President Obama and the Middle East

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

1 February 2015
Five speeches delivered by President Obama are important to understanding his approach to the Middle East. These are:
• Remarks to the Turkish Parliament (6 April 2009),
• Remarks at the Cairo University where he addressed Moslem countries (4 June 2009),
• Statement on US strategy to defeat ISIL (10 September 2013),
• Address the United Nations General Assembly (24 September 2013) and,
• Remarks at the US Military Academy Commencement Ceremony (28 May 2014).

The President arrived in Turkey after attending a G20 summit in London, a NATO summit in Strasbourg and an EU summit in Prague. In other words, this was his first bilateral visit abroad.

The following paragraph from the speech he delivered before the Turkish Grand National Assembly reflected the purpose of the visit:
“This morning I had the great privilege of visiting the tomb of your extraordinary founder of your republic. And I was deeply impressed by this beautiful memorial to a man who did so much to shape the course of history. But it is also clear that the greatest monument to Atatürk’s life is not something that can be cast in stone and marble. His greatest legacy is Turkey’s strong, vibrant, secular democracy, and that is the work this assembly carries on today…” Continue reading →

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Breach of Protocol

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

30 January 2015

It would not be surprising that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington should remain a cause for controversy up to and even beyond the Israeli elections scheduled for 17 March 2015.

As a former diplomat I wish to add my voice to those who think that this is a breach of established diplomatic practice, and in a serious way. Continue reading →

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Syriza’s Election Victory

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

28 January 2015
Over the last five years Greece has been on top of the EU’s economic crisis management agenda.
Looking further back, one may say that leaders’ personalities and their able political reasoning probably played a larger part than economic performance in securing Greece’s membership in the European Union and the Eurozone.
Constantine Karamanlis had maintained close relations with French and German leaders during the years of self-exile in Paris. Following the fall of the junta in 1974 he returned home to lead his people as a respected statesman. He was prime minister when Greece filed its application to join the EU on 12 July 1975. And, he was president when Greece joined on 1 January 1981. At the time New Democracy was in power, but Karamanlis played a major role in the fulfillment of Greece’s European dream. Continue reading →

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Breaking the Syrian Deadlock

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

26 January 2015
With ISIS controlling swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, terrorist attacks in Paris, turmoil in Libya and Yemen, Boko Haram’s massacres in Nigeria, public discourse of the West on Syria has started to change. References to President Assad’s ouster are less frequently heard. There is continuing talk about train-and-equip programs for the moderate Syrian opposition but these do not reflect much conviction. As a matter of fact, during an interview on 8 August 2014, President Obama has told Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times that,
“…the notion that arming the rebels would have made a difference has always been a fantasy. This idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth, and that they were going to be able to battle not only a well-armed state but also a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, a battle-hardened Hezbollah, that was never in the cards.” Continue reading →

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Need For a Modus Vivendi in West-Russia Relations

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

 

23 January 2015

In June 2009 President Obama visited Moscow where he expressed his desire for a “reset” in US-Russia relations. This did not happen.

On 17 December 2010, Muhammed Buazizi lit the flame of the Arab Spring which spread fast.

On 18 March 2011 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1973 on Libya. Russia and China abstained. Western military intervention led nowhere.

Then the situation in Syria started to deteriorate. It soon became clear that Russia and China would not allow another “1973”, this time for Syria. The “Geneva Process” which aimed at political/diplomatic solution was fruitless.

Yet, on 14 September 2013 Secretary Kerry and Minister Lavrov were able announce their countries’ agreement on the “Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons”. Continue reading →

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Arab Spring: The Libya Lesson

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

21 January 2015

Measures taken by governments to quell Arab Spring revolts “caused the international community grave concern.” But no other country became the subject of a “UN sanctioned” intervention except Libya. The following may help explain why:
• Qaddafi had few friends if any. Western leaders put up with him for economic interest.
• Libya was very close to Europe and an easy target for military intervention. Involvement of Muslim countries was not needed.
• A successful operation in Libya was also deemed desirable by the French and British governments for internal/external political purposes. After some hesitation the US joined them.
• Libya is an oil-rich country and regime change was expected to create a better environment for foreign investment. Continue reading →

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Charlie Hebdo, Unity Rally, Now What?

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Ali Tuygan

16 January 2015

The terrorist attacks in Paris were called the 9/11 of France. Then, there was the Unity Rally, a remarkable display of national and international solidarity.
The question, however, remains: What now?
During and after these dastardly attacks, hundreds of people have attempted to analyze the problem. In view of inherent sensitivities they were careful with their language. The words/expressions they most used were the following: the Middle East, alienation, Islamic radicalism, exclusion, jihadism, isolation and “la banlieue”, suburban areas where most of France’s Muslims live.
To me, these are like reference points which help charter a course. Continue reading →

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