The fact the military junta in Turkey went ahead with the coup attempt in spite of being given orders not to “indicates they were zealous ‘crusaders’ willing even to risk civil war in order to take over the country”, a new report has said.
In a report entitled “The July 15th failed coup attempt in Turkey: Causes, Consequences, and Implications in Comparative Perspective”, Al Sharq Forum said the military who took part in the coup “did not underestimate the nature, quality, and power of Turkey’s new media environment, because if they had started the coup attempt at 3am as first planned, they probably could have taken control of the vast majority of the Turkish media.”
“However, once their plans were disrupted by intelligence services, they had little chance of ‘convincing military actors that the success of the coup had the support of almost everybody in the military and that any possible resistance was minor’: a factor crucial for coup success.”
They did however believe that the coup would be completed by daylight hours and so called their action “Operation Thunderbolt”. It was foiled because Turkish intelligence picking up on the coup attempt and they “had the time, courage and tools at their disposal to mobilise in opposition to the coup and resist it”.
The organisation said there are “more and more details that confirm the initial allegation that the defeated coup attempt was masterminded by officers loyal to the Gülen movement.”
It recommended “military reforms need to be redesigned and then brought back onto the government’s short and long-term agenda” to ensure future stability in the country.
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