By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
The chief foreign policy adviser to Turkey's prime minister on Thursday denied a report that said his country aims to normalize relations with Israel "across the board," saying an Israeli newspaper mischaracterized his comments on the topic.
A top aide to Turkey's prime minister said Thursday that his country's policy of engaging Islamist groups and rogue regimes in the Arab world had given Turkey unique leverage in shaping the outcome of the "Arab Spring."
Turkey will press ahead with its bid to join the European Union despite frustrations with delays it sees in part as a byproduct of anti-Muslim prejudice, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser told The Washington Times.
An Israeli inquiry into last year's deadly commando raid on a six-ship flotilla seeking to break the country's blockade of the Gaza Strip released its findings Sunday, exonerating the government, the military, and the soldiers involved in the incident — a report that comes as the flotilla's organizers prepare an even larger convoy for this spring.
Saudi Arabia has abandoned months of behind-the-scenes efforts to resolve Lebanon's political crisis over the international tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Israel stands to lose its main Muslim ally in the Middle East — Turkey — over a recent raid on a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed by Israeli forces, according to two senior Turkish officials.
"The Ha'aretz piece has completely twisted what I said and put their words into my mouth," he told The Times.
Turkish official still pressing Israel for apology over flotilla raid →
"Bottom line: Turkey's position is the same, and no normalization will happen until and unless Turkey's three conditions are met," Ibrahim Kalin said in an e-mail to The Washington Times.
Turkish official still pressing Israel for apology over flotilla raid →
