Burak Bekdil
Burak Bekdil is an Ankara-based freelance journalist. He writes a column for the Turkish Daily News and covers defense and security for the U.S. weekly Defense News. He also writes for other western publications. Bekdil was formerly the Ankara correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires and Ankara bureau chief for the Ankara-based CNBC-e television.
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Articles by Burak Bekdil
Turkish Crackdown on Homegrown al-Qaeda Cells in Gaziantep
A major crackdown against alleged al-Qaeda militants in southern Turkey that left four militants and one policeman dead on January 24 has proven two things: homegrown Islamic militants still pose
U.S. Applies Terrorist Designation to Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
Following a full month of Turkish military strikes on bases of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, the movement appears to have signaled a switch to urban
HOPES LOW FOR CLARIFYING ANTI-“TURKISHNESS” CONCEPT
The infamous Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which outlaws “humiliating Turkishness,” has been the focal point of criticism that the country lacks decent legislation allowing free speech. Knowing
Is the “Politicization” of the Kurdish Struggle in Turkey a Security Threat?
For almost three decades, Turkish governments and the military establishment have had to fight back a violent armed struggle for an independent Kurdish state. Despite increased attacks in recent months
SMOOTHER TIMES AHEAD FOR TROUBLED ALLIES U.S. AND TURKEY
On the night of December 16-17, Turkish F-16 warplanes, using U.S.-provided intelligence, bombed the headquarters of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), deep inside northern Iraq, in the first large-scale
Turkish Military Strikes PKK Targets in Northern Iraq
On April 12, Chief of the Turkish General Staff Yaşar Büyükanıt said that a cross-border operation into northern Iraq was necessary to better fight the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’