Turkey Takes the Veil
Paul Greenberg

See what's happening in Turkey, the West's old ally and new adversary. The danger to freedom there becomes ever more clear and present every day. But the tragedy of it can scarcely be apprehended without an appreciation of the dark past out of which this current Turkey arose, and to which it is about to return.

The New Wannabe Ottomans
Victor Davis Hanson

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan clearly identifies more with the old transnational Ottoman sultanate than with Kemal Ataturk's modern, secular and Western nation-state. Indeed, he has bragged that he is a grandson of the Ottomans and announced that Turkey's new goal was to restore the might of the Ottoman Empire

Managing a More Assertive Turkey
F. Stephen Larrabee

Turkey's recent diplomatic differences with the United States and its sharpened deterioration of relations with Israel come from Turkey's desire to reestablish its role as a major influence in the Middle East and Central Asia, says F. Stephen Larrabee, an expert on Turkey

An Act of Piracy on the High Seas
Bill Press

Forget what country did it. Consider, first, the facts: Armed commandos attack an unarmed ship in international waters, open fire and kill nine civilians, including one American. What do you call that? An act of piracy. It doesn't matter what country did it

Farideh Farhi on Shifts in Iran on Nuclear Policy
Bernard Gwertzman

The agreement reached in which Iran would send about half of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be enriched signaled a new unity in the leadership in Tehran, says analyst Farideh Farhi. She says that while the regime continues to worry about its perceived legitimacy domestically, the agreement with Brazil and Turkey has strong public support

Will Iran Look More Like Turkey, or Turkey Like Iran
Nathan Gardels - Global Viewpoint

The effort to forge new forms of non-Western modernity in the Muslim world has pushed Iran into bloody civil strife while Turkey swirls with persistent rumors of military plots against the Islamist-rooted government. The great historical question is whether, at the end of the day, Iran will look more like Turkey, or Turkey like Iran.

Danish prosecutors charge TV station with PKK propaganda
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Prosecutors on Tuesday (August 31st) pressed charges against the Kurdish-language station Roj-TV, which holds a Danish broadca...

Turkey urges Greece to drop Aegean territory claims
ANKARA, Turkey -- Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday (August 31st) that he expects Athens to drop its claims on disputed Aegean Sea ter...

Culture and Sports: Turkey beats Greece in FIBA game
Basketball teams and fans flock to Turkey. Also in culture and sports news: Serbian frescoes are on display at the European Parliament, and a Bulgarian sets a new scuba diving record.

Pope Benedict Visits Cyprus
What is the significance of the pope’s visit to Cyprus?

Cyprus: Unification on the Table
As Cyprus’s new president brings the nation closer to unification, the EU comes one step closer to Jerusalem.

Malta and Cyprus Adopt Euro
The European Union cements its influence in the Mediterranean.

EU Extorts Turks Before Giving Them the Boot

Cyprus Joins European Defense Alliance
History is playing out in Cyprus once more.

A Good Excuse to End a Bad Relationship
Turkey’s leaders have jammed a stake into the heart of their alliance with Israel. Here’s why it was inevitable.

Humanitarian aid--or propaganda?

Joint Syria-Turkey Military Drills Raise Concerns in Israel
Jerusalem begins to acknowledge the sobering truth of Ankara’s true allegiances.

Turkey and Germany Seek 'Strategic Partnership'
But the door to the EU remains firmly shut for Turkey.

"We Need a Better Grasp of the Limits of Our Power"
Israel’s first stab at tough diplomacy ends in humiliation.

Iran, Turkmenistan Launch New Gas Pipeline

Being thankful for Giethner and Bernanke

Concerns Resurface Over Turkey-Israel Ties
When will Israel realize that Turkey is no friend?

Joint Syria-Turkey Military Exercises Disturb Israel

Israel's Alliance With Turkey Is a Trap
The Gaza war has shown that Turkey is no friend. Will Israel realize it?

Turkey Angered By Gaza War

To Europeans, Turkey's EU Bid Is Dead
A constitutional crisis will set back Turkey’s petition for EU membership. But does Europe have to be so sanctimonious about it?

Cyprus: Unification on the Table
As Cyprus’s new president brings the nation closer to unification, the EU comes one step closer to Jerusalem.

Turkish Military Penetrates Northern Iraq

Turkey Warns EU Against Becoming "Club of Christians"
The real reason behind the European Union’s reluctance to accept Turkey surfaces in Davos.

Turkish Warplanes, Troops Strike Kurds Inside Iraq
Iraq’s only relatively stable region gets familiar with the sound of machine gun fire and exploding ordnance.

Washington's Kurdish Quandary
America’s geopolitical impotence is being exposed in the rugged hills of northern Iraq.

The Week in Review
A new weekly feature on theTrumpet.com! This week: a prevailing sense of uncertainty.

U.S.-Turkish Relations Take a Hit
Turkey’s imminent invasion of Iraq and an anti-Turkey resolution in a U.S. congressional committee are straining these nations’ alliance.

What to Watch With an Islamic Turkish President
A former Islamist holds the presidency of Turkey. Here are some of the implications.

Why the World Is Taking Note of Turkey
Turkish voters have elected a former Islamist as president. Here’s why many nations are asking: just how significant is this?

Islamic Party Increasingly Popular in Turkey
Democracy continues to promote Islam.

Portugal Faces Hard Battle Over Turkey Membership
The EU’s new president, from Portugal, wants to jump-start entry talks with Turkey, but will face stiff opposition from other EU members.

The Real Reason for the Pope's Visit to Turkey
Media reports largely missed the true significance of Benedict XVI’s trip to this Muslim nation.

EU Meets to Discuss Illegal Immigration

Voestalpine to engage in Turkish rail switch plant
Austrian steel firm Voestalpine is teaming up with Turkish partners to build a rail switch factory Austrian Times reported. The Linz-based company will cooperate with local firm Kardemir and the Turkish State Railways Administration TCDD to construct the facility in the central province of Cankiri.Voestalpine has announced that around 150...

Simsek optimistic about Turkish growth
Following recent debates over the possibility of a second dip in the global economic crisis Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said in Gaziantep that chances of such a pessimistic scenario is too low.He said that the global economy will move at a reasonable rate and Turkey will this year break...

Sabanci cement group eyes purchases abroad
Sabanci Holding cement group President Mehmet Gocmen recently announced that the company has no intentions of increasing capacity or acquire new facilities in the domestic market Zaman reported.He said We have already grown very big in Turkey and the turn has now come for abroad.We have enjoyed a fine-running partnership...

More electricity distribution regions for sale
Turkeys Privatization Administration OIB recently announced that the three remaining electricity distribution regions in Turkey with six more agencies have been put on sale.The bid bond for Akdeniz Electricity Distribution Region will be $10 million while the bid bond for Istanbul Anadolu and Toroslar Electricity Distribution regions will be $15...

Davutoglu Vanackere discuss EU accession
At a joint news conference Deputy Prime Minister Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere of Belgium and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu agreed to resume three-party meetings with the participation of Turkish and Belgian ministers of foreign affairs interior affairs and justice Zaman reported. Vanackere whose country currently holds the rotating EU...

Turkey to earn over 1 bln from industry exports
Turkeys defense industry exports will exceed well over €1 billion next year Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan accompanied by Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek told a press conference in Ankara. Caglayan promoted the second Equipment Expo of the Turkish Armed Forces TSK and the...

Albright International to invest in Turkey
British solar energy company Albright International plans to invest €1.5 billion in the eastern province of Malatya Turkey. Albrights investment intends to take advantage of state subsidies to be provided as part of a renewable energy law that is expected to be enacted soon by Parliament. The company aims to...

EU and Turkey hold political dialogue
The European Union and Turkey held their first ministerial-level political dialogue meeting in Istanbul on 13 July while the EU reaffirmed its commitment for Turkish EU accession. The EU integration was one of the main topics for discussion during the one-day closed-door meeting held in Ciragan Palace and was attended...

Turkey China mull railway cooperation
Visiting Turkish Minister of Transportation Binali Yildirim met with Chinese Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun in Beijing. In the course of talks the Turkish Minister proposed strategic cooperation to China for railways Zaman reported. He called on the governments of Turkey and China to turn cooperation in railways into a...

Ankara Jakarta to reach trade volume to $5 billion
Turkish President Abdullah Gul who met with Indonesias President Susilo Bambangu Yudhoyono in Ankara on 29 June said that they agreed to improve political economic and cultural relations. Turkey and Indonesia also signed agreements on cooperation in defense industry sea transportation cooperation of small and medium sized enterprises cultural exchange...

Turkey further restricts cooperation with Israel
Turkeys recent decision to prohibit an Israeli military aircraft from crossing its airspace was part of a move towards decreased cooperation with Israels Air Force a Turkish government official said on 28 June. I would consider this as a reflection of a way of thinking of a methodology Deutsche Presse-Agentur...

PM calls for boosting PKK fight
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 30 June accused some European countries of not doing enough to help Turkey in its fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party PKK . Some European countries did not give necessary support to Turkey in its combat against terrorism for a long time...

Turkey signs nuclear power Accord with South Korea
Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul stressing that nuclear energy is a must for Turkey. The leaders also attended a ceremony at which their energy ministers signed the memorandum of understanding on nuclear cooperation raising the hopes of Korean companies that are chasing...

Decline in unemployment rate to continue
Turkeys statistics authority TurkStat recently released its latest Household Labor Force Survey for March. According to the report the unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month in March amounting to 13.7% down from 15.8% in March 2009. The unemployment rate saw a decrease on a monthly basis registering a...

One million Arab tourists to visit Turkey
Tourism Investors Association TYD President Turgut Gur recently announced in Antalaya that the country will witness a surge in its tourism figures mainly due to the masses flocking from Arab nations. Gur predicted that this year the number of tourists is expected to reach one million. Some factors responsible for...

Turkey South Korea boost political economic ties
Turkeys President Abdullah Gul who is the first ever Turkish President visiting South Korea after 28 years arrived in capital Seoul accompanied by Turkish State Minister Hayati Yazici Energy Minister Taner Yildiz a group of deputies and businessmen as well as six Korean War veterans. Holding a press conference at...

Babacan: 600 000 new jobs needed
Addressing a meeting of the Economic Coordination Council in Ankara Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said that employment is increasing and unemployment is dwindling in the country compared to other countries news agencies reported. Babacan said that Turkeys employment is recovering faster than many other countries...

Retail sector to expand into new markets
A protocol was recently inked by the presidents of Turkeys three largest retail unions the United Brands Association BMD the Shopping Mall Investors Association AYD and the Association of Shopping Centers and Retailers AMPD along with the Turkish Exporters Assembly TIM at a meeting in Istanbul news agencies reported. The...

Kazakhstan passes the baton of CICA Chairmanship to Turkey
ISTANBUL - Sensitive issues not only in Asia but also in Europe including the recent tragic incident involving Israel at the Mediterranean coast call for joint efforts of OSCE and CICA. It is therefore necessary to hold a joint forum that would provide a dialogue platform for the member states...

Ankara warns Israel attack may have irreversible consequences
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 1 June sharply criticized Israel for the bloody massacre that killed nine people on a Gaza-bound aid vessel and warned that no one should test Turkeys diplomatic patience. Erdogan told lawmakers in the Parliament that the IDF action was an attack on international...

Employment strategy to be unveiled in July
Turkeys Economy Minister Ali Babacan recently stated that strategy document titled National Employment Strategy to tackle unemployment are to be announced by late June or early July. He said that the final draft of the strategy document will be evaluated at the Economy Coordination Council EKK meeting in June and...

Kuwait calls on Turkish contractors
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek met with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sabah at the recent Arab Economic forum. Speaking in Ankara Simsek said that al-Sabah conveyed the Kuwaiti governments invitation for Turkish construction firms to join approaching tenders for new infrastructure projects. He said that Kuwait has invited Turkish...

Turkey: Emerging energy hub?
THESSALONIKI Greece ndash; The intended signing of an Azerbaijan-Turkey natural gas agreement in a few days in Istanbul may set the stage for Nabucco Trans-Adriatic Pipeline TAP and Interconnector Turkey Greece Italy ITGI gas pipelines. Therefore it comes as no surprise that it was one of the topics of an...

Ankara backs Iranian nuclear swap proposal
Turkey voiced on 23 May its support for Iranian uranium swap proposal a day before it was formally submitted by Iran to the UN atomic watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA . But the proposal brokered by Brazil and Turkey two weeks ago was followed by a US announcement...

IMF positive about Turkey fiscal order
An International Monetary Fund IMF team led by IMF Turkey desk Chief Rachel van Elkan was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Ali Babacan in Ankara Zaman reported. During the meeting both sides discussed general macroeconomic developments potential effects of the developments in global and European economy on...

Ankara Tripoli to ink trade deal
Speaking at the first Turkish-Libyan business forum in Istanbul Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun stated that Turkey and Libya should ink a trade agreement FTA in order to foster mutual trade relations Zaman reported. He said the inking of the FTA will open several opportunities for both countries. We...

Ukrainians deposit more in Hryvnia
Kiev - In April the volume of deposits which Ukrainians have in national currency has decreased by 8.18 billion hryvnias up to 112.61 billion hryvnias. In fact for the last one and a half year this is the highest inflow of bank deposits from agents. Mykola Ivchenko the head of...

Stability shown in economy amid crisis
On concluding his visit to Turkmenistan International Monetary Fund IMF Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara said that the bank praised the resilience and strong performance of the Turkmen economy amid global financial crisis Turkmenistan.ru reported. He stated that the performance of the Turkmen government aid crisis reflects the countrys strong...

CIS switches to top gear
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhamedov recently paid a visit to Russia to attend an informal CIS summit. The event is timed for the celebrations of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the end of WWII Turkmenistan.ru reported. At the meeting the sides discussed the significance of the victory over Fascism in World War...

Athens Ankara discuss new model of cooperation
Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan recently paid a visit to Athens to discuss preliminary preparations for the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council between Turkey and Greece scheduled to take place on May 14-15. Babacan met with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou Economy Competitiveness and Mercantile Marine...

Government to prevent banking sector oligopoly
Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan recently announced that the government is adopting measures to prevent oligopoly in the countrys banking sector. Babacan said We will introduce a framework that would prevent oligopoly and create a more competitive environment in the banking sector. The Central Bank and our banking regulation authority...

Turkey Serbia BiH vow to boost relations
Turkish President Abdullah Gul his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic and Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH Presidency Chairman Haris Silajdzic met on 24 April vowing to work for lasting peace stability and neighborly relations news agencies reported. In a declaration issued after their meeting in Istanbul they said that regional politics should...

Turkey unable to tackle underground economy
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey must get rid of its high rate of underground economic activity as the country is no longer able to live with this problem. He was speaking on the sidelines of a conference titled Informality: Causes Consequences Policies during which a World Bank...

Real estate sector bounces back after fall
Real Estate Investing Partners Association GYODER President Turgay Tanes recently discussed the findings of two reports on the performance of the sector in the last quarter and for the whole of 2009. He said that despite the 16.3% contraction in 2009 the sector still suffered less from the global financial...

Syria keen to expand cooperation with Turkey
Visiting Syrian Construction and Housing Minister Omar Ghalawenji met with Turkish Public Works and Housing Minister Mustafa Demir in Ankara. During the talks the Syrian side said that the government has expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Turkey in the construction sector as this area has entered a stable growth...

Israel imposes arms embargo over rhetoric
Israel will temporarily freeze sales of advanced military platforms to Turkey over concerns about the perceived mounting anti-Israel rhetoric from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported UK-based Janes Defense Weekly. According to a story Janes published on 16 April Israels defense assistance and export organization SIBAT has decided to evaluate...

China mulls Istanbuls metro construction
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality recently announced plans to commence construction of four separate metro lines that will run through Istanbuls European and Anatolian sides Zaman reported. Chinese construction firms expressed an interest to participate in the upcoming metro projects in Turkey. The first business delegation from China met with municipal...

Oman Turkey to boost bilateral ties
Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid his first official visit to Oman to meet with Sultanates His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Both underlined the importance of stepping up bilateral cooperation especially because both countries share the same foreign policy principles. They also reviewed Oman-Turkey relations and the latest regional and...

Turkey-Egypt business forum improves trade ties
The Marmara Business Life Associations Federation MARIFED in collaboration with the Turkish Egyptian Businessmen Association TUMIAD organized a business forum in Istanbul news agencies. The aim of the forum is to further improve trade ties between Egypt and Turkey. Around 107 Egyptian businessmen and more than 600 Turkish investors attended...

Qatar Airways launches direct flights to Ankara
Qatar Airways recently announced the addition of four-non-stop services a week between Doha and Ankara. The direct flight to Ankara is part of Qatar Airways expansion strategy which consists of fleet upgrades opening new routes and increasing capacity to existing destinations Zaman reported. The new route strengthens the airlines operations...

EBRD to invest up to €150 million for SMEs
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development recently announced that it plans to offer €150 million in senior loans to leading commercial banks in Turkey for on-lending to micro small and medium-sized enterprises MSMEs under the Turkish MSME Financing Facility. The aim of the project is enable the banks to...

Turkey-Syria trade to reach €5 billion
Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun said that the Turkish economy have great potential and offers great opportunities for Syrian entrepreneurs. He was speaking at the opening of the third meeting of the Turkey-Syria Industry Follow-Up Committee in Damascus news agencies reported. He said that Turkey aims to increase...

Erdogan calls for stability in the Balkans
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara attaches vital importance to the stability of the Balkans. During a meeting at the Bosnian Institute in Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzogovina Erdogan said Turkey wanted to see a Balkans that was located in the center of Europe and that was remembered...

Turkey Chile to ink FTA
Chilean Fresh Fruit Association CFFA recently announced that Chile and Turkey will ink a Free Trade Agreement FTA by the middle of this year in order to boost the potential for trade expansion between the two countries news agencies reported. Christian Carvajal CFFAs Europe and Asia marketing manager said Turkey...

Central Bank to encourage Turkish lending
Turkeys Central Bank plans to implement a de facto rate cut in its technical interest rate the rate that banks use to lend to each other. Market players have learned the intentions of the Central Bank from foreign banks according to sources in Ankara. According to market sources the move...

Around 2.6 million lose their jobs in Turkey
Around 2.6 million people became jobless between the first half of 2008 and late 2009 according to a study conducted by the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions DISK . The recent global financial crisis bankruptcies layoffs and the termination of temporary jobs were responsible for the loss of jobs in...

Davutoglu backs solution of the Darfur problem
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu recently said that Turkey supported the efforts of all international organizations to solve Darfur problem. Speaking at the International Donors Conference for Darfur which was held by Organization of the Islamic Conference and co-chaired by Turkey and Egypt Davutoglu said that the situation in Darfur...

Crisis exaggerates unemployment problem
Unemployment has emerged as one of the Turkeys biggest social economic and political problem. The repercussions of the global financial crisis have exaggerated the problem and remedies to tackle are now on the publics agenda news agencies reported. Amid the crisis investors pulled their money from Turkey which entailed a...

Turkish firms becoming active in Iraqi market
Prior to the Gulf war Iraq was a leading market for Turkish exports but a 12 year UN embargo curbed trade between the two countries. The commercial relations between Turkey and Iraq increased since 22 May 2003 when the embargo was lifted. The activity of Turkish companies working in Iraq...

Turkey Cameroon sign visa deal protocol
Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a formal visit to Cameroon to attend Turkey-Cameroon Business Forum in Yaounde. Speaking at the forum Gul said that Turkey would keep providing humanitarian aids to Africa Zaman reported. Citing Turkeys special importance to Africa Gul said that relations between Turkey and African countries have...