Message from @trusty rusty ✌

Discord ID: 460086168567152651


2018-06-23 14:14:08 UTC  

Erdogan will also have more authoritarian tools at his disposal. These snap elections trigger the full implementation of constitutional changes passed in a controversial referendum in April 2017. This new system will codify executive powers granted to Erdogan under state of emergency laws, including the issuance of presidential decrees as law. It will also erode what little leverage remains with the Turkish Parliament or the political opposition.

2018-06-23 14:14:23 UTC  

The net result: Erdogan is poised to remain in power until at least 2028, with a deeper megalomaniac desire to expand his regional footprint at others’ expense. This will quickly drive deeper wedges into Turkey’s partnerships with the U.S. and NATO.

2018-06-23 14:14:37 UTC  

Erdogan will continue, for example, to balance cooperation and competition with Iran, even at the cost of U.S. fines for evading economic sanctions against dealings with Tehran. He has also bristled at the U.S partnership with anti-ISIS fighters affiliated with a Kurdish militant group that he sees as a threat to Turkish sovereignty.

2018-06-23 14:14:52 UTC  

The U.S. has cut tactical deals with Turkey in Syria, but these cannot satiate Erdogan’s drive for expanding Turkey’s sphere of influence beyond the historic borders of the Ottoman Empire.

2018-06-23 14:15:04 UTC  

The U.S. and Turkey recently agreed on a framework for the status of the mixed Kurdish-Arab city of Manbij, which is contested by Turkey and the U.S. partner force in northwestern Syria. This agreement fails to repair the damage done from years of mutually destabilizing Turkish and U.S. policies, absent a roadmap for broader U.S.-Turkish cooperation in Syria.

2018-06-23 14:15:17 UTC  

Meantime, Erdogan’s response has been to deepen Turkish cooperation with Salafi jihadist groups, including Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

2018-06-23 14:15:32 UTC  

Additionally, Erdogan will make good on threats to expand military operations abroad. He  abandoned negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization waging a decades-long insurgency inside of Turkey, and has attacked PKK-affiliated militants in northwest Syria without much consequence. He will likely continue targeting similar fighters elsewhere in Syria and in Iraq.

2018-06-23 14:15:47 UTC  

Erdogan’s attempts to silence the pro-Kurdish domestic political voice renders future Turkish-Kurdish negotiations even more difficult to reignite, virtually guaranteeing further instability and violence.

2018-06-23 14:16:05 UTC  

For the likes of Putin, Erdogan’s victory will be an opportunity to continue subverting NATO’s unity and weakening the alliance’s southern flank. Turkey’s purchase of the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system will throw a technical wrench into NATO partners’ interoperability.

2018-06-23 14:16:28 UTC  

Russia also enabled Turkey’s operations against the U.S. Syrian Kurdish ground partner in Syria, triggering an operational pause to anti-ISIS operations in March. Putin’s cultivation of Erdogan will attempt to stymie NATO’s effectiveness further from within.

2018-06-23 14:16:42 UTC  

Russia also enabled Turkey’s operations against the U.S. Syrian Kurdish ground partner in Syria, triggering an operational pause to anti-ISIS operations in March. Putin’s cultivation of Erdogan will attempt to stymie NATO’s effectiveness further from within.

2018-06-23 14:16:47 UTC  

Erdogan’s attempts to secure even more absolute rule at home will cause additional international problems. His paranoia on the heels of a failed coup attempt in July, 2016, fuels a vendetta against alleged coup plotter Fethullah Gulen, who resides in Pennsylvania. Erdogan fashions Westerners traveling in Turkey as diplomatic bargaining chips.

2018-06-23 14:17:03 UTC  

Erogan is a very dangerous man

2018-06-23 14:17:09 UTC  

American Pastor Andrew Brunson has remained behind bars in Turkish custody for over a year, even as the U.S. State Department has said that Turkey has not presented any credible evidence for detaining him. Worse yet, thousands of Turkish citizens also remain imprisoned – many for the “crime” of voicing political dissent – with uncertain futures.

2018-06-23 14:17:22 UTC  

The pace of Erdogan’s post-coup purges outside of Turkey also shows no indication of slowing. Turkey’s intelligence agency serves as the expeditionary arm of the Turkish state, reportedly seizing 80 Turkish citizens from 18 countries by March 2018.

2018-06-23 14:17:36 UTC  

One of the biggest weapons for destabilization that Erdogan wields is migration, as he has more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees to host or expel as he pleases. The plight of these migrants will continue to prove useful for Erdogan’s diplomatic maneuvering with Europe.

2018-06-23 14:17:53 UTC  

Erdogan habitually threatens the implementation of the Turkey-European Union deal that attempts to stem the flow of migrants to the EU in exchange for an advantage in bilateral economic and political negotiations.

2018-06-23 14:18:05 UTC  

However, the victory of Erdogan’s presidential system positions Turkey as far away as ever from the distant dream of EU membership.

2018-06-23 14:18:27 UTC  

In the longer run, phony electoral victories will not save Erdogan from himself. Among other things, he will face mounting pressure to resolve a currency crisis that he created. Turkey will continue to feel the full effects of Erdogan’s economic mismanagement after the election as he threatens the Turkish Central Bank’s independence.

2018-06-23 14:18:45 UTC  

In sum, Erdogan’s post-election grip on power will drive domestic crises, destabilize Turkey’s foreign partnerships, and ultimately undermine the very position he is attempting to secure. For everyone else that means more headaches, more violence, and more instability in a part of the world that definitely does not need it.

2018-06-23 14:18:54 UTC  

@trusty rusty ✌ That is just WRONG!

2018-06-23 14:18:57 UTC  

Elizabeth Teoman is a research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based policy research organization, where she oversees Turkish-related issues.

2018-06-23 14:22:24 UTC  

.@PressSec got kicked out of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Va tonight. Apparently the owner didn’t want to serve her and her party out of moral conviction.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgWvFsiVQAAD3ub.jpg https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgWvFsoUwAAovlg.jpg

2018-06-23 14:22:35 UTC  

put the word out

2018-06-23 14:22:52 UTC  
2018-06-23 14:23:28 UTC  

far right🙄

2018-06-23 14:23:42 UTC  

Well MSM

2018-06-23 14:23:51 UTC  

Vinnie Paul, the drummer and co-founder of metal band Pantera, has died at age 54.
Pantera announced Paul’s death on the band’s Facebook page on Friday.
Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away. Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time. The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time,” the statement read.
Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away. Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time. The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time,” the statement read.
Paul and his brother, Dimebag Darrell, formed the legendary metal band in 1981, Billboard reported. The band was nominated for four Grammy awards and had nine albums make it to the Billboard 200.
The band’s 1994 album “Far Beyond” reached number one on the Billboard chart. “Walk” and “Cemetery Gates” are two of the band’s best-known songs.
After the band broke up in 2003, Paul and his brother formed Damageplan. In 2004, the band was performing in Columbus, Ohio, when Darrell was shot and killed.
Paul was also the drummer for heavy metal supergroup Hellyeah. The band also included Mudvayne singer Chad Gray and Tom Maxwell of Nothingface.

2018-06-23 14:24:04 UTC  

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