Turkish Blues

So, how did things deteriorate with Turkey this quickly. The cozy love affair between the Turks and the West (particularly the US) has ended with calls from the US to recognize the genocide of the Armenians during the first half of the twentieth century. There has been an implicit understanding between the US and Turkey that Turkey will help the US in everywhich way as long as the US doesn't bring up the topic of the Armenian genocide. A similar agreement exists between Turkey and Israel in which Israel will never talk about the genocide as long as Turkey takes a favorable stance towards the Hebrew state. So, what happened now? Life has been rocky ever since Recep Tayeb Erdogan became PM of Turkey. This step was perceived by the West as an awkward turn in Turkish politics. The bringing of a religious Muslim party to the front of Turkish politics was frowned upon by the West although Erdogan and his party demonstrated more warmth towards the West and a great desire to conform to the EU standard in order to enter into Europe as soon as possible. Again, Turkey gained the animosity of the West when Erdogan nominated Abdullah Gul, foreign minister, to the presidency. Protestors took to the street in what reminded us of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. However, the will of the voters was evident in the elections and Gul was elected to the presidency. Shortly after, the US media began bringing up the subject of the Armenian genocide. Now, I'm not against recognizing the Armenian genocide for what it really is, the slaughtering of thousands of Armenians and other minorities by the dying Ottoman Empire. But what I wonder at is the timing of the event. Why now when the event is nearly a century old? Why now when Armenians everywhere were rallying every year, begging the world to hear them out, to recognize their plight? It doesn't take much brains to see that the US and West want something from Turkey, what exactly is not clear yet, more collaboration perhaps, more compliance? However, Turkey has one of two options: either acknowledge the Armenian genocide and accept the repurcutions, or, what seems more probable, give in to the West. The latter seems more probable especially with the Kurdish situation fomenting now in the south. Turkey has ventured into the Iraqi north in order to quell the Kurdish rebels. However, it has been surprised by an attack that claimed the life of 9 of its soldiers. Surprise or coincidence?

The Corruption of the House of Saud

This is something you don't hear about often; in the mainstream media at least. The reason is mentioned in Said Aburish's new expose of the house of Saud: The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia controls most of the media outlets in the Arab world, even those published in European capitals such as London and Paris. The house of Saud have used their petrodollars to control what gets published and anything that offends them in the least gets censored. Even the Saudi controlled Al Hayat sometimes gets censored. I remember once I discovered that the second page of the newspaper was missing (I still don't know what the story was that offended the royal family). Unfortunately, the book is not without its shortcomings. It reads like a personal account; it's as if you are having a conversation with the author and he is trying to convince you of his ideas. There are numerous typos in the book and there are no footnotes or in-text citations but rather a bibliography at the end. Of course, the lack of material and the secrecy enveloping the house of Saud doesn't help an author who decides to tackle that subject and the material I have read on the corruption of the Saudi royal family usually reads like a fairytale. However, it is undeniable that a huge cover-up is in process everytime the Saudi royal family is involved. The roots of all this can almost always be traced back to the priceless commodity, oil.

I hope that more material gets published on the corruption that is racking Saudi Arabia and that opposition to the house of Saud rises before it is too late and before the US sees it in its best interest to change the regime itself like it did in Iraq.

Doctors of Death?

Another page from the dark reign of Al Qaddafi. Once portrayed as a blood-thirsty tyrant, now that Al Qaddafi has made peace with the US, he is no longer the monster of yesterday but an example to emulated by other leaders. In the meanwhile he continues to rule his people and lead them into the dark ages. Unfortunately, to cover up his failures as a leader, other people have to pay the price. The much debated issue that has recently emerged is the case of the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who were accused of transfusing blood contaminated with the HIV virus to Libyan children. Of course, the case is just an excuse for the less-than-average sanitary conditions in hospitals and for the lax regulations applied to blood supplies in Libya. But this is not my point. I was reading today in the newspapers that the five Bulgarian nurses most probably will not be executed after all of Europe threatened Libya with sanctions if they go on with their plans. However, no mention was made of the Palestinian doctor. Most probably, he will be made an example to others who 'threaten the security of the glorious Libyan people and the glorious nation of Libya'. And who is to save the Palestinian doctor from his fate? He has no nation to speak of...