World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

On 13 June US President Trump tweeted: “Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”  But yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order that:

“The existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula; the actions and policies of the Government of North Korea that destabilize the Korean Peninsula and imperil United States Armed Forces, allies, and trading partners in the region, including its pursuit of nuclear and missile programs; and other provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 with respect to North Korea.”

We are left with the problem of deciding which President Trump to believe.

Turkey will hold a national election on Sunday.  The current President, Tayyip Erdogan, has dominated Turkey for the last 15 years and most observers expect him to win the election.  The challenger, Muharrem Ince, is from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) which has a decided secularist bent and which has been waging a vigorous campaign against the growing power of Islamists in the country.  As is usually the case, the economy is central to the concerns of the voters and the Turkish economy has been going through difficult times and Erdogan has been spending more money than the country can reasonably afford.  The election is being heavily monitored and the election could mark a decisive point in Turkish politics.

Muharrem Ince

For the last week, Syrian government forces have been attacking US-backed rebels near the city of Deraa.  The city is in the southwestern part of Syria and the US had been led to believe that Syria would not move in that area and has protested vigorously against the move, not only to Syria but also its backer, Russia.  The US is concerned that the offensive is too close to its allies, Jordan and Israel, and wishes to avoid any chance of a misunderstanding or miscalculation.  Syrian President Assad, however, does not seem to be swayed by the US protests.