By Jay Sekulow
The left's outrage over the IRS turns to a plea to 'move on'
Just as Turkey's government and police started to get a handle on widespread protests that have led to civil unrest, injuries and arrests, now come the trade unions.
Turkish riot police fired tear gas and water cannons on Sunday at demonstrators trying to return to Istanbul's main square, maintaining a hard line against rekindled protests as the prime minister's supporters prepared to rally across town.
Police will remove protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square within the next 24 hours, said Turkey's prime minister on Thursday, in a blunt warning that marks the end of the government's patience with a weeks-long rally that's escalated into violence.
Turkey certainly has been a reliable ally of the United States for many decades. Compared with Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, its democracy is stable and its economy is growing. But celebrating Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey as a model seems not quite right.
Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to meet with park protesters in the wake of a week of rallies that have turned violent, sending tear-gas-toting police to quell out-of-control crowds.
Hundreds of police donned riot gear Tuesday and stormed through barricades in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, to oust protesters who've occupied the property for a week.
In a series of increasingly belligerent speeches to cheering supporters Sunday, Turkey's prime minister demanded an end to the 10-day anti-government protests that have spread across the country, saying those who do not respect the government will pay.
Turkey's prime minister took a combative stance on his closely watched return to the country early Friday, telling supporters who thronged to greet him that the protests that have swept the country must come to an end.
Turkey's prime minister on Sunday rejected claims that he is an authoritarian leader, dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe even as hundreds moved back into the landmark square that was the site of the fiercest anti-government outburst in years.
In a scene reminiscent of the Arab Spring, thousands of people on Saturday flooded Istanbul's main square after a crackdown on an anti-government protest turned city streets into a battlefield clouded by tear gas.
President Obama may be commander in chief of the nation's military — but he doesn't have the authority to order Marines to hold umbrellas over his head, the Marine Corps Manual states.
Standing in a drizzle that seemed to define his bad week, President Obama called on Congress on Thursday to boost security at U.S. embassies around the globe, seeking to deflect the issue onto lawmakers as the controversy simmers over the deadly terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
A second senior official is leaving the Internal Revenue Service, as President Obama named a new acting agency chief while struggling to contain the fallout over the wrongful targeting of conservative groups.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a meeting Thursday at the White House, is expected to urge President Obama to arm the Syrian opposition and enforce a "no-fly" zone in an effort to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
Taliban members released their last four Turkish hostages on Tuesday afternoon as a means of promoting good relations with other Muslims.
"They had made their voice heard. ... Our government could not have allowed such an occupation to go on until the end," he said.
He vehemently denies the charge, pointing to the strong support base that helped him win a third consecutive term with 50 percent of the vote in 2011.
