During a recent trip to Armenia, I was once again reminded of mans inhumanity to man. I also found myself face-to-face once again with the power of memory and of hate, and asked myself if there is any way to overcome the lingering and pernicious effects of conflicts among peoples.

Analysts are concerned that recent Islamist trends in Ankara could threaten the long-standing amicable relations between Israel and Turkey. These fears were highlighted by legislation passed in Turkey on Feb. 9, which rescinded a law in the constitution banning the wearing of a traditional Islamic headscarf. However, in June Turkeys high court overturned this ruling, claiming it violated separation of religion and state.

AMMAN -- Arab leaders are closely and quietly watching the unfolding military conflict between Russia and Georgia, while considering its political repercussions on the global scene and potential impact on the volatile Middle East. The Arab street, meanwhile, is openly backing a resurgent Russia and hopes to see the end of a Washington-centered unipolar world.

AMMAN -- No progress was made on the Iranian nuclear standoff with the West during the controversial visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Turkey, the first NATO member state to receive him, but his mere presence in this U.S.-allied country carries important political significance.

AMMAN -- Turkey stepped back from the edge of a precipice that would have plunged the country into its worst political crisis in years, possibly decades, when the highest court Wednesday narrowly avoided outlawing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), but instead gave the Islamist-rooted party a slap on the wrist and a chance to seek compromise with the powerful secular forces.

AMMAN -- Istanbul was the target of the deadliest terror attack in Turkey since 2003 when on Sunday night two bombs exploded just minutes and meters apart in a busy square killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 150 others, only hours before the countrys highest court began to deliberate on whether to outlaw the ruling party.

AMMAN -- Three Turkish policemen and three gunmen were killed on Wednesday in a gunbattle outside the fortified U.S. consulate building in Istanbul, believed to be a terrorist attack targeting American interests for the first time in Turkey.

AMMAN -- The Turkish ruling party was Thursday fighting for its legal survival in a very lengthy defense argument to the constitutional court, refuting charges that it poses a threat to the secular system and using the European Union card to pressure the highest court against attempts to ban the party.

AMMAN – In the latest twist in Turkeys major political battle between secularists and the moderate Islamist government, police arrested suspected anti-government nationalists hours before the start of a landmark trial in the countrys highest court, which was aimed at bringing the ruling party down.