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Pentagon says no US military support for Turkey coup
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Showing support -- People with Turkish flags gather at the 15 July martyrs square in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday. The government crackdown in the coup's aftermath has strained Turkey's ties with key allies including the United States. (AP/Ali Unal)
T
he Pentagon on Friday flatly rejected allegations by Turkey's president that the US military was somehow involved in or in any way supported the recent failed coup in that country.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the US Friday and criticized a senior military commander who had expressed concerns that the violent July 15 coup could have longer-term impact on US relations with the Turkish military. Erdogan said the US was taking sides with coup plotters.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said any suggestion that the US.supported the coup was absurd and wrong.
He said Defense Secretary Ash Carter received assurances from his Turkish counterpart that the fight against Islamic State militants won't be affected. The US launches airstrikes, surveillance aircraft and other missions out of Turkey's Incirlik air base.
Cook said that while US and Turkish officials "talk every day," he could not say whether or not any senior US defense or military officials had reached out to Erdogan Friday to specifically discuss or refute the latest accusations.
Erdogan at a speech Friday criticized Gen. Joseph Votel, the top US commander for the Middle East, who noted that some Turkish military leaders whom the US had relationships with have been jailed in the wake of the attempted coup.
"So I'm concerned about what the impact is on those relationships as we continue to move forward," Votel said during the Aspen Security Forum on Thursday.
Cook echoed Votel's comments, saying the key point is that "we have excellent military-to-military cooperation, have had for some time with the Turkish military. If you are no longer able to talk to a counterpart that you've dealt with for some time, there's a concern that there might be some breakdown in communication. We are trying to work through that with the Turks and have every confidence we'll be able to do that."
Senior US leaders, including President Barack Obama, have spoken with their Turkish counterparts in the last two weeks since the coup attempt.
Erdogan has accused the US of harboring the coup's alleged mastermind, Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Turkey has demanded the US extradite Gulen.
There were 290 people killed in the coup, and thousands have been detained. (**)
