The United States today is celebrating the declaration of independence issued by a murky group of dissidents in 1776, who, had they been rounded up by the duly constituted authorities, would have been summarily and ignominiously hanged. Their brief against their government — a government that claimed an ancient heritage and right to govern them […]
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Turkey
Key developments in the Arab Spring Today
Tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets Monday to demand an end to the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh and a move to a transitional government and elections. Saleh is recuperating in Saudi Arabia after surgery for injuries sustained in a rocket attack. Among the demands of the demonstrators is the departure of […]
Top Ten Arab Spring Advances this Week
With the horrid crackdowns on dissent in Syria and Bahrain and the vicious shelling by Qaddafi brigades of the port of Misrata in Libya on Tuesday, it would be easy to concentrate solely on the negative news. But the Arab Spring is still producing some positive reforms and questioning of past corrupt practices, and even […]
Top Ten Accomplishments of the UN No-Fly Zone
1. The participation of the Muslim world in the United Nations no-fly zone over Libya has been underlined. The measure was called for by the Arab League, which has not in fact changed its mind about its desirability. Qatar is expected to be flying missions over Libya by this weekend. Other Arab League countries will […]
Eissenstat: Libya and Turkey
Howard Eissenstat writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: Libya and Turkey: Ankara’s foreign policy goes off key For a while, at least, Turkey seemed to be riding high as a wave of protests swept from Tunisia to Egypt to a half dozen other states in the Middle East and North Africa. After a […]
Top Ten Middle East Challenges for U.S. Policy, 2011
10. The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives will attempt to stampede Obama into keeping troops in Iraq, delaying any withdrawals from Afghanistan, and launching a military strike on Iran. Just last week, Rudy Giuliani, Fran Townsend, and other members of the Permanent War Party flew to Paris to lobby on behalf of […]
Turkey, 1920
Click image for large map. Turkey, 1920 (Shows Allied occupation of Istanbul, plans to give territory to Greece, Italy, in post-Ottoman Turkish-speaking territories plus Eastern Anatolia). From: Atlas of Reconstruction for Schools (New York: Rand McNally, 1921).
Santa Claus was from Turkey?
The modern Turkish town of Demre is on the site of Myra, the birthplace of Saint Nicholas, whom the world now calls Santa Claus. If they are smart, they’ll build a huge amusement park and resort on the theme! A biography of the generous fourth-century saint is here. Here is a video on Saint Nicholas […]
Cardinal Ratzinger Moderated Opposition to Turkey Joining Europe on Becoming Pope: Wikileaks
The Guardian reports on wikileaks cables regarding the position of the Catholic Church on Europe’s Christian character and its unease with Turkey joining the EU. (the cable is here.) The problem is that, while the article on this matter is clear and largely accurate, the headline: “Pope wanted Muslim Turkey kept out of EU” is […]