Comment: See also: Hillary proffered as alternative to Trump, no one cares she's a warmongering psychopath

Comment: Not only were the regiments NATO for 13 years; they even used their NATO-assigned slogan "Peace at home, peace in the world" as the name of their WhatsApp group. Sibel Edmonds comments:


According to the German magazine FOCUS, British GCHQ "intercepted phone calls, e-mails and SMS from within the Turkish government apparatus saying that the purges would start next day and that Gulen should be presented as the mastermind of the coup" a half-hour after the shooting started. So as Christoph Germann tweets, a NATO source leaks info to a German magazine suggesting a NATO ally staged a coup. Right. And if they really had the capability to receive these messages, surely they intercepted the messages from the actual coup plotters. But did they warn their 'ally'? Nope.

Comment: There is also speculation going around Russian media that Russian special forces had a hand in helping Erdogan:

According to this theory, it was Russian Spetsnaz who successfully evacuated Erdogan to the Case De Maris Hotel shortly before the assault on the Grand Yazici Club Turban where he was previously located and where 8-10 militant groups managed by the CIA violently broke in only to find an empty room.

It is difficult to say how much truth there is in this version, but there is the fact that President Erdogan's first appeal to the people to take to the streets against the rebellion was relayed through social networks while he was still in some kind of "unofficial" shelter with lace curtains on the windows. And then suddenly the center of the country's governance was taken back into is hands while covered on a flight by Russian air forces to Ankara, allege such sources. Why the rebel pilots of the Turkish Air Force failed to shoot down the president's Gulfstream IV with TC-ATA registration, if they indeed already had it in their sights, is also up for speculation.

"Of course, it cannot be said that Erdogan was saved by our guys, Russians," Yuri Pershikov, an information analyst specializing in Turkish affairs commented on these reports. "Reports have appeared that some of our electronic warfare systems deployed in Russia and Syria blocked the navigation equipment on [Turkish] air force bases. Information has also appeared that Erdogan's plane was caught by two Turkish aircraft but they were, for some reason, unable to shoot. Afterwards, reports appeared that our air forces and satellites were involved. For sure, we will hardly find out whether this is true or not, but we can assume that they could have suppressed the guidance systems of these planes. Russia has the technological capabilities to have helped and supported Erdogan."

Comment: Update 1

Initially it was reported that one of the three shooters committed suicide. That has been countered by later statements from police that all three shooters fled on foot and are still on the run. Six people were killed, with injured in the double digits. The manhunt is reportedly their largest police operation in a decade.

Update 2

It appears as if the Germans are allowing the Americans to write their ongoing narrative. Police have announced a "cautious all-clear", claiming that they discovered a body near the scene of the attack, identified as the shooter. Their tweet says, "We found a man, who killed him himself [sic]. We assume, that he was the only shooter." Munich PD said there is a "high probability" he acted alone, and that he was identified "within the framework of Interpol". "Acting alone", especially when there were multiple reports of multiple shooters, tends to mean that the other suspects got away and the police have no intention of pursuing them (often because they are working for the police in the first place! or intel agencies). The death toll is now nine, plus the shooter. Sputnik adds:

On Friday, a shooter took aim at shoppers at a mall near the 1972 Olympic stadium, an attack that left at least ten dead and another 20 hospitalized leaving German officials to scramble to piece together the motive and the nature of the incident.

​Earlier in the day, the police believed that there were three shooters responsible citing eyewitness accounts from individuals on the scene. Conflicting reports came in as to the identity of the shooter and the motive for his attack. Some witnesses said that the shooter was cursing immigrants and Turks while yelling at victims that he was German. Another witness, however, claims that the shooter yelled "Allahu Akbar" before training his weapon on children.

It would be interesting to know the identities of these witnesses. Any guess why their accounts don't match up with each other?

Update 3

The gunman has been identified as Ali Sonboly, an 18-year-old German-Iranian born and raised in Germany who lived with his parents. (Picture of the boy here.) Just hours before the shooting, he allegedly hacked into the Facebook profile of "Selina Akim" to lure victims to the McDonald's near the shopping mall by offering them free food. Police say there is no evidence "whatsoever" linking him to ISIS. He had been receiving psychiatric and medical care for depression. Neighbors describe him as quiet, normal and shy.

At this point, his motives are unclear. Police reportedly found articles on killing sprees and the English book Why Kids Kill at his home. Police are saying there is an "obvious link" to the 2011 Norway massacre and Anders Breivik, and that he was "obsessed" with mass shootings. Classmates say he once used an image of Breivik on WhatsApp. He apparently had used the gaming network Stream to threaten to kill other gamers.

As for those earlier reports of multiple shooters, according to the Guardian, "the police chief said two people who fled the area quickly were investigated but had 'nothing to do with the incident'." Here are accounts of the witnesses mentioned in the last update:

A woman named Loretta has told CNN that she was in the McDonald's when a man with a gun came out of a bathroom and began shooting. "I come out of the toilet and I hear like an alarm, boom, boom, boom. He's killing the children. The children were sitting to eat. They can't run," she recalled. Loretta claimed that she heard the shooters yelling "Allahu Akbar!", a Muslim call to praise god, that is also shouted by Islamists during deadly attacks.

At the same time, a video that appeared online show a man shouting "I'm German, f*** foreigners" as he walks across the roof of the shopping mall's car parking.

According to locals, the shopping mall is located near the Hasenbergl district, an area densely populated with immigrants.

Comment: Al-Monitor provides some more details:

The basic reason the coup failed was its premature birth. How? First, the coup was planned for a later date but was moved up. Then the rescheduled coup, which was to have started at 3 a.m. July 16, was moved up yet again by five hours, to around 10 p.m. July 15, after the coup attempt was discovered.
...
With the indictments in last week's Izmir espionage case, the Turkish judiciary was gearing up to target about 1,000 Gulenists in the TSK prior to the supreme council meeting. With so many detentions just before the meeting, the government was intending to compel the TSK command to carry out mass purges.

When the coup planners learned of that intention, they moved up the date to precede the council meeting. This turned out to be a suicidal move.
...
Al-Monitor's sources said coup leaders had planned to move at 3 a.m. to take over by 5 a.m., when people would be asleep and streets would be empty. But this didn't work. Around 4 p.m. July 15, 11 hours before the coup was to start, the national intelligence service MIT learned from radio and telephone intercepts of TSK personnel known to be Gulenists that some units were gearing up. MIT informed the chief of general staff at 5 p.m. At a meeting at the chief of general staff headquarters, officials decided to close Turkish air space to all flights as of 6 p.m. and bar military units from leaving their barracks. While that order was being written, Land Forces Commander Gen. Salih Zeki Colak was called to the general staff headquarters.

By 7 p.m., coup plotters realized that their plan was exposed and were able to take Akar hostage. ... At the end, the plotters couldn't get Akar's signature, so they sent out an order signed by a brigadier general and launched their coup around 9:30 p.m. — that is, 5½ hours before the planned time. The first indication of the rash, reckless actions by the Istanbul wing of the coup was sending out small units commanded by junior ranks to streets on the pretense of exercising or fighting terror.

Put the two together, and this is essentially the scenario SOTT proposed on Behind the Headlines on Sunday, and in our Tuesday Focus: Erdogan benefits from Turkish coup attempt because it failed, not because he engineered it. These latest data points put the picture into more focus: 1) Erdogan is aware of the possibility of a coup, but perhaps lacks specific intelligence of when it will occur, 2) the plotters move the date ahead due to the threat of planned purges, 3) Russian intelligence provides Turkey with intel suggesting the coup will happen very soon, at 3 am, 4) MIT perhaps confirms this, air space is closed, military units are confined to barracks, 5) the plotters decide to go ahead with it while they still can.

Comment: If there was any doubt before, this and other information we have been following about the attempted coup in Turkey should provide further proof as to just how far and how willing the U.S. is prepared to go in order to instigate and support chaos, destabilization and destruction on a world-wide scale.

Comment: Things be heating up! Erdogan looks like he has sung his last tune.

This coup attempt comes after a dramatic turnaround in Turkish-Russian relations in the last couple of weeks, with Erdogan doing a 180-degree turn to say that Turkey would now cooperate with Russia against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

And now this.

20th century Turkey has had a number of military coups. A major scandal erupted there once Erdgoan came to power, revealing the existence of a secret network of 'Gladio' operatives (termed 'Ergenekon' in Turkey), who effectively ran the state from the shadows on behalf of the High Cabal of Western Powers.

‌The question is, is this coup because of the very recent change in Erdogan's attitude to Russia and Syria? Like Joe Quinn wrote last year about and the shoot-down of the Russian jet last year, the military/civilian intel infrastructure in Turkey is pretty much Gladio/NATO-made and owned.

This is the 5th coup in Turkey in the last 55 years. Turkey has historically been riven with internal factions vying for power. Erdogan and his Freedom and Justice party tried to sideline the other factions. First the Kemalist Turkish nationalists (Turkish military and deep state) who are mainly secular, and second the supporters of the super-rich Turkish businessman Fetullah Gulen who is exiled in the USA and resides there at the pleasure of the CIA etc.

Who exactly is behind this coup remains to be seen, but Erdogan himself has been pointing the finger at Gulen for a while now, and even blamed him for the shoot down of the Russian plane last year.

If true, then this is a CIA coup. Let's face it, it's not like they are new to the practice.

Erdogan and his coterie were such a bunch of idiots though, so it's hard to not see the back of him as a positive thing.

Interestingly, just two days ago, the French government closed its embassy in Istanbul, citing 'security concerns'.

Another possibility is that Erdogan saw the coup coming, then made a last-ditch effort to buy himself a protector by realigning his government with Russia.

We shall see...

Update 1

The military has taken over state broadcaster TRT and imposed martial law with the aim of " reinstating constitutional order, human rights and freedoms."

Erdogan appeared via cell phone on CNN Turk, saying the coup "will be overcome" and calling on the people to help in any way they can. (Translation: the situation is dire!)

According to Reuters, the coup attempt occurred when Erdogan was on vacation outside the country. In his TV appearance, the president said he was returning to the Turkish capital of Ankara. The authorities would take all"necessary steps," he said, adding that he didn't believe the coup backers would succeed.

There have been unconfirmed reports that Erdogan's plane has been diverted inside the country, but airports in the Turkish capital had already been closed by the military with all flights diverted.

NBC News reported that Erdogan's aircraft has been denied permission to land in Istanbul, citing a source in the US military. The latest report claims that the Turkish president is seeking asylum in Germany.

There are reports of gunfire and explosions at police special ops HQ in Ankara and at the state broadcaster. A helicopter was spotted opening fire over Ankara (videos at link). Meanwhile, crowds are angrily confronting the tanks pouring into Ankara...

Update 2

There are firefights in the streets of Ankara, presumably between military and police. (Follow the link for videos.) Also at the Turkish Presidential Palace. The military has reportedly used tanks and opened fire on crowds of civilians in Istanbul protesting the coup on the Bosporus bridge. Tanks have surrounded Parliament and opened fire. Some soldiers appear to have been arrested by police. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been shut down in the country.

Forces local to Erdogan have reportedly shot down a helicopter with an F-16 jet. 17 police have died in firefights against the coup fighters at this point, reportedly from helicopter fire. Helicopters appear to be firing on civilians too, and Sputnik's headline calls it a "massacre".

Turkish FM Cavusoglu says John Kerry has expressed "his support and solidarity with the lawfully elected Turkish government". Prior to that, Kerry (who is still in Moscow, speaking with Lavrov) expressed hopes for "stability". Moscow called to avoid "bloodshed". Army units were ordered out of Iraq. Reports that police, MIT, 1st Army Command, Navy, and parts of Air Force and Special Forces are still loyal to Erdogan, who has blamed Gulenists for the coup. Rumors are floating that he was denied asylum in Germany and is now trying for the UK. Peskov says Russia will consider asylum if a request is filed, and offered this non-committal statement: "Currently, the amount of information makes it impossible to give a clear definition of what is happening in the country."

Update 3

Obama seems to have given Kerry his marching orders: support Erdogan's government. Stoltenberg has called for "full respect for Turkey's democratic institutions." Gulen's movement (blamed by Erdogan for the coup) have condemned the military's actions. Parliament has reportedly been bombed from the air (video of the moment of the explosion). The Istanbul governor is saying the coup has been suppressed, mutineers being arrested, including one high-ranking officer.

Update 4

PM Yildirim has declared a no-fly zone over Ankara. 104 coup soldiers have been identified, some detained. 12 people were injured in the parliament explosion. Buildings reported as bombed besides parliament: Ministry of Interior, Intelligence, Armed Forces HQ, Police HQ, army buildings. Current reports suggest the coup has failed.

Update 5

Syrian opposition groups are speculating that the coup was attempted because of Turkey's support of Islamists (so says a member of the Syrian Democratic Forum) and their "role as a mediator and a playground for terrorists from around the globe" (Hmemim group member Tarek Ahmad). Meanwhile, the mutineers have taken CNN Turk (from where Erdogan gave his last to messages via FaceTime) and Dogan Media. Gunshots were heard during CNN Turk's live broadcast. Soldiers have reportedly entered Hurriyet's offices as well and are taking hostages. Contrary to all the rumors, Erdogan has arrived at Istanbul's Ataturk airport and plans to address the nation.

Update 6

Erdogan gave a defiant speech at Istanbul airport, blaming the Gulenists and promising they'd pay, receiving the appropriate response, regardless of what institution they're from. He also called the coup a "gift from God", anticipating the purge of disloyal members of the military. He confirmed that Turkey's Secretary-General had been kidnapped, and fighter jets were dispatched to take out the helicopter attacking parliament. He says the hotel he was at in Marmaris was bombed after he left.

TRT TV has been retaken by the government. Parliament suffered a new series of blasts and a new round of shooting has broken out around parliament. Casualty numbers so far: 6+ dead in Istanbul, 160+ in hospital. 60 dead in Ankara, mostly civilians. Over 130 people have been detained for involvement in the coup attempt.

According to AKP member Zeynap Jane Kandur: "Turkey has come together. All three major party leaders have come out, even opposition, so all four main forces, have come out speaking against the coup. This is very important that all four political leaders have come out with the same statement," Kandur said stressting that "Turkey has become unified. Everyone has gone out to the streets, they are claiming the country back. Turkey has had so many coups in the past 50 years, it simply cannot happen anymore. Turkey is not a place for the coup any more."

Leader of the coup alleged to be Colonel Muharrem Kose, former officer discharged in March 2015 (the same month the neocons started speaking out against Erdogan and floating rumors of a planned coup) for his alleged links to Gulen.

Update 7 - Saturday, July 16

The coup has failed. Last night, military rebels lost control of military HQ; some were killed during the fighting, and hundreds surrendered. Intense gunfighting resumed briefly in Ankara and Istanbul. Overall, 2839 servicemen were arrested and stripped of their military titles, including 5 generals and 29 colonels. Many of the arrested troops are claiming the were told they were taking part in military exercises and were unaware it was a real coup attempt. Chief of Military Staff Hulusi, Akar, who had been taken hostage, was released and taken to a safe location. 104 coup supporters were killed during the fighting. 2745 judges have been suspended, with arrest warrants issued for 188 members of Turkey's supreme courts. Casualties: 265 people killed, 1440 injured. Traffic through the Bosphorus Strait is back to normal. (Photo gallery from the events of last night here. Videos from RT.)

Parliament will hold an emergency session today. Border guards have been warned to increase security in order to stop coup supporters' attempts to flee Turkey. Eight supporters have apparently already landed in Greece via helicopter, and others have seized a naval frigate from the Golcuk base, holding the navy's commander hostage. The air force's commander was also captured by coup plotters while attending a wedding ceremony. (All three high-ranking hostages have now been released.) Movement in and out of the US/NATO Incirlik base has been blocked, according to the US consulate. (The base houses US nukes.)

The pilot who shot down the Russan jet last year was reportedly involved in the coup; he has been tied to Gulen. Gulen, of course, categorically denies any involvement in the coup. Kerry, for his part, said they will need to see evidence of Gulen's involvement before considering an extradition request. Yildirim criticized the US for harboring "this leader of the terrorist gang".

Update 8

Turkish govt is saying all areas of government are now back under their control, but say it is still to early to say whether the threat is entirely eliminated. The leader of the coup has been revised: now claimed to be General Akin Ozturk, former commander of the air force. Another high-ranker now detained: General Adem Huduti, who commanded the army corps 'protecting' Turkey's borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran. The Malatya Garrison Commander Avni Angun, and the Third Army Corps commander, General Erdal Ozturk, were also detained.

Groups such as al-Qaeda, Ahrar al-Sham, the FSA, all voiced support for the Turkish government overcoming the coup. In contrast, the U.S. called the coup attempt a "Turkish Uprising" in a U.S. Embassy statement. Turkey has clearly chosen a side, and it's not the States: PM Yildirim said any country that stands by the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen will not be a friend of Turkey and will be considered at war with them. Kerry has told Turkish FM Cavosoglu that Turkey's claims of U.S. involvement have "hurt relations" between the two countries, and called on the Turkish govt to follow the rule of law in the aftermath. Access to Incirlik's US nukes are still restricted, and the power to the base has been cut. In other words, Erdogan is now (temporarily?) in control of U.S. nuclear weapons. U.S. jets can't take off to engage in their "anti-Daesh" airstrikes. They can't be pleased. Cavusoglu says that several Incirlik servicemen were detained due to links to the coup attempt. Some are already predicting the end of NATO.

Rumor: "Turkey jets which bombed #Ankara refilled from fuel tankers took off from Incirlik airbase!!" Another: "Journalist @sahmetsahmet says police was to arrest coup leaders yesterday before they mobilise, that led the coup pic.twitter.com/UdXViNUf1V" ("there's a report saying a anti-Gulen operation was in final stages & ignited the coup attempt - the lists were ready") Officials say they found post coup plan lists of new governors, heads of govt agencies. Gulen is now blaming Erdogan for the coup (he's not the only one), saying it was staged to purge the Gulenists and military, and comparing Erdogan to Hitler.

Coincidentally, RT suffered a massive DDoS attack when the coup started, and another when their live coverage stream began.

Update 9 - Sunday, July 17

Incirlik base is back open, and the Americans are launching "anti-ISIL" strikes again. Incirlik's commander, General Bekir Ercan Van, has been detained for complicity in the coup attempt. The Turkish PM announced that over 190 civilians died during the fighting, over 1400 injured. The U.S. State Department is warning of a heightened terror threat in Turkey after the failed coup. They would know, wouldn't they? One of Erdogan's chief military assistants has been detained - the total is now over 6000 suspected coup supporters arrested. The 8 soldiers that sought asylum in Greece have been arrested. Tsipras said their asylum requests will be quickly examined "with absolute respect" to international law and human rights treaties.

Meanwhile, thousands are celebrating the end of the coup attempt in Taksim Square. In a prior speech in Istanbul, Erdogan further poked Obama: "Dear President Obama, I told you this before, arrest Fethullah Gulen or return him to Turkey. You didn't listen. I call you on you again, after the coup attempt - extradite this man from Pennsylvania to Turkey. If we are strategic partners, do what is necessary." Since the U.S. will probably never extradite Gulen, Erdogan is essentially saying they are not strategic partners with the U.S. This meshes with Turkish govt statements that they will go to war with "any country" supporting Gulen. The Turkish Labor Minister said explicitly: "The US is behind the coup attempt. A few journals that are published there [in the US] have been conducting activities for several months. For many months we have sent requests to the US concerning Fethullah Gulen. The US must extradite him."