Tag: Turkey

Front Seat Cat

310607,510

Cat lover

| November 11, 2019

2 COMMENTS

I have to wonder if this is not the theme of President Trump’s foreign policy. It is the eve of hosting the controversial Recep Tayyip Erdrogan. The Turkish leader has been the source and thorn for some years to many, since taking leadership of Turkey, an American ally and voting member of NATO. Trump has […]

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Turkish Trick or Treat?

By Clifford A. Brown

Clifford A. Brown

Retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel after 30 years of active and reserve assignments. M.A. Political Science, M.S. Strategic Studies, Army War College, JD. Served in 1st Armored Division in West Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, in 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea during the regime of Kim Il Sung, and commanded a logistics battalion in Iraq 2003-2004. Wide-ranging public policy interests. Occasional home brewer and infuser of alcohol spirits.

| November 2, 2019

15 COMMENTS

A young veteran reminded me of the truly ancient roots of conflict in the Middle East, pointing to lines we do not even see on the sand and soil. This prompted me to return to a summary sketch I laid aside months ago, after fleshing out an account of what we now call Iran. Then the House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution condemning the Ottoman Empire for committing the first genocide of the 20th Century…and 12 Republicans joined Rep. Ilhan Omar in opposing the resolution! What? Why? What follows is a single summary of the other three big players, historically, now known as Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Iran and Egypt can point to the most ancient civilizations, as their progenitors were contemporary regional powers. The clash between them was captured in the ancient Hebrew texts, as the Jewish people were caught in the middle. Saudi Arabia comes next, with claims to punching far above their weight with armies fired by the fervor of a new faith, and more recently of being the secular and religious guardians of the faith. Finally, the Turks can claim to have been the most successful and latest power to rule the region for centuries after imposing final defeat on the (Christian) Eastern Roman empire.

By Ricochet Audio Network

| October 30, 2019

2 COMMENTS

It’s all good martinis today! Join Jim and Greg as they stunningly applaud former President Obama for telling liberals that just blasting people for not being sufficiently woke actually accomplishes nothing. They’re also glad to see the House of Representatives vote overwhelmingly to blame Turkey for the Armenian genocide committed over a century ago and […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| October 17, 2019

3 COMMENTS

David French joins us for a drink today in place of Jim, who will be back on Friday. Today, David and Greg discuss the courage of Enes Kanter, a Turkish player for the Boston Celtics. In the wake of widespread NBA cowardice on China, Kanter continues to defy the repressive Turkish government even though it […]

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Things Could Get Out of Hand

By Clifford A. Brown

Clifford A. Brown

| October 13, 2019

54 COMMENTS

Since the three press conferences addressing Turkey, Kurds in Syria, and U.S. forces, there has been a near-miss of US soldiers. The hostile take is from Newsweek. The Department of Defense statement, on the record, gives us the facts we know from the US side.

The facts of this situation, even taken from the Newsweek post, contradict the “abandoned” narrative. That is, US forces were in an observation post within visual distance of the Turkish border, and close to some Kurdish positions, from which there may have been mortar, light artillery fire, across the border into Turkey. It is a long border, with lots of points of contact, compared to the small, shallow border section the past days’ actions and chatter concerned.

By Doug Watt

| October 13, 2019

In light of the Turkish offensive into Syria against Kurdish forces US options might be limited. The Turks have some leverage in any response from the White House whether it’s sanctions or drawing one more line in the sand. The Incerlik Air Base located in Adana, Turkey and NATO tactical nuclear warheads are stored on […]

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A Tale of 3 Press Conferences

By Clifford A. Brown

Clifford A. Brown

| October 12, 2019

20 COMMENTS

If you watch and listen to three sets of statements and answers by our current administration, you will get an interesting picture of our actual current policy. The first is by President Trump, answering a reporter’s off-topic question when he signed two executive orders on transparency in federal guidance and enforcement (a serious push back on the growth of an unaccountable fourth branch of government in the administrative state). The second is a Pentagon briefing on the deployment of Patriot Air Defense/Anti Missile units and two Air Force fighter squadrons to Saudi Arabia, in which both this action and comments on Syria are interesting. The third is a White House press corps briefing by Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin.

President Trump has laid out three possible courses of action in the longstanding conflict between Turkey and those Kurds living in eastern Turkey and across the border in Syria. As has been explained repeatedly elsewhere, these are not the same Kurds abandoned by George H.W. Bush and now supported in northern Iraq by President Trump. These are different groups with different politics.

By Ricochet Audio Network

| October 10, 2019

8 COMMENTS

Hey, we finally we have a good martini and it only took us until Thursday! Today, Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America appreciate a bipartisan group of lawmakers blasting the NBA for kowtowing to China. They also slam the Biden campaign for whining that the New York Times is making […]

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The Syria Exit

By Front Seat Cat

Front Seat Cat

310607,510

Cat lover

| October 9, 2019

43 COMMENTS

President Donald Trump announced his desire to withdraw from Syria as one of his goals as president. I thought about this and it sounded like a good idea. The country of Syria has been a “thorn in the side” of many countries and people for a very long time. Syrian refugees are scattered across the world, like the Jews – desperate to return home, to family, history, their land – the land of their ancestors. Their president has been a “thorn in the side” of many countries and an enigma – what do we do with him? Bashar al-Assad never wanted the throne. Who knew?

Turkey wants its borders back. Iran wants a rumble. Israel just wants its security and safety, as the Jews begin another Yom Kippur. How long has this country and region been in turmoil? Is this a region that we can bring democracy to, or stability at minimum, as past administrations have tried? Is Donald Trump asking those questions, as our young soldiers hold the line?

By Ricochet Audio Network

| October 9, 2019

4 COMMENTS

The search is still on for a good martini this week. Today, Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to the Turkish military striking Kurdish targets just two days after the U.S. announced it would move forces out of the area so Turkey could attack one of our closest allies […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| October 7, 2019

91 COMMENTS

We’ve got nothing but bad martinis today. Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are frustrated by President Trump ordering the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, even as Turkey specifically says it wants us gone so it can attack our Kurdish allies who did more than anyone else in the […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| June 24, 2019

2 COMMENTS

Jim Geraghty and Gregory Knapp of National Review discuss the impact of the Istanbul mayoral results on Recep Erdoğan, President of Turkey, and his party. They cover the entrance of Joe Sestak, former congressman from Pennsylvania, into the Democratic presidential primary. And they discuss the emerging rivalries between fans of different Founding Fathers in response […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| April 5, 2019

0 COMMENTS

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are happy to see Vice President Pence laud our NATO partners for contributing more to the common defense and building greater cohesion while also calling out Turkey for its troubling embrace of Russia and a more Islamist outlook on the world. They also welcome […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| January 8, 2019

1 COMMENTS

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see President Trump making a detailed case for border wall funding in tonight’s televised address, a more effective strategy than tweets and sound bites. They also like National Security Adviser John Bolton’s clarification that the Trump administration does want to get […]

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By Ricochet Audio Network

| July 26, 2018

1 COMMENTS

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome the news that American pastor Andrew Brunson was moved from a Turkish prison to house arrest, and they condemn the bogus allegations that Brunson provided aid for the failed coup. They also welcome the news that the ten most popular governors in America […]

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By Zafar

Zafar

1911712,372

I was born and grew up in India, went to the US for college and grad school, lived there for 10 happy years, then moved to Australia and have lived here since.

| June 23, 2018

26 COMMENTS

Turkey is having an election on Sunday. It looked like Erdogan would comfortably win, but according to the Express: A survey conducted by the think tank Centre for American Progress shows that the ruling coalition formed by Mr Erdogan’s party AKP and nationalist MHP has sensibly [this has to be a typo] lost consensus. More

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Turkey’s Southern Border

By Zafar

Zafar

1911712,372

I was born and grew up in India, went to the US for college and grad school, lived there for 10 happy years, then moved to Australia and have lived here since.

| April 8, 2018

20 COMMENTS

Turkey has been adamant about preventing the Kurds controlling a contiguous area immediately South of its border with Syria. To that end, it entered Syria and has recently expanded the zone it controls directly (turquoise, labeled Afrin) and perhaps also indirectly (light green, labeled Idlib) in Syria’s North West:

By Midget Faded Rattlesnake

Midget Faded Rattlesnake

Bio: Other rattlesnakes make fun of the Midget Faded Rattlesnake because even though it's a rattlesnake, it's both midget and faded (how embarrassing). Mainly it puts up with this, because it's fairly even-tempered (for a rattlesnake), though it's surprisingly venomous for such an unprepossessing creature. The Midget Faded Rattlesnake hibernates from time to time, but is usually back within a few months. The M: The M stands for “Moderator”. For more info on what Moderators o… [more]

| November 21, 2017

23 COMMENTS

R> members have observed that large corporations have no compunctions about selling out to the gender-fluid crowd. Well, it’s happened again. The commercialization of wholesome Thanksgiving stuffing is now an excuse to market maternity wear for men – yes, unisex maternity wear. Moreover, the company responsible for this has the temerity to make their sales pitch adorably corny, selling the feminizing clothing as “Thanksgiving dinner pants”:

By DJ EJ