Incirlik Airbase, the staging ground for an American nuclear
arsenal is not too far from the Syrian border and a security crisis could lead
to another move against Erdogan. An ISIS attack whether real or feigned could
grant the military and/or the NATO establishment justification or a rationale
for intervention. That's a possibility as is an assassination. I wouldn't be
surprised by either.
It is also noteworthy that the US media is doing all it can
to ignore Incirlik and the growing tensions surrounding the base. The coup was
intimately connected with the location and Erdogan has it all but under siege.
What can he do? If he expels the Americans, Turkey will be out of NATO and his
country will implode and be invaded. If he lets them stay, it's like leaving a
cancer untreated. One is reminded of de Gaulle in France and his exit from the
NATO command. Of course in his case the US allied and backed OAS had already
tried to assassinate him.
Erdogan knows all this and I'm certain is doing all he can to
protect himself and the regime. If he had any doubts the US was plotting
against him, those doubts are removed. NATO itself is now in peril, all the
more when one considers the possibility of a Trump presidency. The situation is
volatile to say the least.
The US media continues to attack Erdogan for his suppression
of civil rights and journalism. This is laughable. Previous military
governments backed by the US were just as harsh, not to mention US-connected
paramilitary units have murdered journalists for many years. The media is
spinning this story and has no interest in fleshing out the larger tale.
The coup plotters are not made out to be villains and though
Gülen is now mentioned in the media, I have yet to hear any serious reports
regarding his empire and/or activities. In fact they seem to keep recycling the
image of a docile if not frail old man talking in a calm and collected voice,
denying any involvement. The image presented of Gülen makes it almost
impossible to believe he could be behind anything so sinister. I would argue he
is the figurehead of a large Pan-Turkic/Islamic movement. His role is strategic
not tactical.
For a long time I have argued against the pseudo-news
narrative embraced by many conspiracists. What I mean is there are some who
think the news is nothing but lies and outright manipulation. I've always
believed the news to be manipulated by omission and failing to contextualise.
But increasingly I am surprised by the severe dishonesty which seems to
dominate. Lately there are times when it seems to be nothing more than lies.
The news industry of the Sodomite Empire backs the
progressive agenda in terms of domestic morality but when it comes to
geopolitics and the police state, the US media is thoroughly neo-fascistic. I
say neo- because there are elements that have changed.
The old hausfrau
has been transformed into the assertive bare-armed and short-skirted feminist,
the 'perfect' synthesis of the empowered woman who is assertive and dominating
and yet also thoroughly exploited and exhibitionist. American collective memory
is so short, the 'conservative' impulse now extends only to the Cold War era
and its values are now understood as traditionalist... even when they were
actually a rejection of 'old' American values.
American culture has created a unique but unsustainable
hybrid that conflates consumer narcissism with fierce and sacrificial devotion
to the state. They don't go together and in fact are a perfect reflection of
the destructive schizophrenia that imperils this society.
I wrote this several days ago. Since then we've learned more....
ReplyDeleteErdogan was within minutes of being assassinated. Whether these figures were actual CIA or not... the jury is still out. I would say probably not but that doesn't mean they weren't assets.
Russia warned of the coup. They had picked up transmissions... certainly the NSA picked them up as well. Why didn't they warn Erdogan?
The answer is obvious.
I think he's afraid and very angry and so he's turning this into a mini-Cultural Revolution.
I don't think he cares what the Western media has to say. What does he have to lose?
And besides he knows the history of the country, the role of the military, paramilitaries, and journalism.