Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Columnist Robert Novak said for the first time Tuesday that he cooperated with the investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Novak's decision to talk publicly came after he was notified a month ago by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald that he would not file criminal charges against one of Novak's sources, White House political aide Karl Rove. Fitzgerald "has informed my attorneys that, after two and one-half years, his investigation of the CIA leak case concerning matters directly relating to me has been concluded," Novak said in a statement. Novak promised to provide details...

Throughout the 1990s, Turkish foreign policy analysts had an easy job. After all, Turkish foreign policy was predictable. Ankara cooperated enthusiastically with Washington, whether in the Middle East or in the Balkans. Turkey aligned itself with Israel and kept at arms length from Middle Eastern neighbors such as Syria and Iran. In Europe, Ankara traded heavily with the European Union (EU) but did not allow the EU to dictate foreign policy. The European Union's frequent allegations and criticism of human rights abuses in Turkey, especially with regard to Turkey's fight against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK, Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan) terrorists, soured...