So there's a bit of misinformation circulating right now around about the Coup. I've been talking to my Turkish Friend(Who we'll name Selim for this) all night, and he's finally gone to sleep. He was in the middle of the shit. He lives in Istanbul and talked me through Steam and Skype as the war was raging about him. However, tonight wasn't the only night we've talked politics. I've always been interested in the political situation in Turkey, and he gave me some great insight.
So, after watching news feeds, getting Turkish sources translated into English on the spot by Selim's amazing language skills, I thought I'd explain some things about the Coup as they are.
Let me preface this by saying one thing - Erdogan is an impotent backstabber playing all sides for his benefit. He has a bad track record and is corrupt as hell. But there is one thing he's not:
>An Islamist
He is playing the Islamists and the Secularists. The laws he's passed are to appease them, but he wants to keep a democratic system in place. It's what keeps him tied with the West, and he likes that alot. Turkey doesn't have oil or military to get away with a theocratic state like Saudi Arabia can. Erdogan I can best describe as neutral, out for himself, with good skills at making wide sweeping promises. He's been anti-Kurd for alot of his reign as President, until recently, when Kurds started voting. In a speech he gave after touching down in western Turkey, a Kurdish man suddenly showed up to heckle out "I'm a Kurd but I will die for Turkish democracy!" That seems fishy that he got in and was allowed to say that. Just how I see it.