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The Erdogan regime continues to play with fire renewing accusations that the United States spearheaded a complex conspiracy to overthrow the Turkish government. A Turkish prosecutor claims that the CIA and FBI provided training to followers of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara initially called the “mastermind” of the failed attempt to overthrow the Erdogan regime on July 15 that left hundreds dead and thousands more wounded. An indictment, prepared by the Edirne Public Prosecutor’s office and submitted to the local Second Heavy Penal Court, seeks the harshest possible punishment for 43 suspected coup plotters. In the indictment, the...

A year ago Turkey had an election and over the course of a single day Turkish expatriots were able to vote abroad in person at Embassies, including Tokyo. Turks living all over Japan came from afar to vote, all lining up in front of the Turkish Embassy near the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. A riot broke out between ethnic Kurdish Turks and other Turkish ethnic persuasions --riots are EXTREMELY rare in Tokyo. 9 people including police officers were injured, vehicle windows of city dwellers and police were violently smashed. Deeply unsurprising video shows all. Video shows probably over half of...

If you watched the last two weeks of national party conventions, you can only come to one conclusion. We are way off track as a county and certainly living in "Perilous Times". Unlike Bill Clinton who fell asleep during his own wife's acceptance speech, try to stay awake for this important update on the state of the world from Philly to Incirik. In this week's update, John looks at the turmoil in Turkey, where Erdogan is making his move to change Turkey, a NATO ally, from a secular state into an Islamic regime. Turkey is a land bridge between the...

The Turkish Incirlik airbase in Adana, Turkey, which houses NATO forces, U.S. forces and at least 50 nuclear devices, experienced massive protests this week, yet the media and President Barack Obama have been conspicuously silent.

Last Saturday, during lunch with Scott Richert and Aaron Wolf at Rockford’s Prairie Street Brewhouse, I expressed suspicion that the coup in Turkey—just over 24 hours old at that time, and in the final stages of collapse—was Erdogan’s Reichstag fire: a stage-managed event, carried out by clueless stooges, meant to enhance the power of the manipulative autocrat who was its ostensible target.

Mid the cacophony of police sirens, low-flying helicopters and rifle fire, there was another sound during the attempt to overthrow president Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The wailing of Turkey’s imams. From the nations’s 85,000 mosques, their amplified voices were heard calling upon the faithful to take to the streets and defy the plotters. The people listened. Some bravely stood in front of tanks as they defended the democratically elected president. Around 240 from both sides died and 1,400 were injured. For others the night presented different opportunities as hardline Muslim Sunnis, whipped up to a frenzy, targeted Turkey’s Christian community. In...

Some 7,000 armed police with heavy vehicles have surrounded and blocked the Incirlik air base in Adana used by NATO forces, already restricted in the aftermath of a failed coup. Unconfirmed reports say troops were sent to deal with a new coup attempt. Hurriyet reported earlier that Adana police had been tipped off about a new coup attempt, and forces were immediately alerted. The entrance to the base was closed off. Security forces armed with rifles and armored TOMA vehicles used by Turkish riot police could be seen at the site in photos taken by witnesses....

Visitor posts: Maryanne Lavelle Today at 4:35pm.Everyone is a panic about why there are police at the airbase right now and the entrances blocked. Can you give us an update of what's going on? Edin Sokan Today at 4:28pm.According to a local news Turkish police have closed all access to Incirlik airbase ( 10th Tank Base)

The Turkish Incirlik airbase in Adana, Turkey, which houses NATO forces, U.S. forces and at least 50 nuclear devices, experienced massive protests this week, yet the media and President Barack Obama have been conspicuously silent. Turkish citizens stormed the base, protesting U.S. presence there. RT reported that regional media was covering the protests, and social media reports indicated that there may have been up to 1,000 protesters present. According to RT, protesters were heard yelling anti-America and anti-Israel slogans and seen burning the U.S. and Israeli flag. According to the U.S. State Department, the consulate was closed during the protests.

[Original title too long: American Soldiers At Incirlik AFB In Turkey Are Under Active Siege Right Now By Erdogan, All Food, Water, And Power Has Been Cut To The Base] While Americans are bickering about the election this November, what we predicted two weeks ago is under way right now: a repeat of the horrors of Ben Ghazi. So far I have not received reports about the status of the soldiers, or that Incirlik AFB in Turkey has been taken over by Erdogan. However, the situation is not good and is actively worsening. This does not just come from “on...

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan’s purge of political enemies after a counterfeit coup attempt has compromised U.S. led operations against the Islamic State. Many of the senior Turkish officers who were working with the United States have been either removed from military service or jailed. After the staged coup, President Erdogan began purging the military, with approximately 1,700 military personnel receiving dishonorable discharges including nearly half of the nation’s admirals and generals. The Turkish military had traditionally been the vanguard against the country being taken over by a dictator. Erdogan, however, greatly increased the size and strength of Turkey’s national police...

The dire dimensions of the punitive measures instituted by Erdogan are beyond any limit conceivable in a state ruled by law. Over 2,000 entities suspected of having ties with Gulen have been shut down, including fifteen universities, 19 labor unions, 1,043 private schools, 1,229 foundations and 35 hospitals and health institutions. The list of persons arrested is also beyond belief: No fewer than 8,000 military personnel, 2,000 magistrates and 1,500 policemen. In total, the number of individuals thrown in jail exceeds 80,000. A large number of them are academics. Education in Turkey has been decimated. Among others, 21,000 teachers from...

What you see on the news from Turkey are protesters shouting anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, but what most are not seeing are the convoys headed towards the Incirlik base where U.S. Air Force is stationed to stage a massive rally against the U.S.: A convoy of massive numbers of vehicles headed towards Incirlik where US Air Force are stationed. It is not only demonstrators who are moving toward Incirlik Air Base in the southern Turkish city of Adana for anti-U.S. protests, but images circulating on Twitter on July 28 show convoys of Muslim Brotherhood supporters heading that way. The base...

The Good Fairy How Merkel clarified the situation on the Bosporus, how our life is being changed, and why Boris Johnson is an unfortunate choice of bogeyman The Week in Review by Hans Heckel July 23, 2016 Why is the man still in power? Wasn’t the era of Erdogan trending to its close last summer already? The Turkish strongman had lost his absolute majority in the June, 2015 elections. And coalitions do not enter into the calculations of someone who is interested in holding all the power. So new elections were set for November 1, 2015. But the polls showed...

Egyptian lawmakers Monday urged Cairo to grant political asylum to US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen accused of plotting the failed military coup against Turkish President Erdogan, in a move that would further strain relations between the two countries, reports say. Egypt has refused to condemn the failed military coup which occurred July 15 as diplomatic feud between the two countries plays out. Egyptian lawmaker Emad Mahrous reportedly called on al-Sisi’s cabinet to grant Gulen asylum in Egypt as Turkish authorities called on Washington to extradite the Turkish preacher. “[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is giving shelter to hundreds of leaders...

The Turkish leader is attempting to get a tactical advantage over the US and EU, playing the hero for his domestic audience and to get his hands on Fethullah Gulen, political scientist from the Helwan University in Cairo, Dr. Maged Botros, told RT. Turkey has banned all academics from leaving the country as the crackdown following the failed coup intensifies. *snip* Many Western leaders have called for "restraint and moderation" after Erdogan began his crackdown. The US Secretary of Defense has pledged allegiance to Ankara when asked whether Turkey's NATO membership could be affected by the recent turn of events....

Tue Jul 26, 2016 | 2:58 AM EDT U.S. Embassy says family of staff authorised to depart Turkey (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Ankara said on Tuesday the State Department has authorised the voluntary departure of employees' family members in Turkey after a failed military

Much has been made of the Islamic State’s claim to the caliphate. But the Islamic State is fast losing ground in Syria and Iraq, and without a territorial claim, its claim to the caliphate is a shaky one. According to some sources, ISIS has already been preparing its followers for the fall of the caliphate. Meanwhile, an Islamist power with a much better claim to the caliphate has been gathering strength. Whether the failed coup in Turkey was the real thing or whether it was staged, as some have claimed, President Erdogan’s hold over the Turkish nation has been immeasurably...

Video LinkInteresting interview discussing the nuclear weapons in Turkey among other things.Van Hipp is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army.

The United States Army, one of the architects of the recent Turkey coup plot, would have built a new military base at the zero point of the Turkey-Syria border, if coup plotters were successful in overtaking the power of the military, intelligence, police security, legislative and judiciary institutions in Turkey. The junta regime would have allowed the U.S. military to establish a military base near the Syrian border, if the coup didn't fail, sources said. As millions of Turks continue to swarm to the streets after foiling a military coup attempt, shocking information about coup planners and their masterminds continue...