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Thread: Turkey: what is going on?

  1. #261
    Council Member AdamG's Avatar
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    Default Erdogan's Lawyer on The Fight to Extradite Fetullah Gulen

    Separate thread for maximum visibility.
    Posted in this forum because of the implications from the content.
    Podcast won't be available until something like 12 hours after this post.

    The fallout from last month's failed coup in Turkey against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government has lead to the detainment and firing of around 67,000 officials across nearly every aspect of Turkish society.

    Not included in that number is the man accused of being responsible for every one of them, the alleged leader of the coup: Fetullah Gulen, a reclusive Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania since 1999.

    A former ally of President Erdoğan until 2013, Gulen is the founder of the Hizmet movement and the organization the Alliance for Shared Values, which teaches a form of Islam that embraces science, education, and interfaith dialogue. He's earned millions of followers both in Turkey and internationally, and is said to also have established around 800 schools worldwide, from Africa to right here in the United States.

    Robert Amsterdam, a founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners, is currently working with the Turkish government on its extradition case against Gulen. The Turkish government wants extradition for allegedly inspiring the coup, but Amsterdam says that Gulen's entrenchment in the American political and education system is reason enough to prosecute.
    http://www.wnyc.org/story/erdogans-american-lawyer/
    A scrimmage in a Border Station
    A canter down some dark defile
    Two thousand pounds of education
    Drops to a ten-rupee jezail


    http://i.imgur.com/IPT1uLH.jpg

  2. #262
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    An interesting choice of lawyer - hired by Turkey - with human rights cases fought:http://www.amsterdamandpartners.com/...ert-amsterdam/

    On HR their website says:
    Amsterdam & Partners is committed to holding states accountable for their violations of the human rights of their citizens and residents. Through high-profile political advocacy, engagement with international and regional institutions, and collaboration with human rights organisations, the firm continues to challenge the abuse of state power on behalf of affected individuals and organisations.
    There is a US-Turkey extradition treaty and this article explains briefly what is required. One British extradition lawyer opinion is that Gulen could be extradited, but points out an application would fail in Europe due to HR issues:http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/an...tion-641832093
    davidbfpo

  3. #263
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    Turkey's FM: We may seek other options for cooperation in defence sector outside of @NATO
    http://turkey.liveuamap.com/en/2016/...-other-options

    Amazingly the Turkish FM appears to have forgotten that all Russia can offer Turkey right now is a pipeline that needs to be approved by the entire EU which he and Erdogan have slammed repeatedly these last weeks, Russia will purchase on credit Turkish fruit and vegetables which largely always went to the EU for hard euros now weak Rubles and a bunch of tourists evidently not afraid of IS/PKK suicide attacks.....

    Not much actually when one thinks about it....Turkey still urgently needs EU financial assistance and the NATO funds it pours into Turkey for basing rights....that Russia cannot currently match due to poor finances at home.
    Well worth reading this commenter...he is stating that Erdogan is making some major mistakes he would not have made a few years ago...effects of being power for so long.....

    A Turkey out of NATO might bring the worst of all battles. By @TheActualAmmar

  4. #264
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    Pro-Gulen generals coordinated with PKK, Assad, YPG: report
    https://en.zamanalwsl.net/news/17395.html

  5. #265
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    Appears that the second email data dump of the AKP emails by WikiLeaks contained an unusual amount of malware...

    https://github.com/bontchev/wlscrape...ter/malware.md

    Malware hosted by Wikileaks

    The following table contains the confirmed malware residing on the Wikileaks site. The list is by no means exhaustive; I am just starting with the analysis. But what is listed below is definitely malware; no doubts about it.

    The first column contains a link to the e-mail on the Wikileaks site that contains the malicious attachment. The e-mail itself is safe to view (although the text is usually spam/scam/phish/whatever).

    The second column contains the URL on the Wikileaks site where the malicious attachment to this e-mail message resides. Since this is a direct link (i.e., clicking it would result in the malware being directly downloaded to your PC), I have obfuscated the link by replacing "https" with "hxxxx" and putting square brackets around the dot in ".org", in order to make the link non-clickable. If you desire to download the malware and check for yourself that it is, indeed, malware, you can trivially deobfuscate the link - just, please, do be careful.

    The third column contains links leading to a VirusTotal page, showing how the different scanners are reporting the malware. Those are safe to click.

    Qudos to Hasherazade for making her tool VTScan for batch querying VirusTotal publicly available.

    Wikileaks e-mail

    Wikileaks URL to the malicious attachment

    VirusTotal analysis

    36138 hxxxx://wikileaks[.]org/akp-emails/fileid/36138/20098 F36CB35F410AB65958A6CCA846737A9C

    Continued as the list is long.....
    Apparently the hacker was not that well versed in not pulling the junk mail account or simply in a hurry OR Wikileaks was well aware of the malware and wanted to spread them.......

  6. #266
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    Give us EU visa freedom in October or abandon migrant deal, Turkey says FM
    http://reut.rs/2b8KH4q

    Not so sure turkey realizes they are threatening the EU especially after the EU stated...if the death sentence comes into play there will never be a visa freedom and until Turkey eases their Emergency Laws back to EU democratic standards there will be no easing.....

    So all the bluster in the world is not about to change EU opinions...besides Turkey needs the EU trade association agreements to continue especially in the agricultural areas.

    Turkey state news agency commentary says Ankara's cozying up to Russia doesn't mean its drifting from NATO alliance
    http://aa.com.tr/tr/analiz-haber/tur...politik/628910
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 08-15-2016 at 01:44 PM.

  7. #267
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    Turkey MoD @fikriisik: "Our #NATO allies are very [selfish] in terms of sharing technology"
    http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs...fense-minister

    Turkey has always been weak on the protection of classified technolgy and has the highest corruption rate right now of the world...not mentioned by this Turkish MoD spokesperson......

  8. #268
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    Turkey's defense minister on purge of military leaders: "The number of generals in Turkish army was way too high"
    http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs...fense-minister

    One way to reduce the defense Budget

    Turkey says its failed coup was decades in the making
    http://read.bi/2b97b5i
    BUT WAIT then the Turkish intelligence ALL should be fired for not detecting it until the day before YET they claim over 20K were involved
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 08-15-2016 at 05:21 PM.

  9. #269
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    Turkish police raid 44 firms in coup probe, to detain executives: state media
    http://reut.rs/2bjCnAk

    NOTE:
    Oops. Pro-Erdogan production company registers coup-themed movie website 2 months before the coup.
    https://twitter.com/husrevo/status/765232276246564865
    Last edited by OUTLAW 09; 08-16-2016 at 07:27 AM.

  10. #270
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    Turkey's anti-Gulen clampdown now rages out of control
    http://ow.ly/IW1i303nHAN
    Random arresting of business owners and closing down their stores....maybe because of "Gulan economics"??????

    Turkish FM again threatened the EU over their free visa demands WHICH Erdogan staked his political career on and the EU will not fulfill under pressure..as he needs to show success to his AKP supporters.

    EU response this morning..."it takes two to tango"......

  11. #271
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default The good, the bad and the Glenists

    Although the Gulenist movement is the title and focus this ECFR paper provides a good overview of how Turkey came to be where it is today:http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summ...gulenists7131?

    It concludes:
    Overall, the securitisation of the Turkish political space undermines its democracy and tarnishes its image at home and abroad. At times, the post-coup period itself feels like a coup in and of itself. The risk is that, in its righteous anger and its attempt to clean the state, the Turkish government might destroy the frail democracy it is trying to save.
    davidbfpo

  12. #272
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    Could this also be a ploy by Russia to repeat the Kennedy-Khrushchev deal on removing the Jupiter IRBM from Turkey after the Cuba Crisis? The US nuclear warheads are all bombs and some have argued for their removal recently, IIRC in WoTR. An astute move if true.
    That would be a useless move. Not only are the bombs being withdrawn to Romania due to the coup d'etat attempt, but a Russian provocation of that nature would result in the following:

    1. US deployment of tactical nuclear cruise missiles launched from the air or sea that are not bound by the INF Treaty or New START.

    2. A guarantee that the LRSO will be developed and fielded.

    3. Redeployment of nuclear gravity bombs to US Carrier Strike Groups.

    4. Massive deployment of Aegis Ashore, Patriots and THAAD throughout NATO.

    5. Repeated public condemnation.

    6. French and British development of tactical nuclear weapons.

  13. #273
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    Citing Azor in part:

    Thanks for this update, I'd missed that being announced. Somewhat surprised Romania was chosen given Russian sensitivity about "NATO on our borders" and will the USAF deploy the strike aircraft to deliver the nukes? Somehow I doubt the Rumanian AF has capable aircraft, let alone the training needed.

    Have you got reference(s) for this move?
    The sources were rather weak, David, and I wouldn't say that Romania is a permanent home for these bombs.

    They may well be permanently stationed in Western Europe or placed in reserve in the US.

    However, I can't see them remaining at Incirlik given Turkey's instability.

    Sources:


  14. #274
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    Azor,

    Thanks for the far from confirming links.

    These are the WoTR articles I spotted. In June 2016, before the coup attempt, there was this one:https://warontherocks.com/2016/07/nu...son-you-think/

    In July 2016, after the coup, this:https://warontherocks.com/2016/07/ar...-under-threat/
    Thanks David.

    US nuclear deployments are classified as a rule, so while FP and WOTR have valid points, they simply don't know.

    In all likelihood, the US was considering removing the bombs prior to the coup attempt and after the shootdown.

    Note that these weapons may simply be withdrawn entirely. They can be re-deployed on carriers, which would be far more politically simple...

  15. #275
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    Default To David RE: US nuclear weapons at Incirlik

    Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
    Azor,

    Thanks for the far from confirming links.

    These are the WoTR articles I spotted. In June 2016, before the coup attempt, there was this one:https://warontherocks.com/2016/07/nu...son-you-think/

    In July 2016, after the coup, this:https://warontherocks.com/2016/07/ar...-under-threat/
    Hello David,

    See recent article by Paul Iddon at War is Boring: https://warisboring.com/the-pentagon...629#.n91y4kr48

    Iddon concluded that Incirlik is a, "notoriously unreliable base for the American military in a volatile region". He maintains that the US still has nuclear weapons at the base as of January 1, 2017, but does not provide any source for this detail.

    To be honest, I would not be surprised if the US had secretly removed its nuclear weapons from Incirlik years ago, and well before the US-Turkish disagreements over Syria or the attempted coup.

    Firstly, the US would not publicize that information due to the political ramifications of seeming to be mistrustful of Turkey and withdrawing extended deterrence.

    Secondly, the procedure could have been carried out secretly as far as I can tell, over a period of weeks or months (feel free to correct me if I am mistaken).

    Thirdly, another alternative would be to secretly deactivate the bombs whilst deploying others to CAWs.

  16. #276
    Council Member davidbfpo's Avatar
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    Default US nuclear weapons at Incirlik

    I recently posed the questions around the US nuclear weapons @ Incirlik AFB, in south-east Turkey to a SME on such matters and below are their remarks:
    The driver of having US nuclear bombs stored in Turkey has until recently been the Turks wanting re-assurance against the Russians. Indeed the other NATO states with weapons on their territory did so to keep the Turks happy and satisfied that they would be safe from Russian attack, rather than to enhance the security of the remaining NATO states. I had some dealings with officials over this issue in the mid-2000s, and it was clear that the US bombs stored in the UK had been removed at a date in that period which has never been made public, largely to keep the Turks happy.

    In current circumstances I would suspect that if the US still has nuclear bombs in Turkey, they are practice ones not operational ones.

    As the Turks have no obvious ability to have an instant capability to convert their F-16s and pilots into nuclear weapon vehicles, and no likelihood of the US giving the Turks access to their stores to verify the US weapons are active, or capable of being made active in a short period of time, the question of whether they are or are not active is anyone's guess. Judging by what has happened at other NATO nuclear bases, I would say they have up to the last five years all been at a very low level of readiness for use. But we are now in 2017 rather than 2010.

    My judgement is that Trump may for monetary reasons chose to pull all the US nuclear weapons out of Europe within the next few weeks including those that may be in Turkey. The interesting question will be the price he will demand for doing it from Putin.
    Note I have moved the posts relevant to this matter from the 2017 Syrian War thread to this thread on Turkey.
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-04-2017 at 09:10 PM. Reason: 81,135v after merging
    davidbfpo

  17. #277
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    Things are now escalating between EU/NATO and Turkey over the coming Erdogan instituted referendum on his new Presidential system which is a single leader dictatorship and no freedom of the press....with over 127 journalists currently in jail including a just arrested German/Turkish reporter for Die Welt....

    In the last ten days this has escalated badly with Germany bluntly telling Turkey they cannot send their AKP and government officials to Germany to conduct political rallies on German soil....

    This has led to a series of Turkish government statements of accusing Germany of being Nazi's and Hitler again...including Erdogan....this is inflammatory in nature and it is deliberate on the part of Erdogan as it makes he look as a hard leader to the 1.5M Turks residing in Germany.....

    Merkel and her FM have bluntly told Turkey to stop the inflammatory Nazi statements...warning that it can in fact make moves against Turkey that will not benefit Turkey.....

    Today a leading German politician who sits in the EU Commission openly questioned by the EU is providing Turkey with 4B Euros in aid to assist in merging into EU WHEN Erdogan does not want to and is going the opposite direction with creating an Islamic State and a single ruler and no democratic processes....BUT then his FM "demanded visa free travel to EU countries"...we were promised it...he "forgot it was to be part of the merging process and not a separate reward to Turkey...WHAT is interesting is that Turkey had actually fulfilled 24 of the 28 steps needed to merge into EU and was actually doing very well and then Erdogan simply applied the brakes and went the other direction....WHEN he suddenly was confronted with massive charges of corruption by the free Turkish press backed up with audio tapes of his corruption and the corruption of his sin...

    Turkey depends economically right now on EU trade and support and yes Erdogan could jump to Russia but Russia cannot carry the financial burden of 6-9B Euros of aid and trade per year...as does EU....

    THIS escalated even more this weekend when the Turkish FM wanted to go to Holland conduct political rallies for the Turkish referendum there....

    WHEN it appeared he might be blocked he then threatened Holland with unnamed sanctions....

    THEN the Dutch did in fact block him in travelling to Holland...they said basically you can come for official reasons and talks not no political rallies on Dutch soil...

    Fighting fire with fire, still makes you a pyromaniac.
    This is getting out of control!


    Dutch withdraw Turkish minister's travel permission in rally dispute- CNN Turk
    http://reut.rs/2mwxY1C
    Attached Images Attached Images

  18. #278
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    AND here we go....it's the Nazi's striking again.....

    The Dutch are 'Nazi remnants' and "fascists"says Turkish President @RT_Erdogan
    .

    Erdogan calling the kettle black as he is sliding Turkey into fascism of a single authoritarian leader.

    BreakingNews
    Turkish president #Erdogan threatens to cancel Landing Permission for #Dutch planes in #Turkey.

    REMEMBEr recently when Germany critiqued him in his political rallies he held recently he would not allow even the German Minister of Defense visit her AF elements flying recce against Is from Turkey....

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    Wilders sees connection between decision to block Turkish FM from landing in NL and the Dutch general elections.

    Typical Wilders the ultra rightist populist who was to win and now is losing badly since Trump was elected would say this....as it hurts him....

    BUT he has missed the key point...many EU leaders are simply now fed up with Erdogan and are following Merkel's pushback....over the same style of Nazi statements....

    NOW the Erdogan threat against Holland on their election day.....and who states the term Nazi.....

    LIVE President Erdoğan on Netherlands decision for no landing permission for FM: Our people will disrupt your conspiracy on 16th April

    He voiced something similar this week in his clash with Germany...for their election in SEPT....

    BUT WAIT..Erdogan does not even know his own Turkish laws he has yet to change so still in effect.....

    A reminder of this timely piece by @dpa_intl from last week: #Turkish election law prohibits campaigning abroad
    http://dpaq.de/x5YZj
    Leave it up to Germans to point out Turkish law to Erdogan....

    AND yet he seems to believe he can force EU to do anything he wants to do....like visa free travel and massive Euro loans....

    ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG)

    @anadoluagency
    Turkey summons Dutch envoy to Foreign Ministry after FM's flight permit gets canceled
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-11-2017 at 08:16 PM. Reason: copied from Germany thread

  20. #280
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    Quote Originally Posted by OUTLAW 09 View Post
    Wilders sees connection between decision to block Turkish FM from landing in NL and the Dutch general elections.

    Typical Wilders the ultra rightist populist who was to win and now is losing badly since Trump was elected would say this....as it hurts him....

    BUT he has missed the key point...many EU leaders are simply now fed up with Erdogan and are following Merkel's pushback....over the same style of Nazi statements....

    NOW the Erdogan threat against Holland on their election day.....and who states the term Nazi.....

    LIVE President Erdoğan on Netherlands decision for no landing permission for FM: Our people will disrupt your conspiracy on 16th April

    He voiced something similar this week in his clash with Germany...for their election in SEPT....

    BUT WAIT..Erdogan does not even know his own Turkish laws he has yet to change so still in effect.....

    A reminder of this timely piece by @dpa_intl from last week: #Turkish election law prohibits campaigning abroad
    http://dpaq.de/x5YZj
    Leave it up to Germans to point out Turkish law to Erdogan....

    AND yet he seems to believe he can force EU to do anything he wants to do....like visa free travel and massive Euro loans....

    ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG)

    @anadoluagency
    Turkey summons Dutch envoy to Foreign Ministry after FM's flight permit gets canceled
    ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG)

    @anadoluagency
    #BREAKING Turkish family minister's vehicle intercepted while entering the Netherlands, Turkey's envoy says

    UPDATE: Turkish delegation including 'Family Minister' being escorted to German border by Dutch police.

    Tukrish minister is behind the building of the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam. Police is not allowing her to get inside the Consulate.
    Special intervention team of the Dutch Police is blocking the Turkish minister Sayan Kaya entering the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam

    Any well informed official in the Turkish Foreign Ministry will know this. Erdogan is deliberately provoking EU states for campaign purposes

    BREAKING Turkish Foreign Ministry labels Dutch gov's treatment to Turkish officials as "hostile" act, "a first in 405 years of relations"
    Last edited by davidbfpo; 03-11-2017 at 08:16 PM. Reason: copied from Germany thread

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