Pentagon Allies Jailed in Turkey Amid Coup Backlash, General Says

U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, shown in May 2016, said Turkey's backlash against a failed coup could would impair the Pentagon's operations in the region. PHOTO: JIM WATSON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
U.S. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, shown in May 2016, said Turkey's backlash against a failed coup could would impair the Pentagon's operations in the region. PHOTO: JIM WATSON/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES


Date posted: July 29, 2016

DAMIAN PALETTA

ASPEN, Colo. – A top U.S. military commander said there was a persistent concern that the failed coup in Turkey – and the backlash by the Turkish government – would impair the Pentagon’s operations in the region.

U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Joseph Votel said Thursday that a number of the U.S. military’s closest allies in the Turkish military have been placed in jail following the coup attempt.

“We’ve certainly had relationships with a lot of Turkish leaders, military leaders in particular,” Gen. Votel said at the Aspen Security Forum meeting in Colorado. “I’m concerned about what the impact is on those relationships as we continue.”

The U.S. military sees Turkey as a vital partner in its efforts to combat Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. But the coup attempt by certain members of the military inflamed internal tensions and now the Turkish government has cracked down, arresting thousands of people.

Later in the day, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper echoed Gen. Votel’s comments.

The failed coup and the government’s backlash have “affected all segments of the national security apparatus in Turkey,” Mr. Clapper said in Aspen. “Many of our interlocutors have been purged or arrested. There’s no question that this is going to set back and make more difficult” the U.S.’s Middle East strategy.

Gen. Votel also suggested that the military has a tentative plan in place to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State. But he said they wouldn’t proceed until there are other plans in place to stabilize Mosul, provide political leadership in the city and deal with a potential humanitarian issues there.

“We will go to Mosul when its time to go to Mosul,” he said. “Getting ready to go to Mosul is not just about getting a military plan in place.”

One of the Pentagon’s current strategies in combating Islamic State is to “overwhelm them” with numerous operations simultaneously in Iraq and Syria, he said.

Source: The Wall Street Journal , July 28, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Turkey’s Reichstag Fire

When tanks blocked bridges in the heart of Istanbul and F-16s bombed Turkey’s parliament in Ankara on July 15, Western diplomats were caught by surprise. So too were U.S. forces stationed at the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. The U.S. intelligence community had not an inkling that anything was amiss until the troops started moving.

UN and OSCE experts deplore crackdown on journalists and media outlets in Turkey

UN / OSCE: The Government’s purging of personnel and institutions of what it perceives as being dissenting and critical voices, solely on the basis of allegations of membership in the Gülen movement, clearly violates standards of international human rights law.

Religious communities under threat in Turkey

These operations might have targeted the government in some respects, but so far no concrete evidence has been produced about deliberate, systematic and willful inclusion of the Hizmet movement in this plot. It is true that the Hizmet movement’s media group has been lending support to the graft and bribery investigation.

Gulen – Erdogan History in 2 minutes

Nowadays, most articles about Turkey, Erdogan and Gulen have a default sentence: “Erdogan and Gulen were former allies”. It is said and written so many times that eventually became a fact. However, the reality is not that simple.

Jailed Zaman editor says we are journalists, not terrorists

Former Zaman daily Ankara Representative Mustafa Ünal, who is standing trial after 414 days in pretrial detention, said on Monday that he and other colleagues in the same case are journalists, not terrorists.

Yeni Asya editor: Erdoğan kept strategy to finish off Gülen movement secret

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who launched an all-out war against the faith-based Gülen movement in late 2013, kept his strategy to eliminate the group a secret until he decided to sever ties with it completely, Yeni Asya daily Editor-in-Chief Kazım Güleçyüz has said, adding the elimination strategy was state-sponsored.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Erdoğan after one-man rule: CHP leader

Erdogan’s bid to close Gulen schools in Africa opposed

Erdogan Changes Tactics On Attempt To Shut Turkish Schools

Gulen’s books draw large interest at Indonesia’s book fair

Nearly 2,500 turn up for International Language and Culture Festival in Thailand

The Shadow Politics of Shadow Education

Woman, 5-month-old son under custody after visiting husband in prison

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News