ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Western countries, saying they care more about gay and animal rights than the fate of conflict-stricken Syrians.
Addressing a large crowd Friday in northwest Turkey, Erdogan also accused the West of possessing a mindset “remnant of slavery and colonialism.”
His latest anti-Western outburst came amid a standoff with the European Union over its demand that Turkey amend its anti-terrorism laws to secure visa-free travel in Europe for Turks.
Erdogan said, “Shame on those who don’t show sensitivity … to the women and children who reach out to them for help.”
He added, “Shame on those who deny the sensitivity they show to … the whales, the seals and the turtles in the sea to 23 million Syrians.”
ORIGINALUL AICI.
It is only fair to acknowledge that some of Trump’s arguments about military burden sharing have merit. Most notably, America dramatically outspends most allies on its armed forces. Of course, the United States has the largest economy of any Western ally and thus, rather naturally, the largest defense budget by far. But relative to GDP, its contributions are still disproportionate. The United States spends about 3 percent of gross domestic product on its military. NATO allies are pledged to devote 2 percent of GDP each to their armed forces, but the alliance average is less than 1.4 percent. Only the UK, France, Poland, Greece, and Estonia are near or above 2 percent. Germany is at just 1.1 percent of GDP; Italy and the Netherlands and Turkey check in at 1.2 percent; Belgium and Canada do not even reach 1.0 percent. Yes, some of these countries contribute impressively—more than the United States does, relative to national economic strength—in areas such as development assistance and refugee receptivity, but Trump still has a fair point on this basic and important measure of military preparedness.
DETALII AICI.
Yet, defeat does not appear imminent. The Islamic State still controls key territory, including Raqqa, the capital of its caliphate; the Iraqi city of Mosul and large swaths of territory in the surrounding Nineveh province; and hardscrabble Sunni enclaves in Anbar province, such as Fallujah, Hit, and Haditha. Furthermore, though the coalition has deprived the Islamic State of hundreds of millions of dollars, it is likely to find new, creative ways to replenish its diminishing war chest.
For Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, surrender is out of the question. And given the Islamic State leadership’s horrific behavior and stated objective of establishing a caliphate governed by sharia, a negotiated settlement is a non-starter. In the past, insurgencies that have come to an end in this way featured moderate leaders, insurgents open to compromise, and governments willing to accept insurgents as legitimate negotiating partners. The Islamic State and its opponents share none of these attributes.
That’s why, if they haven’t already, the Islamic State’s leaders in Raqqa will soon formulate a contingency strategy — a “Plan B” that the West will then be forced to contend with. Here are some of the options they may be considering.
DETALII AICI.
A US military official has seen reports of ISIS declaring a state of emergency in Raqqa, its self-declared capital in Syria.
“We have seen this declaration of emergency in Raqqa, whatever that means,” Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, was cited by CNN as saying on Friday.
“We know this enemy feels threatened, as they should.”
It is believed that the militant group feels it may soon come under siege in Raqqa through air strikes and ground attacks.
“They see the Syrian Democratic Forces, along with the Syrian Arab Coalition, maneuver both to their east and to their west,” Warren said.
“Both of these areas becoming increasingly secure, and the Syrian Democratic Forces increasingly able to generate their own combat power in those areas.”
ISIS is reportedly “|moving personnel around the city and trying to put up covers in certain areas” as part of the state of emergency declaration, according to CNN.
DETALII AICI.
Of course, we will do our best to ensure and maintain this strategic balance of forces, which is the most reliable guarantee against large-scale military conflicts, which cannot be compared to well-known conflicts in hot spots in terms of their consequences. We cannot and will not tolerate this.
Let us now consider the main topic on the agenda – increasing mobilisation readiness. We will also work according to plan in this area.
DETALII AICI.
Interesul general | Ion Petrescu | 
May 14, 2016 07.30 | 
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