Failure of Nerve? Coupists' F-16s Had Erdogan's Jet Targeted As He Flew Back to Istanbul, But Failed to Fire

Do not take a shot at the king unless you take a shot at the king.

Meanwhile, Erdogan is in full vengeance and purge mode.

Should have fired at his jet, fellas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking to CNN's Becky Anderson on Monday through his translator, said he would approve reinstating the death penalty if lawmakers approved the measure in parliament and called the attempted coup on Friday a "clear crime of treason."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made clear he will show no mercy.
Just days after a failed military coup that broke out into deadly violence, talks of reintroducing the death penalty have revived, more than 7,000 people have been arrested and some of the very institutions responsible for the country's security have been gutted.

One of the coup's chief plotters is a cleric residing here, in the US. Turkey is demanding we extradite him -- so they can kill him, of course. Correction/Clarification: The US-based cleric is claimed to be a plotter by Erdogan -- I wrongly implied/assumed Erdogan was on the level. I shouldn't have. I apologize for the very shaky assumption.

It's an interesting question. Certainly we shouldn't extradite him, and yet, this guy attempted a coup against a country we're nominally allied with. (Or "allied" with.)

What would be our justification for refusing extradition, apart from "You deserved it?"

And what claim could we have to extradite terrorists Turkey may catch back to the US?

posted by Ace at 02:35 PM

| Access Comments