By Barbara Slavin In between Twitter outbursts at the Broadway hit Hamilton, President-elect Donald Trump has been interviewing Cabinet picks — and meeting investors in his far-flung business empire. A week after his upset win over Hillary Clinton, Trump greeted Indian partners Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta at Trump Tower in New York. […]
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The Ever Tenuous Alliance Between the U.S. and Turkey
Posted August 10th, 2016 at 4:27 pm (UTC-5)
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As Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to mend fences with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the rift between Ankara and Washington seemed to widen a little more.
Turkey’s Justice Minister fired verbal a warning shot to the United States: hand over cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey claims was behind a July coup attempt, or risk sacrificing America’s relationship with its NATO ally.
Gulen has been living in self-exile in the U.S. since 1999. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau says extraditing Gulen is a “legal, technical process…governed by a 1981 extradition treaty.”
Turkey and Russia have been on opposite ends of the war in Syria, magnified in November when a Russian warplane that strayed into Turkish airspace was shot down. Now, foreign policy experts are trying to read the tea leaves from the Erdogan-Putin get together.
Turkey and the West Are Heading for a Breakup
Posted August 3rd, 2016 at 2:41 pm (UTC-5)
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Turkey’s tortured relationship with the West seems to be reaching a crisis point. The botched coup attempt and the reaction in the aftermath have exposed a widening emotional chasm between Ankara and its Western allies. A conviction is strengthening among many in Turkey that the U.S. was behind the violent attempt to overthrow the Turkish government.
After Failed Coup, Must U.S. Extradite Cleric?
Posted July 19th, 2016 at 11:42 am (UTC-5)
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[T]he crimes Turkey alleges that Gulen must answer for will be critical here. If the notoriously Internet-averse President alleges that criticism of the government on social media is a crime, that’s not likely to satisfy dual criminality. Nasty speech on Twitter is not only legal in the United States, it’s a national pastime.
The Coup that Wasn’t
Posted July 18th, 2016 at 4:10 pm (UTC-5)
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The attempted coup in Turkey demonstrated the practicalities and pitfalls of how alliances work.
Without mentioning him by name, President Obama reiterated his “unwavering support for the democratically-elected, civilian Government” of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Obama’s paper statement on Saturday specifically mentioned needing Turkey’s cooperation against terrorism (read: Islamic State.)
Erdogan was slow to allow the U.S. to use Incirlik Air Base to launch attacks against ISIS. He has cracked down on human rights, free speech and freedom of the press.
But Turkey is an ally the United States and NATO need if there is hope for peace in the Middle East.