Why didn't they listen to Erdogan?

by Aydogan Vatandas - President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has become an international figure; it is probably the first time so many people outside Turkey know the name of the country's president since the presidency of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Turkey.

However, during his UN summit speech yesterday, many of the seats in the hall were empty, and it is safe to say that Erdoğan spoke only to a small group of listeners.

The main reason for this shift is the fact that Erdoğan has already lost his credibility in the world even though he still has some support on the ground in Turkey. The last two elections in Turkey can be considered an indication that he still has the support of the majority of Turkish voters even though he has already made the country less democratic and openly vows to continue this process.

How was Obama's red line crossed?

Photo: Reuters

by Aydoğan Vatandaş - Allegations made by America's most highly regarded investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, that Turkey was behind the sarin gas attack that took place last year in Syria never found much voice in the American mainstream media.

In fact, the US administration even went so far as to openly reject the allegation. The fact, however, that such an allegation was rejected by the administration does not mean that it is not a threat to both the Obama administration and to Turkey.

In fact, Hersh has been known throughout his career to have made many interesting allegations, quite of few of which were refuted at first but then later turned out to be true. One thing is certain: Over time, Hersh has become a trusted name for many deep sources within the state that wish to see certain truths illuminated.

Is Islam more violent than any other faith?

After the brutal atrocities of the "Islamic State" (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham), Don Lemon, CNN's well-known anchorman, assembled a discussion last week addressing the question “Is Islam more violent than any other faith?”

Erdogan's ‘witch hunt' and abuse of state power

by Aydogan Vatandas - It was only about a week ago that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that his government will carry out a witch hunt on his own people: “If reassigning individuals who betray this country is called a witch hunt, then yes, we will carry out a witch hunt.”