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Turkey could be America’s most important regional ally, above Iraq, even above Israel, if both sides manage the relationship correctly.

  • Uncle: Dzhokhar ‘Used’ by Older Brother

    Uncle: Dzhokhar ‘Used’ by Older Brother

    Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, told NBC’s “Today Show” that Dzhokhar was “used” by his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who had been radicalized, and warned that they may have been part of a larger plot.

    images“He’s just another victim of his older brother. He victimized others, but he’s been used by his older brother,” Mr. Tsarni said in the Today interview. Mr. Tsarni, who lives in a suburb of Washington, D.C., is a brother of the Tsarnaevs’ father.

    He said the last time he spoke with Tamerlan in 2009, he was “shocked” by his radicalization.

    Tamerlan was killed in a police standoff Friday morning, while Dzhokhar was taken into custody Friday evening after being discovered hiding in a boat in a Watertown, Mass., backyard.

    Mr. Tsarni said he believed the radicalization of Tamerlan happened in the U.S., not Russia or Chechnya, and believes the person who radicalized him was of Armenian descent.

    Mr. Tsarni said he was glad Dzhokhar was captured alive, so that he has a “chance to ask for forgiveness” and to help investigators unravel the plot. He also warned that his nephews may have been part of a bigger plot. “I strongly believe they were just puppets and executors of something of bigger scale,’’ according to the Today writeup.

    On Friday, Mr. Tsarni had insisted to reporters that what his nephews had done had not been about Chechnya or a cause but because the young men were “losers.”

  • U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels

    U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels

    By Roy Gutman — McClatchy Newspapers

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY — In a move intended to trim support to Islamist extremists who now play a leading role in the Syrian uprising, the United States, Turkey and key Gulf allies this weekend agreed to funnel future military aid only through the internationally recognized Syrian rebel coalition.

    It’s one of a set of steps that Secretary of State John Kerry and other western and Mideast officials announced early Sunday, in what appears to be a concerted new drive to end the two-year-long civil war that pits the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, who enjoys support from Russia and Iran, against a diverse group of rebels backed by the United States, Turkey, and European allies along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

    Among the steps by the “Friends of the People of Syria” were a U.S. decision to provide another $123 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian rebel fighters, doubling the aid to date, and a call by all 11 participants for a negotiated solution to bring in a new transitional government.

    They also condemned Assad’s use of ballistic missiles and endorsed a written pledge by the Syrian opposition to hold individuals responsible for war crimes and not to seek “revenge and retribution” against members of Assad’s Alawite sect or any other minority.

    All 11 countries at the Istanbul meeting “made a commitment to direct their military aid and assistance directly and uniquely, solely, through the Supreme Military Command,” headed by Gen. Salim Idriss, a former Syrian army general who defected last July, Kerry told reporters Sunday. “This may be one of the most important single things that was agreed to…that can make a difference to the situation on the ground.”

    How to provide aid to the rebels without empowering militant Islamist extremists who have been at the forefront of anti-Assad victories for the past year has bedeviled countries seeking an end to the Assad regime. The Supreme Military Command is poorly organized and its control of fighters on the ground is uncertain. Aid from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the primary providers of military aid, have dealt primarily with individual commanders on the ground, many of whom are affiliated with Islamist extremist movements.

    Idriss made a lengthy presentation at the meeting of foreign ministers Saturday evening, giving a rundown of the military situation, province by province, and describing in detail the forces that report to him. He assured the ministers that he would provide a full account of “everything you provide to me,” according to a diplomat who attended.

    Kerry told reporters everyone was impressed by the “strength and clarity” of the Idriss presentation and said the Syrian general “could not have been more clear about his determination to separate what he and the opposition are doing from what some of the radical and extreme elements are doing.”

    “I think we are quite confident that he is a strong leader with a capacity to make a difference,” Kerry said.

    Military analysts who closely follow the war say that Gulf states, and individual donors, have been backing the Nusra Front, which the U.S. government has labeled a terrorist group identical to al Qaida in Iraq, and similar groups because of their effectiveness. More moderate rebel groups have said they’ve been starved for support. A senior State Department official, briefing reporters Saturday, said a provincial military commander with thousands under his command, said recently that he had to rely on donations obtained by his troops from family and friends, because Idriss was unable to deliver.

    “Your help to Salim Idriss isn’t going fast enough,” the official quoted the commander as saying. “How do I tell my guys, ‘Wait for the stuff from Salim Idriss. Don’t take that money from that business guy who is backed by an Islamist network’?” The senior official spoke anonymously because he said he was not authorized to speak on the record.

    The main diplomatic move announced Sunday was the call for a return to discussions with Russia on a political resolution of the conflict, based on an accord agreed reached in Geneva last July that called for a transitional government, members of whom would be nominated by, and accepted by both sides.

    Assad named an aide to represent him in the talks, but the rebels did not, and diplomats say Russia has insisted that Assad effectively have a major role in the transition. In the joint statement early Sunday, the 11 participants – Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United States and Turkey, said “Assad and his close associates have no place in the future of Syria” and should cede power to a transitional executive body.

    Kerry sought to offer at least a rhetorical olive branch to Russia, noting that the “framework of peace” was agreed to “by the international community, including our friends, the Russians.” But the joint statement of the 11 countries also warned that if Assad rejects a peaceful transition, “further announcements regarding expanding our assistance will follow.”

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who negotiated the framework with Kerry’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, was in Turkey on the eve of the 11-nation talks, but there was no sign of any political shift. The discussion is expected to continue Tuesday, when Kerry attends a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Lavrov is also expected to attend.

    Email: rgutman@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @RoyGutmanMcC

    via ISTANBUL, Turkey: U.S., allies agree on rules for sending military aid to Syrian rebels | World | ADN.com.

  • US, Israel, Turkey share security interests in ME : John Kerry

    US, Israel, Turkey share security interests in ME : John Kerry

    US Secretary of State John Kerry says his country shares mutual security interests in the Middle East with Turkey and Israel.
    US Secretary of State John Kerry (file photo)
    US Secretary of State John Kerry (file photo)

    On Sunday, Kerry urged Turkey to speed up an improvement in its relationship with Israel.

    The remarks by the US secretary of state came as he was answering questions regarding the necessity of rapprochement between Tel Aviv and Ankara during a visit to Turkey.

    Kerry also said the current unrest in Syria and Iran’s nuclear energy program are major threats to security of Washington, Tel Aviv, and Turkey in the region.

    He declined to comment on a recent report by the BritishSunday Times saying Israel is discussing with Turkey the use of a base outside the Turkish capital, Ankara, to launch a possible attack against Iran.

    During a trip to Tel Aviv last month, US President Barack Obama secured a pledge from Turkish and Israeli leaders to normalize relations.

    Tensions increased between Ankara and Tel Aviv after a 2010 Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which claimed the lives of nine Turkish activists.

    Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a full resumption of ties with Turkey after saying that he had finally apologized for the deaths of the Turkish activists.

    In a deal brokered by Obama, the Israeli premier also accepted Turkey’s demands for compensation to be paid to the families of the nine activists who were killed. However, the rapprochement has been slow in moving forward.

    SZH/SS

  • Boston bombings suspect spent 10 days in Turkey: Interior minister

    Boston bombings suspect spent 10 days in Turkey: Interior minister

    20 April 2013

    ISTANBUL — One of the Boston Marathon bombings suspects spent 10 days in Turkey in July 2003, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Güler told reporters April 19.

    resimEarlier, Boston police identified the suspects as two brothers of Chechen origin from Russia’s Dagestan region, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The elder Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout while the hunt for the surviving fugitive has continued, with police ordering a lockdown of the entire city in an effort to find the suspect.

    Tamerlan Tsarnaev proceeded through Turkish customs with a Kazakh passport on July 9, 2003, accompanied by three other people who have the same surname and exited from Ankara on July 19, 2003, the minister said.

    “We think that they [came] as a family. They don’t have any connection with Turkey,” Güler said. The other three people were identified as Bela Tsarnaev, born in 1987, Aleyna Tsarnaev, born in 1990, and Maret Tsarnaev, born in 1967, Güler said, adding that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not come to Turkey.

    Güler strongly denied earlier reports claiming that the bombers had traveled to the United States from Turkey. “Some American TV or Internet reports [suggested that the Tsarnaev brothers] lived in Turkey and traveled to the United States from here. This is not accurate,” he said.

    Güler also emphasized that Turkish security officials had shared all the information in their possession with the FBI.

    Three people died and 180 people were wounded during the twin attacks that took place during the annual Boston Marathon race on April 15.

    Suspect went to Russia: Officials

    U.S. Government officials say Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev traveled to Russia last year and returned to the U.S. six months later, the Associated Press reported.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they couldn’t publicly talk about an investigation in progress. One says Tsarnaev traveled out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

    A true Angel: Father

    Meanwhile, the father of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing described his fugitive son as a smart and accomplished “angel” in an interview with AP.

    “My son is a true angel,” said the elder Tsarnaev . He said his son was “an intelligent boy” who was studying medicine. We expected him to come on holidays here,” he said.

    “They were set up, they were set up!” he exclaimed. “I saw it on television; they killed my older son Tamerlan.”

    Ruslan Tsarni, an uncle of the suspects who lives in Maryland, said he was “ashamed” of their alleged involvement in the bombings.

    Aunt dismisses claims

    However, the aunt of the suspects told CNN she did not believe that her nephews were the perpetrators of the marathon bombings.

    “What century are we living in? We need evidence. Otherwise you can go shoot anyone like a chicken on the street,” Maret Tsarnaeva said. “You have to have a motive first. Something that would drive you through some actions. They cannot go crazy or mad or sick just for one day. As far as I know them they are fine.”

    She added that Tamerlan Tsarnaev has a daughter.

    “Tamerlan has his daughter, above the age of that little boy who died there. Why would he think that this daughter’s life is worth more than that little boy’s life that died there?” she exclaimed.

    The sister of the suspects, Alina Tsarnaeva, has released a statement also expressing her disbelief.

    “They were great people. I never would have expected it. They are smart – I don’t now what’s gotten into them,” the statement read.

    *By Anadolu Agency
  • U.S. teenager accused of seeking to join al Qaeda-linked Syrian group – chicagotribune.com

    U.S. teenager accused of seeking to join al Qaeda-linked Syrian group – chicagotribune.com

    (Reuters) – An 18-year-old Chicago-area man accused of planning to join an al Qaeda-linked group fighting in Syria has been arrested by the FBI, the agency said on Saturday.

    Abdella Ahmad Tounisi of Aurora, Illinois, was taken into custody late on Friday as he prepared to board a plane at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport bound for Turkey, the FBI said in a statement.

    It added that Tounisi was a friend of Adel Daoud, an American accused of trying to stage a bombing outside a downtown Chicago bar last year. The agency said Tounisi had not been involved in that plot.

    Tounisiappeared before a U.S. magistrate on Saturday on one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was ordered held until his next court appearance on Tuesday, the FBI said.

    A criminal complaint accused Tounisi of making online contact in March with a person he thought was a recruiter for Jabhat al-Nusrah, the militant Islamist Syrian group that the U.S. government calls a foreign terrorist organization operating as a wing of al Qaeda in Iraq.

    The supposed recruiter was an FBI employee working undercover, the agency said.

    Tounisi said in emails to the FBI employee that he planned to get to Syria via Turkey and was willing to die in the Syrian struggle, the complaint said.

    Syria is in the grips of a civil war that began in 2011 as a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad and has killed more than 70,000 people.

    On April 10, Tounisi bought an airline ticket for a flight from Chicago to Istanbul. On Thursday, the undercover FBI employee gave him a bus ticket for travel from Istanbul to Gaziantep, Turkey, near the border with Syria, the complaint said.

    Tounisi’s attorney, Michael Madden, of the federal public defender program could not be reached for comment.

    Tounisi faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.

    The 2012 arrest of Daoud, 19, also involved his alleged communication with an undercover member of the FBI. The fake bomb that Daoud tried to detonate outside a Chicago bar was provided to him by an undercover FBI agent, authorities said.

    Daoud was indicted on two counts of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and maliciously attempting to use an explosive to destroy a building. He pleaded not guilty in October in federal court.

    (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)

    via U.S. teenager accused of seeking to join al Qaeda-linked Syrian group – chicagotribune.com.

  • Kerry to announce more nonlethal aid for Syrian rebels

    Kerry to announce more nonlethal aid for Syrian rebels

    t1largkerrythur

    By Elise Labott

    The Obama administration is set to announce a significant expansion of nonlethal aid to the armed Syrian opposition as the European Union moves closer to lifting an arms embargo to potentially arm rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. officials told CNN.

    Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to announce the new assistance package at an international meeting on Syria in Istanbul on Saturday, the officials said.

    CNN first reported on April 9 that the administration was finalizing a package of increased assistance. The officials said the exact dollar amount and specific items to be shipped have not been finalized, and will be determined in Istanbul, where Kerry is to meet with other donors to Syria and leaders of the Syrian opposition.

    However, officials said the package is expected to include more than $100 million in equipment such as body armor, night vision goggles and other military equipment that is defensive in nature, but could be used to aid in combat by Syrian rebels battling forces loyal to al-Assad.

    Other options under discussion include assistance to support the expansion of the ongoing, civilian-led programs for delivery of critical goods and services by local councils throughout Syria and additional aid for capacity building efforts, the officials said

    Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday a goal of Friends of Syria meeting is to identify “what accelerants to Assad’s departure might make the most sense.”

    Increasing nonlethal aid to the rebels could help convince al-Assad that he must step down, Kerry said.

    Another aim of the conference is to “get everybody on the same page” with respect to what a post-Assad Syria will look like,” he said. That could “create a confidence level about who’s getting what kind of aid from whom.”

    The move by Washington to expand assistance to the armed rebels reflects what U.S. officials describe as a ramped-up effort to change the military balance on the battlefield in Syria to get al-Assad to step down.

    The move comes as Britain and France are leading efforts to lift a European Union arms embargo on Syria.

    Both have suggested they are prepared to join nations such as Qatar in providing the rebels with weapons, and are urging the United States to do the same. The arms embargo expires in May and diplomats said the EU countries are discussing possibly allowing it to expire or be amended to ban only weapons for Syrian government forces.

    The package being discussed, however, still falls short of the heavy weapons and high tech equipment sought by the rebels.

    Despite pressure from Congress and his own national security team, President Barack Obama has been cautious about increasing direct aid for the armed rebels. Kerry has pushed for more aggressive U.S. involvement in Syria since taking office in February.

    Last month, Obama agreed to send food and medicine to the rebels, the first direct U.S. support for the armed opposition.

    Supporters of expanding the aid argue such a step would strengthen the hand of moderate members of the opposition and make them less reliant on well-armed extremist elements within their ranks.

    “Everybody has now accepted a concern about extremist elements who have forced their way into this picture, and there is a desire by all parties to move those extremist elements to the side and to give support, I believe, to the Syrian opposition,” Kerry said Thursday. “That’s a big step forward.”

    A push last summer from CIA, Pentagon and State Department leaders was rejected by the White House. At least for now, it remains opposed to arming the opposition, fearing that U.S.-provided weapons could wind up in the wrong hands.

    The Obama administration has funneled $385 million in humanitarian aid to Syria through international institutions and nongovernmental organizations.

    In addition, Washington has provided more than $100 million to the political opposition and has pressed it to establish a leadership structure.

    But the Syrian Opposition Council, the main Syrian opposition group, has roundly criticized the United States for refusing to provide badly-needed support to organize a transitional government and broaden its support inside Syria.

    After Istanbul, Kerry will travel to Brussels, where he will discuss the Syria crisis with NATO and EU foreign ministers. He will also meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Obama administration sees Moscow, one of Syria’s most important backers, as key to a political settlement.

    On Thursday, Kerry said Washington was still open to negotiations between the regime and the opposition but warned “that time is not on the side of a political solution. It’s on the side of more violence, more extremism, an enclave breakup of Syria.”

    The longer the war drags on, Kerry said, the greater the chance of a “very dangerous sectarian confrontation over the long term, and the potential of really bad people getting hold of chemical weapons,” he added.

    Post by: By CNN Foreign Affairs Reporter Elise Labott
    Filed under: Assad • Sec. State John Kerry • Syria