Turkish Divisions over Central Asia

10/26/2011
10/26/2011 By Richard Weitz One of the few points of division we encountered among Turkish government officials and analysts was their competing views regarding future political developments in Central Asia. One group believes that Central Asia was ripe for deep political change through its own version of the Arab Spring.…

Turkey and Tehran: Cooperation and Conflict

10/25/2011
10/25/2011 - By Dr. Richard Weitz During our time in Turkey, a key issue of interest was getting an update on their relationship with Iran. Although we were in Turkey for only one week, it was evident that Turkey’s relationship with Iran is complex. The two countries cooperate in some…

Turkey-Iraqi Kurdistan Reconciliation Pays Dividends

10/25/2011
10/25/2011  By Richard Weitz During a week-long study trip to Turkey earlier this month, I was in Ankara at the same time as a senior Iraqi government delegation. We had simultaneous meetings at the Foreign Ministry. The Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister had to send a replacement to our session since…

Pacific Strategy X: ISR Services to the Honeycomb

10/24/2011
10/24/2011 - As the presence forces operate in the Pacific from the Arctic to Australia, a key enabler will be the ISR inputs or services which support and enhance deployed decision-making centers, whether in the combat aircraft of the 5th generation or by the ships and longer-range strike assets. The…

Pacific Strategy IX: Inserting the UCAS Into Maritime Operations

10/23/2011
10/23/2011 - A key development for the evolution of U.S. Pacific operations will be the use of new remotely piloted vehicles as part of the C4ISR capabilities.  So called-unmanned systems are clearly not that; but are an important part of extending the reach and persistence of the strike and reconnaissance…

The Turkish Re-Set: A Cause for Concern in the West?

10/23/2011
10/22/2011 - By Franck Znaty The current US administration sees Turkey as a model to be replicated for Arab and Muslim countries.  It is viewed as a Muslim majority country within secular institutions, western ally and NATO member, with a strong economy and pro-market policies, a newly-found tight control of…

Turkey Positions for US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

10/23/2011
10/23/2011 by Richard Weitz Now that all U.S. combat troops are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year, Iraq’s neighbors are positioning themselves.  These neighbors are maneuvering to manage the resulting transformation in their regional security environment. [caption id="attachment_25373" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The latest Weitz Report on…