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


Related News

Samanyolu news faces cyber attack from abroad

On Thursday night Samanyolu Haber TV news channel was the latest to face a cyber attack, as readers have at times also recently been unable to access the websites of the dailies Zaman, Today’s Zaman and Taraf, as well as the Cihan news agency, particularly since the night of the local elections on March 30.

Dozen people hold demonstration in front of Zaman to protest corruption coverage

The protestors held up a banner bearing the picture of Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen saying that he despises the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. “Pick up your traitorous comrades and your prep schools, and get out of here, go to Israel, the US,” the script at the bottom of the banner said. The protest followed a series of public remarks over the weekend by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who attacked Zaman without mentioning it by name.

General Staff ordered broadcasting of anti-Gülen recordings

Journalist Mehmet Ali Birand has claimed that the General Staff ordered the broadcasting of anti-Fethullah Gülen audio recordings by some TV stations in the run up to the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military intervention.

Post-coup purge victim says he may never be a father due to torture in prison

One of the 48 victims said his testicles had been crushed and that a hard object was inserted into his anus while in prison. “I was kept naked in the cold. I was beaten. Pressure was applied to my genital area. The pain didn’t stop for months. I am a bachelor, and I may never be a father,” he said.

A bridge from the US to the Turkic world

Arzu Kaya Uranli I was at the third convention of the Turkic American Association (TAA) and the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) mutual event: the annual Turkic American Convention (TAC) in Washington, D.C., last week. The event started with a cruise on the Potomac River on Tuesday evening then continued all day long […]

Chorepiscopus Yusuf Sag: Fethullah Gulen’s service is admirable

Chorepiscopus Yusuf Sag, Vicar General and leader of the Syriac Catholic Church in Turkey: “I wish every country had its own Fethullah Gulen. I watched the students performing at the recent Turkish Olympiads in admiration. They all sang in Turkish like angels. I have to ask: Is it better that they sing Turkish songs or hold guns in their hands?”

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

An Armenian from Turkey in Los Angeles…

Flautre: Investigation into Taraf daily, journalist over MGK docs ‘scandalous’

Gov’t ban on charity Kimse Yok Mu hits orphans

Turkey Continues Its Witch Hunt Against Gülen Followers

Parents criticize gov’t-led police raids on educational institutions

Senior AK Party member admits profiling of citizens in government, private sector

Minister Yildirim’s high praise for Fethullah Gulen

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News