Protesters have clashed with police in Ankara after officers allegedly blocked a road being used by ambulances transporting victims of this morning’s bombing.

Bulent Tekdemir, who was at the rally, told the BBC that police used tear gas shortly after the explosions at 10am and “would not let ambulances through” in the aftermath.

Footage showed lines of riot officers appearing to block a road near the blast site, with ambulances parked in the background.

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Crowds started angrily shouting at officers, throwing missiles and beating them with flag poles and sticks as others called for calm.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ankara-terror-attack-protesters-clash-with-police-after-ambulances-blocked-following-explosions-a6689016.html

The Turkish government has censored news coverage of the terror attack in Ankara as Twitter and other social media sites went down across the country.

State media watchdog the Turkish Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) imposed a ban on broadcasting images of the blast.

A statement by RTÜK released on its official website said that; “The Turkish Prime Minister has imposed a temporary broadcast ban regarding the terror attack conducted in Ankara this morning.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ankara-terror-attack-turkey-censors-media-coverage-of-bombings-as-twitter-and-facebook-blocked-a6689036.html

U.S. has launched works to remove and replace the Patriot Air Defense System which was deployed at the Turkish military base in southeastern province of Gaziantep, within the planned withdrawal.
Military vehicles and missile launchers have been conveyed to İskenderun Port in Hatay province bordering Syria, followed by a police escort, set to be redeployed to U.S.

U.S. Patriots have been in Turkey since 2013

Having been deployed by U.S. against the threat of potential missile attacks from Syria, following Turkey’s application to NATO in Jan. 2013, the Patriot Air Defense System based on Gaziantep 5th Armed Brigand Command has been withdrawn, as its tour of duty has ended.

http://www.dha.com.tr/us-starts-to-redeploy-patriot-defense-units_1043575.html

ISTANBUL (Turkey) - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Saturday declared a "state of inactivity" after months of attacks in Turkey, pledging to suspend all offensive actions ahead of November polls.

"Heeding calls from Turkey and abroad, our movement has decided on a state of inactivity by our guerillas, unless our people and our guerilla forces are attacked," Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella movement that includes the PKK, said in a statement.

"During this process, our guerilla forces will refrain from carrying out planned activities, will not engage in any kind of activity apart from preserving its current position and make no attempts to hinder or harm the exercise of a fair and equal election," it said.

There had already been suggestions that the PKK was to announce a new ceasefire to help the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HDP) boost its score in the upcoming election on November 1.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=73611

Just a couple of weeks ago, a photo was taken of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, laughing and smiling together at the opening of a new mosque in Moscow. A couple of days later, the smile was whipped off Erdoğan's face when Russia kicked off its military operation in Syria and then violated Turkey's airspace.

These developments have not only undermined Turkey's main goals in Syria, they have also revealed that Turkey's dependence on Russian natural gas places Ankara in a difficult situation in terms of how it is able to respond to Moscow.

Russia's military campaign in Syria, which apparently Putin forgot to mention to Erdoğan during their meetings in Moscow, has been very bad news for Turkey. First, Russia's air campaigns in the West and South of Syria, along with the missile launches from Russia's Caspian flotilla, have killed off any hope Ankara may have had for the establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria. Second, the fact that Russia has been attacking Syrian rebels supported by Turkey has infuriated Ankara. Third, efforts to bring about a transitional political process without Assad are now almost certainly dead, as Moscow has resuscitated him and his regime and, with the support of Iran, will continue to do so. Fourth, there is the high risk of an increase in Syrian refuges flowing into Turkey.

Furthermore, Moscow's new efforts aimed at luring into cooperation Syria's Kurds, many of whom consider US efforts to fight ISIL and other terrorist groups in the country inadequate, is a significant worry for Ankara.

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/amanda-paul/turkey-and-russia-frenemies-at-loggerheads_401093.html

(Well-- this doesn't sound good since "Today's Zaman"publication seems to be a respected site that is quoted in several articles )


Today's Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş was taken from his office and arrested on charges of “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a series of tweets that the journalist said was simply him expressing a critical opinion.

İstanbul 4th Penal Judge of Peace Cevdet Özcan issued the warrant after prosecutor Umut Tepe objected to a ruling by the same court on Thursday that rejected his request to arrest Keneş. Although the court ruled out arrest, it decided to place Keneş under judicial supervision and banned him from traveling abroad.

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Keneş undergoes medical control after arrest

23:30: Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Keneş was taken to the Bayrampaşa State Hospital for a medical check-up. When asked by reporters what he would say as he left the hospital, Keneş said: “What should I say? This is the situation of the country. We will hopefully become a democratic country ruled by law. We will not give up this struggle. Nobody should either,” the journalist said.

Zaman’s Bilici believes Turkey will overcome these days

21:26: Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Abdülhamit Bilici, who was among those who showed solidarity with Keneş, addressed his colleagues after Keneş’s arrest, saying the arrest of the Today’s Zaman editor-in-chief is one of many cases in which journalists are facing legal pressure. “If the media turn silent, Turkey would be plunged into darkness. Turkey will not turn away from democracy. Turkey will never get dark. Turkey will never turn into an authoritarian regime and it will go forward towards democracy,” Bilici said.

http://www.todayszaman.com/national_live-todays-zaman-editor-in-chief-kenes-arrested-for-insulting-erdogan_401086.html

(Interesting older article from Amanda Paul of "Today's Zayman" who wrote the "Frenemies" article. Does this portend that horrendous bombing in Ankara? Were things in Turkey much worse than has been reported?

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Turkey is going to hell

AMANDA PAUL

September 12, 2015, Saturday

What we are seeing in Turkey these days is hell.

The country is witnessing very ugly and shocking racist and ethnic-based attacks of a kind I have never seen before -- at least on this scale. Numerous shops and businesses with any Kurdish link have been burned to the ground by ultranationalists, or people imitating them, while innocent people are getting attacked and beaten, including women and children, sometimes to death just because they speak Kurdish. Social media is overflowing with messages of hatred and anger which it seems certain circles of the state and elsewhere are manipulating for their own purposes.

-----------------This last paragraph.....

The reaction and role of the Turkish police is also of concern. Usually the police are all over demonstrations -- including very peaceful ones -- quickly taking measures to shut protests down. But in this upsurge of attacks they seem to have reacted in a very low key way, which is odd. There was a very low police presence during the second attack on Hürriyet. Only after strong national and international reactions against the attacks did the police take six suspects into custody. Davutoğlu also posted a message asking the police to take extra measures to protect the offices of political parties and of the media, where he also condemned the attacks on the media. Turkey is heading for the Nov. 1 snap parliamentary election in a very explosive and dangerous atmosphere. The more provocative messages that are made, the more attacks and violence we are seeing. It seems to me that with the exception of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, head of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's politicians, rather than calling for calm, continue to attack each other and further add heat to the already boiling tensions in society. This is very dangerous and political elites should find the political will to end this now.


http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/amanda-paul/turkey-is-going-to-hell_398922.html

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“Turkish officials claimed a third incident on Monday, when an unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet locked its radar for four and a half minutes on eight Turkish F-16 jets that were on patrol on their side of the border, in apparent preparation to open fire.” (“US, NATO step up threats to Russia over Syria“, World Socialist Web Site)

This was no mistake. The only time a fighter pilot adopts these protocols is when he plans to take down an enemy plane. This was a message, and while it might have been over-the-heads of the politicians and the media but, I assure you, every general in the Turkish High-Command knows what’s it means. This is a wake-up call. Moscow is indicating that there’s a new sheriff in town and that Turkey had better behave itself or there’s going to be trouble. There’s not going to be any US-Turkey no-fly zone over North Syria, there’s not going to be any aerial attacks on Syrian sites from the Turkish side of the border, and there certainly is not going to be any ground invasion of Turkish troops into Syria. The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces now control the skies over Syria and they are determined to defend Syria’s sovereign borders. That’s the message. Period.

This is a good example of how “preemption” can actually prevent conflicts rather than starting them. By firing a shot over Turkey’s bow, Moscow has dampened Erdogan’s plan to annex part of N. Syria and declare it a “safe zone”. Turkey will have to scrap that plan now realizing that any attempt to seize-and-hold Syrian territory will trigger a swift and powerful Russian retaliation. Seen in this light, Russia’s incursion looks like an extremely effective way to prevent a broader war by simply telegraphing to potential adversaries what they can and can’t do. Simply put: Putin has rewritten the rules of the game in Syria and Erdogan had better comply or else. Here’s more on Turkey from Patrick Cockburn in The Independent:

“A Turkish ground invasion into Syria, though still a possibility, would now be riskier with Russian aircraft operating in areas where Turkey would be most likely to launch an incursion.

http://www.marketoracle.cn/Article52613.html

and somewhat hopeful view of possible political solution from Mike?

Which accurate or not gives some idea of the games being played. Those things also afford a fine opportunity for propaganda.

I read Whitney occasionally, but he tends to "extrapolate" a bit too much.

The post in the Syria thread about "Russia transfers Ukraine war doctrine to Syria", that's the "not going well" version of what happens. It's actually an old British strategy when leaving a colony to its own devices, provide for political divisions so they won't get their shit together and come after you later. I would be surprised if they invented it. We like it too at times, like in Vietnam, for example. The spooks likes it a lot, they think it's clever. Needless to say, it is a double-edged sword. Anyway Putin has a string of them now. But he keeps them small. They are more "area denial" than aggressive, which is cheaper and reduces any tendency to independent thinking.

I'm going off line for a while, after I read your posts, might as well wait and see. I think what happens next depends on how the war goes, and that will take some time to filter through all the blather unless someone does something stupid.

Got to take a break myself... It will play out as it will.

Good comment on Putin by you. I tend to put too much hope in him being more rational than our War Hawks/NeoCons. So, what you said was a good reminder.