Turkey-U.S. Ties in First Month of Trump Administration
The first and most significant task of the Trump administration to revive the damaged Turkey-U.S. relations is to take steps to overcome the trust and confidence problems in bilateral relations
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Opportunism and the Disease of Pragmatism
The Kurdish political movements in both Syria and Turkey should give up being pragmatists in order to have pragmatic gains. The Kurdish political movements should also give up being opportunists in order to benefit from the opportunities in the region.
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The recent clashes around Kobani are once more demonstrating that the military airstrikes by the international coalition will not be sufficient to eradicate the ISIS from the region without a comprehensive strategy to resolve the crisis in Syria and Iraq at the same time.
U.S. officials are eager to point their fingers at Turkey and blame Ankara for its inaction in the crisis in Kobani.
Turkey is going through challenging times from a number of angles, but fortunately, there is sufficient political and administrative capacity as well as crisis management experience to overcome these challenges.
The international community has to be more sensitive to the issue of Syrian refugees in Turkey and other neighboring countries and more supportive of these countries that now host millions of refugees.
The New Turkey's Challenges
If street violence undermines the nation's security and stability, the country might end up short of a stable environment to build a more democratic political system.
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Kobani and Turkish-American Relations
After the U.S. decision not to attack the Syrian regime, questions and skepticism started to emerge about the U.S. strategy in Syria.
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The riots during the first week of October did not only hurt the reconciliation process, it may also endanger public support for the process itself.
The Western media sees Kobani as a symbol that will trigger an armed fight for democracy, as it did in the Arab Spring, which puts it to the fore.
Hoping that the PYD will deal with ISIS in the region does not seem to be realistic and, furthermore, could generate further destabilizing ethnic tensions in the region.
The PKK's terror, which ended the reconciliation process despite the state's wishes and efforts, and the HDP's supportive statements of this terror seem to shape the electorate's behavior in the Nov. 1 elections.
