TURKEY ASKS U.S. TO EXTEND PRICING FOR MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM
While continuing talks with a Chinese corporation about co-producing a long-range air and missile defense system, Ankara has asked the U.S. to extend the pricing on Raytheon Company's Patriot missile defense system proposal. The $34 billion Chinese offer has concerned Turkey's NATO allies since it was chosen and now it seems Turkey is trying to keep its options open in case the talks with China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp fall through. Washington was worried that the purchase could undercut allied air defenses and began talks with Ankara to weigh the potential impact. Additionally, NATO states would prefer a system in Turkey that is compatible with those of other member states. Turkey is most concerned about the ability to co-produce, which the U.S. proposal would also allow, and Raytheon said last week that it would be ready to sell its Patriot system to Turkey if it changed its mind. (Reuters October 28, 2013)
TUNISIAN RESORT TOWN TARGETED
For the first time in more than a decade, a tourist resort in Tunisia was attacked by a suicide bomber. The bomber, the only casualty in the attack, blew himself up in Sousse on Wednesday. Tunisian police prevented another attack by arresting a potential suicide bomber in Monastir and detaining five other people in Sousse. Though no group has claimed the attack, the government stated that all the men admitted to being members of the militant Ansar al-Sharia movement, which is linked to al-Qaeda's North Africa affiliate. Hard-line Islamists have attacked various other public forums to protest the lack of strict enforcement of Sharia law by the government. Authorities believe the militants have been acquiring weapons and training in Libya. (Reuters October 30, 2013)
BROTHERHOOD LEADER ARRESTED IN EGYPT
Essam el-Erian was captured by security forces in Egypt on Wednesday. El-Erian was a senior leader in the Brotherhood's political arm, an advisor to the President, and one of the most outspoken leaders of the Brotherhood. Erian began his rise through the ranks as a student advocating openness and relative liberalism, but became conservative and erratic when the Brotherhood took power after the fall of Mubarak. El-Erian was one of the last remaining Brotherhood leaders not in detention, though others in the Brotherhood pyramid seem to have already assumed leadership positions in order to organize protests around the country. (The New York Times October 30, 2013)
TURKEY’S SEA TUNNEL LINKS EUROPE AND ASIA
A sub-sea tunnel linking Europe and Asia via the Bosphorus Strait was inaugurated on the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in late October. The 8.5-mile-long Marmaray tunnel, begun in 2004, is the first to connect the two continents. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has advocated undersea engineering for years. The Turkish government hopes the $4 billion project ($1 billion of which Japan invested) will develop into an important trading route and alleviate Istanbul’s crippling traffic that has congested the two existing Bosphorus bridges. The rail is not yet fully operational, but when it is, it will carry 75,000 people per hour in either direction. (BBC News October 29, 2013)
ISRAEL FREES PRISONERS, IRON DOME TESTED
Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday as part of U.S.-brokered peace diplomacy and announced plans for a new building push in East Jerusalem the same day. By allowing the prisoners to return home to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Israel avoided having to meet other preconditions of the Palestinians such as freezing settlement activity in the West Bank. Most of the prisoners had been serving life sentences for killings before the 1993 Oslo agreement.
And on Monday, Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was engaged to shoot down a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern town of Ashkelon. No one was hurt and Israel responded by targeting two concealed rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip. (The Independent October 30, 2013)