Chaos Continues in the USA

In a number of American cities, the chaos just doesn’t seem to stop. The protests that began after the killing of African American George Floyd are still continuing in some cities—and things are starting to get out of hand.

The protests against police brutality and racism in the state of Oregon’s biggest city, Portland, have been going on for two months. After protesters declared autonomy on some streets and attacked federal buildings, President Donald Trump blamed local authorities and dispatched federal agents to the city. When protesters went on to set a fire in the city’s federal courthouse, and the state governor and Portland’s mayor failed to intervene in the escalating situation, Trump launched “Operation Legend” and announced that he was deploying federal forces to several cities where violence had escalated. The name of the operation comes from a 4-year-old boy named LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed by a stray bullet while he slept in his family’s apartment in Kansas City, Missouri as violent protests unfolded.

On top of this, Oregon federal judge Michael Simon issued a restraining order limiting the use of force by federal forces sent to Portland. Can you imagine—a conflict between the federal government and the local government? In sending federal forces, Trump rightly said, referring to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, “If she can't [keep the peace], the Federal Government will do it for her. We will not be leaving until there is safety!” I don’t think Trump has a political aim here. Oregon’s governor, both senators, and four of its five members of the House of Representatives are Democrats. So it is clear that Trump has not made this decision to win votes. Rather, Trump is sending a message to his own base that there is no peace in places where Democrats are in power, that he supports the police and that he will step in when necessary.

Chaos in Other States

So, is there chaos only in Portland? No! In Kansas City; in the state of Missouri; in Chicago, one of the largest cities in the state of Illinois; and in Albuquerque, New Mexico, serious acts of violence are playing out. Accordingly, Trump has announced that he is sending federal agents to these cities as well.

According to published statistics, the number of murders has increased by double digits in 25 large American cities. In Chicago, the number of murders in the first six months of this year is 51% higher than the corresponding figure for last year. In that city there have been 414 murders and 1,653 shootings this year. Last week in Chicago, 15 people were wounded by gunfire on a single night! When we look at New York, murders are up by 23% versus last year. In cities, you can even see people loading their guns in their vehicles in broad daylight, while serious violence against police is increasing at protests. Remember, too, that New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio cut the city’s yearly police budget by $1 billion, a move met with consternation by police and with pleasure by his supporters. The Trump administration has shown a strong reaction to such decisions punishing police.

Professor Christopher Hermann of John Jay College in New York attributes the rise in crime across the U.S. to several factors: the fact that people are outside more in the summer, the general distrust of police, and the rise in racism. He also points to a kind of “pent-up demand” for crime caused by those disposed toward committing crimes being on lockdown at home for months because of COVID-19.

We will continue to see violence and crime rates increase in a politicized way in a number of American cities. But the truth is that Trump is right, in his own way. He is trying to send a strong message to local governments that “If you can’t protect your city, I will!”

Greek Provocation in Alexandroupolis?

With tensions increasing in the eastern Mediterranean after Turkey’s recent issuance of a Navigation Telex, the Pentagon has activated its military base and facilities in Alexandroupolis, only 20 miles from the Turkish border with Greece. Though it was known that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would also be using these bases, there were recent news reports about Greek and Byzantine flags being raised by an American military ship entering the port. Based on official sources I spoke to in Washington, D.C. and my own sources, however, this report turned out to be untrue. First of all, the ship belongs to a transportation company contracted with the U.S. Navy, not to the U.S. Navy itself. Moreover, the Greek and Byzantine flags were raised by a Greek trailer ship accompanying the transport ship. This shows that sources must sometimes be carefully investigated.

The reason the U.S. set up a base in Alexandroupolis should also be carefully examined. It could be that Washington wants to create a bit of an alternative to Turkey, and to use it as a base that is closer to Russia.

Meanwhile, comments made recently by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt have drawn reactions both in Turkey and in the Turkish-American community. Ambassador Pyatt stated that Greek islands “have exactly the same continental shelf and EEZ [exclusive economic zone] rights as does any mainland territory” and also called on Turkey “to put on hold operations that raise tension in the region”! He had some nerve making these statements, and their basis should be examined carefully.

The Archbishop Did Not Get What He Wanted

American Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros, a Turkish citizen, went to the White House and met with Trump—albeit without being offered a seat—one day before Hagia Sophia was opened for Islamic prayers. Trump merely listened to the archbishop in the Oval Office without standing up, and we know that he did not criticize Turkey’s decision to turn Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. The archbishop also met face-to-face with Vice President Mike Pence and made the same appeal. We can see that his trip to the White House to complain about Turkey did not yield, so to speak, the desired result for the Greek lobby. All he got was Pence’s call for “Hagia Sophia to remain accessible as a source of inspiration and reflection for every person of every faith.”

Turkey duly responded to the tweet by Pence with a message from the Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic, who tweeted “Hagia Sophia Mosque will be open to people of all faiths to visit. Its historical mosaics will be preserved like the way they have been since the last 500 years by us.”

Generally speaking, Hagia Sophia’s reopening as a mosque has gone largely unnoticed in the American press. On June 24, neither Congress nor the State Department made any comment. It is, of course, important not to make a political problem out of this sensitive decision—quite a few countries have already figured out that this is Turkey’s own business.

US News You Might Have Missed

• Florida has surpassed New York in the number of COVID-19 cases, making it the state with the second-highest number of cases after California.
• In the United States, more than 100,000 people have volunteered for COVID-19 vaccine trials.
• According to a poll conducted by the NORC research organization at the University of Chicago, 75% of Americans support mask mandates.
• The mayor of the capital, Washington, D.C., announced that she would impose a 14-day mandatory quarantine on travelers from states with a high risk of COVID-19.
•Jobless claims are on the rise once again in the USA The number of new unemployment claims last week was 1.4 million.
• According to a recent poll in the key swing state of Florida, Biden leads Trump 51% to 38%.
• Engin Türesin was appointed to the post of Consul General at Turkey’s Consulate in Chicago, Illinois.
• The Turkish Exporters’ Assembly has donated 100,000 face masks to the state of Maryland.