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TURKEY'S PRIME MINISTER THREATENS TO BAN FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE
Foreign Policy
March 7 2014
BY Cortni Kerr
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to shut
down social media sites Facebook and YouTube in response to recent
wiretap recordings released anonymously over YouTube. The controversial
recordings, the latest development in Turkey's corruption scandal,
allegedly incriminate Erdogan and other government officials. In a
late Thursday ATV broadcast, Erdogan asserted, "We are determined on
this subject. We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube
and Facebook," adding that such measures would not take place until
after March 30 municipal elections. Turkey's President Abdullah Gul
commented Friday that such a ban is "out of the question." Gul,
however, added that authorities had the power under a new law
to block access to certain materials if a person's privacy is
being violated. Meanwhile, new labor statistics show that Turkey's
unemployment rate for 2013 increased to 9.7 percent, surpassing the
government's goal of 9.5 percent. Despite the economic situation and
recent corruption allegations, a poll released Tuesday reported that
Erdogan's approval rating rose from its all-time low of 39.4 percent
in January to 43.5 percent in February.
Syria
The Syrian government is expected to miss a major deadline next week
to destroy its 12 nuclear weapons production facilities. An official
from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said
Thursday that none of the facilities had been destroyed yet. In the
city of Homs, a car bomb exploded in the Armenian district, killing
at least 15 people and wounding 12 others Thursday. In the south,
Syrian aircraft launched an attack near the Lebanese border on the
rebel-held town of Yarboud, where at least 17 rebels were killed in
fighting on Thursday. Increased Syrian aircraft activity near the
Israel-Syria border Friday morning prompted the Israeli Air Force
to scramble fighter jets four times, though it did not result in
direct confrontation.
Headlines
Egypt announced in an online statement Thursday that it was acting in
solidarity with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain
by withdrawing its diplomatic envoy from Qatar to "correct the path
of the Qatari government."
Egypt's cabinet approved the final draft of a new presidential
elections law that is expected to pave the way for an official
announcement on the terms and date of the election.
Saudi Arabia has formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a
terrorist organization, along with the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant.
At least 30 people were killed in a series of bombings in Iraq's
capital of Baghdad and the southern town of Hilla on Thursday. Gunfire
killed eight people on Friday in Fallujah, where anti-government
fighters have held control for more than two months.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Jordan to discuss the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process with King Abdullah II.
Arguments and Analysis
'Break Up in the Gulf: What the GCC Dispute Means for Qatar' (Bilal Y.
Saab, Foreign Affairs)
"Should Qatar become friendlier with Iran and Oman, it would signal
the death of the GCC and herald a new power alignment in the Gulf. It
would also severely complicate U.S. plans in the Middle East. For
some time, the United States has encouraged the Arab Gulf States to
think and act more collectively to enhance Gulf security. But with
increasing tensions among GCC members, including possible divorces,
this goal seems increasingly unrealistic. Washington may come to see
that its Gulf allies will not be able to provide regional security
anytime soon and, as a result, think twice about plans to reduce the
U.S. political and military footprint there.
Qatar's spat with its Saudi and Emirati neighbors also creates
another policy dilemma for the United States. Washington has strategic
relations with all three states, which will become difficult to manage
if they aren't on speaking terms. It is possible that Riyadh and Abu
Dhabi could even lobby the United States to help shut down money flows
out of Doha under the guise of counterterrorism. But Washington might
not be receptive. Qatar hosts the Al Udeid Air Base and the Combined
Air and Space Operations Center, which coordinated all of the U.S.
attack and surveillance missions for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In other words, although the U.S. Treasury Department and State
Department may show readiness to entertain Saudi and Emirati punitive
measures against Doha, the Pentagon will probably put the brakes on
any such plans."
'Zooming in on Syria: Adapting US Policy to Local Realities' (Faysal
Itani and Nathaniel Rosenblatt, Atlantic Council)
"The single-minded US focus on international diplomacy has come at
the expense of a nuanced and granular understanding of the opposition.
This has encouraged a reactive approach that has failed to keep pace
with the evolution of the uprising as it morphed from peaceful protest
to armed rebellion and, finally, full-blown civil war. Unless the
United States adopts a more flexible, imaginative, and committed
approach, Syria will continue its descent into lawlessness and
terrorism, causing untold suffering for Syrians, threatening
neighboring countries, and fueling regional sectarian hatred and
violence.
For the United States to play any relevant role in facilitating a
negotiated political transition in Syria, it needs to fundamentally
alter its framework for understanding and dealing with the uprising, to
gain a much deeper grasp of the local opposition and its standing among
the local population, capacity to govern, and ability to coordinate
and represent Syrians in international fora. Policymakers need to
evaluate why the opposition has evolved as it did through the stages
of protest movement, armed insurgency, and long-term civil war.
This brief takes a micro-view of key moments in the evolution of the
conflict and shows how moderate trends within the opposition lost
the upper hand. The authors argue that foreign actors played a role
in worsening internal divisions among opposition players, empowering
radical sectarian militias, and thwarting efforts to overthrow the
regime. Such an analysis offers critical lessons on how the United
States can more effectively pursue a political transition in Syria."
-- Cortni Kerr
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images
http://mideastafrica.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/03/07/turkey_s_prime_minister_threatens_to_ban_facebook_ youtube
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Foreign Policy
March 7 2014
BY Cortni Kerr
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to shut
down social media sites Facebook and YouTube in response to recent
wiretap recordings released anonymously over YouTube. The controversial
recordings, the latest development in Turkey's corruption scandal,
allegedly incriminate Erdogan and other government officials. In a
late Thursday ATV broadcast, Erdogan asserted, "We are determined on
this subject. We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube
and Facebook," adding that such measures would not take place until
after March 30 municipal elections. Turkey's President Abdullah Gul
commented Friday that such a ban is "out of the question." Gul,
however, added that authorities had the power under a new law
to block access to certain materials if a person's privacy is
being violated. Meanwhile, new labor statistics show that Turkey's
unemployment rate for 2013 increased to 9.7 percent, surpassing the
government's goal of 9.5 percent. Despite the economic situation and
recent corruption allegations, a poll released Tuesday reported that
Erdogan's approval rating rose from its all-time low of 39.4 percent
in January to 43.5 percent in February.
Syria
The Syrian government is expected to miss a major deadline next week
to destroy its 12 nuclear weapons production facilities. An official
from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said
Thursday that none of the facilities had been destroyed yet. In the
city of Homs, a car bomb exploded in the Armenian district, killing
at least 15 people and wounding 12 others Thursday. In the south,
Syrian aircraft launched an attack near the Lebanese border on the
rebel-held town of Yarboud, where at least 17 rebels were killed in
fighting on Thursday. Increased Syrian aircraft activity near the
Israel-Syria border Friday morning prompted the Israeli Air Force
to scramble fighter jets four times, though it did not result in
direct confrontation.
Headlines
Egypt announced in an online statement Thursday that it was acting in
solidarity with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain
by withdrawing its diplomatic envoy from Qatar to "correct the path
of the Qatari government."
Egypt's cabinet approved the final draft of a new presidential
elections law that is expected to pave the way for an official
announcement on the terms and date of the election.
Saudi Arabia has formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a
terrorist organization, along with the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant.
At least 30 people were killed in a series of bombings in Iraq's
capital of Baghdad and the southern town of Hilla on Thursday. Gunfire
killed eight people on Friday in Fallujah, where anti-government
fighters have held control for more than two months.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Jordan to discuss the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process with King Abdullah II.
Arguments and Analysis
'Break Up in the Gulf: What the GCC Dispute Means for Qatar' (Bilal Y.
Saab, Foreign Affairs)
"Should Qatar become friendlier with Iran and Oman, it would signal
the death of the GCC and herald a new power alignment in the Gulf. It
would also severely complicate U.S. plans in the Middle East. For
some time, the United States has encouraged the Arab Gulf States to
think and act more collectively to enhance Gulf security. But with
increasing tensions among GCC members, including possible divorces,
this goal seems increasingly unrealistic. Washington may come to see
that its Gulf allies will not be able to provide regional security
anytime soon and, as a result, think twice about plans to reduce the
U.S. political and military footprint there.
Qatar's spat with its Saudi and Emirati neighbors also creates
another policy dilemma for the United States. Washington has strategic
relations with all three states, which will become difficult to manage
if they aren't on speaking terms. It is possible that Riyadh and Abu
Dhabi could even lobby the United States to help shut down money flows
out of Doha under the guise of counterterrorism. But Washington might
not be receptive. Qatar hosts the Al Udeid Air Base and the Combined
Air and Space Operations Center, which coordinated all of the U.S.
attack and surveillance missions for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In other words, although the U.S. Treasury Department and State
Department may show readiness to entertain Saudi and Emirati punitive
measures against Doha, the Pentagon will probably put the brakes on
any such plans."
'Zooming in on Syria: Adapting US Policy to Local Realities' (Faysal
Itani and Nathaniel Rosenblatt, Atlantic Council)
"The single-minded US focus on international diplomacy has come at
the expense of a nuanced and granular understanding of the opposition.
This has encouraged a reactive approach that has failed to keep pace
with the evolution of the uprising as it morphed from peaceful protest
to armed rebellion and, finally, full-blown civil war. Unless the
United States adopts a more flexible, imaginative, and committed
approach, Syria will continue its descent into lawlessness and
terrorism, causing untold suffering for Syrians, threatening
neighboring countries, and fueling regional sectarian hatred and
violence.
For the United States to play any relevant role in facilitating a
negotiated political transition in Syria, it needs to fundamentally
alter its framework for understanding and dealing with the uprising, to
gain a much deeper grasp of the local opposition and its standing among
the local population, capacity to govern, and ability to coordinate
and represent Syrians in international fora. Policymakers need to
evaluate why the opposition has evolved as it did through the stages
of protest movement, armed insurgency, and long-term civil war.
This brief takes a micro-view of key moments in the evolution of the
conflict and shows how moderate trends within the opposition lost
the upper hand. The authors argue that foreign actors played a role
in worsening internal divisions among opposition players, empowering
radical sectarian militias, and thwarting efforts to overthrow the
regime. Such an analysis offers critical lessons on how the United
States can more effectively pursue a political transition in Syria."
-- Cortni Kerr
ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images
http://mideastafrica.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/03/07/turkey_s_prime_minister_threatens_to_ban_facebook_ youtube
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress