Turkey: Uniting an “Army of Islam” to Defeat Just One Country

In 2016, Necati Yılmaz, an MP from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), submitted a written parliamentary motion to then-Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, questioning the activities and international connections of “SADAT International Defense Consultancy,” which is headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief military advisor, Adnan Tanriverdi. Pictured: Necati Yılmaz. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

 

• At the conference, Adnan Tanriverdi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top military advisor, delivered a speech detailing the inner workings of the “Islamic Confederal State” that Tanriverdi’s Strategic Research Center for Defenders of Justice (ASSAM) aims to establish with 61 Muslim countries.
• Judging by an article Tanriverdi penned in 2009, the purpose of this joint Islamic force is to defeat Israel, which “should be made to get engaged [in war] and the length of the war should be extended.”
• Erdogan and his chief military advisor are obviously engaging in projection. It is Turkey that has ethnically cleansed itself of Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians, and that is now targeting Syrian Kurds. It is the Turkish government’s continued aggression against various peoples in Israel, Syria, Iraq, Cyprus and other countries that is a threat to world peace; not Israel. It is Turkey, not Israel, whose destabilizing foreign policy needs to change.

Istanbul recently hosted the second “International Islamic Union Congress,” sponsored mainly by the Strategic Research Center for Defenders of Justice (ASSAM), which is headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief military advisor, Adnan Tanriverdi, a retired lieutenant general and an Islamist .

Turkey urges Islamic world to unite against Israel, calls summit

A protester holds a placard reading “Al-Quds (Jerusalem) belongs to the Muslims” as he shouts slogans among people holding Palestinian flags while they all take part in a protest march at the Istikilal avenue in Istanbul on May 14, 2018 (Photo by AFP)

 

Turkey has urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel after dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling party in parliament that Ankara would call an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“Islamic countries should without fail review their relations with Israel,” Premier Yildirim said, adding, “The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre.”

Yildirim said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the body, called the OIC summit on Friday.

Turkey Threatens Exxon Mobil & The US 6th Fleet Off Cyprus

 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım threatened not only hydrocarbon survey ships of oil giant Exxon Mobile but also the US 6th Fleet is participating in a naval exercise in the area 7-18 March 2018.

As KeepTalkingGreece.com reports, Yildirim said:

“The Republic of Cyprus would not be allowed to get away with selling the energy resources surrounding the island,” Yildirim said on Wednesday. With reference to the turkey-occupied North part of Cyprus, he added “the natural riches surrounding the island of Cyprus is the common wealth of all the people who live on the island.”

Turkey’s Erdogan could govern until 2029 under plans to change constitution

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan adjusts earphones during a news conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, September 5, 2016. (REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo)

 

President Tayyip Erdogan could govern Turkey until 2029 with expanded executive powers under proposals the ruling AK Party hopes will go to a referendum next spring, officials who have seen the latest draft told Reuters on Wednesday.

Erdogan and his supporters argue Turkey needs the strong leadership of an executive presidency, akin to the system in the United States or France, to avoid the fragile coalition governments that hampered its development in the past.

Erdogan Set to Flood Europe With Millions of Migrants as EU Refugee Deal Falters

© AP Photo/ Tolga Bozoglu

 

The European Commission is set to release a report finding that Turkey’s human rights practices failed to comply with the terms of the deal – a finding that would end all hope of Turkish citizens receiving visa-free travel and likely forcing Erdogan to open the floodgates.

…

The Erdogan government became enraged after a senior European official claimed that Turkey is not committed to doing what is necessary to join the 28-nation bloc and that its residents should be denied visa-free travel within the EU as was initially agreed upon by the two parties. The spat between Turkish officials and the European Union comes at a time when Europe desperately needs to preserve the migrant deal.

Erdogan Hints at Executing 13,000, Exits European Human Rights Convention

© AFP 2016/ ARIS MESSINIS

 

Turkish authorities have arrested more than 13,000 people believed to be tied to the coup attempt and have gutted the country’s civil services sector suspending over 60,000 educators, judges and police.

“‘Why should I keep them and feed them in prisons for years to come?’ – that’s what the people say,” said Erdogan. “The people now have the idea, after so many terrorist incidents, that these terrorists should be killed, that’s where they are, they don’t see any other outcome to it.”

In the wake of the coup, the Erdogan government immediately withdrew from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, which bans executions, raising the likelihood of mass executions.

Erdogan locks US airmen, nuclear arms in Incirlik

An update from a previous post on the unreported (not one word) Incirlik airbase situation, where ~1500 American soldiers are being held hostage by Erdoğan. Share this unreported story with your friends and get the word out.

 

 

This extraordinary situation, reported here by debkafile’s military sources, whereby a large group of American military personnel are held virtual captive by an allied government, was almost certainly raised in the phone call that took place Tuesday between President Barack Obama and Erdogan.  But the most outlandish aspect of this affair is that no American official has raised it in public – nor even by the administrations most vocal critics at the Republican convention which nominated Donald Trump as presidential candidate.

Iran backs Turkey’s Erdogan as massive crackdown widens

A senior aide to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Teheran backs Turkey’s elected government and expects Ankara to do the same when it comes to Syria.

“We disagree with Turkey on some issues, like Syria. We are hopeful that the Turkish government respects the Syrian people’s opinion and votes and lets the Syrian nation choose their government,” Ali Akbar Velayati was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

Failed Turkey coup deepens conundrum of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power

And so another cot-case nation is born. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan already has begun consolidating in the wake of Friday’s failed coup, with a vengeful purge of the military and the judiciary to help drive home a ruthless bid to package virtually all power in his strongman presidency.

Critics argue that his Putin-like shift from the office of Prime Minister to the presidency is a threat to democracy in Turkey. But the failure of the coup likely will cause Erdoğan to redouble his efforts, which he will parse as an essential antidote to instability.

Turkish PM: Any country that stands by cleric Gulen will be at war with Turkey

Any country that stands by the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen will not be a friend of Turkey and will be considered at war with the NATO member, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.

Turkish Prime Minister Says Attempted Military Coup Underway, Local Media Reports

Sky News Live:

 

 

Additional headlines:

Turkey ‘coup’: Live updates as explosion and gunfire reported in capitol Ankara (The Mirror)

Shooting heard in Ankara, military jets & helicopters flying over city – witnesses (RT)

Gunfire, Troops On Streets Reported In Turkey (Radio Free Europe)

What’s Going on in Turkey? (The Atlantic)

Turkey coup attempt: gunfire in Ankara as military aircraft fly over capital – live (The Guardian)

More to come as updates roll in.

 

This is a developing story: Military jets and helicopters seen flying low over Ankara and tanks reported in the streets, as two major bridges in Istanbul are closed to traffic.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a military coup attempt is currently underway and that military action has been taken without a chain of command, according to local media NTV.

Turkey hints at normalization of ties with Syria

After making the switch from buying NATO weapons to Chinese ones (see also HERE) and apologizing to Putin for shooting down one of his planes, we now see Turkey making another move toward its already anti-western stance. The final blow and nail in the coffin in regards to Turkey going to the ‘dark side’ is it leaving NATO and withdrawing any want of joining the EU, or perhaps, just either one. It’s clear they have disdain for the West.

 

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s prime minister suggested on Wednesday his country wants to normalize ties with Syria in what would mark an about-turn in policy amid a broad diplomatic offensive.

Binali Yildirim said in a televised address Wednesday that Turkey is expanding its circle of friends, adding: “I am sure that we will return (our) ties with Syria to normal. We need it.”

Saudi Arabia turns to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud during a luncheon ahead of the G-20 summit in Belek, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2015. (photo by REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer)

 

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have agreed to form a Strategic Cooperation Council to coordinate and develop relations between the countries in terms of economic, political, defense, security, education and health issues. The countries also are discussing military cooperation, especially with regard to Syria.

The custodian of the two holy mosques, Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, received Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at his palace in Riyadh during the prime minister’s official visit Jan. 31.