[Robert DeLong]

While I do not think having a beer with Geraldo is an airtight alibi, neither do I believe the allegation that retired U.S. Army General J.F. Campbell had any involvement.

I'm more inclined to believe that Erdogan had a hand in setting up a coup that could be easily squashed so as to purge his staunchest opponents.

[grania]

We really don't know. Add to that US involvement in every regime change protest, from northern Africa, through the Mideast, and in Kiev. We can't say "the US would never do that".

An important aspect that's being ignored is that Turkey is a NATO nation. Who initiated the attempted coup doesn't change how troubling it is that by treaty we're obligated to defend them.

[PCPOET7]

I look at the timing of the coup and it was done at a point when the united states was least likely to interfere with turkey in there clamp down and purge after words... we now have a real caliph when you combine turkey and the lands controlled by isil.
I really do think that isil has been a creation of Turkish intelligence and Islamists within turkey. this has been the culmination of six years of effort from turkey to create a Islamist state and our president helped in this effort or he at least ignored it.