Turkey / U.S. Disputes over U.S. / Syria Engagements Highlight a Fundamental Shift in Alliance

Washington Post: "For Turkey and U.S., at odds over Syria, a 60-year alliance shows signs of crumbling"
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/for-turkey-and-us-at-odds-over-syria-a-60-year-alliance-shows-signs-of-crumbling/2014/10/29/9fa07c49-0546-4afd-b6ad-cf6fa70e7fe4_story.html?hpid=z1

While there exists agreement between Turkey and the United States that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be removed in order for stability to return to Syria and the surrounding region, there are fundamental disagreements on how the problem is to be approached. The United States has been adamant in its support (military or otherwise) for Syrian rebels and others who oppose the Islamic State. Meanwhile, the Turkish government has been quite vocal in its opposition of U.S's involvement, especially with regards to the distribution of arms. As noted in the article, Turkish officials have frequently stated that "Washington policymakers do not always sufficiently take into account the concerns of allies", arguing that United States has the privilege of "cherry-picking" initiatives and problems while its allies in the region suffer the brunt of the resulting retaliation.

Over the past several decades, there has been a divergence in the foreign policy agendas of the two states. During the Cold War, Turkey, as a member of NATO, represented a key ally in the U.S.'s communism containment initiative. Utilizing Turkey's proximity to the USSR to establish missile launch sites, the U.S. was able to negotiate mutual reductions in missile / nuclear weapons systems. Since then, the U.S.'s relationship with the state has been rocky. Relations between Turkey and the U.S. have deteriorated notably since the end of the Cold War, particularly as a result of tensions surrounding Turkey's invasion of Cyprus in the 1970s and the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq following the turn of the millennium.

Given Turkey's proximity to many of the volatile regions in which the United States is involved, Turkey's concerns about the broader implications of being aligned with the United States appear legitimate. That being said, it appears as though the United States should seriously re-evaluate its relations with Turkey and its approach towards engagements in the Middle East. Despite the United States' disposition to act unilaterally in its engagements abroad, Turkey represents a significant ally and point of leverage from which the United States is able to engage with Russia and the Middle East. To lose this strategic ally would be to forfeit significant geopolitical influence.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Secures Borders and Public Infrastructure as Militant Attacks Escalate

NY Times: "Egyptian Forces Demolish Homes for Buffer Zone Along Gaza Border"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/world/middleeast/egypt-sinai-peninsula-gaza-buffer-zone.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

This past Friday in what New York Times journalists Kareem Fahim and Merna Thomas have called "the deadliest (attack) on the Egyptian military in years", as many as thirty-one Egyptian soldiers were massacred by militant forces. Since then, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has expedited the establishment of security zones around Egyptian borders and utilities. While ordinarily, such measures would appear rationale means by which to secure public safety, they may instead be the consequence of ulterior motives. As the government's crackdown on dissenters continues to intensify, citizens and international spectators question whether this truly is a matter of public safety or perhaps an opportunistic power grab on the part of the administration.

One of the key problems associated with this particular scenario is that the government and populace are not entirely certain whom it is they are defending against. The authors noted that while the government has often blamed Palestinian militants for the attacks, they have often been unable to substantiate any of these claims with evidence. Additionally, according to one local resident cited in the article "The attack could be from outside the borders, from inside, from the governorates — who knows." Unable to distinguish who the perpetrators are, it is not immediately clear whether these actions are signals of domestic unrest or foreign assault.

The politically questionable policies adopted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in conjunction with the focus of these militant attacks on Egyptian military forces leads me to believe that these attacks are motivated by unrest. Terrorism is defined by its emphasis on civilian targets / populations and it appears that up to this point the attacks have been largely directed towards the government. The nature of these attacks seems to imply that these assaults are internal, motivated by defiance against the administration and its current policies. If this is the case, securing of the borders and public infrastructure will be ineffective in quelling the violence. Perhaps President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recognizes this and is capitalizing on the opportunity to consolidate his power through military control of key infrastructure.

Clinton Vists the South to Rally Support for Democrats in the midst of Midterm Elections

New York Times: In South, Clinton Tries to Pull Democrats Back Into the Fold
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/16/us/in-south-clinton-tries-to-pull-democrats-back-into-
the-fold.html?ref=politics&_r=0

 Presidential Candidate Hilary Clinton visited Kentucky this past week in an attempt to rally support for Kentucky Senate Democratic Candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes as she seeks to unseat Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Over the past few presidential cycles, Kentucky voters -- more centrist in political stance, have become somewhat alienated from the Democratic Party. Kentucky Democratic voters, largely composed of white working class Americans, were significantly opposed to the election of Barack Obama in the past two elections. Clinton, during the 2008 primary, led by as much as forty-nine percentage points over Obama. Furthermore, Grimes has consistently refused to disclose who she voted for in the previous election for reasons that some speculate relates to the lack of Obama's popularity in Kentucky.

The author notes how former U.S. President Bill Clinton's reputation in Kentucky is viewed quite positively in the South and how fondness for his policies and character are and have been a driving force in support for Clinton in this region. A tone of nostalgia embodies much of the discussion of sentiment for the Clintons in the South.

It is interesting to see how animosity for Obama and favorable perceptions of Bill Clinton interplay to shape voter sentiment in South. The angle with which the Democratic Party has sought to rebuild relations in the South appears quite rational. Focusing on platforms of workers rights and social programs seems likely to resonate amongst the Southern Democrats given the prevalent base of blue-collar workers.

I am uncertain as to how much of an effect Hilary Clinton's appearance in the South will have in this particular election. While voters in the region may be nostalgic for policies of Bill Clinton and supportive of the centrist platform Grimes has presented, it is still unclear whether this will be sufficient to unseat long-time incumbent Mitch McConnell.

Missing the Forest for the Trees: First Ebola Victim Diagnosed on U.S. Soil Dies

Death of Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas Fuels Alarm Over Ebola
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/us/ebola-us-thomas-eric-duncan.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Over the past week or so, the media has been riled up posting constant updates on the condition of Eric Duncan, a Liberian national and the first individual diagnosed with the Ebola Virus on U.S soil. This Wednesday, Duncan succumbed to the illness and passed at Texas Health Presbyterian. While the presence of the virus on the continent is concerning, media networks have exploited the unfortunate circumstances of Duncan to unduly arouse panic and fear.

While consistently reiterating irrelevent and redundent information about Duncan's personal history and activities, media sources have quite consistently and egregiously been remiss in their discussion of the difficulty with which the virus is transmitted. The virus relies on exchanges of body fluids in order to spread from one host to another. By convenienty abstaining from mentioning this fact, they exaggerate the risk this man's illness poses to the general public. Instead, journalists appear content to inflate articles with emotionally charged anecdotes and testimonials. The map presented in the article misrepresents the significance of the reported cases in Europe and North America as they remain relatively isolated in nature.

Far more noteworthy are the procedures in place to deal with such potentially malicious viruses. The article mentions how doctors at Texas Health Presbyterian failed to diagnose and recognize the possibility of Duncan's contraction of the virus while abroad. The time frame and means by which Duncan was eventually diagnosed are far more concerning. The Washington Post recently noted how the World Health Organization in conjunction with many of the most prominent developed nations  sub-national organizations failed to effectively identify the threat the virus posed and its potential for outbreak.

Far too much attention has been granted to individual cases of Ebola outbreak. The broader bureaucratic failures associated with the failed attempts of containment have much more significant implications as to how effectively we as a globe can collective problems.