Turkey thread: now stuffed with more authoritarianism!

[New Babylonia]

It seems Erdogan also demands the extradition of a former friend, now bitter rival and exile living in Pennsylvania, who he claims orchestrated the coup attempt. Somehow.

Now, didn't i read earlier people saying he's basically 'holding captive 1,000 US troops'?
Is it just me, or, is it just not the bad idea to try play the intimidation and extortion game with the strongest nation on the planet, regardless of who you are?
Sure, Russia or China could easily get away with it, for obvious reasons, but uh... you're not them, and turning into an authoritarian nutjob while trying to intimidate America, self proclaimed protector of democracy seems like it's not generally the best idea in the whole world.
But hey, what could go wrong right?

Is it just me?
It's probably just me.

[Camicon]

Thinking before one speaks is not desirable? You'd rather have people running their mouths without any thought to what they are saying?

I think you well know that's not the same thing.

Considering your response before you give it is literally thinking before you speak. And diplomacy is a realm which demands carefully considered responses at the best of times, let alone when a major military power and ally is experiencing extreme civil unrest.

[Imperializt Russia]

My suggested responses were "considered", based on the fact that a member of the US embassy staff presumably has a passing understanding of whether or not the country he works for will ditch the NATO membership of the country he works in - and can make a reasoned statement of "yes" or "no".

"In my opinion" and "I think" would have been "considered" responses and even better, non-official, but authoritative.

[Pope Joan]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

[Mike the Progressive]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

That tin foil hat you're wearing may be one size too small.

[Pope Joan]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

That tin foil hat you're wearing may be one size too small.

It's in the news, it's been suggested by Ankara. And it's not like we have not had our destabilizing finger in the pie with Libya, Syria and elsewhere.

[Imperializt Russia]

That tin foil hat you're wearing may be one size too small.

It's in the news, it's been suggested by Ankara. And it's not like we have not had our destabilizing finger in the pie with Libya, Syria and elsewhere.

We weren't allied with those states and they certainly weren't as closely allied as Turkey is, being a NATO member.

It's likely that many in the west were hopeful the coup would be successful, since Erdogan's been a thorn in everybody's side, but I sincerely doubt anyone would have had a hand in it.

[Herskerstad]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

Technically Obama did side with the 'democratically elected government'

Then again, he's been like this in just about every secular vs Islamist pitting in his office.

[Baltenstein]

That tin foil hat you're wearing may be one size too small.

It's in the news, it's been suggested by Ankara.

Those are the people who think that a 2nd rate German comedian's lame Erdogan poem is part of a greater anti-Turkish conspiracy. The Turkish government talks in almost nothing but conspiracy theories, while ironically being involved in quite a few illegal plots themselves.

[Olerand]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

Or because we were hoping they would succeed, but actually didn't help them. I think that's the truth.

Anyway, it appears Erdogan is willing to bring back the death penalty for the plotters, which is contrary to Turkey's engagements in the Council of Europe and its application for the EU.

[Novus America]

I do not hear the US or Europe condemning the plotters. All our negativity is directed against anticipated reprisals.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless we had a hand in the coup attempt?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 41151.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/us-denies-invo ... ot-1571028

Or because we were hoping they would succeed, but actually didn't help them. I think that's the truth.

Anyway, it appears Erdogan is willing to bring back the death penalty for the plotters, which is contrary to Turkey's engagements in the Council of Europe and its application for the EU.

Turkey's EU application has been a complete joke for some time.

[Olerand]

Or because we were hoping they would succeed, but actually didn't help them. I think that's the truth.

Anyway, it appears Erdogan is willing to bring back the death penalty for the plotters, which is contrary to Turkey's engagements in the Council of Europe and its application for the EU.

Turkey's EU application has been a complete joke for some time.

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

[Vassenor]

Turkey's EU application has been a complete joke for some time.

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

And in the process rubbishing another one of Vote Leave's scare stories.

[Cymrea]

Turkey's EU application has been a complete joke for some time.

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

If it ultimately fails, I have my money on Erdogan forming much closer ties to Russia.

[Olerand]

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

And in the process rubbishing another one of Vote Leave's scare stories.

If the Turkish application ends up in the dumpster of history, it won't be from a lack of British attempts to resuscitate it. Britain leaving forces Turkey's application into palliative care, thankfully for Europe.

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

If it ultimately fails, I have my money on Erdogan forming much closer ties to Russia.

A strong likelihood prior to Russian involvement in Syria. Turkish relations within Russia are significantly degraded, so Erdogan will have to waist a lot of time repairing those before anything else can happen.

[Novus America]

Turkey's EU application has been a complete joke for some time.

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

Still open on paper yes. And opening new chapters does not help Turkey when it keeps moving away from actually meeting the qualifications.

At this point the application is a legal fiction. People give it lip service but there is no chance of Turkey actually getting in the EU.

[Nea Videssos]

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

If it ultimately fails, I have my money on Erdogan forming much closer ties to Russia.

Putin has a long memory, and Erdogan would have to give up his involvement with Daesh and his anti-Assad dealings.

[Olerand]

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

Still open on paper yes. And opening new chapters does not help Turkey when it keeps moving away from actually meeting the qualifications.

At this point the application is a legal fiction. People give it lip service but there is no chance of Turkey actually getting in the EU.

Turkey's application was dead on submission. It is as alive today as it ever has been.

[Novus America]

But it is still open. And a part of Merkel's deal for the migrant crisis involves the opening of new chapters of adhesion. So it's still alive, albeit on life support. If Erdogan brings back the death penalty, its first victim will be his country's struggling application.

If it ultimately fails, I have my money on Erdogan forming much closer ties to Russia.

Turkey tried that already. Europe is not big enough for both Putin and Russia's ego. Plus they have conflicting strategic interests. Mmerely being authoritarian pariahs is not enough to bring them together.

[Novus America]

Still open on paper yes. And opening new chapters does not help Turkey when it keeps moving away from actually meeting the qualifications.

At this point the application is a legal fiction. People give it lip service but there is no chance of Turkey actually getting in the EU.

Turkey's application was dead on submission. It is as alive today as it ever has been.

Well it is still just as dead as it was on submission. But it has much less of a chance now. When Turkey first submitted Europe was more open to new members and Turkey a much more functional democracy.

[Baltenstein]

The moment new tensions in the Sunni-Shia relations arise, and they will, is the moment where Erdogan and Putin will become rivals again.

[The Archregimancy]

USA pls youre so good at assassinating people, as a turk I BEG YOU to just fucking 360 no scope the fuck out of Erdogan. Just send your 1337 troops and kill him already PLEASE

Hands up, open admission, I wasn't initially sure what to do with this post.

Is it trolling in the specific context of the Turkish coup attempt? Usually we warn for that sort of thing when an individual is advocating murder within his own country, or by his own countrymen. If this post was 'I want us Turks to fucking 360 no scope the fuck out of Erdogan', I'd likely take action. An individual stating that he would be happy for an external power to assassinate a politician, however, strikes me as an area where we have no real precedent.

However, as I thought this through, I thought "what would I do if a German wrote during a German political crisis 'Russia pls youre so good at assassinating people, as a German I BEG YOU to assassinate Merkel'". I would likely issue a warning.

The local or international popularity of the political figure is irrelevant here; that we have very few (if any) Erdogan supporters here is also irrelevant; calling for the foreign assassination of your own democratically elected president strikes me as trolling.

Therefore *** warned for trolling. ***

And given your existing record, I was arguably lenient there.

[Geilinor]

6,000 people detained, 9,000 govnerment employees removed from position (including many local elected officials) and additional 8,000 police officers have been fired.

The Turkish Purge has begun.

[Geilinor]

He's suspended about 12,000 law enforcement, judges and other officials for no explicit reason and is considering reinstating the death penalty for the coup plotters and indeed rank and file servicemen.

Considering the nature of coups as being fairly treasonous acts, I wouldn't blame him. As for the suspension, again not surprising considering what just occurred under his nose. If he didn't react harshly, it would only worsen things for him.

If he tries to further go after the media and democratic rights, I will blame him.

[Milizewe]

Is it really fair to expect them to be Western regardless of any chance of further adhesion the EU?

If it was never on the table Erdo has every right to bring back the death penalty.