Hurriyet Daily News published an article by Murat Yetkin headlined "Opposition warns Turkish government of WWI lessons."
"Answering a question from a journalist about reports claiming U.S. President Barack Obama has changed his strategy on Syria to prioritize the removal of Bashar al-Assad, to aid in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Nov. 14 that this would be the “correct thing to do,” adding that it is something the Turkish government has long demanded. Davutoğlu also said he would raise the issue with Obama when they meet during the G-20 conferences in Brisbane, Australia," the article begins.
"But by that time, perhaps because of a mistake by one of Davutoğlu’s advisors, the CNN report that was cited by a number of pro-government media outlets had already been denied by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the White House. They said there had been no change of focus in the anti-ISIL fight in the U.S.’s strategy," the author writes.
"This could be a new example used to build criticism against Davutoğlu’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government for getting too involved in the Syrian civil war, which has devastated the country since 2011. On Nov. 13, military talks between Turkish and American officials in Ankara resulted in an agreement suggesting that Turkey would train some 2,000 members of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Turkey. The FSA was established three years ago with the aim of toppling al-Assad, before the emergence of radical Islamist groups like al-Nusra and ISIL," the article reads.
"In another words, Turkey agreed as a NATO country to give training to rebel forces of a neighboring country on its own soil, whereas the U.S. will train mostly Kurdish rebel forces not in its own territory, but in the territory of another of Turkey’s neighbors, Iraq. In the past, Ankara used to rightfully criticize Syria and Iraq for hosting the leadership and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been carrying out cross-border attacks in Turkey since 1984," the author of the article writes.
"This last example shows how the political perspectives and balances in the region have been dramatically changing in line with the security atmosphere," the author writes. "At almost the same time as Davutoğlu was speaking to Turkish reporters in Brisbane, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was giving the opening speech of a conference in Istanbul titled “The 100th Anniversary of World War I.”
“Those who are bringing the whole Middle East and our country to the brink of war seemingly lack the wisdom to draw lessons from history,” Kılıçdaroğlu is quoted by the news agency as saying. The opposition leader also said that Turkey must “remain loyal to the peace-oriented foreign policy of Turkish Republic’s history,” Murat Yetkin informs.
The Business Insider published an article by Peter Terlato devoted to Russia's position in the modern world. The article was entitled "Expert Says The Russian Ships Off Australia Could Be Used To Spy On The G20."
"An international security expert says the presence of Russian ships in international waters so close to Australia is a show of force and could be linked to intelligence gathering operations ahead of the G20 Summit in Brisbane this weekend," the article reads.
"Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) executive director Peter Jennings says Russia’s actions, while not unprecedented in terms of military behaviour, are unusual because “we haven’t seen activity like this around Australia before," the author writes.
According to Terlato, four Russian military vessels, including a guided missile cruiser, are currently navigating international waters toward northern Australia.
Jennings says Russia has been employing an increasingly aggressive use of military assets and aircraft to assert power in recent months, the author informs.
“It is unusual they would come this far south, there’s no doubt about that,” the expert told Business Insider. “In Europe as of late, we’ve witnessed Russian military displaying extremely aggressive behaviour in terms of aircraft exercises.
Professor Peter Leahy, director of the National Security Institute at the University of Canberra, told Business Insider that Russia’s latest activity in the Pacific wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“I agree with some commentators views that Russia is angry. They’ve been facing continued pressure from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) around their northern borders with Europe and this is their way of saying, we’re still here and we’re a global power with interests everywhere, including the Pacific,” he said.
