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Chess

NATO's Stoltenberg warns Erdogan to 'ensure full respect for democracy' in coup aftermath


RT
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:49 UTC
Nato Turkey stoltenberg
© Francois Lenoir / ReutersNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
NATO-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced the military coup attempt in a phone call with Turkey's president. Stoltenberg assured him of NATO's full support, yet reminded Erdogan of the need to observe the rule of law in the coup aftermath.

"Being part of a unique community of values, it is essential for Turkey, like all other Allies, to ensure full respect for democracy and its institutions, the constitutional order, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms," Stoltenberg's statement reads.

A similar statement was issued earlier by US Secretary of State John Kerry. "NATO also has a requirement with respect to democracy," Kerry said during a joint press conference with EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday.

Turkey is NATO's second largest member and its Ingirlik air base is used by the US and its allies to launch airstrikes on Islamic State (formerly known as IS, ISIL/ISIS).

Kerry reiterated his support for the legitimate Turkish government as well as its efforts "in bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice," according to the Independent. He cautioned Ankara "against a reach that goes beyond that and stress the importance of the democratic rule being upheld," however.

Comment: Pepe Escobar nails it:
"This is obviously a badly-scripted joke. The only thing the figurehead Norwegian Wood cares about - his job is on the line - is to keep Incirlik."


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Boat

Countering U.S. hegemony: China announces South China Sea exercises, foreign military patrols could end "in disaster"


RT
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 22:30 UTC
chinese ship
© Edgar Su / Reuters
Beijing has announced that it is closing off part of the South China Sea for military exercises this week, warning that freedom of navigation patrols by foreign navies could end "in disaster."

Hainan's maritime administration said an area southeast of the island province would be closed from Monday to Thursday, but failed to give any details about the nature of the exercises, AP reported. The navy and Defense Ministry gave no immediate comment.

The announcement came during a three-day visit to China by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson to discuss the South China Sea dispute and ways to increase interaction between the two militaries, which continue to have a tense relationship.
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Airplane

Anonymous ex-Turkish officer claims rebel jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights, didn't open fire


Reuters
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:14 UTC
erdogan
© REUTERS/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDISErdogan, after a funeral service for a victim of the coup, taken July 17.
At the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on.

The Turkish leader was returning to Istanbul from a holiday near the coastal resort of Marmaris after a faction in the military launched the coup attempt on Friday night, sealing off a bridge across the Bosphorus, trying to capture Istanbul's main airport and sending tanks to parliament in Ankara.

"At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him," a former military officer with knowledge of the events told Reuters.

"Why they didn't fire is a mystery," he said.


Comment: Interesting story, if true. But who is this "former military officer"? Was he booted out of the military by Erdogan, by any chance? If true, it begs the question: why didn't they fire? Did they have orders to the contrary? Did they refuse to follow orders to shoot? Any other options?

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Info

Behind the CIA's desperate Turkey coup attempt

F. William Engdahl
New Eastern Outlook
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:42 UTC
turkey coup
On the evening of July 15, a group of Turkish army officers announced that they had staged a military coup d'etat and had assumed control of the country. They claimed that Erdogan was in a desperate flight for his life and that they were now in the process of restoring order.

The only problem for those army officers and their sponsors far away in Langley, Virginia and Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania - where Turkish political operator, Fetullah Gülen, hides in exile under CIA protection - is that they did not succeed. Behind the coup attempt is a far more dramatic story of the huge geopolitical shift that the often unpredictable political survivor, President (still) Recep Erdogan, was in the midst of making when Gülen's loyalists made their desperate, now apparently failed coup attempt.

What follows is a series of Q&A remarks to the background of the dramatic events unfolding in a pivotal part of the geopolitical order.
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Attention

Coup aftermath: Turkish Army leaves Iraq

Leith Fadel
Al Masdar News
Sat, 16 Jul 2016 21:29 UTC
Turkish army
The Turkish Army officially left the Bashiqa Military Camp in Iraq on Friday after the attempted coup in Istanbul and Ankara put the entire country in a state of emergency.

The Turkey Army used the Bashiqa Military Camp to allegedly train militiamen to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS); however, the camp was often used to scope out members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
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Attention

RNC chaos after party ignores last-minute attempt to change convention rules


RT
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:23 UTC
republican convention
© Reuters Republican National Convention delegates yell and scream as the Republican National Committee Rules Committee announces that it will not hold a recorded vote on the Rules Committee's Report and rejects the efforts of anti-Trump forces to hold a roll-call vote, at the RNC in Cleveland, Ohio.
The GOP ignored a group seeking to change the rules for the Republican National Convention's presidential nominating process, which said it has enough signatures to force a vote on the matter.

A majority of delegates from ten states are prepared to demand a floor vote over convention rules, according to Delegates Unbound, the group organizing the rebellion.

"Despite every obstacle thrown in our way, the movement of all the stakeholders involved in this effort have gained a majority of the delegates in 10 states," said M. Dane Waters, co-founder of Delegates Unbound, in a statement. "Now we take this fight to the floor."

The vote is less about preventing Trump from becoming the official nominee, and is more about upending the convention planning and forcing the party establishment to recognize that all is not well.

"There is no convention, the highest authority of the Republican Party, until the delegates arrive and effectively create it," Delegates Unbound said in a statement. "In the same way one Congress cannot bind a future Congress to adopt certain policies or programs, it defies all sense to suggest that the convention that creates and governs the Republican Party can somehow be bound by rules established by a previous convention."
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Jet3

Two Turkish pilots who shot down Russian Su-24 arrested


Sputnik
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 21:16 UTC
Russian Su-24 jet
© REUTERS/ Shamil Zhumatov/Files
The bomber was shot down last November. Turkey claimed the Russian plane entered its airspace, while Russia categorically denied these accusations.

"Two Turkish pilots who shot down a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian border were taken into custody, according to a senior Turkish official speaking on condition of anonymity," Bloomberg reports, citing a high-level Turkish official.

One of the pilot's responsible for downing the Russian jet reportedly took part in last week's failed Turkish coup attempt.
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Nuke

Attempted military coup in Turkey poses question of American nuke security


Sputnik
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:25 UTC
Turkey coup with flag
© AP Photo/ Emrah Gurel
The attempted coup in Turkey this past Friday resulted in unexpected national security concerns for the United States. The purportedly spontaneous uprising called into question the security of American hydrogen bombs currently stored in a Turkish airbase.

Located in southeast Turkey, the Incirlik Airbase includes NATO's largest nuclear weapons storage facility. The American embassy in Ankara issued an "Emergency Message for US Citizens,"on Saturday morning, cautioning that "local authorities are denying movements on and off of" Incirlik and that power had been cut. US Air Force planes stationed at the base were prohibited from taking off, and the airbase had to rely on backup generators for power. The threat level reached FPCON Delta, the highest alert, usually declared after a terrorist attack or if an attack is deemed imminent.

Comment: Is the US really concerned that their nukes are vulnerable (after all they are there guarding them) or will it be a future excuse for some other plan?

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Attention

Seeing the light: French senators no longer back immediate resignation of Assad


Sputnik
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 20:09 UTC
Bashar Assad
© Sputnik/ Mikhail Voskresenskiy
Following the terrorist attack in Nice on July 14 which left at least 84 people dead, France is considering closer cooperation with Russia and no longer insisting on the immediate resignation of Bashar al-Assad as president of Syria, according to Izvestia newspaper.

The main contradiction between the EU and Russia in Syria is the position on Bashar Assad. However, after what happened in Nice, many in the Senate are in favor of temporary supporting him for uniting the coalition with Russia in fight against Daesh," French Senator and a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces, Yves Pozzo di Borgo told Izvestia newspaper.

He further said that it is time to stop saying that the problem is with Assad and focus on developing relations with Russia in Syria and generally in all international operations against terrorism.

"It is necessary to coordinate closer ties between Europe, the US and Russia because now it is clear that the phenomenon of Daesh is an international problem. We need solidarity and expertise in the fight against radical militants," di Borgo.
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Snakes in Suits

New UK prime minister Theresa May says threat from Russia is real


ITAR-TASS
Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:09 UTC
Theresa May
© EPA/ANDY RAIN
Threats from countries like Russia and North Korea remain real, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday.

"Threats from countries such as Russia and North Korea remain very real," she said.

"We need to be prepared to deter threats to our lives and our livelihoods and those of generations who are yet to be born," the prime minister added.

British lawmakers are currently considering the issue of modernizing the nuclear shield, which provides for the creation of a new submarine fleet equipped with the Trident missile systems.


Comment: Looks like more money on the way for the military/industrial complex.

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