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It's my understanding that he's been putting his own people in high military positions for a while now. So it's not surprising that he could have short circuite

It's my understanding that he's been putting his own people in high military positions for a while now. So it's not surprising that he could have short circuited the coup mechanism. Having said that, I stayed up watching the whole thing, and it never felt very real. There's no way you're going to fire on people in the streets with a helicopter but not shoot down the president's plane. Hell, they didn't even arrest the Parliament.

Osiris 10y ago
And the President got exactly what he wanted out it, an increase in popular support and a consolidation of power. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he had a hand in his own coup attempt as a way to solidify his grasp on power.
- shard972 10y ago
  Well this is the same president who had his officials caught red handed a couple years ago planning a false flag on themselves to start a war in syria. Not the craziest thing to say he would setup a coup against himself.
  - tim333 10y ago
    It seems quite likely to me. Like why launch the coup at prime time, arrest zero government members, leave most TV stations running and not fire on Erdogan's plane? Also the guy who "allegedly gave the order that set the coup in motion" was one of Erdogan's AKP mates brother. Just today the guy who bombed the parliament was testifying and said he was instructed to drop a bomb in the parliament garden. I mean why bomb the garden if not for theater? What I'm wondering is where things go from here and if anyone can do anything about it. I'm guessing the likes of the NSA probably have some info on who did what if they feel like using it.
afsina 10y ago
Very few of the army generals were his supporters. From now on surely numbers will go up. But it is clear that for more than 20 years it was Gulen who put his followers to police force, army and all state departments (especially justice) semi-secretly. It was a network of people who collected information and kept things moving according to their agenda. Besides, there are sensible explanations why his plane was not shut down etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt#Reasons_for_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_d%27%C3%A9ta...
- Ressuder 10y ago
  I get scared when I hear how many Turkish people talk about the Gülenist movement. The similarities to communism in the US during the 50s and 60s is striking. Sure, based on a "true story" but in the same way that the movie 300 is.
  - afsina 10y ago
    Can you blame people? That is a consequence they should have been thought of before being involved with a coup.
    - yxhuvud 10y ago
      How exactly was all those teachers involved in the coup? No, that kind of group think is a consequence of not having proper freedom of press and proper freedom of association in the country. Which in turn is a consequence of voting for Erdogan (even if not everything was roses on that front before Erdogan, to be fair).
      - afsina 10y ago
        Did I say they were involved? Most likely they were clueless. I meant once the the decision makers of the movement are even slightly involved with this, people will blame it all. This is a natural reaction. Besides, on the flip side, movement has more serious `group think` issues than others.
        yxhuvud 10y ago
        You said > That is a consequence they should have been thought of before being involved with a coup. The teachers and other of the movement that wasn't involved in any wrongdoing are still part of those getting hit by the witch hunt.
      - fatihpense 10y ago
        If they weren't involved that is OK. But if they supported this organisation in anyway it should be examined. Of course every legal action should be taken with evidence. Legal action was ongoing and slow. And I was supporting event-based trials not something like witch hunt. However after the coup attempt any state would take drastic actions to secure itself. And don't forget that most of the people supports this. (They bombed national council!). There are many background events you may or may not know, like mobbing other soldiers to resign, stealing questions of state entrance exam and sharing in their secretive organisation, businesses were threatened etc. Imagine something like that happens in a (rich) western country. It is hard to imagine, because they wouldn't allow it from the beginning... Situation is not clear and not black&white. In Turkey people try to choose lesser evil every time.

Osiris 10y ago

And the President got exactly what he wanted out it, an increase in popular support and a consolidation of power. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he had a hand in his own coup attempt as a way to solidify his grasp on power.

shard972 10y ago
Well this is the same president who had his officials caught red handed a couple years ago planning a false flag on themselves to start a war in syria. Not the craziest thing to say he would setup a coup against himself.
- tim333 10y ago
  It seems quite likely to me. Like why launch the coup at prime time, arrest zero government members, leave most TV stations running and not fire on Erdogan's plane? Also the guy who "allegedly gave the order that set the coup in motion" was one of Erdogan's AKP mates brother. Just today the guy who bombed the parliament was testifying and said he was instructed to drop a bomb in the parliament garden. I mean why bomb the garden if not for theater? What I'm wondering is where things go from here and if anyone can do anything about it. I'm guessing the likes of the NSA probably have some info on who did what if they feel like using it.

afsina 10y ago

Very few of the army generals were his supporters. From now on surely numbers will go up. But it is clear that for more than 20 years it was Gulen who put his followers to police force, army and all state departments (especially justice) semi-secretly. It was a network of people who collected information and kept things moving according to their agenda. Besides, there are sensible explanations why his plane was not shut down etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt#Reasons_for_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Turkish_coup_d%27%C3%A9ta...

Ressuder 10y ago
I get scared when I hear how many Turkish people talk about the Gülenist movement. The similarities to communism in the US during the 50s and 60s is striking. Sure, based on a "true story" but in the same way that the movie 300 is.
- afsina 10y ago
  Can you blame people? That is a consequence they should have been thought of before being involved with a coup.
  - yxhuvud 10y ago
    How exactly was all those teachers involved in the coup? No, that kind of group think is a consequence of not having proper freedom of press and proper freedom of association in the country. Which in turn is a consequence of voting for Erdogan (even if not everything was roses on that front before Erdogan, to be fair).
    - afsina 10y ago
      Did I say they were involved? Most likely they were clueless. I meant once the the decision makers of the movement are even slightly involved with this, people will blame it all. This is a natural reaction. Besides, on the flip side, movement has more serious `group think` issues than others.
      - yxhuvud 10y ago
        You said > That is a consequence they should have been thought of before being involved with a coup. The teachers and other of the movement that wasn't involved in any wrongdoing are still part of those getting hit by the witch hunt.
    - fatihpense 10y ago
      If they weren't involved that is OK. But if they supported this organisation in anyway it should be examined. Of course every legal action should be taken with evidence. Legal action was ongoing and slow. And I was supporting event-based trials not something like witch hunt. However after the coup attempt any state would take drastic actions to secure itself. And don't forget that most of the people supports this. (They bombed national council!). There are many background events you may or may not know, like mobbing other soldiers to resign, stealing questions of state entrance exam and sharing in their secretive organisation, businesses were threatened etc. Imagine something like that happens in a (rich) western country. It is hard to imagine, because they wouldn't allow it from the beginning... Situation is not clear and not black&white. In Turkey people try to choose lesser evil every time.