By Shelley Inglis | – Turkey’s recent military incursion into northern Syria is aimed at weakening Syrian Kurdish forces along its border. Turkey believes those forces are linked to the insurgent Kurdish militia inside Turkey, whom Turkey and the U.S. have labeled terrorists. But that’s not the only goal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long-term […]
Given tensions with Erdogan, is it really Wise for the U.S. to Keep 50 Nuclear Bombs in Turkey?
By Miles A. Pomper | – As the Syrian crisis pits Turkish troops against former U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, Pentagon officials have been reviewing plans to remove 50 nuclear bombs stored at a U.S air base in Turkey. A congressional directive to the Pentagon to quickly assess alternative homes for U.S. “personnel and assets” currently stationed […]
Deportation to Syria could mean death for women, children and LGBTQ refugees in Turkey
Deina Abdelkader | – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan isn’t limiting his assault on neighboring Syria to attacking Kurdish troops that run the country’s northern region. He says the 3.6 million Syrians now living as war refugees in Turkey may also be returned “to their own homes” once northern Syria is wrenched from Kurdish control. […]
Will Tunisia’s Populist “Robocop” new President bring “Freedom and Dignity” or . . .?
By Mohamed Kerrou | – Kaïs Saïed has won Tunisia’s presidential election. This triumph came at the expense of the two forces that have dominated Tunisia’s political landscape since the 2011 revolution: Islamism and nationalist secular parties. Over the past eight years, these two movements failed to meet the urgent demands of the people, expressed […]
Tunisia Had Successful Democratic Elections, but can the New President face down the Political Elites
By Omar Safi | – The election of Kais Saied, a 61-year-old former law professor and political outsider, to the Tunisian presidency was not surprising: he represents the Tunisian ideal of how the ruling class should be. The size of the vote in his favour was impressive. He won 73% of the vote in the […]
By rejecting stereotypes, Slam and Ramy show us authentic Arab Muslim men on screen
By Sherene Idriss | – There is a long history of damaging stereotypes of Arab and Muslim men on screen. Because of this, audiences from culturally diverse migrant backgrounds understandably crave more positive representations of their ethnic and cultural communities. Two new screen productions – Ramy and Slam – tell stories embracing the complexity of […]
Syria: why the Kurds had little option but to do a deal with Bashar al-Assad
By Cengiz Gunes | – When the Syrian military withdrew from the Kurdish populated regions of Syria in July 2012, they left the Kurds in charge of their homeland, what they call Rojava. Without a backer and surrounded by many hostile states and militia, few people gave the Kurds any chance of survival. Despite the […]
Kurdish Women Fighters helped Defeat ISIL, & now are a Target of Turkish Invasion
By Haidar Khezri | – Kurdish fighters under attack by Turkey have described President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria as a “stab in the back.” Since bombing began on Oct. 9, Turkish military operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northern Syria, Washington’s staunchest and most effective allies in the […]
As Turkish troops move in to Syria, the risks are great – including for Turkey itself
By Mehmet Ozalp | – Turkey did not waste much time in launching an attack on Syrian soil just days after US President Donald Trump announced he would withdraw US forces from northern Syria. As this development opens a new chapter in Syria, Turkey maybe unwittingly sinking deeper into that country’s civil war. This is […]