Fehim Taştekin

ftastekin@gazeteduvar.com.tr
ALL ARTICLES
Those who say it was ‘theater’ shouldn’t read this article! It would be misleading to evaluate Iran's attack in terms of what percentage of its weapons reached their targets, or to liken it to a farce. Recall that Hezbollah, too, has not been pursuing a simple strategy of confrontation for the past six months, but has been firing shots aimed at unraveling the Iron Dome. It must be admitted that the Iranians are masters of long-term power struggles, the allergies of the regime's own people aside.
Iran’s defeat! Turnout in Iran's parliamentary elections was recorded as 41 percent. This is the lowest level in 45 years. The low voter turnout across the country, as well as the 24 percent turnout in the capital Tehran, puts the regime below its self-imposed threshold of legitimacy. The low turnout ensures continued control for them, but it also undermines the regime's legitimacy. Islamists renew their faith with Palestine The Palestinian cause is like the confessional box of political Islamism. Every time a genocidal war against Gaza begins, it opens its curtain to its believers. The greatest harm that could be done to the Palestinian cause would be to reduce it to a religious war. Turkish President Erdoğan did this by saying, “This is a cross-crescent issue.” Palestinian Christians are also victims of the occupying colonialist and genocidal war.
How did the bird that will burn Biden fly out of the nest? Luft's information reveals the Biden family's dirty dealings with the Chinese. Luft is on the run, but the scandal that has been under the carpet is being pursued by Congress. A nightmare file is coming for Biden, who announced that he will be running again for the presidency! Why does the FBI want to silence Luft? Dr. Gal Luft was detained in Larnaca on 16 February. As an Energy and security expert, he was a consultant to the Chinese energy company CEFC. The beginning of the process that put Luft on target was the Biden family's unusual relationship with CEFC founder Ye Jianming. So what is it that makes the FBI go after Lutf and make the person they are chasing fear of being killed? Iran and Turkey return to the old game With both Iran and Turkey reevaluating relations with the long-deadlocked Arab world, the Persian-Turkish rivalry may rear its ugly head. What’s cooking for Syria in the Russian-American pot? While Turkey is focusing on Idlib where three Turkish soldiers were recently killed, there is a lot of traffic surrounding Syria. It is being debated whether the U.S. will maintain its military presence in Syria and thus we are observing a series of cross-meetings. Yet, for now, all forecasts and expectations regarding Syria must start with conditional sentences. If you criticize Turkey’s border policy, you are a traitor After Turkey lost two soldiers in Syria last week, Turkey’s Defense Minister went to the boarder and stated that, “revenge of our martyrs has been taken.” However, while an organization thought to be the screen of al-Qaeda-aligned structures in Idlib claimed responsibility for the bombing, Turkey instead indiscriminately strikes Kurdish areas. Good jihadi drives out bad jihadi in Afghanistan As the Taliban seeks international recognition, it will have to curb radicals and encourage them to refrain from actions that would harm the administration. This policy may push their own extremists into ISIS-K, which is eager to be a magnet for those dissatisfied with Taliban ‘tolerance.’ The Taliban may also have to wage a war on ISIS-K, to pave the way for international partnership. The mission to protect the Taliban President Tayyip Erdoğan appears to be more than willing to shake hands with the Taliban. What he has consented to looks like a mission beyond working with the new Afghan government in accordance with the interests of the Turkish state. Perhaps it is a mission that is to be updated according to the circumstances. Erdoğan treating Turkey like a foreign country Erdoğan is ready to go anywhere from Syria, Libya, Somalia and Qatar to Karabakh and Afghanistan. His heart extends to wide regions. But this generous heart has no place for Turkey because that country in the disaster zone is unfortunate. It is like a foreign country to him. How to seize an island: Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus is receiving its share of the Turkish government’s practice of seizing and destroying all fields within Turkey, from politics to public institutions, the economy, and nature. All the decisions concerning Cyprus are made by Erdoğan despite the Cypriots and he does not even let Ersin Tatar make the announcement. Who is Tatar anyway? He is a trustee. Erdoğan is the only one not worried about the Kabul mission In Afghanistan, the Taliban is returning. The U.S. wants to keep the Kabul airport secure while handing over military bases to Afghan forces and Turkey is eager to take on this mission. Turkey could be the catalyst for a solution in Afghanistan if everything goes smoothly, but, given the circumstances and demands put forward, Erdoğan’s bid is shooting itself in the foot. Erdoğan pushing Putin's buttons President Erdoğan has pushed Russia’s buttons by volunteering to serve U.S. interests in Afghanistan at last week's Brussels meeting. Erdoğan will have to face Russian leader Vladimir Putin one day. He has too many deficits in that account. The ice that started melting in Brussels could freeze at any moment. The mafia-like Turkish government  Exiled Turkish mafia boss Sedat Peker continues to come up with allegations concerning deep state secrets. Peker's words conjure memories of Turkey’s past support of paramilitary groups, militarization, and the use of drones in President Erdoğan's foreign policy. He gives the impression that he is holding secrets that may harm the state. Perhaps Peker is hiding the most crucial information for a final hand. Turkey begs Egypt for forgiveness Negotiations with Cairo also mean negotiations with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. At the moment, it looks like the Saudi-UAE duo have handed over the Turkey file to Cairo. They know that Erdoğan is backed into a corner and they want to see how far he will go to meet Cairo’s list of demands. Now, every country is responding to Turkey’s normalization offers with a list. Thanks to little foresight and too many mistakes. Turkey needs to clean its social conscience No matter how 1915 is remembered, the “consensus of the state and the nation” of massacres, looting, exiles, and murders has been internalized. It is Turkey’s curse. Erdoğan government’s style of politics persistently blinds social conscience in a way that leaves no space for reviewing, examining, or confronting. This situation has become a traumatic load in foreign affairs over the years. Turkey’s Ukraine policy swept away by cold Black Sea wind For now, the course is shifting from hot war scenarios to cold war. While the U.S. administration is reluctant to take steps to provoke Russia in the military sphere. This outcome presents an ice-cold picture of those who calculated that NATO would act as a shield for Ukraine. Turkey now finds itself left out in the cold, frosty winds of the Black Sea. An abnormal attempt at normalization: Turkey’s foreign relations President Erdoğan is trying to conceal Turkey’s international withdrawal via anti-law, anti-human, anti-woman, anti-environmental domestic operations. He is pushing the limits in order to convert authoritarianism into totalitarianism. Within the international system, there appears to be a surface-level attempt at harmony out of necessity; however, Turkey is pitting neighbor against neighbor. Thus, the quest for normalization of foreign relations is horizon-less. Turkey’s ‘blue homeland’ concept at odds Egypt’s indifference In the midst of Turkey’s struggle for energy and maritime jurisdictions in the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt's announcement of a new round of bidding for hydrocarbon exploration on Feb. 18 was interpreted as Cairo wanting to shake hands with Ankara. Thus, there was widespread disappointment when then gesture was withdrawn. Never-ending conflict in Armenia Turkey condemning the coup attempt shows that it associates Pashinyan’s keeping his position with the implementation of the agreement. No doubt, Turkey’s reaction was interpreted as support for Pashinyan and slogans, seen in urban squares saying “Armenia without the Turk,” as referring to Pashinyan. Bloodshed at Gara and Erdoğan government's success Turkey's Operation Eagle Claw, which intended to free the officers held captive by the PKK, ended in the death of 13 Turkish nationals and no evidence of geographic gains. However, the operation was still labeled “a success” by Erdoğan's government. Unfortunately, there is no legal mechanism, no political pressure, and no media power that can hold the Turkish government accountable for its actions. Libya’s journey to hope and corruption Egypt, Turkey and Russia had an implicit alliance over Saleh-Bashagha. If this data is accurate, all three countries are victims of a plot twist. Egypt and Russia began to conduct the political process with Aguila Saleh, somewhat placing the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Khalifa Haftar in a second-rank position. He loves me, he loves me not While we are plucking flower petals, waiting to understand Biden’s upcoming policies on Syria, new appointments have been made, resulting in a flurry of predictions. Many predict that Syria will not be a priority under the new administration. That may be so. However, Turkey is one of the countries that should be focused on while Biden is trying to put relations with NATO allies back on track and this will inevitably bring Syria policies to the table. Will Erdoğan be able to use the door opened for Qatar? Ankara may be hoping to enter through the door itself which was opened for Qatar. Current circumstances are forcing it. The axis fight opened channels of influence for Erdoğan, but the end has come in this journey. It is difficult to shake hands with the UAE because of the fight in Libya but Erdoğan is more than ready to hug Saudi King Salman. Erdoğan is putting the King in a separate place than his son. Let’s straight out relations with Iraq Iraqi PM Al-Kadhimi recently visited Turkey and made clear attempts at charming President Erdoğan. Unfortunatly, mistrust within Turkey-Iraq relations is still a major problem. The situation in Iraq and Syria continues to tell us that the quickest way for Turkey to reconcile with neighboring countries is to create domestic peace and “democratic integrity” with the Kurds. Instead, cruelty continues within Turkey’s borders, and there does not seem to be any slogan left, except, “brutality rules. Iran's "strategic patience" upsets the Saudi-Israeli alliance While Saudi Arabia and Israel favour strikes against the Iranian regime, the new US administration led by US President-elect Joe Biden might usher in a more diplomatic approach. That might explain why Tehran failed to react to the killing of its official Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Erdoğan’s man making sales pitches in Cairo and Paris Since it was revealed that Fayez al-Sarraj, who is the head of the Presidential Council of Libya and who had reluctantly signed critical agreements with Turkey, had thrown in the towel, Bashagha has become more important in terms of Ankara’s plans for Libya. His relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and the fact he was backed by Turkey have helped Bashagha hold his current position. A beheaded French teacher and a Muslim perpetrator President Erdoğan himself has become the chief fuel of Islamophobia for quite a time. Erdoğan is using words that create a shock effect on everyone, his actions make Syrian refugees tools for blackmail, he has a confrontationist style and decided to convert the Hagia Sophia and Chora Museums into mosques. Red Kurdistan in Nagorno-Karabakh During the post-1988 conflict, Armenia got rid of its Azeris and Azerbaijan got rid of its Armenians. There is no chapter about the Kurds in historic references, and again, there is no mention of the Kurds in the current tragedy.