Dang: Turkey arrests almost 3,000 of its own military in connection with coup attempt

Things are not OK in Turkey. The coup has been put down, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has returned to power. But the coup that nearly toppled him was not a matter of a few generals getting uppity and thinking they could wrestle control away. It was, shall we say, a tiny bit bigger than that:

More than 100 coup plotters are now dead, the acting military chief, Gen. Umit Dundar, said on live TV, while an additional 161 people — including civilians and police officers — were killed as ordinary Turks poured into the streets to confront tanks amid pitched battles in urban areas. At least 1,440 were wounded, officials said. “The situation is completely under control,” Prime Minister Benali Yildirim announced early Saturday afternoon, adding that more than 2,800 members of the military have been arrested and calling the attempt “a dark stain for Turkish democracy.” The move by rogue officers and their supporters was the most significant challenge to the country’s stability in decades, and it raised fears that a close U.S. ally could be destined for a prolonged period of civil strife.