Courtesy of Mish.
Normally I stay far away from the rumor mill. Typically, most rumors turn out to be false.
However, actions in Turkey suggest at least some substance to this rumor. Moreover, it’s entirely believable. First let’s tune in to what Bloomberg reports (which I also commented on yesterday).
Please consider Turkey Blocks YouTube After Syria Incursion Plans Leaked
Turkey defended its decision to block YouTube after a leaked recording of a meeting where top officials discussed a possible military incursion into Syria appeared on the site.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu today equated the leak to an “attack on Turkey’s borders” in an interview with NTV television. Davutoglu said he had chaired the meeting with the head of national intelligence and other military and diplomatic officials to discuss how to respond to threats by Islamist militants against an enclave of Turkish territory inside Syria. Some sections of the tape were “doctored,” the foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday.
The leaked tape is the latest in a series of recordings posted anonymously on the Internet since December, some of them allegedly from a police investigation, which have embroiled Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a corruption scandal and led to the departure of four cabinet ministers. It comes before weekend local elections, where Erdogan is seeking a victory that he says will lay to rest the allegations of graft.
Under fire since the corruption investigation burst into the open in December, he has purged dozens of prosecutors and thousands of police, as well as imposing media curbs. Yesterday’s YouTube shutdown follows similar measures against Twitter last week. The government says some of the recordings were assembled by montage.
What We Know
The above is what is claimed by Erdogan and discussed by Bloomberg. We do know that Erdogan tried to shut down Twitter (but failed), and he did shut down YouTube.
He also called the leak an act of treason and refused to let media even discuss the allegation. What follows is the rumor.
Turkey Transcript
Here is the alleged Turkey Transcript involving a plot to invade Syria.
Select Quotes
Hakan F?DAN: But hear me out, we know how to put two and to together. Now, we know that what happens there has no real strategic value for us, besides the political outward appearance and whatever. Now, if we are going to enter a war, let us plan this beforehand and do it. Now, I..
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