Turkey is reeling today from a massive attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that killed over 40 people and injured hundreds more. President Erdogan is talking tough but his reckless adventures make this kind of tragedy inevitable. The so-called Islamic State is the prime suspect — who facilitated their rise? Erman Cete, a journalist with SoL newspaper, joins Becker to discuss the tragedy.
But on the diplomatic front, Erdogan has been forced to back down. In the course of just a few days, Turkey has normalized relations with Israel and apologized to Russia for the shootdown of one of its jets operating over Syria. Kemal Okuyan talks about if this is more theatre than substance.
The world’s largest maritime war exercises kick off today. This is a Pentagon-led initiative but what are real politics of the Asia Pivot? Joining Becker to discuss RIMPAC is political analyst Alexander Mercouris.
