"Secretary of State John Kerry believes the state-granted power will be restored any day now."
Not exactly a blog this time, and only a suggestion that something strange is afoot in Turkey involving American nukes and military personnel apparently captive, and no mention at all, to my knowledge in the U.S. media. Turkey is reportedly holding 1500 U.S. servicemen prisoner at Incerlik airbase. According to the articles below electricity has been cut and food is not allowed in to the base for the past five days (as of 21 July, the latest story describing the event) Due to the base lockdown ISIL has not faced attacks from Turkey and, since the base is without electricity the nuclear bombs are being cooled by backup generators. Which also does not sound encouraging.While the idea of nuclear weapons on a foreign base protected by the U.S. military warrants concern, with the outcome to thirteen years first tolerating, and then concluding an agreement allowing Iran to achieve nuclear threshold status heightens concern regarding those troops and those bombs.Erdogan locks US airmen, nuclear arms in IncirlikDEBKAfile Special Report July 20, 2016, 11:29 AM (IDT)
Some 1,500 US airmen and their families have been locked in the southern Turkish air base of Incirlik together with a stock if tactical nuclear bombs since President Reccep Erdogan crushed an attempted coup on Saturday, July 16. In the four days up until Wednesday, July 20, therefore, no air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq have been staged that Turkish base.This extraordinary situation, reported here by DEBKAfile’s military sources, whereby a large group of American military personnel are held virtual captive by an allied government, was almost certainly raised in the phone call that took place Tuesday between President Barack Obama and Erdogan. But the most outlandish aspect of this affair is that no American official has raised it in public - nor even by the administration’s most vocal critics at the Republican convention which nominated Donald Trump as presidential candidate.The situation only rated a brief mention in some Russian publications under the heading: “Turkish investigators enter & search Incirlik air base where US nukes are housed.”Our military sources report that deep bunkers located near the base’s running strips house B61 tactical nuclear gravity bombs.In the course of the massive sweep-cum-purge Erdogan is conducting in every corner of the country, hundreds of police officers accompanied by Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Office investigators are the only people permitted to enter the strategic air base, and only emergency cases may leave, after coordinating with the Turkish authorities.The base is under virtual siege by large police contingents, cut off from electric power for several days except for local generators which will soon run out of fuel. This pressure appears to be Erdogan’s method of turning hundreds of Americans on the base into hostages to force Washington into extraditing Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of orchestrating the failed coup from his place of asylum in Pennsylvania.The victims of Erdogan’s strategy of extortion are several US units deployed in Incirlik under squadron command. They include engineering, communication, logistics, air control, a military hospital with medical and operational facilities, air transportation and more… fears for the fate of the US airmen trapped in Incirlik and the tactical nukes were exacerbated by the comments of two top officials of the Erdogan regime Tuesday.Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim insinuated that the Americans may be viewed as partners, at least passive ones, in the conspiracy, in view of the use the plotters made of Incirlik for sending aircraft based there and arming them for the missions of intercepting the President’s airplane (which was never realized) and bombing the Parliament building in Ankara (which was).The Turkish Labor Minister, Süleyman Soylu, was more explicit: “This coup has America behind,” he twitted in his Twitter account.The Obama administration’s caution over the scary Incirlik impasse appears to derive from trepidation, shared by Riyadh, Cairo and Jerusalem, that the autocratic Turkish ruler’s Stalinist purge reaching into all branches of government and all walks of Turkish society is part and parcel of a comprehensive Muslim revolution underway in Turkey. An incautious word from Washington may quicken the process.Ongoing Lockdown at U.S-Turkish Air Base Believed to Hold Nuclear Weapons07-21-16
The media has been largely silent about the ongoing situation at Incirlik air base, where the Turkish government has cut off power and supplies for five days and counting while U.S. airmen are held inside.Sources have reported an ongoing lockdown situation at Turkey's Incirlik air base, which exists to protect U.S. and NATO interests in the country. Oddly, only a handful of media outlets have reported on the shady situation.Here's what we know so far:- A lockdown has been ongoing since the Turkish government cut off the power supply to Incirlik five days ago, following the attempted military coup that threatened the country's elected officials.- Initial reports stated there were 1,500 U.S. airmen being held on the base and barred from leaving.- The base is believed to house U.S. nuclear weapons - B-61 bombs, to be exact - which are being maintained by backup generators.- Secretary of State John Kerry believes the state-granted power will be restored any day now.- Food, water, and other supplies are being carefully rationed among those stuck within Incirlik, as no additional supplies are being permitted entrance.