Three Great Articles On Erdogan's Dangerous And Arrogant Response To Failed Coup

An excerpt from, "A Very Predictable Coup?" By Philip Giraldi, The American Conservative, July 18, 2016:

So the aborted military coup has become a great victory for President Erdogan. It remains to be seen how exactly he will exploit it, but it is certain that he will use it as a pretext for expanding his own powers. To those who object to the notion that the Turkish president would kill his own soldiers to advance his political agenda, one might note that he was considering doing so in 2014 to create a pretext for war with Syria. Consequently the question whether Erdogan might actually have helped set up the coup in a version of a false flag operation is certainly intriguing and must be considered. It should be taken into account by the White House before contemplating bending to any demands from Ankara to extradite Gulen or any of his associates.

An excerpt from, "Cashing in on a failed coup" By Vijay Prashad, The Hindu, July 19, 2016:

Not one Turkish political party backed the coup. Everyone opposed it, including the Republicans and the Left. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which is the party of the Kurds and the Left, said that it is “against all kinds of coups. There is no way but democracy”. Turkish society should take comfort that there is little political appetite for a coup. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of concern at the use of the coup by Mr. Erdogan to push his agenda. The imams from the mosques, through the night of July 15, called upon their supporters to take to the squares. At the funeral service for those killed during the coup, Mr. Erdogan reiterated the call for people to occupy public spaces across Turkey. Violence against political opponents of Mr. Erdogan and the AKP have picked up in Turkey. It has meant little that the Opposition has been united. A generous president would have built national unity around that. Mr. Erdogan’s is a narrower game. He has used the polarity to his advantage. The coup failed this time. But it is not the end of violence. Turkey remains at the edge of the precipice.

An excerpt from, "What Happened In Turkey?" By Guney Işıkara, Alp Kayserilioğlu, & Max Zirngast, Jacobin, July 18, 2016:

All in all, what happened within the last days and what is to follow in the next days was neither a military coup for democracy nor democracy against a military coup.

It was and remains a war between coup and countercoup, developments that will further authoritarianism and deepen instead of solve the hegemonic crisis. What seems to be a massive comeback of Erdoğan might prove to be a poisoned chalice.