Dive into the archives.
- Turkish Options
As the Turkish-Iraqi tensions rise and small scale cross border operations begin, let’s examine Turkey’s situation and options at the moment.
First of all, much fuss was made about the recent weak agreement between Iraq and Turkey which did not include an allowance for Turkish troops to cross into Iraq in so-called “hot pursuit” operations against [...]
- Be Careful What You Wish For
The border between Iraq and Turkey has been heating up the past few weeks and has reached a boiling point. Yesterday, a clash on the border claimed the lives of around 17 Turkish soldiers and over 30 PKK militants. The PKK purports to have taken hostages, a claim which has thus far been denied by [...]
- Why is the Democrat Congress batshit crazy?
The Democrats took their new electoral mandate to the legislative branch of government in January of this year and promptly addressed one of the most dire issues facing America in the contemporary age: the alleged (and likely true) complicity of the Japanese imperial government in facilitating forced prostitution for soldiers on the front line during [...]
- The World Upside Down
The following is a screenshot of Today’s Zaman, an English-language Turkish newspaper. One headline struck me:
One has to wonder if this is indeed a mistake or meant seriously. When soldiers are martyred (an incorrect use of the term anyway by either side) and terrorists are killed, well I just don’t know what the world is [...]
- Turkey Opens to Central Asia
Since the fall of the USSR, Turkey has quietly been maneuvering its way into Central Asia, increasing trade, political ties and more. Yet, until recently, only citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan could visit Turkey without a visa. Those days are over.
July 31, 2007 (RFE/RL)—Ankara has lifted its visa requirement for tourist visits to Turkey [...]
- Iraqi Kurdistan: The End of Turkey’s EU Dreams?
With weekly threats from Turkey to invade Iraqi Kurdistan, it seems the situation is becoming progressively worse. While the PKK is a problem, it is of course only the ostensible reason. In fact, free Kurds make Turkey nervous and rightly so. During my visit to Turkish Kurdistan this March, the excitement about Iraq was palpable. [...]
- The Coming Clash in Turkey
Turkish columnist Ahmet Altan has a fantastic article up in the current English language issue of the Spiegel. While its conclusion is a bit alarmist, the social divide is very real. He begins:
Currently in Turkey, there is, on the one hand, a great mass of people who leave their shoes at the door before entering [...]
- Day 2 in Diyarbakir
I woke up this morning around 9am from under my four blankets and wearing all my clothes. The heating doesn’t work and although the windows are intact, it feels like they are open. Thank god for the four massive blankets, dirty or not. I wandered around the city today seeing mosques and churches. Most were [...]
