Author: Michael Rubin
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Kurds Would Be Foolish to Trust Turkey’s Peace
Activists wear t-shirts bearing the image of Abdullah Öcalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Shutterstock After more than a quarter of a century in solitary confinement, Turkey allowed Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to issue a statement from prison calling for the PKK to disarm. “Convene your congress and…
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Could a Future President Use Trump’s Ukraine Flip-Flop to Betray Israel?
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (second from left) in December in Paris, before taking office. Shutterstock President Donald Trump has upended U.S. foreign policy by flipping the script on Ukraine. The president has declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator and has overturned broad bipartisan sentiment regarding both responsibility for the…
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Designate Turkey’s Intelligence Service to Be a Terror Organization
The logo of the Turkish intelligence agency Milli Istihbarat Teskilati (MİT). The United States believes the MİT helped organize and arm the Islamic State. Shutterstock Six years ago, President Donald Trump designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its elite Qods Force, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It was the first time the United States…
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The PKK Is Truer to Atatürk’s Vision than Erdoğan
A portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey’s founding father, hangs from a government building in Turkey. Shutterstock Turks revere Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. The Anıtkabir, his mausoleum that doubles as a museum in his honor, dominates central Ankara. Turkey also preserves the Dolmabahçe Palace, Atatürk’s residence, as a shrine to their…
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Is Iran Sincere About Renewed Nuclear Negotiations with Trump?
The Iranian government plays the long game. With Trump’s Pentagon signaling not only a pivot to Asia but also a pivot away from the Middle East, the new administration encourages Tehran to play the clock. Shutterstock The Iranian government is worried. With the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal set to expire, Tehran believed it would be…
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Will Turkey Become as Great a Nuclear Threat as Iran?
A model of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin, Turkey. Wikimedia Commons via Voice of America An Iranian nuclear weapon would be a game-changer in the Middle East. Should the Islamic Republic of Iran acquire nuclear weapons, at a minimum, Iranian leaders would feel so secure behind their own nuclear deterrent that they could…
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Trump and Rubio Should Appoint a Special Envoy for the Kurds
The flags of Kurdistan and the United States. Shutterstock President-elect Donald Trump dislikes special envoys, with reason. Too many presidents and secretaries of State appoint them for two reasons: First, to bypass Senate confirmation for controversial or unpopular figures and, second, to bypass rather than reform State Department dysfunction. In the first instance, President Joe…
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Washington Must Address Turks’ Ignorance and Detachment from Reality
People in Istanbul, Turkey, go about their business in October 2024, apparently unaware of their leader’s terror-sympathizing ideology. Shutterstock When U.S. military academies teach strategy, they talk about the “DIME model” of national power. The concept is simple: Every strategy should have diplomatic, informational, military, and economic components. Across administrations, U.S. policymakers are prone to…
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Erdoğan’s Demands on Jerusalem Could Raise Questions About Istanbul’s Sovereignty
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is shown in a file photo. Shutterstock On December 22, 2024, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rallied a crowd of his Islamist supporters in Mardin, not far from the Syrian border. As his supporters chanted, “Mr. President, take us to Jerusalem,” Erdoğan paused and then promised, “Patience brings victory.” His…
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Syrian Kurds Need a No-Fly Zone
A Kurdish man holds a photo of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a protest against Turkish military operations in Afrin, northern Syria, in this file photo. Shutterstock Like many more recent U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush was prone to promises and rhetoric with little thought about the impact of his words. So it was when, on…