Türkiye: Did the Sultan know everything?

Translation: Voodoo Village

Everything suggests that God uses FaceTimeIt was through an iconic sequence of images shot on an iPhone, from an unknown location and broadcast live on CNN Turkey by a completely clueless anchor, that Erdogan managed to summon his legion of followers to the streets, unleash People Power, and defeat the military faction that had seized state television and declared that it had taken power.

God therefore works through mysterious mobile cellular pathways. Erdogan's call mobilized even the young Turks who had protested furiously against him in Gezi Park; who had been subjected to tear gas and water cannon fire by his police; who find the party detestable. AKPThe ruler; but that they would support Erdogan against a “fascist military coup.” Not to mention that virtually every mosque across Turkey echoed Erdogan's call.

The official version from Ankara is that the coup was perpetrated by a small faction of military officers commanded remotely by the exiled Pennsylvania cleric Fethullah Gulen – who was himself an agent of the... CIAThe authorship remains to be proven; but what is certain is that the coup was... remix Turkish The Three StoogesThe real fools appear to be the already detained commander of the 2nd Army, General Adem Huduti; the commander of the 3rd Army, Erdal Ozturk; and the former Air Force commander, Akin Ozturk.

As former hyper-excited agents of CIA They were frantically teaching on American networks – and if anyone understands regime change, it's those people! – that the number one rule in coups is to target and isolate the head of the snake. But the clever head of the Turkish snake, this time, was in an uncertain and unknown location. Not to mention that no high-ranking general capable of sounding sufficiently patriotic and convincing went on state TV to explain the reasons for the coup.

The coup plotters did indeed target the intelligence services – whose main positions are at Istanbul airport, the presidential palace in Ankara, and near the ministries. They used Cobra helicopters – with pilots trained in the US – against those targets. They also targeted the army's high command – which for the last eight years has been appointed by Erdogan and does not enjoy the confidence of the mid-ranking officers.

While they occupied the Bosphorus bridges in Istanbul, they appeared to be in contact with the military police – which extends throughout Turkey and maintains strong links within the force itself. But in the end, it became clear that they lacked both the numbers and the necessary preparation. All the key ministries seemed to communicate with each other as the coup unfolded, as did the intelligence services. And as far as the Turkish police are concerned, they are now a kind of praetorian guard for the [party]. AKP.

Meanwhile, Erdogan's Gulfstream 4, flight TK8456, took off from Bodrum airport at 1:43 AM and flew over northeastern Turkey with its transponder on, completely undisturbed. It was from his presidential plane, while still on the ground, that Erdogan spoke on behalf of the nation. FaceTimeThen, from the air, he orchestrated the counter-coup. The plane never left Turkish airspace – always visible to civilian and military radar. The coup plotters' F-16 jets could easily have tracked and incinerated it. Instead, they sent military helicopters to bomb the presidential residence in Bodrum hours after Erdogan had left the premises.

The snake's head certainly knew, 100% certain, that getting on that plane and remaining in Turkish airspace was as safe as chewing on a(n) BaklavaEven more astonishingly, the Gulfstream landed in complete safety in Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday morning – despite the prevailing idea that the airport was occupied by “rebels”.

In Ankara, the “rebels” used a mechanized division and two commandos. Around Istanbul, there was a full army; the 3rd commando is actually integrated into NATO's rapid response forces. This 3rd commando provided the armored vehicles. Leopard positioned at key points in Istanbul – who, for the record, did not open fire.

And yet the two key armies positioned on the borders with Syria and Iran remained in "wait and see" mode. Then, at 2 a.m., the also key command of the 7th army, based in Diyarbakir – tasked with fighting against the guerrillas of PKK– He declared his loyalty to Erdogan. It was the exact, crucial moment when Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that a no-fly zone had been established over Ankara.

It meant that Erdogan was in control of the skies. And that the game was over. Mysterious are the movements of history: the no-fly zone that Erdogan had dreamed of for so long, over Aleppo or over the Syrian-Turkish border, ended up materializing over his own capital.

"Arrest the usual suspects"

The US position was extremely ambiguous from the start. With the coup already underway, the US embassy in Turkey called it a “Turkish uprising.” Secretary of State John Kerry, in Moscow to discuss Syria, also held back his efforts. NATO remained majestically silent. Only when there was no longer any doubt that the coup had failed did President Obama and the “NATO allies” officially proclaim their “support for the democratically elected government.”

Erdogan, the “Sultan,” returned to the fray with fury. He immediately went live on CNN Turkey and demanded that Washington hand over Gulen, even without any proof that he was responsible for the coup. And the demand carried an embedded threat: “If you want to continue having free access to the Incirlik air base, you have to hand over Gulen to me.” It’s hard not to recall a recent story, when the US under Dick Cheney, in 2001, demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, without any proof that he was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

Therefore, all odds point to the possibility that Erdogan's intelligence services knew that a coup was being planned; and the shrewd sultan let it happen, knowing it would fail because the coup plotters had very limited support. One could even say that he knew – in advance – that even the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party, whose members Erdogan is trying to expel from Parliament, would support the government in the name of democracy.

Two additional facts lend even more credibility to this hypothesis. Earlier in the week, Erdogan signed a law guaranteeing immunity to soldiers who take part in domestic security operations – such as anti-domestic violence actions.PKK; it is an action aimed at improving relations between the government of AKP And the army. And Turkey's highest court of justice, HSYK, expelled no fewer than 2.745 judges from the judiciary following an extraordinary post-coup session. This can only mean that the list was prepared in advance.

The main immediate geopolitical consequence of the coup is that Erdogan now seems to have miraculously regained his “strategic depth”—as the now-defunct former Prime Minister Davutoglu would say. Not only externally—after the miserable collapse of his two “policies,” towards the Middle East and the Kurds—but also internally. For all practical purposes, Erdogan now controls the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary—and he won't be taking prisoners in the military purge. Ladies and gentlemen, the Sultan is... in the house.

This means that the neo-Ottoman project is still underway – but now under massive tactical reorientation. The real “enemy” now is the Syrian Kurds – not Russia and Israel (nor ISIS(but these, to begin with, never were). Erdogan is going hunting for YPG, which for him is merely an extension of PKKHis priority is to prevent, by all means, the creation of an autonomous state entity in northeastern Syria – a “Kurdistan” established as a second Israel with US support. To achieve this, he lacks some kind of... entente cordial with Damascus – essentially insisting that Syria must preserve its territorial integrity. And it also means, of course, renewed dialogue with Russia.

So… what is it? CIA What have you been doing?

Needless to say, Ankara and Washington are now on a proven collision course. If there is an Empire of Chaos hidden within the coup – the murder weapon has yet to be found – it certainly comes from the neoconservative/political axis.CIA...not the lame-duck Obama administration. Currently, Erdogan's leverage is limited to access to the Incirlik air base. But his paranoia is growing: for him, Washington is doubly suspect because it protects Gulen and supports... YPG.

Hell knows no fury like that of an underestimated sultan. Despite all his recent geopolitical follies, Erdogan's charade of simultaneously reconnecting with Israel and Russia is eminently pragmatic. He knows he needs Russia for the Turkish Stream pipeline and to build nuclear power plants; and he needs Israeli gas to consolidate Turkey's role as a key energy transit hub between East and West.

When one hears, crucially, that Iran supported the Turks' "valiant defense of democracy," as Foreign Minister Zarif tweeted, it becomes clear how Erdogan, in just a few weeks, has reshaped the entire regional landscape. This suggests Eurasian integration, and Turkey deeply connected to the New Silk Roads – not NATO. It's no surprise that the government in Washington, on Beltway – for whom, above all, Erdogan is the proverbial "erratic and unreliable ally" – is completely hysterical. That dream of Turkish colonels under the direct command of... CIA It's over – at least, for the foreseeable future.

So, what about Europe? Yildirim has already said that Turkey may reintroduce the death penalty – to be applied to coup plotters. This means...bye bye EU. E bye bye The European Parliament's approval of visa-free travel for Turks traveling within Europe. Erdogan has finally obtained what he wanted from Chancellor Merkel: those 6 billion euros to contain the refugee crisis that he essentially triggered. Merkel staked her family's estate on Erdogan. Now, she's talking to herself – and the Sultan speaks directly to God.FaceTime.