Qifa Nabki
Turkey
Saving Lebanon’s Syrian-Saudi-Qatari-Turkish Initiative
It’s been another marathon day for political deal-making in Lebanon. As recently as this morning, the Syrian-Saudi initiative remained dead and buried, only to be resurrected under Qatari-Turkish stewardship (and French oversight) by the afternoon. Tomorrow, we may see the Brazilians and the Russians tossing their hats in the ring, and before you know it, … Continue reading
Five Thoughts on Turkey and the Flotilla Crisis
The following commentary was sent to me by a good friend and smart observer of regional politics. He comments occasionally at QN under the moniker “J of Chalcedon”… ** Here are five thoughts on the flotilla debacle, its gifts to Tayyip Erdogan, and Turkey’s ambitions for regional and international influence… 1) It allows him to … Continue reading
Axis(tential) Questions
A couple of days ago, I sat in on a lecture about Nasser’s foreign policy in the 1950’s-60’s, and the importance of regional axes in the Cold War world. It left me wondering about the extent to which we still live in such a world today, at least as far as Middle East politics are … Continue reading
Syria, Turkey, and the Four Seas Strategy
Haaretz correspondent Yoav Stern has written an interesting article for Syria Comment called “Syria’s Four Seas Strategy“. It’s worth a read, but if you’re too busy to click over, here’s the executive summary. Turkey’s cancellation of a joint air force exercise with Israel last week is just the latest nail in the coffin of the … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…