The Madness of Turkey’s ‘Sultan’ Erdogan

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in 2002, a year after the formation of his AK party. But spending 11 years as prime minister wasn’t enough. In 2011, Erdogan changed the system, clearing the way for him to become  the country’s first directly elected president in 2013. True to all incremental power grabs, he […]

Turkey’s Erdogan takes tough EU line after PM quits

Turkey’s president has told the EU it will not change its anti-terror laws in return for visa-free travel. “We’ll go our way, you go yours,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. The EU has asked Turkey to revise its laws as a condition for allowing Turkish citizens visa-free travel for short stays. The plan is part of […]

89 female Afghan cadets start ‘Special Operations Education’ in Turkey

A group of at least 89 female cadets of the Afghan National Police (ANP) forces have started training “Training of Trainers” and “Special Operations Education” in Turkey, it has been reported. The training of the female ANP cadets kicked off on Monday and will continue for a period of at least two months. Turkish Deputy […]

Europe’s First Islamic Constitution? What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Calls by a top member of the ruling party of Turkey for an Islamic constitution to replace the secular basic law in place in the country, a NATO member and crucial U.S. ally, have been rejected by politicians from all stripes, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, himself a pious Muslim. But as Erdogan is trying to avoid […]

Terrorism Fears And Travel Bans Shake Tourism In Turkey

Two years ago in Istanbul, I dragged Selcuk Altun, a Turkish author and lover of all things Byzantine, to the Hagia Sophia, a sixth century church that’s now a museum. But we couldn’t even get close. Altun took one look at the mass of sweating humanity blocking the entrance and decided to do the interview […]

Female suicide bomber wounds eight in Turkish city of Bursa

A female suicide bomber wounded eight people when she blew herself up near the main mosque in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa on Wednesday, officials said, the fifth suicide bombing in a major urban centre this year. Photographs from the scene showed the severed torso of what appeared to be the bomber lying at […]

ISIS Sex Slave Trade in Gaziantep, Turkey

ISIS has been generating millions of dollars through the sale of women and children abducted from the regions it has conquered. While the Yazidi slave trade is well publicized in the West, we also chillingly learned through our ISIS Defectors Interview Project, that ISIS has not only enslaved Yazidi women (who they claim as devil worshippers), […]

Watch: A Day in the Life of Pararescuemen

Check out what a day in the life of the Pararescuemen deployed to Diyarbakir Air Base, Turkey looks like here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDlHs4aAutQ Featured image courtesy of U.S. Air Force

Islamic summit focuses on terrorism and sectarianism

A two-day summit bringing together leaders of the Islamic world concluded in the Turkish city of Istanbul with a pledge to combat terrorism, cast aside sectarian differences and address regional conflicts. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired the final session of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation summit on Friday morning. “As Muslims, we cannot […]

Emergency Consulate Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats in Turkey

“Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Credible Threats to Public Squares and Docks in Istanbul and Antalya The U.S. Mission in Turkey would like to inform U.S. citizens that there are credible threats to tourist areas, in particular to public squares and docks in Istanbul and Antalya. Please exercise extreme caution if you are in the […]