The end of democracy in Turkey and other comments
Activist: Has China Lost Control of Kim?
Don’t be fooled by North Korea’s fizzled missile test Sunday morning, warns Gordon Chang at The Daily Beast. While Americans “might laugh at this latest threat,” it “may have made Kim Jong Un “even more dangerous.” The missile, which exploded just seconds after takeoff, left the North Korean leader deeply embarrassed. And “what does a deeply embarrassed dictator do next?” He either “tests another missile or detonates a nuclear device” to save face. Or “maybe he does something else provocative” — something “we consider horrible” — “if he wants to remain in power.” Right now, Kim “looks defiant.” And if he thinks “he can safely defy Beijing,” then “Kim may at this point be, as a practical matter, uncontrollable.”
Foreign desk: The End of Turkey’s Democratic Hopes
Sunday’s national referendum in Turkey, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says passed narrowly, greatly expanding his powers, effectively authorizes him to “raze the values” on which the modern Turkish state was built, says Steven A. Cook at Foreign Policy. This will lead to “more arrests and the additional delegitimization of Erdogan’s parliamentary opposition.” It’s a virtual return to the old Ottoman period long venerated by Islamists like Erdogan, in hopes of making Turkey “a leader of the Muslim world.” This is more than a mere power grab: Erdogan has “a vision for the transformation of Turkey in which the country is more prosperous, more powerful and more Muslim.” Turkey’s republic has always had aspirations of becoming a real democracy. But “Erdogan’s new Turkey closes off that hope.”
Reporter: Anti-Trump Energy a Dem Recruiting Problem
Capitol Hill Democrats are facing “a recruiting dilemma” for the 2018 midterm elections, “as the liberal backlash to President Trump looks poised to boost progressive candidates in primaries,” reports Lisa Hagen at The Hill. Yes, there’s “a groundswell of enthusiasm on the left,” but “that same energy could complicate the calculus in swing seats and districts carried by Trump that Democrats need to take back the House.” Democrats need to flip two dozen seats, which means putting many Trump districts “into play.” So party strategists are hoping the midterms will “be dominated by voters’ opinions on Trump,” rather than their candidates’ ideology.
Security desk: Congress Has Some Ideas on Syria Strategy
The Trump administration “is working hard to come up with a comprehensive strategy for Syria,” suggests Josh Rogin at The Washington Post. But with no consensus yet at the White House, congressional leaders are pushing “their old ideas for pressuring the Syrian president, Russia and Iran.” But “simply asking Moscow to abandon” Bashar al-Assad “without any real leverage is the same strategy the Obama administration pursued unsuccessfully for years. That’s where Congress comes in.” Lawmakers plan to quickly move “several bills designed variously to sanction the Assad, Iranian and Russian governments,” including one “aimed at cutting off support for Iran’s ballistic missile program.” So “if the Trump administration is serious about not repeating President Barack Obama’s mistakes in Syria, it will accept the leverage that Congress is offering.”
Culture watch: The Irony of Jihadi Comic Books
Two weeks ago, notes Joshua Gelernter at The Weekly Standard, “Marvel Comics — proprietors of Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, the Avengers, and so on —released a comic book titled X-Men Gold #1.” Then it was reported that the comic “included drawings filled with subtle anti-Christian and anti-Semitic propaganda” via references to Koranic verses that have become symbols for hate groups in Indonesia, the home of the comic’s artist , Adrian Syaf, who’d supported anti-Jewish protests there. Once made aware, Marvel “apologized and recalled the issue.” The irony, says Gelernter, is that “comic books were literally invented by Jews.” In fact, “with the exception of Wonder Woman, every single comic book character the man on the street has heard of has a Jewish origin.” Unfortunately, “this information evidently did not filter down to Mr. Syaf.”
— Compiled by Eric Fettmann