Erdogan alerted of incoming coup by Russia

[jakeXT]

Several Arab media outlets quoted diplomatic sources in Ankara as saying that Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, known locally as the MIT, received intel from the Russian army that warned of an impending coup in the Muslim state.
The unnamed diplomats said the Russian army in the region had intercepted highly sensitive army exchanges and encoded radio messages showing that the Turkish army was readying to stage a coup against the administration in Ankara, Iranian Fars News Agency writes.
The exchanges included dispatch of several army choppers to President Erdogan's resort hotel to arrest or kill the president.
The diplomats were not sure of the Russian station that had intercepted the exchanges, but said the Russian army intelligence unit deployed in Khmeimim (also called Hmeimim) in Syria's Northern province of Lattakia is reportedly equipped with state-of-the-art electronic and eavesdropping systems to gather highly sensitive information for the Russian squadrons that are on an anti-terrorism mission in Syria.

http://news.az/articles/world/110538

[DRoseDARs]

1. Hello, I'm Mary, Queen of the Scots...

I'm not buying this bridge.

[On the Road]

2. If This is True, Interesting That Russia Would Prefer Erdogan

as opposed to a more secular military government. Especially since Turkey just shot down one of its planes.

Maybe the idea would be that Erdogan would be more likely to lead Turkey away from Europe, especially now that Erdogan owes Putin a big favor.

[jakeXT]

3. He apologized last month

MOSCOW — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized Monday for the downing of a Russian warplane in November and called for Russia and Turkey to mend a bilateral relationship that has become openly hostile over the incident.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkey-apologizes-for-shooting-down-russian-warplane-last-year/2016/06/27/d969e0ea-3c6d-11e6-9e16-4cf01a41decb_story.html

[Ghost Dog]

4. Erdogan not alerted of incoming coup by USA. n/t

[jakeXT]

5. Usually in past coups in Turkey the US was informed by the Turkish military before it happened

While the exact role of the United States in the 1960 coup remains unclear the
evidence available as of now suggests that the White House tolerated the coup
because it had been assured beforehand that Turkey's membership in NATO
was not endangered. 'Although the United States were informed about the coup
d'etat and due to special bilateral agreements even would have had the legal
possibilities to intervene, they did nothing', Fikret Asian and Kemal Bozay note
in their analysis of the Pan-Turkism movement. 'They knew that most of the
putschists were not against the United States and NATO.'
13
The Turkish putschists kept their promise and right after the coup the new ruler of Turkey,
General Giirsel, emphasised publicly: 'Turkey remains faithful to its Western Alliance.'
14
Secret warfare expert Selahattin Celik too relates that the United States had been informed
long before the coup was carried out. 'An officer named Samet Kuscu contacted in 1957 the US embassy
in Istanbul and reported that there was going to be a coup d'etat and gave the names of the officers which
would make the coup.

page 227

https://archive.org/details/GanserDanieleNATOsSecretArmiesOperationGladioAndTerrorismInWesternEurope2005

[Ghost Dog]

15. 1980 coup also, I read here. And re. the current ambassador:

... Whether Bass, the current ambassador, passed like Spain through the CIA on his way to Ankara is not known. It is common practice, however, for the agency to use diplomatic postings as “cover” for its operations. In Bass’s case, such postings included Chad and Iraq, as well as in Europe. He was also assigned to the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence.

Bass’s rise within the State Department included stints as an advisor first to Strobe Talbott, the State Department official who oversaw US policy in relation to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, and then to Republican Vice President Dick Cheney.

Significantly, this career path precisely matches that of Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of state who played a key part in the orchestration of the fascist spear-headed 2014 coup that ousted the elected government of President Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine. Bass worked closely with Nuland over the course of three administrations and was presumably groomed to play a similar role.

Before being posted to Turkey, Bass’s sole previous assignment as a US ambassador was to Georgia, where he was sent in 2009 to coordinate anti-Russian operations with the right-wing regime of President Mikheil Saakashvili. Also a top priority was securing Georgian logistical assistance for the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Before he was replaced three years later, the country had also become a focal point for the funneling of Islamist “foreign fighters” into the war for regime change in Syria...

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/07/20/anka-j20.html

[bemildred]

6. Putin’s spokesman Peskov denies Russia warned Turkey of imminent coup

The Kremlin has no information that Russia warned Turkey of an imminent military coup, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, as reported by the Russian official TASS news agency.

---

Putin called the Turkish president and said he hoped Russian tourists would be protected in the aftermath of Friday night’s failed coup attempt in Turkey, the Kremlin said in a statement on Sunday. The statement added that the two leaders would soon meet face-to-face.

Despite an agreement last month to resume bilateral cooperation, relations between the Kremlin and Erdogan remain strained over the Syria crisis and Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian fighter jet in November.

Erdogan apologized to Putin in June over the downing of the plane, which was taking part in the Kremlin’s military campaign in Syria. The Kremlin had responded to the incident by imposing restrictions on trade with Turkey.

https://www.neweurope.eu/article/putins-spokesman-peskov-denies-russia-warned-turkey-imminent-coup/

[jakeXT]

7. Erdogan knew something 7-10 hours before

Erdogan acknowledges they knew about a "military activity" at least 7-10 hours before the coup
https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/754870087535001600

Either the Turkish intelligence is so good, or the Russian don't want to publicly acknowledge their capabilities when it comes to reading NATO communications. And of course it could have been staged in some form....

[bemildred]

8. Who can say?

I expect Russia would deny it whether they did it or not. So would we.

There is a chicken and egg problem with the secularists and the islamists, it is a fruitless argument to decide who started it. The dispute is ideological.

You could easily also suppose that it was a form of sucking up to Russia by Erdogan to say it, but ...

I have thought it over, and I don't think Putin would want Erdogan overthrown at this point anyway, as you point out he had just made Erdogan submit, now is the time to protect his new minion, win his trust, and such a useful minion he could be.

So assuming Russia had the intel, I can see why they would pass it on to Erdogan and otherwise be so supportive. It means Putin thinks he has a new "partner".

Could very well facilitate the end of the Syrian War.

[jakeXT]

9. Mr. redrawing the Middle East was happy during the coup attempt

Ralph Peters Says ‘God Bless’ Those Staging Coup in Turkey

In a statement, Obama urged all sides in Turkey to side with democratically-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Peters thinks the commander in chief “should have just kept his mouth shut, because the people staging this coup are on our side.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/16/lt-col-ralph-peters-says-god-bless-those-staging-coup-in-turkey-slams-obama-for-siding-with-islamist-authoritarian/

In March of this year someone from the AEI wrote in Newsweek

Will There Be a Coup Against Erdogan in Turkey?
Turks—and the Turkish military—increasingly recognize that Erdogan is taking Turkey to the precipice.
http://europe.newsweek.com/will-there-be-coup-against-erdogan-turkey-439181?rm=eu

[bemildred]

10. Yes, they were all over it, the "liberal interventionists", the War Party bubble-talkers.

It's hard to keep up with the cognitive disconnect these days, and I had stopped paying attention to those guys since the primary became boring, but I can see that all fits right in, they always double down, and this is like disaster-ville for them, total loss of control.

[bemildred]

11. Russian diplomacy aims to accelerate Syrian endgame

Something along these lines ...

---

To be sure, there’s going to be consequences. If the NATO cannot now hope to encircle Russia in the Black Sea or threaten Crimea, a rollback of Turkey’s military intervention in Syria will sound the death knell for the ‘regime change’ agenda in that country pursued by the US and regional allies.

The neocons in the US and the lobbyists of America’s Middle East allies in the Washington think tanks and the media and the cold warriors in the defense establishment are whistling in the dark.

Bizarre as it may sound, ‘regime change’ agenda in Syria is now predicated on overthrow of Erdogan first. For Turkey, Russia’s goodwill is vital for preventing the emergence of a Kurdish enclave along its border, which is a core issue.

The 48-hour deadline given by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance to the Islamic State (IS) to leave their stronghold of Manjib is expiring today (July 23). The horrific air strikes by American and French aircraft, killing over 140 civilians, hint at an imminent no-holds barred offensive.

http://atimes.com/2016/07/russian-diplomacy-aims-to-accelerate-syrian-endgame/

[bemildred]

12. Kerry announces fresh Syria talks with Russia

On Friday, US Secretary of John Kerry announced that he would meet with his Russian counterpart in the coming days to discuss a proposal to bolster a ceasefire in Syria and streamline the fight against agreed-upon groups.'

"The president of the United States has authorized and ordered this track," Kerry told reporters.

"It is the president's desire to test whether or not the Russians are prepared to do what they said during our negotiations in Moscow that they will do," he added.

The proposal would require Damascus to cease attacks against US-backed opposition groups.

http://www.dw.com/en/kerry-announces-fresh-syria-talks-with-russia/a-19422353

[bemildred]

13. Kerry's Syria plan with Russia faces deep skepticism in U.S., abroad

Skeptics in the U.S. government, European allies in the anti-Islamic State coalition and the main Syrian opposition, distrustful of Russia's intentions, are questioning Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest proposal for closer U.S.-Russian cooperation against extremist groups in Syria.

Several U.S. military and intelligence officials called the plan naive, and said Kerry risks falling into a trap that Russian President Vladimir Putin has laid to discredit the United States with moderate rebel groups and drive some of their fighters into the arms of Islamic State and other extremist groups.

Some European members of the coalition against Islamic State forces have expressed concern about sharing intelligence with Russia, which they say has been an untrustworthy partner in Syria.

The current proposal, which Kerry hopes to conclude within weeks, envisions ways in which Washington and Moscow would share intelligence to coordinate air strikes against the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and prohibit the Syrian air force from attacking moderate rebel groups.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-russia-analysis-idUSKCN1022OI?rpc=401

[bemildred]

14. Clinton Doubles Down on National Security With Tim Kaine Pick

A Democratic presidential nominee with a résumé rich in foreign policy has just chosen a running mate with a résumé rich in foreign policy.

Hillary Clinton’s choice, first-term Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, serves on the Senate’s Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees and has emerged as a leading liberal voice on national security. He’s best-known for waging a relentless and at times lonely campaign against the White House’s ability to use military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria without explicit congressional authorization.

The Harvard-trained lawyer also happens to have been a mayor of Richmond, governor of Virginia, a key battleground state, and chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He is fluent in Spanish from his time as a Catholic missionary in Honduras and has been through all of this before, vetted but not ultimately chosen by the Democratic Party’s then-nominee Barack Obama in 2008.

The pick isn’t without risk. Like Clinton, many progressives believe Kaine is too close to Wall Street. While Kaine supports the Dodd-Frank legislation that imposes major regulations on the financial industry, he also was one of 70 senators to recently sign a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asking for looser regulations on regional banks and credit unions. A devout Catholic, he’s also said that he’s personally opposed to abortion, which has alarmed some pro-choice advocates even though the Virginia lawmaker has a long record of supporting abortion rights.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/22/clinton-doubles-down-on-national-security-with-tim-kaine-pick/