The International Relations Committee meeting will be held in the LaPlaza office complex conference room F-138. 

Speaker: Frank Rettenberg - THE FAILED COUP IN TURKEY

The attempted coup d'etat in Turkey the night of July 15 revealed sharp cleavages within Turkish society.  It has permanently damaged the prestige of the Turkish Army, and will drastically affect civil-military relations in Turkey. It may also lead to significant shifts in Turkish foreign policy, specifically a cooling towards the West and a rapprochement with Russia.   The latter in turn could affect developments in Syria, where Ankara and Moscow have been on different sides of the struggle, and where Turkey has been frustrated by Moscow's (and the US's) support of local Kurds against Islamic radicals.  There is much evidence to suggest that followers of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher self-exiled in Pennsylvania, were heavily involved in the coup.  Turkey has demanded Gulen's extradition.  If the Justice Department cannot establish sufficient legal grounds to support his expulsion, a significant downturn in US-Turkish relations can be anticipated.

Frank Rettenberg is a retired Foreign Service Officer who studied at Istanbul University and served three tours at the US Consul General in Istanbul.  He has revisited the country often, reads the Turkish press on a daily basis, and maintains contact with Turkish scholars in Turkey and the United States.  

SOCIAL GATHERING: 11:30 - 12:00 P.M.

SPEAKER: 12:00 - 1:30 P.M.

Bring a friend!