On-Going Military Coup in Turkey

[Green Line]

This is absolutely devastating.  Say goodbye to Attaturk's Turkey. What a massive setback for the west in every way.  And then include Germany refusing Erdogan asylum and Kerry's statement of tacit approval and you have an anti-west dictator for life in Turkey.

[Green Line]

Seriously, this is extrememly depressing news.

[Green Line]

Countdown until they start threatening to kick us out of Incirlik and Izmir... Not good!  It's coming.

[Green Line]

Whether or not it was US sponsored, it's clear that the administration and NATO was more than happy to go along with it once it began, and that's damning enough.  If the US was in on it then it's a COLOSSAL **** up on our part, because we clearly didn't do enough for it to be successful.

[Green Line]

https://www.rt.com/news/351606-usa-incirlik-base-turkey-blocked/

Turkey has cut off power to Incirlik Air Base, which houses 70 American Nuclear Weapons and is blockading it. NATO and US operations from Incirlik against Iraq and Syria have been suspended as Turkey as closed off the airspace over Incirlik.

Omg.  It's happening faster than I expected.  Hopefully this will be a step too far for most of the military.

[Green Line]

Any chance the Caliph expelling U.S. forces if Gulen is not extradited?

Maybe, but I think Erdogan still wants to keep NATO, for now at least.  We might be heading in that direction though.

[Green Line]

Funny how I learned the name Inçirlik here last night, and how I haven't read it anywhere else since then. Nobody mentions it anywhere, I'm afraid it's just you Americans being Americanocentric. This coup was not a US thing, was not about the US, and even Erdogan doesn't really believe it's been Gulen behind it so he will talk about it a little but won't demand an extradition.

Americans are talking about American bases in Turkey. Go figure!

And he's already demanded extradition so you're wrong on that too.

[Green Line]

Shyte. Once the military started moving, there was no good ending to this. If they won, they would have been a nasty, ugly, bloody dictatorship. Since they lost, Erdogan will be able to destroy what is left of Turkey´s democracy. This is a real tragedy.

I don't see any reason to believe the military would have instituted a bloody dictatorship.  Their previous coups always restored democracy after a period of time.  (It took ~2~ years after the 1971 and 1980 coups, but there were justifiable reasons for military rule both times IMO).

The coup leaders seemed concerned by Erdogan's brazen moves to turn Turkey into a dictatorship.  They were the good guys in this.

[Green Line]

There's no point in antogonizing Turkey any further with these threats, as much as I hate to say it.  Erdogan has won, and we're probably stuck with him until he dies.  We need Turkey in NATO, they're too important right now.