Europe

Euractiv.com | – – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump yesterday (8 December) defended his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, comparing his plan to the World War Two detainment of Japanese-Americans in an attempt to dismiss growing outrage from around the world. On Monday (7 December), the billionaire conservative called for blocking […]

al-Qaeda

How Turkish President Erdogan went Wrong: Dividing and Not Ruling

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Receb Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, was once seen as a political breath of fresh air and a beacon of change in the Middle East. Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia and other countries in the region were locked into an unhealthy political gridlock. The […]

Bashar al-Assad

Putin: Turkey was protecting ISIL oil Smuggling; Russia urges Assad-Kurdish Alliance

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday in Paris that his government had intelligence that the reason Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet last week was to protect oil smuggling from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) through Turkey. Putin said, “”We have every reason to think that the […]

France

ISIL/ Daesh exults at our loss of Liberties: “8 Men caused a nationwide state of emergency”

contributors

by Charles Kurzman | ISLAMiCommentary Two years ago, al-Qaeda’s Iraqi franchise took Raqqa, Syria, from al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise, and was promptly kicked out of al-Qaeda. Within the year, the rulers of Raqqa proclaimed themselves “the Islamic State” and embarked on a global campaign to spread their so-called caliphate throughout the world. The group’s attacks this […]

Economy

Turkey reels as Putin imposes Stiff Economic Sanctions

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Russian sanctions announced by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday could have a severe impact on the Turkish economy. It is not clear whether President Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu did not expect this severe a reaction to the shoot-down of a Russian fighter […]

Russia

Are Putin’s Economic Sanctions on Turkey the end of a Golden Age in Moscow-Ankara Relations?

contributors

By Alexander Titov | (The Conversation) | – – In locking horns over Syria, Russia and Turkey are playing out the latest chapter in a rivalry that has spanned centuries. Since the 1600s the two have lurched between conflict and uneasy friendship. But the war of words that has erupted since Turkey shot down a […]

Featured

As French Pres. Hollande meets Putin, France considers alliance w/ Syrian Army

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – French President Francois Hollande met Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in his marathon search for a “Grand and Unique Coalition” against Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) in Syria. One of the sticking points between France and the US on the one side and Russia […]

Featured

Putin: Turkey supports Radicalism & We may have to Respond, hence Tourism Ban

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday explained his rationale for asking Russian tourists to leave Turkey, and it is ominous. He anticipates that there may be further “incidents” between Turkey and Russia over Syria policy, and that Moscow may be constrained to “respond.” In that case, […]

Russia

Boycotts as Russia seethes against Turkey after Shootdown

contributors

By Tom Balmforth | ( RFE/RL) | – – MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin said there would be “serious consequences” after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane on November 24. True to the Russian president’s word, Moscow has issued a slew of retaliatory measures and proposals following the incident along the Syrian-Turkish border. The […]