Traditionally, the Turkish military is considered the guaranteeor of the secular nature of the Turkish government.
The twitter seems to be coalescing upon the coup being successful. Hopefully Germans can now make fun of Erdogan again.
Obama and Kerry will go ape shit again. They were all torn up when General Sisi removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt.
The big question is what the coup's leaders plan in regard to Kurds and ISIS. Erdogan couldn't stand Assad and thus refused to really do anything to harm ISIS, Al Nusra, and other rebels. But where do the generals stand? Do they think Erdogan has been useless at directly attacking Assad and Russian forces, and want to escalate, or do they think Erdogan's anti-Assad stance is asinine and want to roll their tanks against ISIS? Or are they just upset at the further Islamisation of Turkey?
If this coup fails, the madman Erdogan will be more ruthless than ever. He is a fascist and an islamist. A military dictatorship is nothing to wish for, but in this case... I hope the elements in the military who are responsible for this will prevail.
Turkish TV says coup has succeeded and martial law is in place. Of course, all this really tells us is that the coup forces are in control of Turkish TV.
In Turkey, the military tends toward secular and sane. I've been wondering for a few years why this wasn't happening. About time.
It's been a long day, night,week, month, year, decade. Already. I'm pushing 50 years old and I'm wondering if the world will ever just relax in what remains of my lifetime. .
How much purging and settling of old (often personal) scores do you think goes on during a typical one of these? Dozens? Hundreds?
In Turkey probably very little. Historically, the Turkish military are always reluctant rulers. They take power, get things in order, and try to find some reasonable, competent civilians willing to become leaders that head back toward democracy.
Looks pretty successful to me. Erdogan was giving an interview over Skype from a hotel room in an undisclosed location, which IIRC went dead when the military cut the communications. Not the appearance of a man still in control.
I'm afraid it's breaking down already. Turkey is one of the few countries where coups by the military make things better. I mean, I hope Erdogan will be history tomorrow but it looks like this wasn't well planned and it's only parts of the military. It's ironic btw how Erdo calls people to the same streets he had them shot on for demonstrating not so long ago.
It's far too early to say whether or not it will be successful, but at a minimum, it's clearly a significant and coordinated effort.
I heard Erdogan was chilling on an island that's now surrounded by the Turkish navy, which is part of the coup. No boats in or out. He'll probably disguise himself as a woman, take an inflatable dinghy to some Greek island, and then try to walk to Berlin to demand Merkel pay the refugee-deal money directly to himself.
Sure they can join. I think I've heard the end of negotiations is scheduled for the year 3016. Seriously, I don't think that's on the table at all. They've been talking for 11 years and there is no end in sight. Turkey has a long way to go before it's ready.
