Pro tip: when U.S. politicians in either party ignore or defy what the broader public says it wants, it’s usually because they are pandering to some powerful special interest group (or groups). True whether the issue is gun control, farm subsidies, health care, or many aspects of foreign policy.

Genuine question: are there security personnel backing up Musk’s unlawful interference in US government operations? If real US officials tell his aides to leave and let them do their jobs, are there police or other coercive forces telling those officials to comply with whatever his minions do?

Trump’s new economic war The president’s ultimatums and demands on allies and rivals suggest he will use America’s financial might as a cudgel

"The irony of China presenting itself as a free-trading paragon while Trump seeks to extract concessions from his closest allies by brute economic force was not lost on Davos attendees watching Ding’s performance." 

www.ft.com/content/f500...

China’s Very Bad, No Good Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus It’s a sign of weakness, not strength, but a problem for everyone

China's giant trade surplus is a sign of weakness But it's also a problem for the rest of us paulkrugman.substack.com/p/chinas-ver...

The ironic thing about Syria: the people in DC who are so vocal about supporting the Syrian people are also the most vocal in keeping the sanctions on. And yet nobody seems to call these people out for it.

Classroom teacher Ferah Oktan was sentenced to 6years3months in prison for working at a school closed by a decree, depositing money in Bank Asya,and being a member of a union. Despite the rulings of the ECHR,the mother of two was arrested on Aug 9.

These injustices must come to an end!

#KHKsız2025

One of the leading public diplomacy institutions established by the Turkish government became embroiled in a major corruption scandal. Following the revelation of the scandal, the head of the institution fled to Germany and sought asylum there. Welcome to the Erdogan's Turkey!

Masayoshi Son and the Art of the Fake Deal The investment Trump is touting is fake on multiple levels

The war on arithmetic begins paulkrugman.substack.com/p/masayoshi-...

Van Hollen, Graham threaten sanctions on Turkey to achieve ceasefire with Syrian Kurdish allies Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are threatening sanctions against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unless Ankara forces Syrian opposition fighters into a ceasefire …

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are threatening sanctions against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unless Ankara forces Syrian opposition fighters into a ceasefire with U.S-backed Kurdish partners in the northeast of the country
thehill.com/policy/inter...

I think the Che Guevarafication of al-Jolani/al-Sharaa has already begun in parts of the Arab world, and I think Arab despots in particular will be as concerned by the rise of a populist technocratic political Islam as South American autocrats were by Latin American Communism.

The character deficiencies of many of Trump’s nominees (e.g., Hegseth) are worrisome indeed, but most are also unqualified for the positions they will hold and have never managed a large organizations. Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Israel’s Use of Force Against Syria and the Right of Self-Defense On December 8, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), augmented by other rebel forces, successfully overthrew the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad following more than five decades of rule …

On Israel’s Syria blitz. “as we will explain, even by an expansive approach to self-defense of the kind embraced in recent decades by US and UK governments, Israel’s actions cannot be justified as self-defense.” www.ejiltalk.org/israels-use-...

The number of "Syria experts" on Turkish TV is rising almost as quickly as inflation in Turkey. And no, apparently you don’t need to know Arabic or any foreign language to inform the audience🤦‍♂️

"Diktatörlerin göz göre göre yalan söylemelerinin nedeni tabanlarının ahlaksızlığını ve aptallığını bilmeleridir. Biliyorlar ki ertesi gün o yalanın tam tersini söyleyecekler ve taban bunu 'ne büyük taktik deha' diyerek bir kez daha alkışlayacak."

Hannah Arendt

Trump’s Pick as Mideast Adviser, Massad Boulos, Is a Truck Salesman The lore around Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law, is that he is a billionaire dealmaker. Records show otherwise.

Trump’s Mid East envoy. “Mr. Boulos will advise on one of the world’s most …conflict-wracked regions — a region that Mr. Boulos said this week that he has not visited in years.“ www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/w...

Building a Better World Order? When President Joe Biden spoke to UN General Assembly in September 2024, he said the world was at an “inflection point.” This was an admission that the current order is showing unmistakable signs of s...

Trying to imagine a better world order in the age of Trump may seem quixotic, but it’s important not to abandon our ideals in the face of accelerating chaos. My essay in IWMPost is here: www.iwm.at/publication/...

The first statement from Erdogan regarding the war in Syria: We hope Syrian rebels’ march to Homs and Damascus will continue without any accidents and troubles.

This signals a maximalist position from Ankara ahead of the Astana Process in Doha to talk about the future of Syria.

Former Defense Minister Accuses Israel of Committing War Crimes in Gaza The comments by Moshe Yaalon were swiftly denied and condemned by allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who said that they would hurt the country and help its enemies.

A former Israeli defense minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.

The EU and Mercosur are close to sealing a major free trade deal after two years of talks. If it goes through, it’ll be one of the biggest ever and comes just as Trump pushes tariffs and moves the U.S. away from free trade. It's worth watching the process!

Daniella Cabello, who was sanctioned by the US today, is seeking to expand trade with Turkey.

Cabello is the daughter of Diosdado Cabello, one of Maduro's closest allies and currently the Interior Minister of Venezuela. Turkey's growing engagement with Venezuela is to face significant challenges!

A nice snapshot of Turkey-US relations:Ankara’s reaction to Trump’s victory reveals selective memory.Yet, Trump’s Cabinet picks have shown little interest in aligning with Ankara.On the contrary, many are outspoken critics of Turkey. Plus, the Israel-Palestine crisis will likely remain a sore point.