Sudanese First Vice President Omar Ali Osman Taha traveled to Turkey recently to participate in the ruling Justice and Development Party’s annual congress. In an email interview, David Shinn, an adjunct professor of international relations at George Washington University and a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, discussed Turkish-Sudanese relations. WPR: How have Turkey-Sudan relations evolved over the past decade, and what is driving ties on both sides? David Shinn: Turkey has historical ties with Sudan that date back to the Ottoman period. Ankara recognized the government in Khartoum after its independence in 1956 and soon established an [...]
A day after a deadly mortar attack from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Akcakale, the Turkish Parliament on Thursday authorized further military action against Syria, with a measure allowing for crossborder raids. Media coverage of the motion, which authorizes strikes on Syrian targets, has warned that Turkish military involvement could turn this civil war into a regional conflict that would inevitably draw in the international community. But while today marks the second day of Turkish shelling within Syria, Turkish government officials have insisted that the new legislation is not a mandate for war, but rather [...]
U.S. pundits commenting on the wave of protests that have swept across the Middle East this past week have tended to focus on “finger-pointing and partisan sniping,” as Greg Scoblete notes, with conservatives vaguely calling for Washington to show more “strength” and liberals advocating more “outreach.” Few have wanted to deal with a far more unpleasant reality: The de facto coalition of Turkey, Israel and “moderate” Sunni Arab states that for decades worked to advance U.S. interests in the region is disintegrating. The aftermath of the Iraq War and the outbreak of the Arab Spring were just the first tremors [...]
