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How and why do conspiracy theories spread in Turkey? Recent developments are a case in point, demonstrating the role of government rhetoric in spreading such theories, as well as anti-Western sentiments. Lately, Turkey has experienced a spike in Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, terror attacks, resulting in more than 50

Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 28, 2010. The following is an excerpt from his prepared remarks. "...The AKP has made a 180-degree turn in Turkey's Middle East policy, moving

For Turks today, after seven years of propaganda, Hamas appears to be a good organization as it has been a guest in Istanbul seven times and has had multiple contacts with the government. It even has fundraisers in Turkey. Therefore, one should not expect today that the Turks would oppose

Turkey has not traditionally boasted strong popular support for Hamas, or any other groups with a violent Islamist agenda. Turks generally have had an attitude of benign indifference towards their country's ties with Israel. Lately though, this is changing. Whereas anti-Israeli demonstrations would have typically attracted only a few thousand

The following summary is part two of Robert Satloff's presentation to a June 18, 2010, Washington Institute Policy Forum on the impact of the Gaza flotilla incident. Part one, issued yesterday as PolicyWatch #1670, focused on implications for U.S. policy. For full audio of the event, which also included presentations

Something has been lost in the heated discussion surrounding the Gaza "freedom flotilla" incident -- namely, an assessment of what actually happened before and during the Israeli operation. Dissecting the incident's serious consequences is important, as is debating alternative Israeli options or questions of international law. But responding intelligently to

Turkish-Israeli ties, born in March 28, 1949 when Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel, effectively ended on May 31, 2010. This happened as IDF commandos boarded a convoy of ships reportedly bringing humanitarian assistance to Hamas-run Gaza. Previously, Israeli officials had pleaded with the Turkish officials not

The Gaza flotilla tragedy has given Hamas at least a short-term political boost while undercutting the sea blockade of Gaza, fitting well with the agenda of the flotilla's organizers, Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Fund. At the same time, the incident -- to the extent that the details are known -- has

The central problem with the recent nuclear deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil with Iran is that it does not quite tackle Iran's ability to weaponize its uranium stockpile. According to the arrangement, Iran is to deposit 1,200 kilos of enriched uranium in Turkey. Yet, according to the International Atomic