Friday, July 29, 2016

Middle East Eye — Turkish fury after top US general voices concerns over post-coup relations

Turkish president says US Centcom chief is 'taking side of coup plotters' after raising concerns about future of US-Turkey military cooperation.
The view of the pundits is that Erdogan is conducting a purge to seize near dictatorial power. Another read is that Erdogan is convinced that the coup was a US-based attempt to topple him and he is protecting himself by purging all even remotely connected.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused a top US general of being on the side of Turkey's coup plotters after commenting that the country's turmoil could downgrade military cooperation with Washington.
"You are taking the side of coup plotters instead of thanking this state for defeating the coup attempt," Erdogan said in angry remarks at a military centre in Golbasi outside Ankara, where air strikes left dozens dead during the failed putsch on 15 July.
"You reveal yourself with your remarks. We will not play your game!" he said.…
Middle East Eye
Turkish fury after top US general voices concerns over post-coup relations

Also

If so, they sure bungled the job.
A Turkish prosecutor has claimed that the CIA and FBI provided training for the followers of powerful US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the coup attempt earlier this month.

The indictment, prepared by the Edirne Public Prosecutor’s office and accepted by the local Second Heavy Penal Court, seeks the harshest possible punishment for 43 suspects that have allegedly been linked to the failed coup attempt on July 15, including the coup’s supposed mastermind, Fethullah Gulen, the arch-nemesis of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The prosecutor said on Thursday that members of what it describes as “the Fethullah Terrorist Organization” were trained by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“The CIA and FBI provided training in several subjects to the cadre raised in the culture centers belonging to the Gulen movement. The operations carried out by prosecutors and security officials during the Dec. 17 process can be taken as a good example of this,” the document says, referring to a high profile corruption probe that targeted senior government officials between December 17 and December 25 of 2013, as reported by the Turkish Hurriyet daily.
The investigation affected many officials linked to the Turkish Cabinet, which was headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan at that time. Erdogan, who is now Turkey’s president, called it “a judicial coup” attempt, while accusing Gulen and his movement of orchestrating it with the help of some “foreign forces.”
The indictment states that Gulen loyalists received US training and infiltrated judicial and security institutions.
RT
Turkish prosecutor claims CIA, FBI trained coup plotters

 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, is rushing to Turkey on an unexpected visit, after President Erdogan’s allies directly accused the US of being behind the failed coup attempt in the country and have begun purging members of the Turkish military with ties to the United States.
Sputnik
Top US General Rushes to Turkey Amid Accusations US Plotted Coup

The Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Joseph Votel denied claims on involvement in the recent unsuccessful coup attempt in Turkey.
US Central Command Chief Denies Any Role in Turkey Coup Attempt

German former CDU politician and Vice-President of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Willy Wimmer told Sputnik Deutschland that he fears NATO involvement in the downing of Russia's Su-24 bomber over Syria last November.…
 
The downing had been interpreted as a unilateral decision by Turkey, but Willy Wimmer contends that in fact, NATO and Saudi forces were involved in the incident.
"According to my information, Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft from the US and Saudi Arabia were involved," Wimmer said.
"Aircraft like that Russian Su-24 bomber are not that easy to just shoot out of the sky. You need to take aim, and you can only do that with AWACS aircraft."

US & Saudi Arabia 'Involved in Turkey's Downing of Russian Su-24' in Syria

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