Washington Institute
Director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute and author of Rise of Turkey: The 21st Century's First Muslim Power
PROFILE
Soner Cagaptay
Guest
FROM Soner Cagaptay
To the Point
After the Coup in Turkey: A State of Emergency Since the failed coup just a week ago, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has rounded up some 10,000 soldiers, academics and government workers. A more extended purge is expected, even as Turkish officials reassure NATO allies it will continue to meet international obligations. But the nation is sharply divided between cities and countryside, between secularism and religion. There are fears for democracy. Meantime, Turkey demands that the US extradite Fethullah Gülen, accused by Erdoğan of orchestrating the coup. At this morning's news conference, when asked about the demand for Gulen's extradition to Turkey, Obama told reporters, "I told President Erdoğan that they should present us with evidence that they think indicates the involvement of Mr. Gülen or anyone else who's here in the United States and it would be processed in the way that it is always processed."
To the Point
After Failed Coup, What's Next for Turkey? This weekend's failed coup in Turkey could make for major changes in an important US ally. With fervent backing from religious crowds in the streets, will President Recep Erdoğan crown himself as an Islamic leader? Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attends a funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, July 17, 2016. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters) As a coup plot led by some military leaders was unfolding against his administration, Erdoğan called for prayers of support in the country's 80,000 mosques. It was early in the morning, but tens of thousands of Turks took to the streets. Soner Cagaptay, who reports for the Wall Street Journal and is author of The Rise of Turkey: The 21st Century's First Muslim Power , looks at how this weekend’s failed coup could make for major changes in an important US ally.
To the Point
Russia Changes the Battleground, at Least for the Moment President Obama said yesterday the US has failed “to change the dynamic inside Syria.” He’s all but conceded that Vladimir Putin has. Russian air strikes are helping two American enemies: Syrian President Assad, and, perhaps indirectly, the Islamic State. Meantime, ISIS is increasingly a threat to Turkey, America’s NATO Ally. Although the US appears to be running out of options, is Putin creating his own quagmire?
Recommended
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?