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Turkey, the new emerging regional power

By Seyfuddin Kara

No one could have imagined that an ordinary passenger ship would have such a dramatic impact on Middle East politics. Until it became the leading ship of the aid flotilla aiming to break the hermetical blockade of Gaza, the Mavi Marmara operated in the serene waters of the Bosporus. On May 31, Israeli commandos raided the ship in high seas, brutally killing nine Turkish citizens and injuring more than 30 passengers.

Attacking a Turkish ship in international waters 77 miles off the coast of Gaza on the pretext of “defending” an illegal blockade drew harsh reaction from the Turkish government. The following developments have been considered to be “milestones” for the Palestinian issue and “change of balance” in the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Banking on a jirga and a prayer in Afghanistan

By Zia Sarhadi

The Americans are caught, literally, between and a rock and a hard place in Afghanistan. The mountainous country has one of the toughest people on earth that have never allowed foreigners to dominate them. They may be primitive, perhaps too primitive, but they simply will not tolerate foreigners even if the general leading the army were called Alexander. And Barack Obama is no Alexander, nor indeed is General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, who was sacked on June 23 for his unflattering comments about Obama’s advisors published in the Rolling Stone magazine (June 25, 2010). General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, was asked to take over responsibility in Afghanistan.

Crescent Magazine

Turkey, the new emerging regional power

Banking on a jirga and a prayer in Afghanistan

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