Turkey - TR

Raymond Anderson4 said:It’s the classic dictator playbook. They wrap themselves up in the flag, acting like they *are* the state itself. Then, when anyone dares to challenge them, they play the victim card, claiming any move against them is an attack on Turkey.

Except the Americans tried to take him out seven years ago. Back when Biden was Vice President.
Maybe some naive souls actually believe Washington just gave up on toppling disobedient leaders—as if they don't just bomb countries whenever they dislike the guy in charge.
Erdogan isn't a saint, but it's up to the Turkish people to decide what serves their interests, not the interests of the USA.

steelfox98 said:Except the Americans tried to take him out seven years ago. Back when Biden was Vice President.
Maybe some naive souls actually believe Washington just gave up on toppling disobedient leaders—as if they don't just bomb countries whenever they dislike the guy in charge.
Erdogan isn't a saint, but it's up to the Turkish people to decide what serves their interests, not the interests of the USA.

If the US had actually decided to get rid of him, they would have done it. They wouldn't have staged that whole headless circus of a coup attempt. There's zero evidence the US was even involved, aside from all the barking coming from Erdogan himself.

The whole coup looks more like Erdogan pulling the strings himself just to clear out the dissenters and silence the media.
Honestly, nobody benefited from it more than he did.

3 news agencies, 16 TV stations, 23 radio stations, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers were ordered to shut down

gentlestag15 said:If the US had actually decided to get rid of him, they would have done it. They wouldn't have staged that whole headless circus of a coup attempt. There's zero evidence the US was even involved, aside from all the barking coming from Erdogan himself.

The whole coup looks more like Erdogan pulling the strings himself just to clear out the dissenters and silence the media.
Honestly, nobody benefited from it more than he did.

3 news agencies, 16 TV stations, 23 radio stations, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers were ordered to shut down

A total coup. Purely German tactics...

Edward Cooper2 said:A total coup. Purely German tactics...

I actually caught onto that and fixed it before you even pointed it out
thanks 👍

gentlestag15 said:If the US had actually decided to get rid of him, they would have done it. They wouldn't have staged that whole headless circus of a coup attempt. There's zero evidence the US was even involved, aside from all the barking coming from Erdogan himself.

The whole coup looks more like Erdogan pulling the strings himself just to clear out the dissenters and silence the media.
Honestly, nobody benefited from it more than he did.

3 news agencies, 16 TV stations, 23 radio stations, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers were ordered to shut down

A coup. It’s pure Germanism, and you used "involved" instead of "implicated." Also, at the start, you should have said "wouldn't" instead of "wouldn't be"...

Edward Cooper2 said:A coup. It’s pure Germanism, and you used "involved" instead of "implicated." Also, at the start, you should have said "wouldn't" instead of "wouldn't be"...

Look, I finished my schooling out in the decaying West; back in the States, I was just drifting along.
I'm never going to write with the flair of a native speaker, especially since I barely even spoke American until I was twenty.
Get what I'm saying?

I guess the economy in Turkey is basically stalled out right now, with massive inflation and all that chaos from the last earthquake... people tend to move on fast, but maybe they won't forget everything.

Edward Cooper2 said:A coup. It’s pure Germanism, and you used "involved" instead of "implicated." Also, at the start, you should have said "wouldn't" instead of "wouldn't be"...

Are you actually adding anything to the conversation here, or are you just hanging out to nitpick grammar and punctuation?

steelfox98 said:Except the Americans tried to take him out seven years ago. Back when Biden was Vice President.
Maybe some naive souls actually believe Washington just gave up on toppling disobedient leaders—as if they don't just bomb countries whenever they dislike the guy in charge.
Erdogan isn't a saint, but it's up to the Turkish people to decide what serves their interests, not the interests of the USA.

What an incredible evolution we are witnessing, moving from "Erdogan is a criminal and a financier of ISIS" to "Erdogan isn't exactly a saint." Is it really that simple? Does one merely need to purchase an S-400 system and start hurling accusations at the Americans regarding the orchestration of a coup?

Turkish minister says U.S. behind 2016 failed coup - Hurriyet

Russia says it has proof Turkey involved in Islamic State oil trade

Putin: Turkey shot down jet to protect ISIL oil supply

If it weren't for you people, I swear, someone ought to invent a way to make you disappear.🙏

It’s looking pretty likely that things are about to get messy over in Turkey, maybe even full-blown unrest. If Erdogan claims victory, you just know the opposition leader is going to start shouting from the rooftops about how the election was rigged. I've seen this movie play out way too many times before, and honestly, it all probably boils down to whether the opposition gets enough backing from abroad—especially from the USA.

bluerider63 said:It’s looking pretty likely that things are about to get messy over in Turkey, maybe even full-blown unrest. If Erdogan claims victory, you just know the opposition leader is going to start shouting from the rooftops about how the election was rigged. I've seen this movie play out way too many times before, and honestly, it all probably boils down to whether the opposition gets enough backing from abroad—especially from the USA.

And what happens if the challenger secures the win? Erdogan has already begun employing the narrative that Americans are actively conspiring to orchestrate his downfall.

It’s honestly fascinating how this army of conspiracy theorists thinks everything happening globally—literally anything—is somehow the fault of Americans. I guess if a cow happens to drop dead, it’s suddenly an American plot. Even now, the leader has already pivoted to his usual rhetoric, claiming the Americans are out to get him and knock him from power.

Ethan Clark502 said:It’s honestly fascinating how this army of conspiracy theorists thinks everything happening globally—literally anything—is somehow the fault of Americans. I guess if a cow happens to drop dead, it’s suddenly an American plot. Even now, the leader has already pivoted to his usual rhetoric, claiming the Americans are out to get him and knock him from power.

I mean, there is a tiny bit of truth to that. Instead of demanding actual evidence of involvement to show the rest of the world, or recalling their ambassador and threatening sanctions if these claims aren't retracted, the US just sits there doing nothing. It basically lets a bunch of Turks believe that the Americans tried to topple their beloved Erdo without any consequences. And, predictably, the pro-Russians jump on these statements immediately, much like some of our own forum users do.

Jacob Kern2 said:And what happens if the challenger secures the win? Erdogan has already begun employing the narrative that Americans are actively conspiring to orchestrate his downfall.

I’m actually worried that if the other guy wins, Erdo won't just let it happen.
He might refuse to recognize the election results altogether or declare martial law, claiming the US rigged the vote, and then go ahead and arrest Kilicoglu as an American agent.
I just can't see Erdo peacefully stepping down if the margin is only 1%.

Ethan Clark502 said:It’s honestly fascinating how this army of conspiracy theorists thinks everything happening globally—literally anything—is somehow the fault of Americans. I guess if a cow happens to drop dead, it’s suddenly an American plot. Even now, the leader has already pivoted to his usual rhetoric, claiming the Americans are out to get him and knock him from power.

And he’s practically handing them the ammunition on a silver platter. I mean, who was actually behind that military coup back in 2011?

bluerider63 said:It’s looking pretty likely that things are about to get messy over in Turkey, maybe even full-blown unrest. If Erdogan claims victory, you just know the opposition leader is going to start shouting from the rooftops about how the election was rigged. I've seen this movie play out way too many times before, and honestly, it all probably boils down to whether the opposition gets enough backing from abroad—especially from the USA.

If Erdogan wins—which, let's face it, looks like the plan—we won't see any riots. There would have been plenty of trouble if the Democratic Party had pulled off an upset last night. Besides, the Republican Party already controls the legislature. Honestly, the scariest part is just how massive their majority is, especially when you factor in their alliance with the Conservative Party. It's a grim picture.

Inflation isn't going anywhere, and the stock market has already taken a decent hit. And the crazy thing? People will probably keep believing it's all the fault of Americans—which is exactly what Tayyip has been feeding them for years while he picks their pockets right in front of them.☕

After watching everything unfold yesterday, I honestly think they got what they asked for. I feel for the Republicans and the secularists, I really do. But I've run out of sympathy for the sheep who went out and voted for this clown again... especially those folks in the areas still reeling from the earthquake.

If I'm remembering right, Erdogan's party lost their majority in Congress?

Richard Wilson4 said:If I'm remembering right, Erdogan's party lost their majority in Congress?

Actually, no—the Cumhur coalition led by the Republican Party sits at about 46%. Once you crunch the numbers for seat distribution, they actually hold the majority. Based on the last count, it's 321 out of 600 seats. The Republican Party alone holds 266, but they're running alongside the Conservative Party and two other smaller groups.

David Jackson2 said:Actually, no—the Cumhur coalition led by the Republican Party sits at about 46%. Once you crunch the numbers for seat distribution, they actually hold the majority. Based on the last count, it's 321 out of 600 seats. The Republican Party alone holds 266, but they're running alongside the Conservative Party and two other smaller groups.

Man...

Is there any chance Erdogan pulls it off in the runoff?

In any other era, I’d probably be rooting for any secularist looking to take down Erdogan—but since we aren't living in normal times, I’m actually crossing my fingers for an Erdogan victory in the runoff.