Trump is right when he points out that he was dealt a terrible hand in Syria. The Obama administration policy of halfhearted support for the Syrian rebels and wishful diplomacy backed by no leverage led to the situation on the ground today. But Trump must not repeat Barack Obama’s mistakes.

“We have all sorts of cards to play here if we have the wit and wisdom to play them,” said former ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman, the other co-chair

Eric Edelman of the Miller Center moderated Friday’s panel discussion, “The Putin Challenge.” The panelists included Derek Chollet of the German Marshall Fund of the United States; Allen Lynch, a professor in UVA’s Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics; Hal Brands, the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; and Eugene Rumer, senior fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at Washington, D.C.’s National Defense University.

Rather, the Turkish president sends another signal – following such moves as signing a deal with Russia to purchase S-400 air defense missiles – that Turkey is a force to be reckoned with, not lectured to. The recent arrests demonstrate Erdoğan’s strength to his domestic constituency and signal his determination to lead a “New Turkey,” one that does not need the West. In fact, Erdoğan may have an interest in keeping Gülen at arm’s length, as former Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman suggested. The accused coup plotter’s ongoing stay on American soil provides Erdoğan with endless justification to criticize the U.S. – criticism that buys him a lot of political capital at home as well as in the region.

But months into the administration, and with work on next year’s budget already wrapping up, many future Trump appointees will have little opportunity to contribute to the big projects that will likely define their tenures, said Eric Edelman, a former defense official in the George W. Bush administration.

Donald Trump has announced two important and long overdue changes to Iran policy. First, he committed to addressing the shortcomings of the Iran nuclear deal, without terminating it. Second, he called for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iranian aggression throughout the Middle East. More sanctions, however, will not be enough to accomplish either of these goals.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have grown so fraught during recent months that the Pentagon should prepare alternatives to a key Turkish air base for regional operations, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey said Tuesday.