Will Erdoğan abandon Islamist armed groups now fighting in Syria?

It is established that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the party he founded, the AKP, are primary supporters of armed groups fighting the Syrian government. The AKP-led Turkish government opened its borders for Islamist fighters from all over the world to join the war against Assad’s forces.  It provided them with training, money, Read more

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Turkish and Russian leaders can no longer compartmentalize their relations

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Turkey’s president may have pushed the reset button of his country’s relations with Russia, but it will be a while before he can reap economic benefits.   Reason for Putin wanting gradual restoration of economic ties with Turkey: Russia cannot help rejuvenate the Turkish economy to enable the Turkish government to Read more

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Could the Cessation of Hostilities help U.S. and Russia overcome their differences on Syria?

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia*   ISIL fighters It is evident at this point that Syria’s war is not a civil war. It is a world war and now the two superpowers, the U.S. and Russia emerged out of the shadows of their regional allies to take charge. Early this year, the two countries reached an Read more

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Context and consequences of the resignation of the architect of Turkey’s zero-problem foreign policy

By Rahmat Hajimineh* A recent decision by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, which was announced on May 5, to resign his post, can be considered as the outcome of a power struggle in Turkey’s political structure a review of which will not only be important in terms of typology of politicians’ behaviors, but also from Read more

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Iran P5+1 nuclear deal: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — page 1 (full text)

Comment: After 12 years of negotiations, Iran was able to ink an agreement with the world’s powerful nations to end harsh regimes of sanctions, some of which go as far back as 35 years ago. The document, now known as the  Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is substantively extensive and qualitatively meticulous. It reveals Read more

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The paradoxical nature of religious and ethnic states and the genocidal impulses

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* The Arab Spring that freed some of the peoples of the Middle East from state imposed fear produced an existential challenge for increasingly heterogeneous communities, forcing people to define the nature of the state and the character of the country where they live. It is true that self-rule and self-determination require Read more

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Is Ukraine becoming for the West what Syria has been for Russia?

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* Riding the wave of protests known as the Arab Spring, many Syrians rallied to demand more political and civil rights. Without the hesitancy that characterized their initial reaction to the protest movements in Tunisia and Egypt, Western administrations and some of the Persian Gulf regimes immediately threw their support behind the Read more

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Deficiencies in the arguments for a U.S. war on Syria and the perils of military intervention in Syria without UNSC authorization

by Ahmed E. Souaiaia* UNSC Answering a reporter’s question if bombing Syria is needed in order to preserve his credibility since he was the one who set a red line, President Obama replied: “First of all, I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line. The world set a red line when Read more

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