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Thread: Turkey: what is going on?

  1. #341
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    Reuters Top News

    @Reuters
    JUST IN: Turkey's pro-Kurdish HDP opposition says the successful challenge of 3 million unstamped ballots could change vote outcome

    Actually if the Election Committee refuses to recount and toss the unstamped votes and are challenged in Turkish Court using the current very valid Election Laws that have not be suddenly changed ...the Court would be hard pressed to not rule in the favor of HDP....even if it means anger coming from Erdogan/AKP and because if they rubberstamp then it well truly reveal that the Court's simply a farce in the eyes of the roughly 50% who voted against Erdogan........

  2. #342
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    BREAKING: Turkish President Erdogan rejects OSCE vote monitors' findings, tells group to 'know your place.'

  3. #343
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    Main Opp CHParty Leader Kılıdaroğlu speaking #live, attacking Turkish Election Council, asking if they are offered to be MPs in next elex

    EU calls for investigation into alleged vote rigging in Turkeys referendum
    http://buff.ly/2pNM919

    Erdoğan slams OSCE, saying Turkey wont recognize its report on referendum
    http://buff.ly/2pMGiJr

    SO is Turkey now under Erdogan going to drop out of OSCE and be asked to leave as a member of the EU Council....AND they are a PACE member as well.

    What/who made Turkey's election board to change mind in two hours about unauthorized ballots? First they rejected but 2 hours later accepted

    PACE observer: Referendum was neither fair nor free
    http://buff.ly/2ptPgyU

    Hrriyet Daily News

    @HDNER
    Ankara slams international election observers criticism of referendum result
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ank...&NewsCatID=510

  4. #344
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    IMPORTANT NOTE
    Trump call delights #Erdogan supporters as legitimising victory, dismays critics after OSCE report&anti-west tirade.

    EU/US ARE DEFINITELY NOT on same page

    REMEMBER this is the same Donald that first stated NATO/EU are obsolete and then praised them recently. AND that he was going to work within NATO.....BUT WAIT only if they paid the US money and fought IS/AQ....which they have been doing since 2003?????
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-18-2017 at 11:50 AM.

  5. #345
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    Erdoğan offers prayer of gratitude in İstanbul mosque reminiscent of Ottoman sultans
    http://buff.ly/2pu27kB

    Preliminary statistical study of voting patterns in #turkeyreferundum strongly suggest Kurdish votes stolen by govt

    http://www.intellinews.com/academic-...rendum-119719#

  6. #346
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    No idea how anyone could think it's a good idea to send pro-#Kremlin #PKK #YPG #DNR @AndrejHunko as a #TurkeyReferendum @PACE_News observer.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  7. #347
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    Hrriyet Daily News

    @HDNER
    Turkish bar association says electoral board violated law during referendum
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tur...&NewsCatID=338

    Ankara: Hundreds gathered in front of the Supreme Election Board to submit referendum cancelation petitions.

    Erdogan is going to have a hard time with this statement .....
    BREAKING: Main opposition party CHP leader @kilicdarogluk: The NO votes in the actual polling boxes are more than 50%.

    EU urges #Ankara to open 'transparent investigations' into vote results @AFP
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 04-18-2017 at 12:22 PM.

  8. #348
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    Default One vote, one man, one Sultan

    The Soufan Group's brief ends with:
    The modern Turkish model—previously widely lauded for its gradual move towards liberal democracy—now appears to have been supplanted by a model that increasingly resembles a modern-day incarnation of a sultan-style government.
    Link:http://www.soufangroup.com/tsg-intel...k-with-the-eu/

    Now will Turkey decide to loosen controls on "refugees" not leaving and encourage them to depart for the EU? I am sure a few will remind him many are fellow Muslims.
    davidbfpo

  9. #349
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    Default Why Turkey is where it is now

    A commentary by Professor Tahir Abbas, now at RUSI (London), but who had worked and taught in Turkey for fourteen years beforehand. He ends with:
    One thing is for sure. As transformation is necessary in the light of globalisation and as power globally steadily shifts from the West back to the East, Turkey remains at the centre of the world.
    Link:http://tahirabbas.co.uk/index.php/tu...society-today/
    davidbfpo

  10. #350
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    A single sourced Turkish press report that indicates a development: 'Turkey captures PKK-linked TAK's leader in northern Iraq's Irbil'. A report that indicates it was not a joint action i.e. with KRG / Kurdish help, rather just a Turkish one.
    Link:https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-te...rn-iraqs-irbil
    davidbfpo

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    Default How Strongly is NATO Ally Turkey Pivoting to Russia and Iran?

    How Strongly is NATO Ally Turkey Pivoting to Russia and Iran?

    Entry Excerpt:



    --------
    Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
    This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

  12. #352
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    Default Turkish Tragedy – Rise and Fall of Turkish Armed Forces

    Hamid Hussain, our occasional contributor, has an article on the struggle between the elected government, the "deep state" and the Turkish military. It is on the attachment due the size (5 pgs).

    He concludes:
    There is now an obvious choice for Erdogan. A transparent trial of the accused officers and appropriate punishments will strengthen institutions, but using this failed coup attempt to side-line all opposition and embarking on a witch hunt will surely backfire. He could usher in a new era of a professional and non-political TSK or try to fill the ranks with unqualified partisans. If he follows the former course, there is a chance that TSK will recover over a decade or two but if he follows the later course, then Turkey will see instability and potential chaos for a long time.
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 12-31-2017 at 08:30 PM. Reason: 148,350v
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  13. #353
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    Default War is coming [back] to the cities

    Hat tip to WoTR for this article https://warontherocks.com/2018/01/ol...rkeys-war-pkk/ which dissects what happened when the PKK opted to fight in Turkish cities (it has been cross-posted on the Urban Operations thread).

    The authors have observations on the wider impact on urban operations, for strategy and operations. Near the end:
    This dynamic suggests armed groups might choose to target cities even when their chances of military success are slim, that is, if they believe that they can frame the urban battle in ways that will help them achieve their long-term strategic objectives.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 04-28-2018 at 10:26 AM. Reason: 161,042v today
    davidbfpo

  14. #354
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    Default Eclipse of Turkish Armed Forces

    Taken from an article by Hamid Hussain, a SWJ contributor:
    “In Turkey, we have marriage of Islam and democracy. The child of this marriage is secularism. This child gets sick from time to time. The Turkish armed forces are the doctor which saves the child. Depending on how sick the child is, we administer the necessary medicine to make sure the child recuperates”. General Cevik Bir; former Deputy Chief of General Staff of Turkish army

    Turkish Armed Forces (known by the Turkish initials TSK - Turk Silahli Kuvvetleri) have gone through a dramatic change in the last two years. In July 2016, a faction of TSK tried and failed to bring back TSK on the center stage of Turkey. This failed coup attempt was the result of rapidly deteriorating relations between ruling Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish initials AKP - Adalat ve Kalkinma Partisi) and TSK spanning over fifteen years.



    TSK assigned itself the role of the guardian of the state and Kemalist tradition. TSK had a key role in making decisions about national security, economy and foreign relations. Supreme Military Council (known by its Turkish initials YAS – Yuksek Askari Shura) was the instrument used for military’s dominance. Civilian bureaucracy and judiciary dominated by secular elite were junior partners of TSK.

    In 1997, TSK forced removal of Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan what was later called ‘post-modern coup’. In 2000, AKP came to power and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan gradually increased his power while avoiding direct conflict with powerful army. There was now conflict between two power centers. AKP didn’t have qualified cadres to control state bureaucracy. Erdogan made an alliance with cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen’s organization Hizmet has been focused on excellence in education for three decades. Gulenist sympathizers joined state bureaucracy especially police and judiciary. Repeated electoral successes of AKP with control of legislature combined with penetration of state structure by Gulenist sympathizers strengthened the civilian hand. They now felt confident to confront TSK and snatch back some powers.

    Gulenist sympathizers in police and judiciary embarked on an ambitious plan of state restructuring by clipping the wings of TSK. Several former and later serving officers were accused of plotting coups. Hundreds of officers were charged, arrested and prosecuted in two notorious alleged conspiracies; Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer). Later, hundreds of officers including high ranking officers were convicted and sentenced to long prison sentences. TSK was gradually losing its internal cohesion due to emergence of various factions. Senior officers lost the confidence of junior officers for failing to protect officer corps from real and imagined conspiracies propagated by pro AKP and pro Gulenist media houses and large-scale arrests of officers.

    A group of second and third tier TSK officers decided to strike before Erdogan further clipped TSK wings in upcoming August 2016 YAS meeting. Elements from major army formations, special forces, army headquarters, air force and helicopter pilots and naval officers were involved in the coup attempt. TSK senior brass was not in the loop. Headquarter of coup plotters was at Akinci air force base.

    On 15 July afternoon, a helicopter pilot Osman Karaca went to MIT headquarters to warn about impending coup. MIT chief Hakan Fidan informed head of military police and later army chief General Hulusi Akar. General Akar issued orders banning military flights over Turkish air space and prohibited movement of armored vehicles. This upset the original coup launch time of 3 am July 16. Coup plotters moved the time to 8:30 pm July 15. This proved to be a fatal error as streets were bustling and Erdogan was able to rally his supporters. Major General Mehmet Disli of strategic planning branch at General headquarters went to Akar’s office informing him that coup was in motion and asking him to take charge. When angry Akar refused, he was arrested and flown to Akinci air base.

    Coup plotters bombed Turkish parliament building and police headquarters. Erdogan made the courageous move of flying back to Istanbul and asking his supporters to come out in streets. Protestors confronted soldiers on the streets. Coup attempt failed in few hours and government forces quickly restored order. Erdogan on landing at Istanbul airport declared that ‘if we accept that everything happens for a reason, then this uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be the reason to cleanse our army’. He truly cleansed the armed forces by sacking and arresting thousands of officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). Almost half of flag rank officers of Turkish army, air force and navy were sacked.

    Deeply suspicious of the army, Erdogan closed all military colleges and academies and transferred several military institutions including hospitals and business interests of TSK to civilian control. To counter military’s coercive power, he has strengthened police special forces, paramilitary forces and civilian intelligence. In Syria, during recent operations against Syrian Kurds, army was used only initially especially tanks but later police special forces and Gendarmerie were deployed on Syrian territory. Erdogan has also expanded the role of private security contractors to fill the security gap. He hired retired Brigadier Adnan Tanriverdi as his military advisor. Adnan was retired in 1997 on suspicion of having Islamist leanings. In 2012, he started a private security firm SADAT.

    In the aftermath of the coup, Erdogan had two choices. A transparent trial of accused officers and strict punishments or using failed coup attempt to silence all opposition. Unfortunately, he embarked on the later course with large scale sacking and arrest of not only army personnel but civilian bureaucracy, police and judiciary. In addition, all opposition including Gulenist sympathizers and Kurds are on the receiving end. Hundreds of academics were sacked and many journalists have been arrested and large media houses taken over by the government. This has divided Turkey right in the middle. Half of Turkey hates and other half loves Erdogan. This is a recipe for long term instability. In this environment, it is inevitable that this polarization will affect TSK. It will take more than a decade to restructure TSK on professional grounds while at the same time keep it under civilian control.
    davidbfpo

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