i've read recent news that they have been having talks to normalize relationship with syria, but yeah still not happy with assad hence the edit

my new theory is that trump needed to change his VP pick so he called this in as a distraction

[Edited on July 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM. Reason : .]

7/15/2016 4:58:27 PM

how do you do something this large without a leak?

7/15/2016 5:01:55 PM

Change the name back to Constantinople!

7/15/2016 5:04:45 PM

This is going to be an interesting test for the rest of the world. Erdogan is a near dictator, but he's been democratically elected repeatedly, his part controls their legislature, etc.

It's probably a long term good thing for him to be removed from power, but it's also never good when a democratically elected government is deposed, especially when it's the gateway to the middle east. Instability there could be disastrous. The military there is very strong, so they may be able to stabilize things quickly, but this could be really fucked for the whole region.

7/15/2016 5:12:07 PM

7/15/2016 5:45:48 PM

Quote :

"Claims from Turkish sources on air that head of Turkish military has been killed and that the heads of the Turkish Air Force and Land Forces are behind the coup."

Straight real shit

7/15/2016 5:56:19 PM

man that reddit live feed is NUTS the last 5 minutes

-attack helicopter fired on tv building
-helicopter fired on police station
-shootout between army and police
-police arresting soldiers
-citizens taking to the streets
-citizens arresting soldiers
-citizens jumping on tanks
-citizens tankjacking tanks
-tanks firing in ankara

7/15/2016 6:28:16 PM

Crazy, there are celebrations and fighting happening throughout different parts of both Ankara and Istanbul.

The newsfeeds are wild. BBC world news has former leader of AKP on, he's in full denial mode about Erdogan still being in power even though he's fled in a jet.

Police and military seem to be on opposite sides.



[Edited on July 15, 2016 at 7:02 PM. Reason : Ghhj]

7/15/2016 6:51:19 PM

Most reports I'm seeing now say coup has most likely failed, imams calling people to the street to support erdogan. Also seems it was a fairly small portion of the military

7/15/2016 7:06:04 PM

Quote :

"NTV reports that F16s have taken down a Sikorsky owned by the coup-ing military."

7/15/2016 7:06:05 PM

Yeah, this shit is nuts. Looks like there are portions of the military attempting a coup and other portions who support the Erdogan government.

It's really hard to tell what the hell is going on with the crowds in the street.

Saw some people get killed live on BBC a little while ago, they promptly switched back to studio but didn't comment on it.

[Edited on July 15, 2016 at 7:43 PM. Reason : sdfsfs]

7/15/2016 7:39:27 PM

My favorite theory thus far is that Erdogan set this up himself to strengthen his hold on the country, which would be... interesting to say the least.

7/15/2016 7:50:32 PM

And is actually slightly plausible, either way some heads are gonna roll

7/15/2016 8:00:27 PM

No doubt. If Erdogan stays in power there will be a lot of heads that will roll. Of course, if the coup is successful, a lot of heads will roll too.

7/15/2016 8:09:20 PM

Sounds like Erdogan is in Istanbul and going to speak..

7/15/2016 8:29:25 PM

What a fucking crazy year.

7/15/2016 8:32:50 PM

Whoa the FB live from CNN Turk was crazy..

7/15/2016 8:43:15 PM

Soooo, Istanbul may be back in government hands, but Ankara and other parts of the country may not be.

The repercussions are truly terrifying. By saving their democratically elected government the Turks could doom themselves to having an autocrat. Erdogan was already making changes to the Constitution and consolidating power into his hands. That process would almost certainly be accelerated if he regains control.

7/15/2016 8:50:45 PM

Holy shit. Massive gunshots in CNN Turk studio..

7/15/2016 8:53:43 PM

By the way, I'm not pro coup. I don't like Erdogan, but this is probably the worst thing that could have happened from a stability standpoint at a time when stability is desperately needed.

Fuck, more bombs going off in Ankara.

7/15/2016 8:59:58 PM

^^that was crazy

7/15/2016 9:09:03 PM

Watch live

https://youtu.be/y60wDzZt8yg

Sky News live 24 hrs a day

7/15/2016 9:22:40 PM

I knew he would ultimately blame him. Pres says this dude in PA is behind it, but dude is denying it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_Gülen

Pres and him have a complex history together, having been allies in the past, and now bitter rivals; those interested should at least skim through the Wikipedia page.

**********************

Pretty inspiring to watch people pouring into the streets and stopping tanks and other armored vehicles and then doing citizen's arrests on the renegade soldiers!

7/15/2016 9:36:44 PM

seems to be falling apart. guess it was just a mini couper

7/15/2016 10:38:30 PM

Mini Couper One.

Not a Mini Couper S, and def not a Mini Couper JCW.

7/15/2016 10:41:07 PM

Man, Brian Williams is the fucking worst. MSNBC was doing a pretty good job of coverage up until that overly dramatic asshat came on.

Still a lot of stuff shaking out. I'm not sure we're going to really know how things stand until maybe Monday.

7/15/2016 11:18:07 PM

Quote :

"Turkish TV shows tens of soldiers involved in coup attempt surrendering on istanbul's bosphorus bridge, hands raised"

7/16/2016 12:21:47 AM

Quote :

"By the way, I'm not pro coup. I don't like Erdogan, but this is probably the worst thing that could have happened from a stability standpoint at a time when stability is desperately needed. Fuck, more bombs going off in Ankara."

Turkey is basically the gateway between the isis nuts and the rest of europe. I can't imagine any good could come of it imploding.

Erdogan always seemed a bit nutty though, still not worse than Trump, so i'm not surprised powerful people want him gone.

7/16/2016 12:31:58 AM

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1309600/Dramatic-moment-coup-military-forces-stormed-Turkish-CNN.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1309601/Turkish-soldiers-surrender-Bosporus-bridge-Istanbul.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3692870/Turkey-brink-Civil-War-Mobs-defiant-civilians-face-military-tanks-soldiers-seize-control-streets-coup.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3693067/Was-Turkey-s-military-uprising-orchestrated-Pennsylvania-Erdogan-blames-Fethullah-Gulen-75-year-old-recluse-living-Poconos-community-1-100-swung-close-ally-fierce-political-rival.html

In the first video it seems to me it is just a couple of soldiers and they are being beaten up inside the CNN Turk studio. If that's the case, why would those soldiers "storm" the studio if they were so outnumbered by civilians?

7/16/2016 3:58:42 AM

Uh oh. Apparently a Turkish military helicopter had landed in Greece and the 8 soldiers on board are requesting political asylum. Turkey is demanding that the Greeks turn them over.

Great.

7/16/2016 8:10:58 AM

Why would they not turn them over, other than historical grievances?

Political asylum after a failed coup doesn't seem like something that would be in any country's best interest to grant.

7/16/2016 10:16:58 AM

I suspect they probably will send them back, but as you said historical grievances are one possible reason. A bigger reason is that Erdogan has already indicated that he may be putting the death penalty back into law just for these coup plotters. Quite a few places don't do extradition if it means the death penalty for the person being extradited.

I don't think it's going to be a huge deal, but it's just one more possibly ugly complication.

7/16/2016 2:26:25 PM

~100 subversives dead
~50 cops dead
~50 civilians dead

~3,000 renegades arrested, including 5 generals, 29 colonels

~3,000 judges to be fired <--- this I don't understand

7/16/2016 5:15:51 PM

Looks like Erdogan is using this as a way to purge people he doesn't like from a lot of areas, not just the military.

7/16/2016 5:20:51 PM

That's a lot of judges, though. What percent of total judges is that?

How do you produce thousands of judges quickly to replace them?

7/16/2016 5:22:57 PM

Kangaroo Courts / Drumheads aren't that hard to come up with on a short notice.

7/16/2016 6:37:47 PM

Erdogan "cleansing" and "purging" the military and judiciary.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0ZX07S

There were attempts on his life during the coup, and his plane was under the scope of two F-16s midair!
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0ZX0Q9

7/17/2016 9:39:04 PM

Yeah. That's pretty much been the assumption since the coup was put down.

There's been speculation that this wasn't an actual coup, but something orchestrated by Erdogan. The fact that his plane wasn't shot down and that the hotel he was at was attacked after he left is a bit convenient. I don't want to give to much credence to it, but it isn't totally outlandish. I mean, he's been consolidating power for the better part of the last decade as PM and then President. He's been trying to reshape the constitution which resulted in some actual pushback. Staging a coup is a great way to garner leverage for those changes.

Of course, it is more likely that this was a real coup, but lacked great planning and political support. Either way, the result is the same.

Turkey is very much in danger of becoming an autocracy by the end of the year.

7/17/2016 9:52:41 PM

martial law declared, only sympathetic military and judges left, definitely seems like the stage is being set for autocratic rule...

7/18/2016 3:40:54 PM

dude staged it or the F-16's would have shot him down

7/18/2016 4:48:01 PM

Do we know yet how the US is involved in this? I'm sure we're at least partially responsible.

7/18/2016 4:48:33 PM

yeah, we are harboring one of their terrorists and Turkey should fly drones into our airspace to blow him up:
Would Turkey Be Justified in Kidnapping or Drone-Killing the Turkish Cleric in Pennsylvania?
https://theintercept.com/2016/07/18/would-turkey-be-justified-in-kidnapping-or-drone-killing-the-turkish-cleric-in-pennsylvania/

7/18/2016 5:11:43 PM

Probably more involved than that. This has CIA meddling written all over it.

7/18/2016 5:22:46 PM

^^ He is not a terrorist. He is a former ally of the president and they had a falling out, that's all. With regards to the coup, Erdogan is saying Gülen orchestrated it, but he is denying it. Kerry said any extradition request accompanied by evidence will be considered, and Turkey is preparing the request as we speak. Gülen still denies it even with Erdogan asking for extradition, but in an interview said that he has faith in God, and that if the US agrees to extradite him, he will respect the decision and go with it.

Erdogan is still pissed at Gülen because Gülen's supporters in the government, military, and judiciary (he has many) exposed massive corruption of Erdogan's government a couple of years ago, which led to many trials, including those of Erdogan's closest associates and friends.

This lends credence to the allegation that the coup was masterminded by Erdogan himself as a pretext to purge/cleanse the military and judiciary, to the tune of 3,000 members from each branch. The purged staff must be all Gülen supporters, especially the ones who instigated the corruption trials years ago.

7/18/2016 8:05:31 PM

Erdogan staged this fiasco. It will be interesting to see how the US responds to this, as the Turkish government cut of power and blockaded roads to Incirlik Air Force Base. Considering that we have nukes stored at that base, I'm sure there was some panic taking place at the Pentagon last weekend. There probably still is a lot of panic at the Pentagon, as this will probably result into Turkey continuing their slide towards religious fundamentalism.

What may be more interesting is to see how this affects Turkey's strained relationship with Moscow. Apparently Russia is evacuating their citizens from Turkey that have been vacationing there.

[Edited on July 18, 2016 at 9:30 PM. Reason : Moscow]

7/18/2016 9:22:54 PM

Quote :

"Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said over 7,500 people have been detained so far, including 103 generals and admirals, in the investigation into Friday’s coup which Erdogan has blamed on his arch-enemy, the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. The Interior Ministry said almost 9,000 police, municipal governors and other officials had also been dismissed in a widening purge."

WTF? ~17,000 detained or dismissed? Were these people holding placards saying "I do not support Erdogan"? How can such a huge number be detained/dismissed so quickly???

*********************************************************************

Ankara has demanded Washington hand him over. Washington says it is prepared to extradite him but only if Turkey provides evidence linking him to crime. Yildirim rejected that demand.
+
The swift rounding up of judges and others indicated the government had prepared a list beforehand, the EU commissioner dealing with Turkey’s membership bid, Johannes Hahn, said.
+
He was able to fly into Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday, after rebel pilots had his plane in their sights but did not shoot it down.
+
Erdogan said as the coup unfolded that the plotters had tried to attack him in the resort town of Marmaris and had bombed places he had been at shortly after he left. He "evaded death by minutes", the second official said. Around 25 soldiers in helicopters descended on a hotel in Marmaris on ropes, shooting, just after Erdogan had left in an apparent attempt to seize him, broadcaster CNN Turk said.

makes this:

Gulen, in turn, has said the coup attempt may have been staged, casting it as an excuse for Erdogan to forge ahead with his purge of the cleric’s supporters from state institutions.

extremely plausible.

7/19/2016 12:29:19 AM

Quote :

"^^ He is not a terrorist. He is a former ally of the president and they had a falling out, that's all. With regards to the coup, Erdogan is saying Gülen orchestrated it, but he is denying it. Kerry said any extradition request accompanied by evidence will be considered, and Turkey is preparing the request as we speak. Gülen still denies it even with Erdogan asking for extradition, but in an interview said that he has faith in God, and that if the US agrees to extradite him, he will respect the decision and go with it."

you really missed the intention of that link

7/19/2016 7:01:51 AM

actually no, i get it, but i also wanted to set the record straight because erdogan keeps calling him a terrorist and that his supporters in the government belong to gulen's terrorist organization, when in fact, there is no terrorist organization operated by him or by any one else in his name.

all the real terrorists, war criminals, and fleeing dictators are given refuge in london

7/19/2016 7:06:23 AM

This dude is firing all of the government. Not sure how it is supposed to run.

Quote :

" Turkish Education Ministry fires 15,200 school teachers and ministry personnel in post-coup crackdown, says investigation will follow. "

Quote :

"Family and Social Policy Ministry sacks 393 employees in post-coup crackdown."

Quote :

"Turkey's higher education board asks 1,577 faculty deans of various universities to offer their resignation as part of the post-coup purge."

All information from Mahir Zeynalov ?@MahirZeynalov . He is a great follow for updates

[Edited on July 19, 2016 at 10:30 AM. Reason : 1]

7/19/2016 10:29:55 AM

rip turkey

7/19/2016 10:39:47 AM