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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting


Jewish World Review Sept. 6, 2007 / 23 Elul, 5767

Talking Turkey? We should be

By Ed Koch


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | An interesting and vital question in today's international maelstrom is, what should the U.S. government's position be toward Turkey? What should we do if the Turkish army — which has long regarded itself as the guardian of Turkey's secular form of government —decides to take action against Turkey's democratically elected government?


The Turkish army has held the keys to power since the death of Kemal Ataturk, who radically reformed Turkey's government and culture. The army has exercised its perceived prerogative to oust Turkish national civil governments four times since 1960, and may do so again.


Turkey's army command sent signals it was opposed to the selection of Abdullah Gul as president of Turkey. The army perceives Gul to be an Islamist and supporter of a religion-dominated government. Nevertheless, in a recent national election the Turkish people reelected the Justice and Development Party. Based on its huge electoral victory in a subsequent election held by the parliament, that party voted to elect Abdullah Gul as president of Turkey by a vote of 339 to 83.


The military command conveyed its upset by declining to attend the inauguration, a clear signal that its opposition to the presidential selection remains.


If the Turkish military leaders — who see themselves as the guardians of a secular Turkey and fear Mr. Gul and his party will gradually whittle away at the secularity of the Turkish government — steps in and supersedes the civil government imposing military rule to protect a continued secular Turkey, should the then U.S. president, the U.S. Congress, national media and our nation's other leaders denounce the Turkish military in such event and call for sanctions against them?


When the Algerian military in 1992 stopped the then pending second round of the national election because it was clear that were the election to go forward, the fundamentalist Islamic party, Islamic Salvation Front (F.I.S.) would win, deposing the National Liberation Front (F.L.N.), a secular party which had ruled Algeria since its independence achieved in 1962, and seek to implement its official slogan, "No Constitution and no laws. The only rule is the Koran and the law of G-d."


The New York Times in an editorial of August 24, 1993 after the F.L.N. with the support of the military cancelled the elections, inveighed, "Algeria, with opportunities for peaceful change rapidly disappearing and its unpopular government clinging to power by military force, slides deeper into the sterile politics of death." The article went on, "Most Western governments winked when Algeria's army seized power in January 1992 to deny the Islamic movement a victory it had won in parliamentary elections." It continued, "Had the Islamic movement been allowed to assume parliamentary power, would it have been any less repressive, or more competent, than the army? No one can know."


On May 17, 2007, after a bloody civil war which claimed at least 100,000 lives, the Algerian military allowed an election to be held and the secular, current Algerian civil government led by the F.L.N., won.


Was that preferable to the Islamist F.I.S. taking power? I think so.


If Musharraf of Pakistan, Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia — all leaders of authoritarian-style governments — were to allow fair elections in their countries, there is little doubt but that the Islamic party religious fundamentalists in those countries wanting to impose Sharia (which among other penalties provides for the cutting off of hands for those who steal and the stoning to death of those who commit adultery or acts of homosexuality) and restore the caliphate with one religious leader in command of all of the Islamic republics, would prevail.


Would that be good or bad for the U.S. and the Western world? Is the conclusion reached responding to that question a legitimate reason for our response in seeking as best we can an avoidance of such an outcome? I think it definitely is and that first and foremost as their obligation for any president and Congress is the protection of the U.S. from foreign attack. I fear there are many in Congress, the media and the public who would conclude, it is the choice of the people of those countries and we have to live with it.


What would former President Jimmy Carter say? I have no doubt he would denounce any action on the part of the U.S. to assist those in those countries seeking to prevent such an outcome.


I for one believe we would be fools not to intervene and support those seeking to stop the rise of another Islamic state bent on our destruction. I believe Senator McCain best summed up what our response should be in like situations when he said, "There's only one thing worse than the United States exercising the military option, that is, a nuclear-armed Iran."

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Edward I. Koch, the former mayor of New York, can be heard on Bloomberg Radio (WBBR 1130 AM) every Sunday from 9-10 am . Comment by clicking here.

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