Cohen
says the media at large is doing a huge disservice to the American
people by ignoring the substance of Trump's arguments about NATO and
Russia, and buying the Clinton campaign's simplistic smear that Trump
is a Russian "Manchurian candidate."
"That
reckless branding of Trump as a Russian agent, most of it is coming
from the Clinton campaign," Cohen said. "And they really
need to stop."
"We're
approaching a Cuban Missile Crisis level nuclear confrontation with
Russia," he explained. "And there is absolutely no
discussion, no debate, about this in the American media."
"Then
along comes, unexpectedly, Donald Trump," he continued, "Who
says he wants to end the New Cold War, and cooperate with Russia in
various places... and --astonishingly-- the media is full of what
only can be called neo-McCarthyite charges that he is a Russian
agent, that he is a Manchurian candidate, and that he is Putin's
client."
"This
is a moment when there should be, in a presidential year, a debate,"
he said. "And that is not what we are given in the media today."
"Let's
go back to what you said Trump said about NATO," Cohen also
said. "Trump said early on, he wanted to know, 60 years after
its foundation, what was NATO's mission today. 100 policy wonks in
Washington since the end of the Soviet Union, 25 years ago, have
asked the same question. Is NATO an organization in search of a
mission?"
"That's
a legitimate question --but we don't debate it. We don't ask it. We
just say, oh, Trump wants to abandon NATO."
Turkish
Police Block Access to NATO's Incirlik Air Base - Home of US Nukes
All
inputs and outputs to the Incirlik Air Base located in Adana have
been closed as Turkish Minister of European Affairs cautions that it
is just a "safety inspection" while local newspapers
speculate that a second coup attempt may be underway.
Some
7,000 armed police with heavy vehicles have surrounded and
blocked the Incirlik air base in Adana used by NATO forces,
already restricted in the aftermath of a failed coup.
Unconfirmed reports say troops were sent to deal with a new
coup attempt.
According
to the Turkish Minister for European Affairs, Omer Celik,
this is just a routine "safety inspection." Hurriyet,
by contrast, reports that anti-terror police received reports
of a second attempt by Gulenists to overthrow the
Erdogan regime.
Incirlik
Air Base, located in the province of Adana, is a critical
NATO base in Turkey. The US maintains 50 to 90 tactical
nuclear weapons at the base.
Local
media has focused on the base after the failed coup
in Turkey occurred the night of July 15. Although the main
scenes of the events were Istanbul and Ankara, Incirlik was shut
down for a time by local authorities shortly after the
putsch, and several Turkish soldiers from the base were deemed
by Turkish officials to be involved in the overthrow
attempt.
The
lockdown at Incirlik follows a massive wave of protests
on Thursday when pro-Erdogan nationalists took to the
streets yelling "death to the US" and called for the
immediate closure of the Incirlik base. Security personnel
dispersed the protesters before they were able to make it
to the base.
The
massive presence of armed police supported by heavy
vehicles calls into question the Turkish government's official
line that the lock down at the Incirlik base is merely a "safety
inspection."
The
situation continues to develop in front of NATO's
Incirlik Air Base as more heavy trucks have been dispatched
to surround and block access to the critical military
facility that is at the heart of the defense alliance's air
campaign to combat terror in Syria.
Turkish
European Affairs Minister took to Twitter to once again
assert that there was a "general security check"
at Incirlik Air Base and that "nothing is wrong"
there.
A
big fat nothing from western news agencies, but this from the BBC.
Turkey's
president has said he wants to close the nation's military academies
and put the spy agency and the military chief of staff under his own
control.
Recep
Tayyip Erdogan said the proposals would be brought before parliament.
The
measures are the latest in a large-scale crackdown launched after the
failed coup on 15 July.
The
authorities say Fetullah Gulen was behind the army-led coup in which
at least 246 people died. The US-based cleric denies the allegation
When
I think of the recent developments in the USA (Dallas shooting,
Orlando shooting) and Europe (Nice, murdered priest, Germany
shooting) I get this unpleasant feeling that something is not quite
right. For one thing, the perpetrators are absolutely ridiculous:
pseudo-Muslims who turn out to be drinking homosexuals, ex-patients
of mental institutions – the kind of people I call “overnight
Muslims”: they all make darn sure to say Allahu Akbar a number of
times, but other than that, they have no sign of Islam at all. In
fact, far from being trained Daesh fighters, they are all losers with
weak personalities. Exactly the kind of people the special services
(and religious sects) like to prey on because they are weak and easy
to manipulate. Oh yes, I know, the good folk a Daesh do end up
claiming that the perpetrator is one of them, but that really proves
nothing (except maybe that Daesh is desperate to increase its
notoriety).
I
have no proof of that, of course, but I am getting the very strong
feeling that somebody is putting great deal of effort to scare the
bejesus out of the TV-watching crowd. But why? Why would anybody go
to the effort to create a completely fictional threat?
And
should we really dismiss all the innumerable witnesses who speak of
“more than one shooter”? What about the absolutely ridiculous
police “overkill” when hundred of policemen are sent in to deal
with one single shooter. Does that not strike you as odd? Am I the
only one with the feeling that what is shown to us is a carefully
choreographed show?
Then
there is the canard about the Islamic threat. Okay, it is true that
all these islamo-terrorists told the cops, and anybody else willing
to listen, that they are killing infidels for the greater glory of
God. That reminds me of the passports helpfully found in NY on 9/11
(and at the Charlie-Hebdo attacks) or how the alleged
Islamic-terrorists of 9/11 left copies of the Quran in the bars were
they were getting “lap dances”. The problem with all that
nonsense is that there is exactly zero real evidence that any of
these terrorists had any real Islamic education or beliefs. Besides,
even if every single one of them turned out to be a deeply religious
and pious Muslim, that would hardly prove anything. The IRA was
“Roman Catholic” and yet nobody spoke of a “Catholic threat”.
True, there is a very real threat to the entire Middle-East from the
Daesh crazies (yes, the very same ones whom the US wants the Russians
to stop bombing), but there is no evidence whatsoever of any real
subordination/coordination between the Takfiris in the Middle-East
and the perpetrators of the recent mass murders in the USA and
Europe.
The
cui bono, of course, immediately points to those interests who
desperately want the prop-up the shaky “Islamic threat” myth: the
Zionists, of course, but also the Neocons elites in the USA and the
EU.
Think
of it: their great hope was that Russia would “invade” the
Donbass (or, even better, the entire Ukraine) and liberate it from
the Nazi crazies the Neocons put in power in Kiev. Such a Russian
move would have been used as a “proof” that the evil revanchist
Russkies are about to rebuilt to Soviet Union, invade Eastern Europe
and maybe even drive their tanks to the English channel. And if
enough people would buy the “Russian threat” theory, they would
also have to accept larger military budgets (to further fatten the US
MIC) and more US forces deployed in Eastern Europe (where they would
provide a much needed, and sometimes only, source of income). Then
all the internal problems of Europe could be blamed on, or at least
eclipsed by, the Russian threat (in the “Putin wants a Brexit”
style). But that irritating Putin did not take the bait and now
Europe is stuck without a credible threat to terrorize people with.
NATO, of course, and its prostitute-colonies in the Baltics and
Poland, likes to pretend that a Russian invasion is imminent, but
nobody really believes this. According to some polls, even the people
in the Baltics are dubious about the reality of a Russian threat
(forget Poland: a country with a national hero like Pilsudski is a
hopeless case).
But
then, almost at the same moment when the Neocons came to realize that
the Russians were not taking the bait, the steady flow of refugees
coming from the Middle-East and Africa suddenly sharply increased,
courtesy of the mayhem and chaos created by the Neocon policies in
the Middle-East. How long do you think it took the rulers of the
Empire to realize the fantastic opportunity this influx of refugees
had just created for them?
First,
this wave of refugees creates a series of major social problems which
all could be used to provide distractions from the massive
credibility crisis and economic woes of the EU. No matter how bad
the economic indicators are, you can always “hide them” behind a
headline like “Refugee rapes 79yo woman at German cemetery” (true
case, just click on the link to see for yourself).
Second,
just at the time when the ruling comprador elites of the EU are
threatened by popular discontent, the refugee crisis creates the
perfect pretext to adopt emergency legislation and, possibly,
introduce martial law.
Third,
the worse the crisis in Europe becomes, the better it is for the US
Dollar which becomes the safe(r) currency to run to.
Fourth
the more military units, as opposed to regular police forces, are
deployed in Europe, the more the Europeans will get used to the
notion that “only the military can protect us”.
Fifth,
if, at the end of the day, the EU really tanks and riots, uprisings
and chaos spread – guess who will show up to “save Europe yet
again”? That’s right – Uncle Sam and NATO. Pretty good mission
for an otherwise illegitimate leftover from the Cold War, no?
Ideally,
the European population should become polarized between, on one hand,
those who pretend like the refugees are no problem at all, and those
who blame everything on them. The more polarized the society becomes,
the more there will be a “need” to keep law and order.
Does
that all look familiar to you?
Yes,
of course, this is also exactly what is happening in the USA with the
Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
While
there are plenty of immigrants in the USA, they are mostly Hispanics
and Asians who adapt rather well to the US society. The good news for
the US “deep state” is that Blacks in the USA can very much
accomplish the same function as the refugees do in Europe: they are a
vocal, mostly deeply alienated minority, with a great deal of pent-up
anger against the rest of society which can very easily be set-off to
create riots and commit crimes. It is also rather easy to find a few
crazies amongst these Blacks to start murdering policemen (the ideal
symbol of the oppressive White establishment) and create a sense of
crisis acute enough justify the use of police, National Guard and,
potentially, military forces to restore and uphold “law and order”.
Is
it really a coincidence that the US Presidential elections features
extremely polarizing figures like Hillary and Trump and that
low-levels of violence have already been triggered by the
hysterically anti-Trump propaganda of the US corporate media? Just
imagine for one second what could happen in the USA if a “lone
gunman” was to kill either Hillary or Trump? The society would
literally explode and law and order would have to be “restored”.
The
modalities might be different, but in both the EU and the USA we now
see heavily armed and generally militarized forces in the streets to
“protect” us from some exotic and scary threat.
Might
that have something to do with the fact that the ruling elites are
absolutely hated by the vast majority of Europeans and Americans? Of
course it does!
I
am convinced that was is taking place is the gradually suppression of
the civil society under the pretext of protecting it – us – from
some very scary threat. I am also convinced that part of this plan is
to polarize our society as much as possible to create civil strife
and to hide the real systemic and structural problems of our
completely dysfunctional society and discredited and illegitimate
political order.
The
panem et circenses (bread and games) method only works in a society
capable of providing enough wealth to its people to enjoy them. But
when an Empire is agonizing, when its military cannot win wars
anymore, when its leader is being ridiculed, when its currency is
being gradually weakened and even replaced and when its power is not
feared anymore, then the Empire becomes unable to provide the minimal
conditions needed to keep its subjects quiet and obedient. At this
point the choice becomes simple: either find an external enemy or, at
least, identify an internal one. This time around, the AngloZionist
found what they think is the perfect combo: a diffuse/vague external
threat (Islam) and an easily identifiable internal “carrier”
threat (refugees in Europe, Blacks in the USA). The fact that the US
government has been planning for various kind of emergency rule or
martial law situations for years is not much of a secret (see:
National Security Presidential Directive 51 and National Continuity
Policy Implementation Plan or Rex84 ) but now there is also evidence
that the Germans are also planning for it. In fact, we can be
confident that they are all doing it right now as we speak.
The
last time around, when the Empire felt the need to regain control
over Europe and prevent the election of anti-US political parties to
power they engaged in the notorious GLADIO false flag campaign to
neutralize the “Communist threat” (see full documentary here). It
appears that the same people are doing the same thing again, but this
time against the putative “Islamic threat”. And just to make sure
that the common people really freak out, it appears that the
AngloZionists have settled on a rather counter-intuitive plan:
1)
officially (politicians) condemn any anti-Islamic rhetoric.
2)
unofficially (media, public figures) constantly warn of the threat of
Islamic extremism.
3)
take some highly visible but totally useless measures (TSA,
anti-terror training) to defend against an Islamic attack.
4)
covertly but actively support Daesh-like Takfirism in the Middle-East
and oppose and subvert those who, like the Russians, the Iranians and
the Syrians, really fight it on a daily basis.
What
does such an apparently illogical and self-defeating plan achieve?
Simple! It maximizes fear and polarizes society.
That
kind of artificial polarization is nothing new. For example, this is
why those who hate Obama call him a socialist (or even a communist)
while those who hate Trump call him a fascist (even though in reality
both Obama and Trump are just the figureheads of different capitalist
factions of the same 1%er elite).
What
our imperial overlords really want is for us to either fight each
other or, at least, fight windmills. Look at the American public –
it is totally obsessed with non-issues like homosexual marriage, gun
control vs “active shooters”, Black Lives Matter vs cops, and the
time tested pro-life vs anti-abortion protests. To some minority of
Americans these issues do matter, I suppose, but for the vast
majority of Americans these are total non-issue, meaningless crap
which does not affect them in any way other than through the
corporate media. This really reminds me of the Titanic’s orchestra
playing while the ship was sinking: the Empire is cracking at all its
seams, there is a very real chance of a nuclear war with Russia and
we are seriously discussing whether trannies should pee in male or
female toilets when in the Target store. This is crazy, of course,
but this is hardly coincidental. This is how our leaders want us:
terrified, confused and, above all, distracted.
Frankly,
I am pessimistic for the near to mid-term future. When I see how
easily the “Islamic threat” canard has been bought not only by
official propagandists but even by otherwise mostly rational and
educated people, I see that 9/11 has taught us very little. Just like
a bull in a bullfight we are still willing to go after any red rag
put before our noses regardless of who is actually holding that rag
or actually making us bleed.
The
good news is that regardless of our gullible passivity the Empire is
coming down, maybe not as fast as some of us would wish, but fast
enough to really worry our rulers. Look at the Israelis – they have
already read the writing on the wall and are now in the process of
changing patrons, hence their newfound big friendship with Russia –
a marriage of convenience for both sides, entered into with both
sides holding their noses. Ditto for Erdogan who has apparently
decided that neither the EU nor the US could be considered reliable
protectors. Even the Saudis have tried, however clumsily and crudely,
to get the Russians on their side.
For
the time being the “Islamic threat” show will continue, as will
the “active shooters”, Black Lives Matter and all the rest of the
program brought to us by the Empire. False flags will continue to
flutter in great numbers in the Empire’s hot air.
"You can choose your own opinions but not your own facts" This
is surely about as bad as it gets when it comes to Orwellian
inversion of the truth, dished up to the public in the NZ Herald
An
archaeologist is qualified to write as an ‘expert’ on
geopolitics?!
Trump,
Putin and Brexit all signs another world war is coming
The
rise of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump combined with the Brexit
fallout - the full effects of which are yet to be seen - are all
signs another great war is looming, a leading British academic has
warned.
Tobias
Stone, who specialises in archeology and anthropology, has invoked
the apocalypse in an article published this week that is rapidly
gaining traction.
Stone
argues that there are chilling similarities between the terrifying
dictators who led us into WWI and WWII and modern politicians such as
Vladimir Putin, Robert Mugabe and US Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump.
Indeed,
Putin and Trump have formed a mutual admiration society of sorts and
have not been shy about blowing the other's trumpet.
"Trump
says he will Make America great again, when in fact America is
currently great, according to pretty well any statistics," he
writes - an observation echoed by US President Barack Obama in his
speech to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. "He
is using passion, anger, and rhetoric in the same way all his
predecessors did - a charismatic narcissist who feeds on the crowd to
become ever stronger, creating a cult around himself.
"You
can blame society, politicians, the media, for America getting to the
point that it's ready for Trump, but the bigger historical picture is
that history generally plays out the same way each time someone like
him becomes the boss."
Stone
says it's a scenario that's playing out across the world.
"Russia
is a dictatorship with a charismatic leader using fear and passion to
establish a cult around himself," he writes.
"Turkey
is now there too. Hungary, Poland, Slovakia are heading that way, and
across Europe more Trumps and Putins are waiting in the wings, in
fact funded by Putin, waiting for the popular tide to turn their
way."
Throw
in Brexit and you have the perfect storm - conditions that are ripe
for a Third World War, and a nuclear one at that. Stone paints a
terrifying picture of how it could all play out.
"An
example of how Brexit could lead to a nuclear war could be this:
Brexit in the UK causes Italy or France to have a similar
referendum," he writes.
"Le
Pen wins an election in France. Europe now has a fractured EU. The
EU, for all its many awful faults, has prevented a war in Europe for
longer than ever before. The EU is also a major force in suppressing
Putin's military ambitions.
"European
sanctions on Russia really hit the economy, and helped temper
Russia's attacks on Ukraine (there is a reason bad guys always want a
weaker European Union). Trump wins in the US. Trump becomes
isolationist, which weakens Nato. He has already said he would not
automatically honour Nato commitments in the face of a Russian attack
on the Baltics.
"With
a fractured EU, and weakened Nato, Putin, facing an ongoing economic
and social crisis in Russia, needs another foreign distraction around
which to rally his people. He funds far-right anti-EU activists in
Latvia, who then create a reason for an uprising of the Russian
Latvians in the east of the country (the EU border with Russia).
BLIND
PROPHET BABA VANGA'S PREDICTIONS FOR 2016 AND BEYOND
"Russia
sends 'peace keeping forces' and 'aid lorries' into Latvia, as it did
in Georgia, and in Ukraine. (Putin) annexes Eastern Latvia as he did
Eastern Ukraine (Crimea has the same population as Latvia, by the
way).
"A
divided Europe, with the leaders of France, Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia, and others now pro-Russia, anti-EU, and funded by Putin,
overrule calls for sanctions or a military response. Nato is slow to
respond: Trump does not want America to be involved, and a large part
of Europe is indifferent or blocking any action. "Russia,
seeing no real resistance to their actions, move further into Latvia,
and then into eastern Estonia and Lithuania. The Baltic States
declare war on Russia and start to retaliate, as they have now been
invaded so have no choice. Half of Europe sides with them, a few
countries remain neutral, and a few side with Russia. Where does
Turkey stand on this? How does [Isis] respond to a new war in Europe?
Who uses a nuclear weapon first?"
Stone
believes we ignore the warning signs, the unnerving feelings of déjà
vu and allow history to repeat itself because most peoples'
perspective is limited to the experience communicated by their
parents and their grandparents.
"My
point is that this is a cycle," he writes.
"It
happens again and again, but as most people only have a 50 to
100-year historical perspective they don't see that it's happening
again. "As
the events that led to the First World War unfolded, there were a few
brilliant minds who started to warn that something big was wrong,
that the web of treaties across Europe could lead to a war, but they
were dismissed as hysterical, mad, or fools, as is always the way,
and as people who worry about Putin, Brexit, and Trump are dismissed
now.
"Then
after the war to end all wars, we went and had another one. Again,
for a historian it was quite predictable. Lead people to feel they
have lost control of their country and destiny, people look for
scapegoats, a charismatic leader captures the popular mood, and
singles out that scapegoat. He talks in rhetoric that has no detail,
and drums up anger and hatred. Soon the masses start to move as one,
without any logic driving their actions, and the whole becomes
unstoppable. "That
was Hitler, but it was also Mussolini, Stalin, Putin, Mugabe, and so
many more."
Unfortunately,
history has also taught us that most of us have no idea we are on the
brink of disaster until it's too late: we can't see the wood for the
trees.
"At
a local level in time people think things are fine, then things
rapidly spiral out of control until they become unstoppable, and we
wreak massive destruction on ourselves," Stone writes.
"For
the people living in the midst of this it is hard to see happening
and hard to understand. To historians later it all makes sense and we
see clearly how one thing led to another.
"During
the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme I was struck that it was a
direct outcome of the assassination of an Austrian Arch Duke in
Bosnia. I very much doubt anyone at the time thought the killing of a
minor European royal would lead to the death of 17 million people."
Mr
Stone cites Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its gained
independence in 1980, as a case in point. "He
whipped up national anger and hatred towards the land-owning white
minority (who happened to know how to run farms), and seized their
land to redistribute to the people, in a great populist move which in
the end unravelled the economy and farming industry and left the
people in possession of land, but starving.
"See
also the famines created by the Soviet Union, and the one caused by
the Chinese Communists last century in which 20 to 40 million people
died. It seems inconceivable that people could create a situation in
which tens of millions of people die without reason, but we do it
again and again.
"But
at the time people don't realise they're embarking on a route that
will lead to a destruction period. They think they're right, they're
cheered on by jeering angry mobs, their critics are mocked. This
cycle, the one we saw for example from the Treaty of Versailles, to
the rise of Hitler, to the Second World War, appears to be happening
again.
"Trump
is doing this in America. Those of us with some oversight from
history can see it happening."
Turkish
prosecutor has claimed that the CIA and FBI provided training for the
followers of powerful US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom
Ankara blames for the coup attempt earlier this month.
The
indictment, prepared by the Edirne Public Prosecutor’s office and
accepted by the local Second Heavy Penal Court, seeks the harshest
possible punishment for 43 suspects that have allegedly been linked
to the failed coup attempt on July 15, including the coup’s
supposed mastermind, Fethullah Gulen, the arch-nemesis of Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The
prosecutor said on Thursday that members of what it describes as “the
Fethullah Terrorist Organization” were
trained by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“The
CIA and FBI provided training in several subjects to the cadre raised
in the culture centers belonging to the Gulen movement. The
operations carried out by prosecutors and security officials during
the Dec. 17 process can be taken as a good example of this,” the
document says, referring to a high profile corruption probe that
targeted senior government officials between December 17 and December
25 of 2013, as reported by the Turkish Hurriyet daily.
The
investigation affected many officials linked to the Turkish Cabinet,
which was headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan at that time. Erdogan, who
is now Turkey’s president, called it “a
judicial coup” attempt,
while accusing Gulen and his movement of orchestrating it with the
help of some “foreign
forces.”
The
indictment states that Gulen loyalists received US training and
infiltrated judicial and security institutions.
“This
[failed coup] attempt aimed to weaken the state with all its
institutions by getting rid of the government completely. Those in
the Gulen movement who work in the judicial and security institutions
and who received the aforementioned training, took on this task and
moved into action,” the
document says, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.
It
adds that some other foreign secret services were also involved in
training the coup plotters, according to the Turkish Yeni Safak
newspaper.
Relations
between Washington and Ankara soured following the foiled coup
attempt on July 15. Some Turkish media and even government officials,
including the labor minister, have claimed that the US was somehow
involved, despite an outright denial from the US.
Immediately
after the failed coup attempt, the Turkish government criticized the
US for providing safe haven for Gulen, saying that a country that
harbors “the
coup planner”
is “no
friend” to
Turkey. Ankara has also repeatedly demanded that the US extradite
Gulen to Turkey, while Washington has maintained that Turkey must
first file a formal extradition request and provide solid proof of
his involvement in the coup.
On
July 25, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said that
Turkey-US ties could suffer unless Washington extradites Gulen.
On
Friday, Erdogan once again slammed the US for harboring Gulen, who
lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and demanded his
extradition. He also lashed out at the head of US Central Command,
General Joseph Votel, who has criticized the detention of thousands
of Turkish military personnel in the aftermath of the coup attempt
and said that some of the military figures that the US had been
working with are now in jail.
“It
is not up to you to make that decision. Who are you? Know your
place...” Erdogan
said, as quoted by AP.
“Instead
of thanking this nation that quashed the coup in the name of
democracy, on the contrary you are taking sides with the
coup-plotters,” he
added, stressing that “the
coup plotter is in your country anyway” and “you
[the US] can never convince my people otherwise.”
On
Friday, general Votel rejected Turkey’s claims.
“Any
reporting that I had anything to do with the recent unsuccessful coup
attempt in Turkey is unfortunate and completely inaccurate,” Votel
said, according to the statement from US Central Command.
Votel
added that “Turkey
has been an extraordinary and vital partner in the region for many
years.
An
RT reporter has met with “Turkey’s most wanted man,” Fethullah
Gulen, a powerful preacher who has been living in self-exile in the
US state of Pennsylvania. Ankara blames the scholar for the recent
coup attempt in Turkey and wants him extradited.
Reporter
Caleb Maupin and an RT America crew were invited to visit Gulen at
his estate in rural Pennsylvania. Although the renowned Turkish
cleric did not wish to speak to the press, he made it clear that he
hasn’t left his highly secured American home, despite Ankara’s
suggestions he might be on the run.
Immediately
following the failed coup attempt on the night of July 15, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed Gulen and his supporters for
attempting to seize power in Turkey.
Erdogan
has demanded the cleric’s arrest and extradition from the US, but
Washington has repeatedly responded by saying it needs clear evidence
of a link between Gulen and the attempted coup before it will
consider extraditing him.
Turkish
officials have previously suggested that the moderate Islamic
preacher might have already left North America and could be on the
run, mentioning Australia, Mexico and South Africa as possible
refuges.
“We
know that he could have left for a number of other countries,”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told CNN Turk earlier this
week, and Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozda has suggested to
Haberturk TV that Gulen could have fled the US.
‘Know your place!’: Erdogan on US official’s reaction to failed coup aftermath
President
Erdogan once again slammed the US for harboring Gulen, who lives in
self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and demanded his extradition. He
also lashed out at the head of US Central Command, General Joseph
Votel, who has criticized the detention of thousands of Turkish
military personnel in the aftermath of the coup attempt .
Posts
Levent Tekin
NiNoVa
RT
Caleb T. Maupin
