that would make some sense in my mind.
Take everything I write with a grain of salt. Just an opinion based on years of reading about these topics and I can be 100% wrong.

Posted by: AnEducatedFool | Jul 15 2016 21:36 utc | 36

Difficult to succeed a coup against Erdogan. He’s spent ten years dismantling the military.
The military are pro-West, ie. in this case pro-CIA. This must be a CIA-organised coup.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 15 2016 21:36 utc | 37

This could be a joint effort by USA and Russia. Kerry was in Russia yesterday I think. Israel also made its grab on the Golan Heights. Perhaps USA wants to put the Syrian affair to bed now?

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 21:38 utc | 38

The headline of this post says it all sultan wannabe erdogan, seriously, why cheer this coup, I dont get it, its ridiculous,
and now it seems that Gulen movement is part of this coup, Gulen Movement have good relationship with the US, is this what people here wanted?

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 21:43 utc | 39

About the Putin/Kerry meeting. I don’t much read the NYTimes, but they are in full attack against any agreement mouthing neocon propaganda. This article is by the way, not an “opinion piece” but is presented as a straight news story. Here is some of the garbage in the article.

Andrew J. Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said in a telephone interview that the proposed agreement, if put in place, would ensure that the government remained in power, that the civil war in Syria would continue and that terrorism would continue to spread in the Middle East and around the world. …

Defeating ISIS/Al Queda will cause all of this? good lawd.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/world/middleeast/john-kerry-vladimir-putin-syria-plan.html?ref=world

Posted by: Erelis | Jul 15 2016 21:46 utc | 40

@26
> somebody’s plans for a kurdish state
If that’s the case then this is just the beginning. For a chunk of Turkey to end up a part of an eventual Kurdish state, there will first be a lot of fighting and a lot of destruction (see Nusaybin).

Posted by: Anonymous 2 | Jul 15 2016 21:46 utc | 41

@37 Laguerre It’s 2016, Turkish Military no longer equals 100% pro west, pro secular. The Gulen movement is thick in the military, and is by no means secular. Imho this is Gulenist with backing from or in partnership with old deep state.
I might say, sure it’s old deep state trying one last time, but this happened on the day after Turkey issued an extradition order to the US for Gulen. And it comes after a lot of crackdowns against his papers and other various organs inside the country.
There are brand new dynamics at play, the constant is military and the US love for coups.

Posted by: Cresty | Jul 15 2016 21:47 utc | 42

@39
Hes an authoritarian autocrat. I agree that the cheering here is a little too one sided, but its not as if Erdogan is a good person, or actually ‘democratic’.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 15 2016 21:47 utc | 43

Cia, FSB? It’s too soon to say.
BREAKING: Right now fire exchange between Turkish military and intelligence agency MIT near presidency building in Ankara, #Turkey
https://mobile.twitter.com/RikarHussein/status/754067328266964992

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 15 2016 21:50 utc | 44

Golan @28,
I don’t know now, #turkey on twitter has vids of tanks in the streets and helicopter assaults on govt bldg’s. plus erdogan addressing the nation via cell camera video, urging them out in the streets doesn’t inspire confidence. might have to look for a good recipe for crow.
And don’t get me wrong – if they retire Tayyip to a resort somewhere and stop playing footsie w the jihadis I’ll be ok w it.
Coups are hard – but the Turks got practice.
??

Posted by: sillybill | Jul 15 2016 21:50 utc | 45

Once Erdogan rehabilitated the army because he needed it to fight Kurds and ISIS, he has exposed himself to an military coup from generals faithful to Ataturk’s secular vision of Turkey and/or to army members loyal to Gulen who has been rejecting Erdogan’s creeping islamization.
It was expected but no so soon…
It also could be a false flag to promote Erdogan’s push for a presidential syste,

Posted by: virgile | Jul 15 2016 21:51 utc | 46

Obviously we don’t know where we are. But the support for Erdogan in Muslim Anatolia is very considerable.
Have they abandoned Erdogan? I don’t see that.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 15 2016 21:51 utc | 47

Massinissa
Jesus, you dont get it do you? Please read Inkan1969′ comment here, a coup is never a good thing, you could whine as much as you want about democracy as any other liberal warrior.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 21:51 utc | 48

According to the Angry Arab:
I believe that Saudi regime covered the coup if not sponsored it. Many signs.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 15 2016 21:55 utc | 49

Anon 2 @41,
they don’t have to take a chunk of turkey, they just have to take the pressure off from the turkish military and intel for Kurds to breath easier.
And anyway the Turks would kick their ass.

Posted by: sillybill | Jul 15 2016 21:57 utc | 50

all this Turkey coup done with Kerry meeting Lavrov in Moscow itself…..don’t fuck with us is the real message being delivered.

Posted by: tom | Jul 15 2016 22:01 utc | 51

As #37 said, there’s no way the military coup is not backed by NATO and the US. Where do their weapons come from? Exactly. As much as I dislike Erdogan I fear the US-backed military solution may be even worse. Certainly gives context to Erdogan reaching out to Russia recently–he may have feared this was coming and been looking to get backing from former allies.

Posted by: WorldBLee | Jul 15 2016 22:06 utc | 52

@52 Erdogan was a snake. Russia could never really trust him anyway.. but a wounded Erdo might’ve made for a nice puppet, while whatever coup government emerges could be absolutely disastrous

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 22:09 utc | 53

– I am far from surprised. There was – at least – one person who predicted this: Sibel Edmonds. She thought that Erdogan didn’t listen too well to the NATO puppet masters. Erdogsn was too independent to NATO’s liking. And that Erdogan would be deposed by NATO. Erdogan also made too enemies in the turkish military.

Posted by: Willy2 | Jul 15 2016 22:11 utc | 54

Sillybill
Erdogan is elected, how come prople here suddenly be ok with coup? A coup in turkey is as bad as the coup in ukraine.

Posted by: Golan | Jul 15 2016 22:13 utc | 55

For sure this is not good. I suspect the u.s. is behind behind the coup. It’s a gambling in the first place. If they do not succeed, they have a bigger inner nato problem. If they do succeed we will see a newly aligned Turkey.
And by the way; military in command is never a good thing. Even if it replace a de facto dictator.

Posted by: Pnyx | Jul 15 2016 22:14 utc | 56

thanks for this b and others… while i am not a fan of any coup, i am not a fan of erdofanatic either.. this was fairly obvious to see coming.. i hope few die in the process and turkey is able to get back on track.. they have been seriously derailed under erdogan..

Posted by: james | Jul 15 2016 22:14 utc | 57

@37 – If there is a firefight b/t the Army and MIT then I suspect that this is a coup led by the US Military against US involvement with ISIS via the CIA/MIT. It is my understanding that MIT is pro-ISIS and essentially an arm of the CIA.
The US Military may be back in charge of Greater Middle Eastern Policy and the CIA is being put back in the shed. At least that is my hope.
I suspect greater US direct military ties since the US military sent the Turkish military outdated weapons for ISIS. The Turks then sent those weapons to ISIS/jihadis.
I do not follow Turkey all that closely anymore. Its been almost a decade since I read extensively on Turkey so if you could kindly send me links that demonstrate that the Turkish Military is more connected to the CIA than the US Military.
Sorry if this is not coherent. Trying to post while keeping up w/ my toddler.

Posted by: AnEducatedFool | Jul 15 2016 22:19 utc | 58

Based on the bio of the general rumored to be heading this coup, Gen Hulusi Akar, I’ll speculate NATO/CIA involvement. And then there is Erdogan reportedly fleeing to Germany…

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 15 2016 22:20 utc | 59

I’m heavily medicated for broken arm right now & playing catch up but if my flakey time conversions are right Erdogan promised to be speaking rigt NOW on TV. Anybody know anything?
Saker has text of US-Russian agreement up, as reported by WAPO.
Turkey GAVE IMMUNITY to Turkish military officers few hours before coup started. I guess trying to head it off. I guess this refers to the jailed nilitary officers? That’s about 15% of them.
More here http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/07/15/sultan-under-fire-military-coup-underway-in-turkey-erdogan-takes-shelter-in-palace/

Posted by: Penelope | Jul 15 2016 22:25 utc | 60

@48 Jesus, you arnt understanding ME are you? I never said I support the coup, I said Erdogan was a corrupt Autocrat.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 15 2016 22:33 utc | 61

@59 could be b.s. to demoralize Erdo supporters (“he fled the country and left us”)

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 22:38 utc | 62

Yeah, the U.S. couldn’t have possibly known a thing about a coup, could they? These evacuations were ordered around Mar 29th and the families were mostly packed up and gone by the beginning of June. Six weeks later, Gollum goes down. Go figure.
US Military Families Ordered to Evacuate Turkey | Military.com
Pentagon pulling military families out of Turkey – USA Today
Pentagon, State Dept. Orders Families of Personnel to Leave Turkey
Penelope@60 – Sorry to hear about your arm, Penelope. I’ll beam some good healing karma your way.

Posted by: PavewayIV | Jul 15 2016 22:42 utc | 63

@63 If it turns out the Gulenists are behind this, that will pretty much prove this is US backed. WikiLeaks revealed US support for Gulenists.
If its not Gulenists it may or may not be US backed. Hard to tell at this point, we might know more by tomorrow.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 15 2016 22:44 utc | 64

Watching PBS News Hour as this is unfolding and they are trying to pretend like there isn’t enough information to do a legit report, but clearly are waiting for enough traction to spin it.
Is it me or is David Brooks is way too tan?
One last thought, viva la revolucion.

Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Jul 15 2016 22:48 utc | 65

Bet you it’s Putin fault again!

Posted by: Jack Smith | Jul 15 2016 22:53 utc | 66

Depending on the key leaders if the coup and their backers (if any, militaries are perfectly capable of taking independent action without external strings being pulled) the outcome of this could be either good or bad for regional stability, anti-ISIS ops and the fate of Syria. One thing is clear, anyone saying coups are never good has a weak understanding of history. Sankara in Burkina Faso, Gadaffi in Libya, and many other relatively non-violent examples that greatly improved the welfare of the people. Again, underlying motivations and future outcome here is far from clear but denouncing it as “undemocratic” is a little ridiculous, like claiming a surgeon cutting into a patient is violating his “do no harm” oath.

Posted by: Bran | Jul 15 2016 22:55 utc | 67

penelope – i hope your arm heals soon.. cheers
@ 66 jack smith.. indeede! lol.

Posted by: james | Jul 15 2016 22:59 utc | 68

@32 good post.

Posted by: Au | Jul 15 2016 23:00 utc | 69

Turkish military memorandum 1997 [Wikipedia]

Çevik Bir, one of the generals who planned the process, said “In Turkey we have a marriage of Islam and democracy. (…) The child of this marriage is secularism. Now this child gets sick from time to time. The Turkish Armed Forces is the doctor which saves the child. Depending on how sick the kid is, we administer the necessary medicine to make sure the child recuperates”.

Posted by: Mad Marx | Jul 15 2016 23:01 utc | 70

Not sure why Erdo didn’t have redundancies set up to counter this sort of thing, although I guess he isn’t too bright.. maybe he does?
The coup could fail – even AKP are against the coup..
If Erdo restores order then Washington might be a huge loser

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 23:01 utc | 71

Even though it’s being broadcast as a small faction which will be overcome shortly, I think it is going to get quite bloody.

Posted by: relament | Jul 15 2016 23:02 utc | 72

Oh, and I think the coup is definitely done with U.S. approval because Fethulla Gulen is living right here in Pennsylvania. And the Turkish military immediately made it known that all international agreements will be kept. In other words, all international relationships will remain;)

Posted by: relament | Jul 15 2016 23:09 utc | 73

AKP?oops I mean the kurdish equivalent party

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 23:10 utc | 74

@66 People on Twitter are already blaming Putin (and apparently Assad?) for the coup already.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 15 2016 23:10 utc | 75

@74- the PKK, who are I think Gulenists. I doubt it will fail, the US has tens of nuclear gravity bombs at incirlik. Safe bet this is a US play start to finish. Although it will probably get bloody.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 15 2016 23:15 utc | 76

@bbbb#71
You mean pro-Kurdish HDP

Posted by: Yul | Jul 15 2016 23:26 utc | 77

@76 I think there’s heavy public backlash. The coupsters will not have a docile public to handle..
BTW Twitter is godawful! I hate having to parse through all the garbage info on the live updates

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 23:28 utc | 78

Steve Forbes likes the coup (attempt?)….
“Turkey could be good news”, said media mogul Steve Forbes on the sidelines of the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas. Forbes emphasized the word, ‘could,’ suggesting that the president wanted dictatorial powers. “He was going to ram it through parliament. He lost the election a year ago …[m]anufactured a crisis with the Kurds to create a sense of violence. He made it clear that he was going to be a semi-dictator,” he told reporter Daniela Cambone of Kitco News.
http://www.marketslant.com/articles/turkey-coup-could-be-good-steve-forbes

Posted by: dh | Jul 15 2016 23:33 utc | 79

@78- well yeah, PM Daffy Duck called for it and there ought to be a few salafist mosques in Turkey willing to back him up. Along with the police, apparently.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 15 2016 23:35 utc | 80

How to decode this? If it was a US backed coup, wouldn’t Obama be saying that the government in particular should be showing restraint? Still, mentioning that the government was “democratically elected” suggests that the US doesn’t want it to be toppled. Also, there was no orchestrated demonization of Erdogan in the Western media, as usually precedes a coup or color revolution.

Posted by: Demian | Jul 15 2016 23:39 utc | 81

Lack of immediate ‘handling’ by US and UK news services suggests their govs may have been as surprised by this as anyone. West is not usually so subtle in its regime change efforts. I can easily imagine Washington scrambling at the moment to figure out if the coup was initiated by ‘our guys’. Expect more clearly slanted editorials once the dust settles.

Posted by: Bran | Jul 15 2016 23:46 utc | 82

Looks like the US is backing Erdogan. If the coup fails, that would be the perfect pretext for Nato to accuse Russia of meddling in one of its member affairs (no need for proofs) and start WWIII.

Posted by: WWIII | Jul 15 2016 23:46 utc | 83

@78- that’s what I like about twitter, not that it’s not god awful. Anyways now it seems this was poorly planned coup.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 15 2016 23:47 utc | 84

Current possibilities
A) backed by saudis, US, others unhappy with Syria rapprochement
B) false flag by Erdogan to solidify power base with purge
C) coup by Gulen faction seeking firmer Islamic control
D) coup by military unhappy with Erdogan’s autocracy and Gulen’s Islamic influence
Any others?

Posted by: Bran | Jul 15 2016 23:52 utc | 85

@84 it’s the constant stream of people repeating headlines and posting non-essential gibberish.. also lots of conflicting info.. I prefer this sort of setup where everybody’s on board trying to figure out all the angles + what is going on

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 15 2016 23:53 utc | 86

@81 demian, nice to see you back..
i don’t recall obama saying that about the democratically elected syrian leader? lol..

Posted by: james | Jul 15 2016 23:59 utc | 87

Forgetting that ‘sultan’ slur for a moment, this is another domino to fall in the Yinon Grand Plan to destablize then disenfranchise MENA for Zionism and Global Oligarchy, another ‘tyrant’, albeit a democratically-elected one, being deposed.
Amanpour is on the air megaphoning the classic NeoCon ‘bad man’ meme this morning, comparing this deposition to Egypt’s, the trope that Erdogan was ‘moving towards a radical Islamic State’, that he is a ‘Muslim Brother’. Bomb the gooks for Jeebus!
The United States itself is preparing for a fifth and final coup, since the soft coups of 1998 and 2000, and the hard coups of 2001 and 2008. This time the Zionim will launch a mind-space coup de grâce: Goldman owns Donald and Hillary, so will own the Executive, at which point, (just six months from now!), the Bankster fiat credit-debt Fourth Reich of One Thousand Years will have officially launched.
What’s in your wallet?!

Posted by: Cho Nyawinh | Jul 16 2016 0:00 utc | 88

Nice is so old news…..
BREXIT is so old news…..
I like the comments from AnEducatedFool about this being part of a CIA/Military turf war and can only hope that “our” side wins. Reading the links from PavewayIV, it certainly looks like this is just another act in a play scripted by others.
What is next? More killing of brainwashed hated others I suspect. Think about all that money being made on munitions!!!!
IMO, the folks behind the curtain of the sick play we are engaged in are the global plutocratic families that own private finance, all the corporations and many government puppets. I encourage folks to focus their ire on the source of our problems and not waste energy on all the machinations of failing empire.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 16 2016 0:02 utc | 89

F16 has shot down a military helicopter
At security HQ reportedly 17 policemen shot and killed
Erdogan’s call for people to walk the Streets and defy the military participating in the coup attempt seems to have effect
Governor of Istanbul days the military are doomed to fail
A crowd has taken over Ataturk airport and told military to leave within one hour
People in the street oppose the coup
Young Turks Live stream

Posted by: Oui | Jul 16 2016 0:09 utc | 90

From the perspective of the US Gov, there is a big difference between a coup in hondorus and a NATO member, especially with the expanding disapproval of future politicians and their policies. Vonnegut was apt in comparing the spread of ideas to disease.

Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Jul 16 2016 0:09 utc | 91

@Bran: Another could be that the coup is backed by the U.S. and EU to coax Britain’s anti-migrant-pro-Brexit voters for a return to the EU. Maybe they cut a deal to have daesch based in Turkey while at the same time using Turkey as an exclusive destination for migrants to go to, thus preserving and pushing more for far right governments in Europe.

Posted by: relament | Jul 16 2016 0:09 utc | 92

@84 I actually think it was pretty well planned. Its just even well planned coups can fail. Coups are really really really hard to pull off.
Anyway, on another note, I’m pretty sure that it didn’t have major foreign backing.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 16 2016 0:17 utc | 93

@49 angryarab is probably right

Posted by: johan meyer | Jul 16 2016 0:20 utc | 94

85:
A. How the hell would the Saudis convince a bunch of secularists to instigate a coup? Doesn’t seem like the Saudi’s would have that much of a hold on the secular Turkish military.
B. This is what I’m thinking too. It all seems too perfect.
C. I don’t know if it was by Gulen. The reason I’m skeptical is that I think the Gulenists could have actually pulled it off, and that they wouldn’t attempt something like this without the US OKing it first.
D. Maybe its as you say and theyre just angry Kemalists or something. Would explain their apparent lack of foreign backing and lack of success.
B or D seem like the most likely ones to me at least of the options you have given.

Posted by: Massinissa | Jul 16 2016 0:22 utc | 95

@92 Or maybe it was organized by Syrian refugees with help from Putin to get EU passports before the EU falls apart?

Posted by: dh | Jul 16 2016 0:23 utc | 96

@93- what, you’re speaking from personal experience? I’ll take your word for it.
I think any of Bran’s possibilities are plausible. Daesh is already based in Turkey and the exclusive destination for migrants heading to EU via Greece.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 16 2016 0:23 utc | 97

@james #87:
Thanks. 🙂
@Oui #90:
People in the street oppose the coup.
Don’t most Turks, especially the ones in Istanbul, want a return of the Ottoman Empire, like Erdogan? I doubt that a coup would help with that. My first guess is that the coup is Turkey going back to the usual pattern of the military throwing out Islamists.
@IhaveLittleToAdd #91:
That occurred to me as well. Organizing a coup in a NATO member does not seem like any way to run an empire.

Posted by: Demian | Jul 16 2016 0:23 utc | 98

@93 the conspirators in this coup have balls of steel if this was truly indigenous.. unfortunately for them I think Turkey is full of Islamists now.. and Erdogan’s facetime might’ve saved his bacon.. What a Piece of **** – there’s a photo of his gulfstream jet flying around throughout this whole ordeal

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 16 2016 0:27 utc | 99

Late news at huffer post the crazy person has landed at home and the coup is over. The crazed leader has obomber full support. That didn’t go well.

Posted by: jo6pac | Jul 16 2016 0:32 utc | 100

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