Follow Hudson New York
Most Viewed
- Building Mosques on Sacred Sites of Defeated Enemies a Symbol of Conquest
- The Root of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Classic Islamic View of Jews
- The Mosque at Ground Zero, a Muslim View: Planting a Flag on an Islamic Conquest
- The Palestinian Authority: Silencing the Opposition
- The Root of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Classic Islamic View of Jews, Part II
Hudson Institute is attempting to encourage civil discourse on important issues of our time. The views expressed are not necessarily the opinions shared by those at the institute, but reflect a variety of viewpoints that may be controversial and sometimes provocative.
Latest Articles
Spain Cozies Up To Cuba
But "Are They Emptying Cuban Prisons Just to Fill Them Again?"
by Soeren Kern • September 2, 2010 at 5:00 am
 Send |
 Comment |
    
|
ShareSix Cuban political prisoners arrived in Spain in August, joining 20 others who came to the country in July after being released from prison by the dictatorship of Cuban President Raúl Castro. They form part of a July 7 deal struck between communist Cuba and the Roman Catholic Church, brokered by the Socialist government in Spain, in which the Castro regime agreed to free 52 of 75 dissidents sentenced in 2003 to prison terms of up to 28 years.
Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero hopes the prisoner releases will help him to achieve a long-term political goal: to persuade other European Union countries to relax sanctions on Cuba. The EU's Common Position on Cuba, which dates back to 1996, links any improvement in relations to progress on democracy and human rights.
Continue Reading
by Ali Uyanik • September 2, 2010 at 4:45 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's Prime Minister and leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), has called for revision of the Turkish constitution through a referendum making it impossible for the secular judiciary to close down Islamist parties. His chief political adversary, Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP), says "No" to constitutional amendments that would reinforce the position of the AKP.
Kilicdaroglu comes from the eastern Turkish province of Tunceli. If you travel to Tunceli, you will see inscribed on a hillside a uniquely malevolent warning from the state: "We are strong and brave; we are ready." The message is unmistakable. Tunceli is also the name of the provincial capital, a city 99 percent populated by Alevis, who practise a stream of spirituality combining Sufi mysticism, Shia Islam, and traditional Turkish practices.
by Richard Miniter • September 2, 2010 at 4:30 am
| Send |
Comment |
|
Announcing the departure of the last U.S. combat troops from Iraq, President Obama made it sound like a defeat. "Ending this war is not only in Iraq's interest – it is in our own," he said Tuesday night. "We have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page."
He could not more wrong about Iraq or the war: the fact that those troops are leaving in victory —and not exiting from the roof of the embassy in crowded Huey Cobra helicopter — will not be noticed as much as the plain fact they are leaving.
If politicians or the press admit that we have largely won the war, it would reveal that the combat troops' departure is purely an ideological necessity, not a military one: America is not being pushed out of Iraq by a relentless foe, but calmly leaving on its own schedule.
Already anti-war activists are painting the liberation of Iraq as the squandering of American blood and treasure that did not make America any safer, and only deepened the divide between America and the Muslim world.
Meanwhile, conservative commentators, like the Council on Foreign Relations's Max Boot, only mumble that it is "too soon to tell."
Turkish Daily Press - September 2, 2010
September 2, 2010 at 4:00 am • AK Group
| Send |
Comment |
|
The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
WE ARE SUPPORTERS OF THE REPUBLIC
Turkey celebrated Victory Day on August 30. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of Turkish Republic, said in 1924, "all the world should know that there is partisanship in me: Partisanship [for the] Republic, partisanship [for] intellectual and social reform. At this point, I do not want to see any individual in the new society of Turkey left out of this."
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/15667375.asp?gid=233
TURKISH POLICE ARREST AN ARMED PERSON NEAR U.S. EMBASSY
A U.S. official said Monday that Turkish police have detained a person who apparently tried to commit suicide near the U.S. Embassy.
An embassy spokesman said the person appeared to be armed and was taken away by police without any incident.
Turkish Daily Press - September 1, 2010
September 2, 2010 at 3:30 am • AK Group
| Send |
Comment |
|
The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
WHAT KIND OF A PARTNER IS THIS?
The United States administration regularly refers to Turkey as a "strategic partner." Yet the U.S. administration suspended the sale of arms to Turkey after having been influenced by the Jewish lobby in the U.S. Congress. Turkey's ambassador in Washington, Namık Tan, said the Obama administration did not send the agreement on the sale of Reaper and Cobra helicopters to the U.S. Congress, making it impossible for Turkey to receive the arms.
According to Tan, the U.S. decision came after the voting on Iran and the crisis with Israel. Tan said Turkey informed the U.S. State Department about its unhappiness over the matter.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/15686123.asp?gid=373
US WILL NOT TAKE PART IN TURKEY'S OCTOBER MILITARY DRILLS
Turkish Daily Press - August 31, 2010
September 2, 2010 at 3:00 am • AK Group
| Send |
Comment |
|
The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
JOYFUL CELEBRATION
[Turkey's] August 30 Victory Day was celebrated across the country with great joy. Turkey's Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner signed the Special Register of Anıtkabır, the Mausoleum of Atatürk, and said "We are aware of the importance of the Kemalist system of thought for our nation."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not attend celebrations at the Atatürk Cultural Center in Ankara. He was visiting the Black Sea province of Rize instead.
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?kn=7
TURKEY-ISRAEL TENSIONS EASE WITH A LITTLE PUSH FROM U.S.
Secret diplomacy to repair relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv comes to light after a high-level Turkish diplomatic visit to the United States, which counts both countries as key allies in the Middle East.
As the U.S. urges Turkey to recognize Israel's conciliatory moves, a Turkish diplomat says Ankara is seeking Washington's aid on its key demands.
How Goldstone Is Making Peace More Difficult
by Alan M. Dershowitz • September 1, 2010 at 12:35 pm
| Send |
Comment |
|
When President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas try to make peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the 600 pound gorilla in the room will be Richard Goldstone. Although he was not invited to the meetings, his presence will be felt. It will send the following message to the Israeli government: If you end your military occupation of the West Bank, and the Palestinians use their new territory to launch rockets and other attacks against Israel, you will not be able to defend yourself, without Goldstone and the colleagues condemning you for taking actions in self defense.
Three Myths About The Peace Process
by Alan M. Dershowitz • September 1, 2010 at 12:30 pm
| Send |
Comment |
|
In the days leading up to the initial meeting between President Obama, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas, the op ed pages and blogs have been filled with opinion pieces about the dynamics of the upcoming peace process. Most of these analyses have simply provided an opportunity for advocates to argue that their preexisting positions are valid. Many of these positions are mythical and bare little relationship to the realties on the ground. Let me identify three pervasive myths.
Myth number 1: Securing peace with the Palestinians based on a two state solution and the end of the Israeli settlements is will bring about peace in the Middle East.
