Some opinion writers have surmised a possibility that Recep Erdogan created the coup in Turkey as a method to smoke out his opposition and exert even more dictatorial power.  Having watched the events closely (5 years) which lead up to the coup attempt, we disagree.
All indications are the coup was genuine, albeit a long-shot, driven by the younger military leadership who remained guardians of the state after two years of Erdogan purging the top level generals.

Ideologically, Recep Erdogan has been working earnestly over the past 5+ years to extend his power and control.  Erdogan has grandiose plans of rebuilding a modern Ottoman Empire with himself as the figurehead in control.
The fortuitous crisis in Syria evolved into a tool for Erdogan to expand his constituency, and the influx of 3 million non-secular conservative Muslims as refugees into Turkey was part of that dynamic.
Erdogan’s ideological outlook can be captured when you look at the 2015 decision to give safe refuge to five Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders who were living in exile in Qatar and evicted after the Gulf States pressured Qatar to stop supporting extremist terrorists.  Erdogan promised the Muslim Brotherhood safe harbor in Turkey and he gave it to them.
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11:30pm Turkish President Recep Erdogan claims he is back in full control. Claims the coup has failed.

9:00pm Some Reports that Coup has failed / Others it has succeeded.  Unfortunately, if coup did fail, that means the Islamists have won.  If Islamists win, anticipate extreme backlash from a returning Recep Erdogan who will most likely go full dictator now.
Erdogan is notorious for punishing his enemies.  Erdogan will probably open the floodgates for more Islamists to flow freely into the European Union to punish the secularists for their uprising.
Recep Erdogan will therefore have replaced former EU blackmailer Muammar Gaddafi using the exact same strategy, uncontrolled immigration, to punish his neighbors.   The EU was previously paying Gaddafi €5+ million/yr to keep North African immigration under control.  If coup fails it will be a very bad day for the EU, as Erdogan will now leverage his dictatorial power to force EU compliance with his wishes.
This fits the grandiose plans of Erdogan swimmingly.  He desperately wants to recreate the Ottomoan Empire in his lifetime.
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The latest Islamic Jihad attack against Western values took place yesterday in Nice, France.  Eye witnesses have reported the driver of the truck specifically targeted families with children, steering into them for maximum Jihadist terror value.  At least 80 men, women and children have been slaughtered.

Two weeks before yesterday, the attack location was an Istanbul Turkey, airport.  Last month it was an Orlando, Florida, nightclub.  In the month prior it was Brussels, and before that San Bernardino, and before that Paris, and before that, well, you get the picture… (more…)

Details emerge of how coordinated the terrorist attack was on Ataturk airport in Turkey.  Unfortunately the death toll has risen to 42, and the number of wounded 238.  So far no terror organization has claimed official responsibility, however most intelligence and security analysts believe ISIS was to blame.
TURKEY – The terrorists who killed dozens at a busy airport in Istanbul took advantage of the panic sparked when they opened fire at a security checkpoint to detonate their explosives, according to the Turkish prime minister.
The details from the prime minister and others from a Turkish official come as investigators begin to piece together the timeline of the attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, which left 42 dead and 238 wounded.
Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, said today the attack, which took place around 10 p.m. Tuesday, began “when the terrorists couldn’t pass the regular security system, when they couldn’t pass the scanners, police and security controls,” Yildirim said.
“They returned and took out their weapons out of their suitcases and opened fire at random at the security check,” he added. (more…)

BREAKING – Two large explosions and significant gunfire has rocked Istanbul’s Ataturk airport. Social media reports taxis have been used ferrying wounded people away from the airport. Witnesses report additional gunfire was heard from the parking garage at the airport. Ataturk International Airport is the largest in Turkey.
Update 4:10pm EDT – ♦ At least 10 people reported killed, 20+ wounded. ♦ The attack has multiple similarities to Brussels.
Update 5:30pm EDT – ♦ Death Toll Climbs To 28, more than 60 wounded.  ♦ There were three explosions.
Update 7:30pm EDT – Death Toll Climbs to 32, more than 88 Wounded. There were three terrorist attackers.

 
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An Egyptian court has sentenced former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to life in prison while simultaneously passing down death sentences for six co-conspirators.
Those who followed the 2011 Islamic uprising in Egypt saw the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton support the Muslim Brotherhood and their candidate Mohamed Morsi.

President Obama was thrilled with the Morsi election and immediately called him with congratulations.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Cairo to express the administration sentiments and well wishes personally.
Unfortunately it did not take long before Morsi began deconstructing the secular social constructs, disbanding the Egyptian court system, and attempting to institute Sharia Law.
Thousands of Coptic Christians were slaughtered after Morsi took control and empowered the Muslim Brotherhood to attack his political enemies.
As president, Mohamed Morsi opened the Egyptian jails releasing hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood terrorists, including Mohamed Al Zawahiri the brother to al-Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan Ayman Al Zawahiri.
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There’s no way these media reports are accidental or not directly connected.  And none of this looks the least bit good against the larger dynamic of the Syrian crisis and President Stompy Feet’s prior position on ISIS.

Yesterday, well, actually Friday, the release of the information was yesterday, Vice-President Joe Biden met in Turkey with President Recep Erdogan.  They met for several hours as reported in The Hill and the topic was an escalated U.S./Turkish military footprint against ISIS :

Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said the U.S. and regional ally Turkey are prepared to seek a military solution in Syria to try to solve the nation’s five-year-long civil war.

Speaking after a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Biden stressed that a political solution to the problem would still be preferable.

“But we are prepared if that’s not possible to having a military solution to this operation and taking out Daesh,” he said, according to AFP, using another name for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

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There is a lot of serious discussion squished into this interview with former Director of Intelligence Michael Flynn.  However, that said, the larger umbrella issue is summarized near the end – President Obama’s ideological willful blindness to the larger threat presented by ISIS.

This interview reminded me of  previously encapsulated question:

If President Obama did not want to see ISIS destroyed, what would he be doing differently?

Amid the latest consequences for Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet and murdering the pilot – Russia (Putin) begins imposing economic sanctions against Turkey (Erdogan):

France’s socialist President Hollande was already in political trouble prior to the terror attack in Paris and this has only been exacerbated by recent events.  In order for Hollande to remain connected to, and a viable leader of, the people of France – he must now embrace the reality of a growing nationalist sentiment.  Enter Vladimir Putin….

( Via Fox News ) French President Francois Hollande and Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to share intelligence information and cooperate on selecting targets in the fight against the Islamic State group, raising hope for closer ties between Moscow and the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition following the Paris terror attacks.

Putin said that Russia is ready to more broadly coordinate its military action in Syria with the U.S.-led coalition, but he harshly criticized Washington for failing to prevent the downing of a Russian warplane by NATO member Turkey. Hollande said Tuesday’s shoot-down of the Russian jet was a “serious incident, obviously regrettable” that underlined the need for closer coordination between the nations which are fighting the IS.

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