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| Cocaine bust derails fledgling GOP congressman - Washington Post Posted: 23 Nov 2013 08:27 AM PST FORT MYERS, Fla. — From the outset, U.S. Rep. Trey Radel — a brash and digitally savvy darling of the political right — was determined to make a name for himself. And so he has. Just 10 months after being sworn in as a member of Congress, the rookie Republican — who supported drug testing for food stamp recipients and championed cuts in sheep-farm subsidies, of all things — pleaded guilty to cocaine possession, took a leave of absence from politics and checked into a Naples rehabilitation center. It was his purchase of 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover officer in Dupont Circle last month that caused it all to unravel. In a flash, an ambitious lawmaker known to few outside southwest Florida became America's "Cocaine Congressman," the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with a drug offense in more than three decades. "I hope, like family, southwest Florida can forgive me for this. I've let them down," he said in an emotional late-night press conference Wednesday that marked an embarrassing retreat from public view. "But I do believe in faith, forgiveness and redemption." The unseemly distinction of a drug arrest has derailed a promising political career and divided this quiet stretch of golf courses and retirement communities with the force of a hurricane. The largest daily newspapers and a growing number of Republican leaders in the district, which includes the Gulf Coast communities of Fort Myers and Naples, are demanding his resignation. Potential challengers are openly weighing primary bids. And late-night talk show hosts are once again focused on Florida. "I can't wait for the School House Rock on how a bill becomes a straw," cracked Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show." Whether Radel remains a politician or a punch line is an open question. His office hasn't answered questions from The Associated Press since his Wednesday news conference. On Thursday in downtown Fort Myers, his name elicited rolling eyes and hearty chuckles. Asked about Radel, several voters responded with one word: "Cocaine." "If he were a coke-head kid working at McDonald's, he'd be out of a job," said Richard Bruehl, a retired general contractor. Others were more supportive. "We thought he was a really great guy to represent us," said Carol Hess, a retired business owner. "We just hope he gets the rehab he needs and comes back and continues for us." The lawmaker comes from a family that ran a funeral parlor on Cincinnati's heavily Catholic and conservative west side, where he helped run ceremonies and drove the hearse. This week he spoke about his mother's struggles with alcoholism and later her sudden death at his wedding; she choked on a piece of food. After high school, he seemed to crave life in the public eye. He moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University, where he studied broadcast journalism and minored in Italian. He worked his way through college by bartending and briefly took classes at The Second City, the improvisational comedy outfit that trained John Belushi and Steve Carell. |
| News Analysis: Diplomatic ties straining between Turkey and Egypt - Xinhua Posted: 23 Nov 2013 08:07 AM PST ANKARA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Relations between Turkey and Egypt took a nose-dive on Saturday with the latter expelling the Turkish ambassador in Cairo, which Ankara considered as a sign of escalating diplomatic tension between the two powerhouses in the Middle East. "This means Egypt is not satisfied with recent overtures by Turkey to repair bilateral ties amid Ankara's continuous criticism on Egyptian military-backed interim government," Abdullah Bozkurt, political analyst in Ankara, told Xinhua. "The two countries have recently been at loggerheads with each other; Turkey criticized Egypt's use of force against supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, while Egypt condemned the Turkish government for interfering in its domestic affairs," Bozkurt added. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained since then. Both countries recalled their ambassadors for consultations in a tit-for-tat policy. In early September, Turkey sent back its ambassador to Cairo as an indication to improve nervous ties, while Egypt did not return the favor by holding back the return of Abderahman Salah El-Din, Egyptian ambassador to Turkey, awaiting the revision of Turkey's stance on Egyptian interim government. Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Huseyin Avni Botsali was summoned to Egypt's Foreign Ministry earlier this month to convey Cairo's discomfort and uneasiness over recent remarks by Turkish officials regarding Egypt. Just a day before Morsi stood for trial in Cairo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly praised the four-finger Rabaa sign, a symbol cherished by the anti-army protesters and Morsi supporters in Egypt, as a defiance of interim government. Erdogan said that the Rabaa symbol has become a sign saying " stop" to injustice in every corner of the world. "It is a sign to say stop to massacres and coups," he said. "I suppose the Egyptian interim government has run out patience with awaiting Turkey to readjust its policy and toning down rhetoric," Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, professor of Ankara's Gazi University and head of the Center for International Strategic and Security Studies (USGAM), told Xinhua. "The declaration of Turkish ambassador as persona non grata is a serious blow to the two countries' relations, as well as a significant message sent to Ankara," he underlined. Meanwhile, Turkey also asked for a fair trial for Morsi, who was charged of inciting murdering protesters during the rallies outside the presidential palace in December 2012. Turkish foreign ministry called on the Egyptian authorities to release Morsi and all other political prisoners, saying it would be a confidence-building measure contributed to dialogue and political reconciliation between the sides. Erdogan had ever invited Morsi to appear at his ruling Justice and Development Party convention last year, which prompted claims that the Turkish government is ideologically close to the Muslim Brotherhood. In July, Erdogan stated that he still considers the ousted president as the leader of Egypt. "Currently, Morsi is still the Egyptian president because he was elected by the people. If we don't consider the situation like this, we would disregard the will of the Egyptian people. In Turkey we respect the will of the people, and we also respect the regime if they had won at the ballot box," he said. "The narrow party vision of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will push relations to a course which Egypt was keen to avoid with the aim of preserving historical relations between the two countries." Egypt's presidential spokesman Ihab Badawi warned in November. He underlined that Egypt is reevaluating ties with Turkey amid what he described as contradictory messages from Turkish officials. "Both countries are tremendously important countries in the Middle East. The fallout for worsening ties will have repercussions beyond the region," Mesut Cevikalp, policy analyst, said. "They need to find a political solution to normalize ties in respond to common threats and challenges that threaten stability in the region," he noted. |
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