President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has clamped down so hard on the media that he has effectively forfeited any claim to democratic governance.
Several leading Turkish journalists are either in prison or awaiting trial for disclosing the support that Turkish intelligence has been providing – including precursors to make chemical weapons – to armed rebels in Syria. Erdogan has also accused Turkish parliamentarian Eren Erdem of treason for disclosing documentary evidence of Turkish government complicity in this.
Turkish intelligence almost certainly facilitated the (in)famous sarin attack outside Damascus on August 21, 2013. John Kerry and the neocons blamed that attack on Bashar al-Assad’s government and came within inches from mouse-trapping President Obama into doing “shock and awe” against Syria. (10 minutes)