Anatolian Dispatch Ahval

Washington’s lack of consultation with NATO allies encourages Turkey to pursue policies of self-reliance in national security and foreign relations, said Rich Outzen, a retired colonel and former senior adviser to U.S. special representative for Syrian engagement James Jeffrey.

In Afghanistan, the Biden administration rushed the process of deciding when and how to exit the country and allies were left in the dark, Outzen, who also served as U.S. military attaché to
Afghanistan, said in a guest appearance on Ahval’s Anatolian Dispatch podcast.

Turkey’s long-standing relationship with Afghanistan has “survived even the dark days of the Soviet occupation” and has deep roots in the humanitarian, cultural and military assistance spheres, Chris Kilford, history scholar and Canada’s former defence attaché to Turkey and several neighbouring countries, told Edward Stafford in an episode of the Anatolian Dispatch podcast series.

According to Kilford, Turkey tried to play all its cards “to keep itself at the airport”, but could not “get rid of the NATO tie-in”.

The U.S. troops’ presence in Syria is preventing terrorism inside Turkey, Chris Kilford, a retired Canadian Air Defence Officer and former Defence Attache to Turkey and Azerbaijan said.
As long as the U.S. stays in eastern Syria, Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) realise that they cannot trade problems with Turkey, Kilford said, speaking to retired U.S. diplomat Edward Stafford for Ahval’s Anatolian Dispatch podcast.
“It’s kind of ironic that Turkey is yelling at the Americans because they’re supporting the YPG in Syria but at the same time the U.S. is dampening down the situation in Turkey because the YPG know that launching attacks to Turkey in this time is not a good strategy for their long-term survivability,” he said.

Turkey’s use of soft power, including diplomacy and commerce, laid the foundation for calculated risk-taking and military and geo-strategic gains, said Rich Outzen, a retired U.S. army colonel and a geopolitical strategist.
Military interventions in Syria’s Idlib, Libya and the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh showed that some risks were worth taking, Outzen said in a conversation with Edward Stafford for Ahval’s Anatolian Dispatch podcast series.
Outzen spoke with Stafford to expand on his July 9 article published on the website of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy entitled "Deals, Drones, and National Will: The New Era in Turkish Power Projection”.

The Turkish Democracy Project (TDP) seeks to help Turkey return to its more secular and liberal roots, Mark D. Wallace, an American businessman, former diplomat, and lawyer who has served in a variety of government, political and private sector posts, said on Thursday in a podcast for Ahval.

Dr. Chris Kilford is a Fellow with the Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy, and teaches courses at the Canadian Forces College focused on geopolitical issues. He served as Defense Attaché to Turkey from July 2011 until July 2014 with cross accreditation to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan. Kilford reflects on failed coup attempt and its aftermath with the host of Anatolian Dispatch Edward Stafford, retired U.S. diplomat.