Singapore, 12 December 2015 Even before the discovery of the vast oil reserves in the region, the Middle-East had been the stomping ground of the global powers of the time. The past century has seen the region embroiled in convoluted conflicts that have simmered and altered shape, but have never really been brought to […]
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Tag Archives: Assad
A METHOD TO MADNESS? TURKEY SHOOTS DOWN A RUSSIAN FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
December 2, 2015 
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Canberra, 2 December 2015 On Tuesday 23 November a Russian Air Force Su-24 Fencer ground attack aircraft was shot down by an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile fired by a Turkish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon interceptor aircraft. The pilot was killed by ground fire after he and his navigator ejected successfully from the stricken aircraft […]
Continue readingTURKEY – AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE
November 16, 2015 0 Comments
Canberra, 16 November 2015 The 2002 electoral victory of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi or AKP) was a turning point in modern Turkey’s political narrative. The relatively young leadership of the party, while subscribing to the secular basis of the Turkish Republic, was openly demonstrative of their devout Muslim identity and […]
Continue readingTURKEY ENTERS THE MAELSTROM
August 10, 2015 1 Comment
Canberra, 10 August 2015 Turkey is a NATO member and its location at the confluence of Europe, the Middle-East, the Caucasus and the Balkans is a definitive strategic advantage. This location and its history have provided Turkey with ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural connections with a large number of nations, some of which may not […]
Continue readingTHE KING IS DEAD-LONG LIVE THE KING – SAUDI ARABIA: A LEGACY OF FOREIGN POLICY BLUNDERS
February 11, 2015 2 Comments
Canberra, 11 February 2015 Much is being written about the ‘peaceful’ transition of power and the rapid administrative overhaul that has been undertaken by King Salman in the fortnight or so that he has been in power in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi newspapers are trumpeting the changes as heralding a new era within the kingdom. […]
Continue readingTURKEY ON THE BRINK PART I: THE DEBACLE OF FOREIGN POLICY
October 8, 2014 0 Comments
Singapore, 8 October 2014 [This is Part I of a two-part series analysing the precarious situation that Turkey has created for itself in the most recent conflict raging in the Middle-East against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.] For years Turkey has tried to become part of the European Union and for years […]
Continue readingSYRIA—THE FORGOTTEN WAR
March 24, 2014 1 Comment
Canberra, 24 March 2014 The Civil War in Syria entered its fourth year last week, with not even the hope of an end in sight. After three years of bloodletting, there are no changes in the political landscape—Assad still remains in power and his troops have been more successful in holding back the rebels in […]
Continue readingSYRIA—NO EASY SOLUTIONS
October 3, 2013 0 Comments
Canberra, 4 October 2013 In something just over a fortnight, Syria has been pushed to the background in the collective memory of the world; the re-entry of the UN chemical weapons analysts into the country only rating a mention in the evening news. Two indisputable factors can be gleamed from this. One: the international community—read […]
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Sanu Kainikara 
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