Turkey

“The government and parliament need to review the agreement signed with the United States on security because the United States does not seriously care about its fulfillment, We demand that it be annulled." 

"This new, modern, highly efficient, and highly precise weapon can be equipped with both a conventional warhead as well as a special, nuclear warhead.  Naturally, in the fight against terrorism that is not needed and I hope there will be no need [to use nukes against the Islamic State]."

- Vladimir Putin

Send a Million Troops From All Over the World Pouring Into Raqqa

According to one US soldier who fought in Mosul from 2005 to 2006, all of the "loose talk" about retaking the city from ISIS is wishful thinking. "Look at the stories from Fallujah — a city that is 20 percent the size of Mosul," he cautions adding that even if the city could be captured and sealed off from ISIS supply lines, troops would need to "settle in for a siege and a ten-year war of attrition." 

"Training at this camp began with the knowledge of the Iraqi Defence Ministry and police. Those who make different interpretations of the Turkish military presence in Mosul are involved in deliberate provocation."

"ISIS is an enemy of my country. ISIS is a disgrace. It puts my religion in a bad light. They don't represent Islam and I do not consider them to be Muslims.”

While EM sovereigns as a group may be in better shape now in terms of “original sin” (i.e borrowing heavily in foreign currencies) than they were during say, the Asian Currency Crisis, the confluence of factors outlined above means no one is truly “safe” in the current environment as moving from liquidation back to accumulation will entail a sharp reversal in commodity prices and a pickup in the pace of global growth and trade.

"The reaction of Erdogan and Turkish authorities can say one thing: they were stunned and shocked that Moscow has such evidence. This significantly affected the position of Turkey's NATO allies."

For the first time since the conflict in Syria began, coalition warplanes bombed Bashar al-Assad's troops in what may have been an "accident" or what may signal a dangerous strategic shift for the US. Meanwhile, Turkey says Russia violated the treaty governing passage in the Bosphorus by placing a soldier with a rocket launcher on the deck of the Caesar Kunikov.

• Obama in speech to nation vows to defeat 'new phase' of terrorist threat (Reuters)
• Clinton Urges Social-Media Intelligence Sharing in Terror Fight (WSJ)
• Obama urges tech, law enforcement to address social media used for plots (Reuters)
• NATO says won't send ground troops to fight IS (Reuters)
• Le Pen Scores Historic Victory in France's Regional Elections (BBG)

The mutual escalation between Turkey and Russia continued on Friday after Ankara detained four Russian ships for a laundry list of "violations." Meanwhile, a soldier was seen standing on the deck of the Russian warship Caesar Kunikov brandishing a surface-to-air missile as the vessel made its way through the Bosphorus. 

Iraq “may soon ask Russia for direct military intervention in response to the Turkish invasion and the violation of Iraqi sovereignty."

Terrorism works on the perception of the victims. It seems incredible that ten mediocre individuals, with a few primitive weapons, could cause world-wide panic. But it is a fact. Bolstered by the mass media, which thrive on such events, local terrorist acts turn themselves nowadays into world-wide threats. The modern media, by their very nature, are the terrorist’s best friend. Terror could not flourish without them. The next best friend of the terrorist is the politician. It is almost impossible for a politician to resist the temptation to ride on the wave of panic. Panic creates “national unity”, the dream of every ruler. Panic creates the longing for a “strong leader”. This is a basic human instinct.