Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

Well, well, well. Turkish president Erdoğan has just returned from a visit to ... Qatar. I wonder what that was about.

[Tim Drayton]

The Turkish secular press is reporting that Islamic State was expelled from eight villages in the Kurdish part of Iraq yesterday. Following bombing of IS positions by US planes, Kurdish peshmerga forces moved in to retake the villages, capturing a large amount of munitions. I suspect this will be the pattern of things to come now as, slowly but surely, IS is removed from Iraq, and hopefully also Syria.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/duny ... uldu_.html

[Get Real!]

Well, well, well. Turkish president Erdoğan has just returned from a visit to ... Qatar. I wonder what that was about.

This...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29223208

...but it ain't gonna happen.

[Tim Drayton]

Amr Darrag, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, is reported to have arrived in Istanbul and the other Muslim Brotherhood people who have been asked to leave Qatar are said to be on their way to Turkey, too.

http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/duny ... l_da_.html

[Tim Drayton]

Well, well, well. Turkish president Erdoğan has just returned from a visit to ... Qatar. I wonder what that was about.

This...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29223208

...but it ain't gonna happen.

Why does he need to discuss that with the emir of Qatar?

[Get Real!]

Well, well, well. Turkish president Erdoğan has just returned from a visit to ... Qatar. I wonder what that was about.

This...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29223208

...but it ain't gonna happen.

Why does he need to discuss that with the emir of Qatar?

Because Qatar and the Saudis are both bankrolling and directing specific groups.

[Tim Drayton]

Well, well, well. Turkish president Erdoğan has just returned from a visit to ... Qatar. I wonder what that was about.

This...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29223208

...but it ain't gonna happen.

Why does he need to discuss that with the emir of Qatar?

Because Qatar and the Saudis are both bankrolling and directing specific groups.

You think they still are, despite their public statements to the contrary?

[Get Real!]

You think they still are, despite their public statements to the contrary?

[Tim Drayton]

You think they still are, despite their public statements to the contrary?

I think the schism between Saudi Arabia and Qatar following the coup in Egypt was telling, with Saudi supporting Sisi and Qatar supporting the Brotherhood. It suggests that Qatar is far more fervent in its support of radical Islamism. I think Saudi is less likely to be supporting Islamic State or aligned movements now, but I suspect that there remains a Turkey-Qatar axis, with both supporting Islamic State behind closed doors, but being forced to publicly pretend to be part of the coalition against it. I don't know how easy it is for them to go as far as funding Islamic State now, though.

[Tim Drayton]

The French air force is reported to have made its first strikes on Islamic State targets.