David Axe of Forbes reports that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet could cease to function in two years amid drone and missile strikes. Urkaine has been hitting Russia’s fleet with drone boats as well as Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG cruise missiles, decimating their ships in the Black Sea. He writes: The Ukrainian missile raid on the […]
Turkey Gets Its Pound of Flesh for Sweden’s NATO Approval
After much wrangling, Turkey has secured everything it could from its agreement to Sweden’s accession to NATO membership. In Foreign Policy, Reuben Silverman discusses Turkey’s long history of transactional behavior toward NATO. He writes: This week, Turkey’s parliament finally approved Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan swiftly ratified the measure. […]
America’s Turkey Problem
America, and the West in general, are facing a problem with an ally who just won’t get with the program. Turkey has become as much a hindrance as a help to the West. Eric S. Edelman explains in Foreign Policy: Turkey and the United States have been treaty allies since Ankara joined the trans-Atlantic alliance […]
Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan and Challenger Kilicdaroglu Appear Headed for Runoff
The top two candidates in Turkey’s presidential election, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, appear headed for a runoff after neither earned 50% of the popular vote in the nation’s presidential election first-round. The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Malsin reports: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger said they were both prepared to […]
Russians Packing Bags of Cash into Turkey to Avoid Sanctions
Russians are fleeing into Turkey with bags of cash in order to avoid sanctions, reports the Wall Street Journal: Turkey is fast becoming a haven for Russian money, from oligarchs parking their superyachts on the country’s shores to young dissidents and tech workers flying from Moscow with cash in suitcases. The influx of Russian money […]
A Good Way to Get Thrown Out of NATO
Europeans and Americans angry at Turkey’s advance into Syria are already calling for the Turks to be ejected from NATO. Tensions between NATO and Turkey have been brewing for some time. The recent purchase by Turkey of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems has put a lot of strain on the relationship. Turkey has even been kicked […]
Time for Turkey to be Dumped from NATO
At The American Conservative, Doug Bandow, a Cato Institute senior fellow, makes the very strong case for Turkey’s ejection from NATO. He writes (abridged): Early in the Syrian war, the Erdogan government allowed Islamic State personnel easy passage across its border. Smuggling was rife: Erdogan’s son-in-law and oil minister was accused of being involved in […]
Ayoob: America Can’t Afford to Alienate Turkey and Iran Simultaneously
In The National Interest, Mohammed Ayoob explains why the United States can’t afford to alienate both Turkey and Iran at the same time. While tensions with Iran have been high for decades, worsening relations with Turkey make the Middle East a very complicated and dangerous place for American foreign policy. Without the help of one […]
Is Turkey Lost to the West?
As a NATO “ally” and a Middle East strategic partner, Turkey has been part of America’s sphere of influence for decades. Now, America finds itself in an awkward new relationship with Turkey. While American planes take off from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to run bombing missions in Syria and Iraq in support of Kurdish […]
Will America Fight its Own Allies for Syria?
Turkey has begun an attack on the Kurdish held city of Afrin in the Northwestern part of Syria. The Kurdish group holding the city is known as the YPG, and is tolerated by the U.S. Turkey however believes the group to be an offshoot of the listed terrorist organization, PKK. As the Turks fight their […]