Coup d'etat

As coups go, the Turkish effort was a study in ineptitude: No serious attempt to capture or muzzle the existing political leadership, no leader ready to step in, no communication strategy (or even awareness of social media), no ability to mobilize a critical mass within either the armed forces or society. In their place a platoon of hapless soldiers on a bridge over the Bosporus in Istanbul and the apparently uncoordinated targeting of a few government buildings in Ankara.

 It was enough for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on his cellphone’s FaceTime app, to call supporters into the streets for the insurrection to fold. That Erdogan will no doubt be the chief beneficiary of this turmoil, using it to further his push for an autocratic Islamist Turkey, does not mean that he staged it.

Yet, it doesn't mean Erdogan didn't stage it either

A Syrian government newspaper says the failed coup in Turkey was fabricated and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the military.

The daily Al-Thawra said Sunday that the attempted coup was a plot by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to “avenge the military and strip it of its remaining popular support.”