![A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California in this January 7, 2012 USAF handout photo obtained by Reuters February 6, 2013. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLI](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/RTR3DF74.jpg/RTR3DF74.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=w1NY7EpG)
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Amberin Zaman is Al-Monitor’s chief correspondent based in London and covers major stories on the Middle East and North Africa from across the region and beyond. Zaman’s reporting focuses on geopolitical trends, diplomacy and human rights. She has covered conflicts in Iraq, Syria and the South Caucasus. Zaman is widely acknowledged for her courageous work on Turkey and the Kurds for which she was named a “Hero” by the Coalition for Women in Journalism. Prior to joining Al-Monitor as a full time reporter in 2018, Zaman was The Economist’s Turkey correspondent for 16 years. Zaman was also a regular contributor to The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, The Los Angeles Times and Voice of America and penned weekly columns in the Turkish language media. Zaman, who studied political science at Franklin College in Lugano Switzerland, speaks fluent French, Turkish and Bengali. Follow her on Twitter @amberinzaman and Instagram @amberinzamanjournalist.
![A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California in this January 7, 2012 USAF handout photo obtained by Reuters February 6, 2013. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Effrain Lopez/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLI](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/RTR3DF74.jpg/RTR3DF74.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=w1NY7EpG)
![Kurdish people carry flags as they celebrate the spring festival of Nowruz, in al-Darbasiyah town, on the Syrian-Turkish border, Syria March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1F25CCC510](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/RTX321WV1.jpg/RTX321WV1.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ifagwH5-)
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![A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014. The offshoot of al Qaeda which has captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria has declared itself an Islamic "Caliphate" and called on factions worldwide to pledge their allegiance, a statement posted on jihadist websites said on Sunday. The group, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, has renamed itself "Islamic State" and proclaimed its leader](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTR4BHO3.jpg/RTR4BHO3.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=irYJ3py9)
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![Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC17E5312D40](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTS2HFP4.jpg/RTS2HFP4.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=xYs341Ly)
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![President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani sits in a shaft of window light as he greets U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC23HD91WQR6](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTX7A49Y.jpg/RTX7A49Y.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=osqmiMYi)
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![Tourists are reflected in the waters of the Pacific Ocean as they ride on a camel safari along Lighthouse Beach, north of Sydney, December 4, 2014. For 25 years camel rides on this beach have given visitors to Australia's holiday coast a rare experience available only in a handful of locations in the country. Australia's long history with the 'ships of the desert' goes back to the 1800s when they were imported from Afghanistan and India for use as transportation across Australia's vast deserts before being](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTR4GS1U.jpg/RTR4GS1U.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=_ybY4M9G)
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![Russian President Vladimir†Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talk during a ceremony marking the formal launch of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, in Istanbul, Turkey January 8, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2RBE9YSAA7](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTS2XN4I.jpg/RTS2XN4I.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=HLvY9c_N)
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![U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his delegation meet with President of the Kurdistan region in Iraq Nechirvan Barzani in the VIP terminal at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC29HD9C15KU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTX7A6I3.jpg/RTX7A6I3.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=vU6L1Hq4)
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![Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves after the Global Refugee Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 17, 2019, REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC24XD926X0X](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/12/RTS2V9UW.jpg/RTS2V9UW.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=OQ7HBU0o)
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![Israelis protest in support of the Kurdish people opposite to the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel October 13, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC17449A4DA0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/09/RTS2QW5X.jpg/RTS2QW5X.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=EtCClf4S)
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![Dan Wilkofsky](https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/authors/2019/DanWilkofsky.jpg/DanWilkofsky.jpg?h=1451f2a4&itok=Xw5GIkUf)