What did we give up to get it back on?
Via The Hill:
Commercial power has been restored to a Turkish airbase used by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), U.S. European Command announced Friday.
“The United States, in close coordination with the Turkish military, will continue to work towards ensuring that the Incirlik base, the U.S. service members who live and work on it, and the operations occurring there remain fully prepared to take on a myriad of missions as part of efforts to defeat terrorism,” the command said in a statement.
Power was shut off to the base on July 16 in the wake of a failed coup attempt.
The Turkish commander of the base was accused of being involved in the coup and arrested. There was also evidence that Turkish refueling planes at the base were aiding warplanes used in the coup.
After commercial power was cut, U.S. operations at the base were running on backup generators. The Pentagon had said the generators provided the needed energy to ensure the fight against ISIS was unaffected but acknowledged that a prolonged power outage could become an issue.
When power remained off days after the coup, some questioned whether the base was being used as a bargaining chip as Turkey seeks the extradition of a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania it blames for the coup.
U.S. officials have shot down any such suggestion.
"We’ve had no requests of any kind of quid pro quo whatsoever from the government of Turkey,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday when asked about Turkey using the base for leverage.