On Monday, Turkish police arrested 49 military commanders in Turkey’s three biggest cities- Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir- for allegedly conspiring to topple the government as part of the “Sledgehammer” plot. The details of this latest coup attempt were unveiled in the liberal Taraf newspaper last month and are possibly linked to the Ergenekon conspiracy. The arrest of high-level officials like former air force chief Ibrahim Firtina and former navy chief Ozden Ornek highlights once again the ongoing power struggle between the secular establishment and the moderately Islamist Justice and Development Party. For a concise, but thorough look at the military’s role in Turkish politics, check out this article in last week’s Economist.