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WikiLeaks Releases 300K Turkey Government Emails In Response To Erdogan's Post-Coup Purges (rt.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from RT: Despite a massive cyberattack on its website, WikiLeaks has published the first batch of nearly 300,000 emails from the Turkish ruling AKP party's internal server and thousands of attached files in response to the Ankara government's widespread post-coup purges. Some 294,548 emails pertaining to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) were made public on Tuesday at 11:00pm Ankara time. WikiLeaks says that the release of almost 300,000 email bodies together with several thousand attached files, is just part one in the series and encompasses 762 mailboxes beginning with 'A' through to 'I.' All emails are attributed to "akparti.org.tr," the primary domain of the main political force in the country, and cover a period from 2010 up until July 6, 2016, just a week before the failed military coup. The NGO also revealed that one of the emails contained an Excel database of the cell phone numbers of AKP deputies. Prior to the release WikiLeaks suffered a "sustained attack" as it warned that Turkish government entities might try to interfere with the publication of the AKP material. The attacks are still continuing and users are experiencing difficulties in accessing the material. WikiLeaks reassured the public that they are "winning" the battle. A few hours after the release, WikiLeaks tweeted a screenshot showing the database to be blocked in Turkey, claiming that Ankara "ordered [the release] to be blocked nationwide." More than 200 people have died and over 1,400 injured from the attempted coup. Thousands of people have also been detained and/or lost their posts across the judiciary, military, interior ministry and civil service sectors. The Turkish president Erdogan is blaming the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the attempted coup.

48 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. So what happens if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are emails showing that the President made this coup happen in order to weed out rebels and to strengthen his power?

    1. Re:So what happens if... by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nothing

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:So what happens if... by Thanshin · · Score: 2

      Nothing. Erdogan will say it's fake and his loyal followers will believe it.

      Those who don't believe are traitors and will be dealt with accordingly.

    3. Re:So what happens if... by dunkelfalke · · Score: 3, Informative

      He is just bombing them.
      Erdogan is far worse than Putin. At least Russians are still allowed to leave Russia and Putin made it perfectly clear that death penalty is unconstitutional due to the right to life.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    4. Re:So what happens if... by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Don't know about your place, around here what they destroy is shops and cafes that are (allegedly) owned by Kurdish owners.

      Turks ain't just Turks, ya know...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. "Democracy" by Empiric · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fascism is fascism, even when the fascist got the most votes.

    --
    ~ Whence do you come, slayer of men, or where are you going, conqueror of space?
    1. Re:"Democracy" by whoever57 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Don't forget that Hitler was initially democratically elected to his position.

      Erdogan is clearly following Putin's play book. After terming-out as Prime Minister, gets elected to a mostly ceremonial position (President) and then turn that position into something like dictator for life.

      Why are judges being arrested? Clearly, Erdogan is using this situation to get rid of many opponents.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    2. Re:"Democracy" by bloodhawk · · Score: 4, Informative

      Hitler wasn't actually democratically elected, he took power after elections and never won an election himself.

    3. Re:"Democracy" by dunkelfalke · · Score: 4, Informative

      Leading the largest fraction is not enough to be appointed a a chancellor. The fraction has to have the absolute majority in the parliament, otherwise a coalition is necessary.

      But Hitler wasn't appointed because NSDAP was the largest fraction. He was appointed by a scared senile president because he was coerced to do that by big business and Franz von Papen, who wanted Hitler to be his puppet. Needless to say, von Papen was an idiot to believe that.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    4. Re:"Democracy" by DerekLyons · · Score: 2

      *sigh* He didn't need to be. In a parliamentary government, the leader of the majority party wields considerable power and influence. The Nazi Party was democratically elected and became the largest party in the Reichstag.

    5. Re:"Democracy" by Shinobi · · Score: 4, Informative

      You seriously don't understand what fascism is. The USA is far more fascist than the Turkish army. In fact, Erdogan's AKP is a highly fascist party, espousing the traditional fascist values of Strength, Purity, Unity, Corporatism and adding in ultra-orthodox Islam in the mix. As can be seen in the firing of 100's of thousands of teachers, judges etc.

      If you had actually studied the history of Turkey in the 20th century, you'd have learned that the turkish military coups have actually served to protect the secular constitution and democracy, while Erdgogan is hell-bent on dismantling it, by for example seriously violating the few powers he has as president. He has a private army in the form of the indoctrinated AKP members, which he did order out into the streets. Erdgogan is also on record as admiring Hitler.

    6. Re:"Democracy" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      you are still wrong I think. But it is probably because you do not fully understand the multi-party system in many European democracies.

      In 1932, the nsdap became the largest party, although they did not have a majority. However, other when considering other antidemocratic elements (the DNVP), there was a majority. In many countries today this means the largest party gets to form a government, often a coalition. It is common that this party also delivers the prime minister, though not required.

      Hitler lost the presidential elections. But in Germany, in contrast to say France and the US, the president does not have that much power.

      Because the coalition of "antidemocrats" had the majority, it would have been normal that they also deliver the Chancellor, and this is exactly what happened (although, Hindenburg, the president, probably know exactly what this would lead to).

      Now Hitler finally was (democratically, although the system had failures) given power, he rapidly started to enact laws that abolished the democratic system.

    7. Re:"Democracy" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Don't forget that Hitler was initially democratically elected to his position.

      No he wasn't. That's an urban myth.

      He was beaten by Hindenburg when he ran as president and the nazi party was never able to gather more than a third of votes in any free elections.

      Even in the elections of 1933, held under SA terror after the Reichstag Fire decree, the nazi weren't able to form a majority in the parliament. His actual 'position' as fuehrer and the whole nazi rule was based on a continuous 'state of emergency' (the Enabling Act of 1933).

      That doesn't mean that in theory fascists of different kinds will never be able to take power by democratical means, but it's not what usually happens.

    8. Re:"Democracy" by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Then he should do as his great example did in May 45. The sooner the better.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    9. Re:"Democracy" by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      A coalition was necessary. It was also what convinced Hindenburg to agree to it. Hitler had 288 of the 647 seats. With the 52 seats from the DNVP he had a comfortable majority, and that coalition was also what swayed Hindenburg who thought that Hitler was actually socialist (I have really no clue what gave him that idea, maybe senility is the best explanation here).

      The last coup, the enabling act, needed a 2/3 majority, which he pretty much gained by having the communists arrested and keeping the socialists out of the chamber. Which looks curiously a lot like what's been happening lately in Turkey...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:"Democracy" by Megol · · Score: 2

      Dictatorship doesn't automatically imply fascism, still it's a better link than the standard use as "something I don't agree with".

      PS Nazism isn't fascism either - just inspired by it.

    11. Re:"Democracy" by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Under the peculiar Turkish constitution, the army is actually charged with preserving the constitution and in particular the secular nature of the state. IIRC, the government is obliged to cede power to the Military Council when asked to do so by the military high command. If they do not do this, the army steps in and makes them. When these steps are followed, it is a legal and constitutional process... however what happened last week was an intervention following a coup within the military; the intervention was therefore not constitutional. However one could argue that the army still had a duty to step in and preserve the democratic and secular nature of the state, especially since Erdogan had already purged the military leadership and replaced them with his cronies, bypassing this constitutional safety valve.

      With that said, there is an increasing amount of indication that this coup was staged. The small scale of the whole affair, the strange decisions made by the military insurgents (they went for loudness rather than effectiveness), the ease with which groups of them surrendered (according to some rumours, a lot of the soldiers were just conscripts thinking they were going on a military exercise), the repeatedly reported lack of any attempt to go after or at least capture high ranking government officials, followed by the sudden emergence of stories of miraculously narrow escapes by some of them, including the Heroic Leader. And of course the incredible far-reaching purges that were set in motion moments after the coup was suppressed. There's no proof this was staged, and even if it was I doubt we'll find evidence in the leaked emails, but I still say something smells. Bad. If you want to stage a coup without doing too much damage and without the danger of it escalating into an actual coup, then this is how to do it.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    12. Re:"Democracy" by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Who never won an election? Remember Hitler was not a president and most of the world does not vote for a figurehead. His party most definitely did win an election, and even after he was leader there were several key democratic processes he won, e.g. Austria joining Germany was won with a 99% majority, and Hitler was the primary campaigner.

      Let's not pretend that Hitler didn't have the overwhelming support of the population just because he wasn't elected as a president in an American style system.

  3. Ironic by MrKaos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That RT has become a major source of news that you can't get on most major news channels.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
    1. Re:Ironic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's just the other half of the propaganda puzzle. Ever since 2013 update to the NDAA the US government was allowed, after a 64 year ban, to perform propaganda operations against it's own citizens. So now, even more than before, the news inside the US can't be trusted. What you're seeing is Putin's operations... they cover what works for them. What works for them is often exactly the opposite of what works for the US government... as a results RT seems to have many stories that you don't see if most of your other news sources come from the US or it's allies.

      A prized nugget for the Soviets and the Russians has always been the racial divide in the United States. Over the last two days US sources have had numerous stories about police departments having cook outs and such trying to engage with the community, the black community specifically, trying to end the wave of divisive violence. You won't see one mention of that on RT. You will see that RT did immediately cover the shooting targeting officers in New York. Anything remotely on their message gets sensationalized.

      US domestic news sources continue to plug the headline of the thwarted coup in Turkey. He's their man, and Russia hates him. US news keeps repeating the US narrative. It's not Putin's narrative, so RT was a great source for news and footage of the riot police indiscriminately firing on citizens.

      They're all lying to us. Your only options are to listen to it all and try and merge it into a cohesive logical picture... or just check out and listen to none of them. Both equally sound choices that should yield equally ineffective results. What ever their agendas, there's just too much disinformation to ever really sort it out.

  4. Re:What would Kissinger do? by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think Bush listened to Kissinger on Iraq. Or anyone with a lick of sense, for that matter.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  5. Re:What would Kissinger do? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

    So long as Erdogan does as he is told, nothing. So long as he is our bastard, he can do what he wants.

    But Erdogan does not doing what he is told. America would like to see Turkey become more democratic, secular, and bound to European institutions, including NATO, and eventually the EU. We would like Turkey to be tolerant of the Turkish Kurds in the south east, and support the Iraqi and Syrian Kurds in the fight against ISIS. Erdogan is doing the opposite of all these things. He is undermining democracy, arresting judges, and rounding up political opponents. He is promoting Islamic law, and imposing Halal restrictions on pork and alcohol onto non-muslims. He is provoking and attacking the Kurds. He was lukewarm in the fight against ISIS until they started setting off bombs in Turkish cities (which he tried to pin on the Kurds).

  6. Re:What would Kissinger do? by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Insightful

    More likely he did listen to Brzezinski.

    Destabilization does have a purpose.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  7. Re:coup? by Hognoxious · · Score: 3, Informative

    He's a waiter pretending to be a lawyer.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  8. RIP Turkey by Chrisq · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Turkey has turned it's back on Ataturk's dream of a modern secular state, and is destined to become yet another muzzy hell-hole.

    1. Re: RIP Turkey by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You are aware that part of the deal with Erdogan was free travel between Turkey and the EU, yes?

      Are you also aware that he plans to hand those refugees Turkish passports?

      Do the math.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  9. end of turkish secular state: summary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What has to cement the Turkish Islamic empire the most is the unbridled purification of the court. The media were already restrained (internet, prohibition of AV media, nationalization of newspapers and conglomerates, government control of the news, persecution of journalists and bloggers, intimidation of foreign correspondents). The purpose of this internal putsch was the abolishment of the separation of powers. 542 administrative judges detained 2,204 prosecuted. 48 members of the State Council, two members of the Constitutional Court, 140 members of the Court of Appeal. The Turkish secular state is buried now. More Koranic schools, increasing violence against women and secularists (such as the non-sanctioned attack on Radiohead fans during Ramadan), stop of prosecution for sex with minors and severe punishment for child rapists, the astronomical increase in alcohol prices, the plan to establish alcohol-free zones. The narcissism of Erdogan (for over 2,000 processes for defamation) goes beyond his megalomania (the construction of the expensive White House, the proliferation of mosques, the scornful disregard of the protests in Taksim Square in 2013) which defies imagination. Erdogan has only one goal: to cultivate a godly generation. Say, one country, one people, one leader. Hitler was inspired by Atatürk. Erdogan now is inspired by Hitler. Even with its fifth column in the rest of Europe. But one man benefited from the outlawing of any opposition. That Europe is now cheering "the salvation of democracy" is particularly cowardly. Even with the loaded Turkish army tradition. Chamberlain did this as well in 1938. Europe forgets Erdogan recently glorified the approach of Nazi Germany. That nightmare in Turkey closer than expected.

    1. Re:end of turkish secular state: summary by thygate · · Score: 3, Interesting

      same thing Hitler did after the invasion of Poland.

  10. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    America has no interest in seeing any country become more democratic, least of all itself. America has been co-opted for the 0.001%, and true democracy stands in the way of the rentier class. NATO isn't democratic, the EU isn't democratic, and of course The Sultan isn't democratic.
    Erdogan is being permitted to do whatever the hell he wants, so long as it is NOT democratic. Do not be mistaken.

    Turkey should be divided, and it will be eventually, but not for it's own good, nor that of its many tribes and peoples, but for the benefit of the global oligarchy.

    Funny - time was, even I would've branded me as a conspirational zealot.

  11. Re:What would Kissinger do? by dbIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think he thought about it.
    "Mission Accomplished" was to be a popular wartime President with a war happening on the opposite side of the world to where the voters lived.
    Winning or losing was going to be somebody else's problem after his second term.

  12. Re:The media hasn't really elucidated anything by Shinobi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The "coup" was most likely covertly triggered by Erdogan, to allow him to initiate yet another purge of anyone opposed to him becoming the new Sultan of the Neo-Ottoman empire, as can be seen in his purge of not only teachers, but also judges, university deans, his further clampdowns on media etc.

  13. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can see no reason that destabilizing Iraq was a good idea

    If you're defense contractor it was a *brilliant* idea.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  14. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, but that doesn't mean that even more insane people don't listen to him.

    The Iraq was maybe the only REALLY stable state in the whole area. Sure, Saddam was an asshole and he was no longer an US ally (like he was back in the 1980s... oh good ol' times), but he kept the lid on the pot of shit. The Iraq was not only the only state where terrorism could not get a food on the ground (because Saddam was about as much Muslim as the average politician around here is Christian, i.e. at best with a lip service to appease the idiots, but he didn't have to appease idiots, so...). And that country served as a wedge between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria.

    Now we experience what happens when that wedge is removed. We now basically have a war that we can prolong infinitely. As long as we need one, they'll deliver.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  15. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Where do you get the idea from that the US gives a shit about Turkey being democratic? What matters is that the li'l mustache keeps his mouth shut, stays in the NATO and deploys his troops where we want them to, as long as he does that he can round up all judges and Kurds and whatever else he feels like.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  16. Re:Well I hate to be one of those false flag guys by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Let's take a look at the coup, shall we?

    1) We're talking about a military that knows how to stage coups. It's likely that some of the upper level officers have already been in the force when the last one happened. This would have been the 4th coup in Turkey since WW2. In other words, we're not talking about some stage performance military that is at best useful to look pretty when some guest of honor arrives, this is a military that KNOWS how to run a coup successfully (because this is actually the first one that fails).

    2) Everyone who has at least a passing interest in military coups knows that you have to get 4 things done: First, arrest or kill the head honcho you're trying to oust, along with his main cronies. Second, get the media under control. Third, get the secret police under control or at least ensure that they cannot act. Fourth, disrupt the coordination of the powers that are loyal to the regime (in this case, the police). NONE OF THESE were taken care of. There was a half-baked "uhhh, we do coup!" message being broadcast (almost as if they wanted to make sure that everyone knows that this is not just for shits and giggles), but nothing else of tactical value was secured.

    3) The "coup" was staged in the two main towns. Why? What the hell is the benefit of shooting aimlessly from helicopters into towns where the only thing you can accomplish is to anger the population without gaining any strategic advantage? Controlling the bridges across the Bosporus Strait I can see, but not even that was done right because there were still bridges that were neither closed nor controlled.

    4) 2 days after the "coup" thousands of opposing judges, politicians and other people who did not participate in the coup but somehow "annoy" our little tinpot dictator are arrested. This must be the most efficient kind of bureaucracy ever observed that they can in 2 days identify the "culprits" for the coup and already have them arrested.

    Bluntly, this was either the most dilettante coup since November 1923 or the biggest lie since September 1939.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  17. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Informative

    You seem to have omitted a few important details, such as Saddam''s funding and support of terrorism, training terrorists, and providing them refuge in Iraq.

    You might want to support this claim with some evidence. I have heard that a few times now but it just doesn't hold much water. Saddam's interest in terrorism has been slim to nil, mostly because he knew VERY well that he's sitting on a powder keg with Sunni and Shiites. The last thing he needed was religion suddenly playing a major role in his country.

    Then there is the fact that he kept attacking nations in the region - invaded Iran, invaded and tried to annex Kuwait, attacked Saudi Arabia, attacked Israel. I seem to recall there were "border issues" with some of the other neighbors.

    It's not fair to blame Saddam for a war that he waged for the US. That 8 years in the 80s against Iran was backed and paid for by us. The war against Kuwait was on the other hand mostly him being a bit stroppy after getting a "thanks, idiot" from us when presenting his bill for the war. Basically he just wanted to be paid for his service and noticed that it's easier to cash in Kuwait than Iran. He sure was no saint, not by a long shot, but you have to admit, we cut him a raw deal and he just found a way out.

    Nor was Iraq particularly stable. There were various rebellions again Saddam, assassination attempts, and various other issues. You may recall that some of these were put down by using chemical weapons against civilian populations.

    You see, the Iraq is one of the few Muslim countries that isn't ONLY Sunnite or ONLY Shiite. It's a about 30/70 Sunnite/Shiite. And that fuels a lot of tensions. "Stable" is a relative term in the presence of this mix. His only option was to keep the country as secular as he could so that religious problem wouldn't surface. And that worked for almost half a century. Just take a look at the state the country is in now. Is that more stable than it was under Saddam?

    And Saddam wasn't much of an ally. The US didn't want Iran to beat Iraq and threaten the entire region beyond the danger it already posed. Just think how lovely things would be if Iraq had collapsed and Iran leveraged that into controlling not only Iran's oil, but Iraq, and Saudi Arabia's.

    Actually yes, Saddam was an ally. Remember 1979? When that Ayatollah kicked out our buddy the Shah and took over his arsenal? We built the Iran up to be the fourth biggest army on the planet, complete with kick-ass technology like the back-then ultra modern F-14 jets, complete with state-of-the-art arms. We sure as FUCK didn't want to go to war against that, that wouldn't have been the cool asymmetric wars that we knew, where we'd mow down rice farmers and towelheads, that would have been more like WW2 where you fight an enemy that has weapons on par with yours. Hell, he even HAS the same weapons you have!
    Instead, we hired Saddam to do that for us. And he did. For 8 years he kicked that Ayatollah's butt for us 'til all the modern crap that towelhead had was crushed. No, the US never wanted the Iran to crush Iraq. It was more the other way 'round.

    As far as weapons go, Saddam got something like 90% of his weapons from the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact, China, or other communist bloc states. Most of the rest was from France.

    In the end, yes, when the US stopped being interested. That's the problem with the US, they just don't know how to treat an ally. They're not supposed to be used like tools made in China, i.e. used once and tossed away 'cause if we need more we just buy a new one. People don't like being tossed away. They tend to resent that. And sometimes they find new allies and turn against you. But we're talking about Saddam now, not Osama.

    We now basically have a war that we can prolong infinitely. As long as we need one, they'll deliver.

    So w

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  18. Re:What would Kissinger do? by NotAPK · · Score: 4, Interesting

    BTW my American friends:

    That link to the Guardian should not be brushed aside as an idle reference. The public inquiry into the Iraq war is as close to a thorough investigation into a modern democratic government as you will ever get. It took from 2009 to 2016 (17 years) to investigate and the report comprises 2.6 million words in 12 volumes. The inquiry had access to the intelligence services, the parliament and all records related to the Iraq invasion. They interviewed anyone they believed to be of interest.

    In other words, it's a big deal, and if your local media is not reporting on this for whatever reason, then I advise you to appraise yourself of what it contains and what it's all about.

  19. Re:Well I hate to be one of those false flag guys by Shinobi · · Score: 2

    "1) We're talking about a military that knows how to stage coups. It's likely that some of the upper level officers have already been in the force when the last one happened. This would have been the 4th coup in Turkey since WW2. In other words, we're not talking about some stage performance military that is at best useful to look pretty when some guest of honor arrives, this is a military that KNOWS how to run a coup successfully (because this is actually the first one that fails)."

    Here we come to one of the problems with Erdogan and the AKP: Over the last 15 years, he's systematically worked to purge all officers not loyal to him and his party. He especially targeted officers that had been involved in previous coups or were too secular for his liking. So, the experience of how to stage a coup was lost, and the ability to do so further impeded by Erdogan loyalists.

    "2) Everyone who has at least a passing interest in military coups knows that you have to get 4 things done: First, arrest or kill the head honcho you're trying to oust, along with his main cronies. Second, get the media under control. Third, get the secret police under control or at least ensure that they cannot act. Fourth, disrupt the coordination of the powers that are loyal to the regime (in this case, the police). NONE OF THESE were taken care of. There was a half-baked "uhhh, we do coup!" message being broadcast (almost as if they wanted to make sure that everyone knows that this is not just for shits and giggles), but nothing else of tactical value was secured."

    This is where things really get into False Flag territory. What better way to further cement your power than sacrificing the lives of some of your loyal fanatics, sanctifying your rise to power with the blood of martyrs. Also, if it had been a serious military coup, they'd have quietly closed down multiple mosques to hamper the ability for Erdogan's loyal imams to rabble rouse.

    "3) The "coup" was staged in the two main towns. Why? What the hell is the benefit of shooting aimlessly from helicopters into towns where the only thing you can accomplish is to anger the population without gaining any strategic advantage? Controlling the bridges across the Bosporus Strait I can see, but not even that was done right because there were still bridges that were neither closed nor controlled."

    Further shows that it was not a true coup. If it had been a true coup, Erdogan would have been taken out by a special forces team where he was on his vacation, or possibly by a bomb, and indeed aimed at unifying the rage of the populace against a single target.

    "4) 2 days after the "coup" thousands of opposing judges, politicians and other people who did not participate in the coup but somehow "annoy" our little tinpot dictator are arrested. This must be the most efficient kind of bureaucracy ever observed that they can in 2 days identify the "culprits" for the coup and already have them arrested."

    Judges, academics, teachers etc are the primary threat against Erdogan through upholding secular values and knowledge, secular laws, and opposes orthodox islamic values and sharia.

  20. Re:The media hasn't really elucidated anything by swb · · Score: 2

    I don't think Erdogan engineered the coup attempt. But, I think he's still paranoid enough about the *possibility* of a coup that he has significant monitoring of the officer corps (whether eavesdropping, informants, etc) and he was able to figure out that it was going to happen.

    So like some kind of a police sting, he figured it was best to let them proceed as much as possible and then pull the plug just after it got started. This would give him more justification to further purge the officer corps of disloyalty.

    I think this also demonstrates that Erdogan's earlier purges of the officer corps and trumped up charges against retired officers was successful. It's more likely that had the military retained its historic leadership structure and attendant loyalties still been in place, a coup might have actually worked.

    Of course the worry now is that he has decimated military leadership and the military will suffer from lack of experience and/or competence because all the important slots are held by Erdogan yes-men.

    To me, the worry ins't that Erdogan is like Putin, it's that he's like Assad of Syria.

  21. Re:The media hasn't really elucidated anything by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Some rumours say that a lot of the soldiers were conscripts thinking this was all a military exercise. Hand them rifles loaded with blanks, and plant a handful of agitators with live rounds amongst them. That might also explain the incredible ease with which some of these military units surrendered; real insurgents might be a bit more motivated to avoid arrest. And if a lot of these soldiers took part in this unwittingly, it'll be dead easy to convince them to plead guilty in exchange for clemency.

    There's still no proof of a real coup or a staged one, and I doubt we'll ever see it. But I am still very sceptical. That headline you mention is another red flag: would real insurgents entrust a mission of that importance to a crew not in the know, being told only at the last minute they were going after Erdogan? Seems terribly risky. On the other hand, if you're staging a coup and you need some military action without cluing in a lot of people, this is exactly what I'd tell them.

    --
    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  22. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Dunbal · · Score: 2

    >as long as turky moves American OIL up from South Sudan, through ISIS protected territory into Europe to fuck the Russians, they can do whatever they want. What the actual fuck? Get a map.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  23. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 2

    You seem to have a selective memory yourself. Al Qaeda started its war against the US under the Bush the First administration.

    FTFY. Oh, and its roots were funded with money from the Ford administration.

    --
    Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  24. NATO Member & EU Candidate by ArgonautThief · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is a disgrace that this country remains a NATO member and has candidature for the EU. Not that those two organisations are a shining light of moral rectitude but regardless....

    --
    The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. - Albert Einstein
    1. Re:NATO Member & EU Candidate by CanEHdian · · Score: 2

      I'm sure that EU was hoping that dangling the membership carrot (e.g. billions of Euros coming their way) would pacify Erdogan, in the sense to keep things at least looking civil from the outside. Erdogan knows how to game the politically-correct, pacifist Europeans perfectly. You can see that with the "refugees" (actually pawns in a huge political game) deal. Heaps and heaps of Euros coming his way, and a one-for-one swap of refugees (i.e. zero-sum). Erdogan has also taken control of the selection process (see here so you can imagine what that means. And gets away with this, the EU even lies for him (or to save their own face) by calling this "cooperation", while the fact is they only get the names that Erdogan allows them to have. So he knows exactly how to deal with the EU. And he will get away with this one. And he knows why: the floodgates can be opened in minutes, and bases can be overrun, of course with the foreign military allowed to leave with their tails between their legs.

      --
      When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
  25. Re:Some rumors bla bla bla by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 2

    Just the facts checker here, you cant use blanks on rifle without a blank adapter. Unless the conscript are truly clueless, that does not fly.

    You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

    Blank adapters are in no way necessary to fire a blank. The mechanics of the rifle (firing pin, primer, etc) all have NOTHING to do with the blank adapter. What you will run into problems with is trying to fire semi-automatic with blanks, without a blank adapter, because the purpose of the blank adapter is to ensure that enough gas pressure exists to operate that mechanism.

    To explain another way, the reason an M-16/AR-15/etc can fire in semi-automatic (or burst, or fully automatic) mode is because part of the expanding gases from the round being fired are pushed back through a tube, and reset the firing mechanism. Without a bullet in front of them, the gas pressure heading back wouldn't be enough to reset the firing mechanism. This is what the blank adapter is for - to delay/retard the release of the propellant gases from the muzzle enough that sufficient force goes back to reset the firing mechanism. Without it, you can easily fire, but you'll have to manually chamber the next round and re-cock the firing mechanism, etc.

    A better argument is that soldiers would know they're loading blanks, and would likely ask why they're not using blank adapters - but then again, maybe the fact that they're conscripts is why? Their NCOs still ought to know better, even in that case.

  26. Re:What would Kissinger do? by phantomfive · · Score: 2

    You may recall that 9/11 happened before the war in Iraq. Bush ran on a domestic program and war was thrust upon his administration by Bin Laden, al Qaida, and the Taliban.

    I'll forgive Bush for Afghanistan, but Iraq was his choice.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  27. Re:What would Kissinger do? by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

    There no longer is a USSR to annoy

    Tell that to the Europeans :-) That's the thing, North America is entirely removed from their very real security concerns, energy, food, invasion. Before WW2, going back to ancient times the continent has always been at war. The feudal (nationalist) idealism still lingers to this day. We have our nice big oceans to protect us. You know what they say about bliss... And the sociopathy of the leaders is also very real. Whether they like it or not, they do depend on us to tamp it down a bit. That's why the Balkan wars didn't spread this time. And the Russians will never get past Ukraine again, if we don't drop our drawers. While Russia's economy remains a bit tattered, the NATO buildup on the Eastern Front is quite logical and even reasonable. And an unstable middle east serves our purpose of making sure the Russia doesn't get fat off the things we no longer need. And of course there is the elephant in the room, Hillary's legacy. You don't argue against that.

    Contrary to popular opinion, both invasions of Iraq have really been at the UK's request. I obviously don't agree with them, but I do understand the reasons. The second one was a true "wag the dog" moment. Look into Blair's affair with Wendy Deng. Murdoch got his war. Yes, they do kill people to cover this kind of stuff up. Sociopathy is a dominant trait. It has to be when you make the decision to go to war. Theresa May answered the *big question* with a simple "yes" (I'll let you Google that), which, to tell the truth, is better than Corbyn's answer of total disarmament.

    There are mad times.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  28. Re:What would Kissinger do? by Rakarra · · Score: 2

    You may recall that 9/11 happened before the war in Iraq. Bush ran on a domestic program and war was thrust upon his administration by Bin Laden, al Qaida, and the Taliban.

    9/11 and Afghanistan were thrust upon the administration. Even the benefit of hindsight doesn't give us much choice there. Iraq was the war that Bush really -wanted- to fight, and chose to fight.

    "Mission Accomplished" referred to the mission performed by the aircraft carrier where that banner was displayed as it was returning home.

    BS. Mission Accomplished referred to the end of the military operation in Iraq. It's kindof why George Bush piloted his own fighter jet onto the carrier -- not to celebrate one carrier's job being done.