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[ by Charles Cameron — from blessed peace to brutal war ]
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Yesterday:

Promenade des Anglais, Nice by Edvard Munch 1891 (Private Collection). pic.twitter.com/ac6U5YSuXa

— Dr Liv Gibbs (@DrLivGibbs) July 15, 2016

BREAKING: Dozens reported dead after truck drives into crowd on #BastilleDay in Nice https://t.co/nVsCF4shQm pic.twitter.com/GApWbetvJ1

— The Hill (@thehill) July 14, 2016

One of the first people killed by the truck in #NiceAttack was a Muslim woman https://t.co/YlCw8dxcCj pic.twitter.com/Fe9pzxeKmo

— Anup Kaphle (@AnupKaphle) July 15, 2016

In 2010 al-Qaeda proposed using a pickup truck to "mow down" civilians https://t.co/EqOOpE8sAB

— Will McCants (@will_mccants) July 15, 2016

In 2006 former UNC student rammed 9 people with his SUV https://t.co/OPbnqDr46k. Helpful wiki on ramming attacks https://t.co/0z0GY6XlgG

— Will McCants (@will_mccants) July 15, 2016

@will_mccants Also happened repeatedly (on much smaller scale) in Israel

— Dan Byman (@dbyman) July 15, 2016

"Battle of Algiers" has a scene with an ambulance doing the same thing…in a movie made almost 50 years ago. https://t.co/4pwqlR8t8X

— Gregory Miller (@thestrategyprof) July 15, 2016

@thestrategyprof @Aelkus ahha, found it! (1:36:56) https://t.co/OEnMIP2YrS

— (((davi – ??))) (@daviottenheimer) July 15, 2016

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Today:

1. Yrs ago, al-Qaeda proposed using cars as weapons, then dropped idea after Bin Laden objected. ISIS resurrected it https://t.co/PZfjLYWeeF

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

2. We don't yet know the drivers motive. But his heinous crime occurred against a backdrop of ISIS repeatedly calling for exactly that

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

3. My piece relies heavily on expertise of @thomasjoscelyn, who explained that in 2010, al-Qaeda's Inspire magazine proposed using cars

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

4. Article in came out in Oct 2010, illustrated by a Ford pickup truck under headline "The Ultimate Mowing Machine" pic.twitter.com/vQ3BTECrt7

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

5. Osama Bin Laden took issue with tactic. Acc to @thomasjoscelyn, Bin Laden said it was inappropriate bc killing would be indiscriminate

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

8. Since Sept 2014, ISIS has repeatedly proposed using cars as instrument of terror. One month later in Oct 2014, a Canadian did just that

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

9. On Dec 21-22, 2014, there were back-to-back cases of IS-inspired attackers using cars to run over pedestrians in Dijon and Nantes, France

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) July 16, 2016

Or as they say on Twitter, #FridayFollow Rukmini Callimachi.

[ by Charles Cameron — the power of images in which overwhelming humanity is juxtaposed with overwhelming force ]
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The image of Ieshia Evans standing truth to power became an instant icon last week, as did an earlier photo of a man facing down a line of tanks at Tienanmen Square. Now, that photo of individual courage in the face of a tank has a cousin from Turkey, and Kenneth Roth has paired the two of them in what I term a DoubleQuote in the Wild:

Turkey's tank man. pic.twitter.com/cCwnxyoCZj

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 16, 2016

**

Serenity in the eye of a camera has many battalions.

[ by Charles Cameron — a substantial side-current in the coup attempt draws attention to Gülen, who presently lives in the Poconos and is heavily involved in US charter schools ]
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I don’t have anything fresh to say about the situation in Turkey beyond what others can say, but my interest in religious movements has long focused my attention on Fethullah Gülen.

Like his rough contemporary Harun Yahya aka Adnan Oktar — celebrated for his Islamic creationism — Gülen was a student of the late Said Nursi. He is reported to have been influenced by the works of Rumi, Ibn Arabi, and other sufis. Gülen has strengthened one sphere of his considerable influence by encouraging academics to write about him, and I’m not sure as to how much of what has been written as a result is the flattery of courtiers, and how much reliable scholarship — but for what it’s worth, Heon Kim‘s Gülen’s Dialogic Sufism: A Constructional and Constructive Factor of Dialogue, published in the then-Gülenist newspaper, Zaman, discusses both Gülen’ssufism and his interest in interfaith dialogue.

He’s certainly an interesting fellow to watch.

**

From Twitter:

Erdogan has accused the Gulen movement of being behind the coup. Kristin Fabbe explains what that's about https://t.co/b7a7j7TzXJ

— Marc Lynch (@abuaardvark) July 15, 2016

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Whether or not this is true, Gulen's presence in Pennsylvania means the US has to decide what to do very quickly. https://t.co/ADA7C0wBAD

— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) July 15, 2016

Erdogan sustained a major crackdown on Gulen followers, their charity, paper, etc. Blowback, if indeed orchestrated by them, inevitable.

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) July 15, 2016

No chance of Gulen – military alliance https://t.co/9fm28Tjldy

— Reza Aslan (@rezaaslan) July 15, 2016

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How a man in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains (Imam Fethullah Gulen) is causing chaos in #Turkey https://t.co/ZUH3deUIjL #TurkeyCoup

— Patrick Tucker (@DefTechPat) July 15, 2016

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If Erdogan restored, Gulen's position in US would create unprecedented US/Turkey crisis.

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 15, 2016

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Erdogan has blamed the coup on the Gulen 'cult' led by Fethullah Gulen; its rise is documented in WikiLeaks https://t.co/DzfNaRTewU

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 15, 2016

US cables on Turkey's last #Gulen 'coup' https://t.co/ZMYIkLtjSx #TurkeyCoup #Erdogan

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 15, 2016

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#TurkeyCoup: Hillary Clinton emails on the Turkish military's General Staff and Gulen https://t.co/2UA4AlsjuN

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 15, 2016

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Who is Fethullah Gulen, and what is his role in the coup attempt in Turkey? https://t.co/EbFy9XtMDx pic.twitter.com/xa4dKbBuF0

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 15, 2016

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BREAKING
Statement by @AfSV_US about events in #Turkey, #Erdogan and #Gulen
More: https://t.co/U8oNY9Jfkr pic.twitter.com/nlNH3V2nhS

— Emre Celik (@emrecelikrumi) July 15, 2016

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Istanbul Police Chief says only 104 soldiers involved in #TurkeyCoup. Leader named as Col Muharrem Kose, recently dismissed as Gulen member.

— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) July 16, 2016

The fact that Erdogan's first impulse is to blame Gulen of all people, then vow revenge, explains why this coup happened in first the place!

— Reza Asln (@rezaaslan) July 16, 2016

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Aha!

#Turkey Mr. Adnan Oktar is live on TV now. Watch in English at https://t.co/a3DVHlURs5 pic.twitter.com/gwIxTgzdUw

— Harun Yahya (@harun_yahya) July 16, 2016

**

Go figure.

[ by Charles Cameron — ’tis the season of the unexpected ]
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Strange votes:

Westboro Baptist:

and Pokemon Go:

[ by Charles Cameron — folks you might not entrust with your secrets ]
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I was on my way to DoubleQuote two Presidential candidates that some people wouldn’t want to entrust with secret briefings from the Intelligence Community — Trump & Clinton — citing Shane Harris‘ Spies Worry Candidate Trump Will Spill Secrets piece from The Beast and Brent Scher‘s Former White House Counsel: Hillary Clinton Should Not Get Intelligence Briefings at the Washington Free Beacon — old stories, both of them, but they just now clicked together for me —

But why worry, when Kristina Wong at The Hill has done it for me?

**

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This is all old hat, of course — Wong’s piece was posted more than a month ago — but still, as she said..

Some U.S. intelligence officials are worried about providing a routine intelligence briefing to Donald Trump once he becomes the official Republican presidential nominee, according to a report.

Eight senior security officials told Reuters they were concerned that Trump’s “shoot from the hip” style could pose national security risks, as they prepare to give him a routine pre-election briefing for presidential nominees.

They also cited his lack of foreign policy experience, and his little known team of foreign policy advisers.
“People are very nervous,” one senior U.S. security official said.

However, the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss a political domestic issue, said they would not deviate from the usual “Top Secret” briefing format, to avoid any appearance of bias.

Current and formal officials also expressed concern over briefing Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, according to Reuters.

They cited the scandal over her use of emails when she was secretary of State and her handling of sensitive information. She is currently facing an FBI probe over whether she compromised security and broke laws over her use of a private email server for government work at State.

“The only candidate who has proven incapable of handling sensitive information is Hillary Clinton,” Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told Reuters. “If there is anyone they should be worried about it is Hillary Clinton.”

**

And all of this brings me to my Totally Impractical Question — which if anything gets more interesting as the weeks go by:

If someone has loose enough lips — or email servers — to be unworthy to receive Top Secret briefings as a candidate, do they really suddenly get a whole lot more reliable, once they’re elected?