Turkey boosted security measures on its border with Iran to stop illegal crossings, mainly from Afghans fleeing the Taliban that has taken over key cities and provinces. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar on Saturday (August 14) visited the 295-kilometer long border with Iran where a modular concrete wall is being built. Turkish officials said a 64-kilometer-long section of the wall […]

Israel’s military brain trust has been juggling hostilities originating with Iranian proxies Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In the south, where incendiary balloons are again causing fires as payloads fall into Israeli agricultural fields, the Israeli Air Force struck what it said was a Hamas “military compound and rocket-launching site.” The Israeli statement made note of […]

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told the German paper Bild on July 25 that those fleeing Afghanistan should go to “neighboring” countries such as Turkey, rather than European Union countries, to seek asylum. It’s a shameful statement because of trying to humiliate refugees and Turkey that he puts into a position of a refugee gatekeeper. He wants to gain election points […]

The increasingly likely victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan is going to be a strategic nightmare for Iran. In recent years, Tehran initiated contact with the Taliban and even hosted talks between the Afghan government and the group. Despite its ideological antipathy to the Taliban, Iran maintained ties with them as a hedge against the US presence in Afghanistan and […]

The United States and Turkey reached an agreement under which Turkey is to secure Kabul’s airport after the withdrawal of all American and NATO allied troops from Afghanistan by the end of August, 2021. This prompted a vigorous condemnation from the Taliban including the threat of Jihad: “We consider stay of foreign forces in our homeland by any country under […]

Turkey has undertaken to protect Kabul’s airport. It is a risky job, but also one which promises some substantial strategic rewards. The Taliban do not shy away from assertive statements, nor do they hesitate to commit war crimes. So, this week’s statement by the group castigating Turkey’s offer to remain and protect Kabul’s international airport as ‘ill-advised, a violation of […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey, the US, and NATO have agreed on the scope of how to maintain the security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Erdogan said Friday the US has agreed to Turkey’s attached condition to provide security for the airport after the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. He added that the […]

On 24 May 2000 the last Israeli soldier left Lebanon after 18 years of war. A few months earlier I completed my national service as an IDF operations sergeant, serving in command centres on the Lebanese border. Back then I watched the withdrawal with relief; happy that the roadside bombs, shelling, Hezbollah attacks on convoys and outposts, the wounded and […]

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said he would discuss with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin on Wednesday a plan for Turkey to operate and guard Kabul’s Hamid Karzai airport after the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, adding there was no final decision yet. Ankara has offered to run and guard the airport after NATO’s withdrawal, and has been in talks with […]

Some American troops will stay on in Afghanistan to protect the U.S. diplomatic presence after the troop withdrawal process ends, Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby confirmed Tuesday. Addressing a press briefing, Kirby also said that the US is still working on details of how to secure the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul once troops have left the country. Turkey has […]