America Trapped in Incirlik Turkish Air Base
While the attempted coup to toss out President Erdogan for his assault on democracy and freedom and the promotion of a new Islamic state, failed narrowly, now revenge occurs. So far, 50,000 have been arrested, detained, resembling a Stalinist purge. This is exactly what it is. Erodgan is using the coup to root out any and all opposition to his plans to move Turkey more towards Islam. He is now stronger than ever despite 50% of the population do not like him because of the state control of media, Internet, and Press.
Turkey has demanded that Fethullah Gulen, a pro-democracy Islamic leader living in the America, be extradited without providing real proof that this man and his followers in Turkey, were part of the coup attempt. America insisted on seeing the evidence. None has come.
Erdogan continues to order the airspace over Incirlik frozen, grounding the many American aircraft based there used to attack ISIS. He has the base on lockdown and the 1500 Americans on the base have become an extortion tool. Many of the rebel aircraft were based there also, complicating all matters and creating suspicion that America was complicit in the coup attempt! Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim insinuated that the Americans may be viewed as partners, at least passive ones, in the conspiracy. The Turkish Labor Minister, Süleyman Soylu, was more explicit: “This coup has America behind it,” he twitted in his Twitter account. Their reasoning is because the rebels controlled six F-16s that took off from the base and bombed Ankara.
The Americans living on the base are captive pawns now unless Erdogan gets Mr. Gulen. This airbase contains many B61 nuclear bombs in bunkers near the landing strips. The base electricity is being provided by generators which will soon run out of fuel. The Turks have cutoff electrical connections to the base and surround it with police. The Turkish squadron and base commander, Brigadier Gen. Bekir Ercan, is under arrest.
The oddest thing to all this is that no US media outlet or President Obama or Kerry has even mentioned this dilemma they now face. Nor have any candidates. Obama is remaining mum on the topic, hoping that in time, it becomes a non-issue. But, Erdogan, flushed with overwhelming support, seems to turning against the ally that made them a powerful military force and turning to be the Islamic powerhouse.
