Two bombings shook the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul yesterday, just days before the NATO Summit in Instanbul is scheduled to take place. But, the Turkish government is offering reassurances that in spite of the recent violence, security is sufficiently strong and the country is secure.

Turkey is often held up as the shining example of a democratic, Muslim country. But balancing Western secularism and Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey has never been easy to manage. For the U.S., Turkey has been a key ally in the war with Iraq. Now, some are suggesting that this relationship may become more strained because of the Kurdish question in Northern Iraq.

Click the “Listen” link to hear about the U.S.-Turkey alliance and their shared –and unshared– interests.

Guests:

Jonny Dymond, Istanbul correspondent, BBC

Stephen Kinzer, former Istanbul bureau chief, The New York Times(1996 to 2000). He is the author of “Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds” and “All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror”.

Soner Cagaptay, director, Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute

Cengiz Candar, CNN-Turk political analyst and daily political affairs columnist with Sabah, a leading newspaper in Istanbul