![U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan pose for a family photo during the annual NATO heads of government summit at the Grove Hotel in Watford, Britain December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Pool - RC2COD9N7WI1](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/03/RTX7BOI9.jpg/RTX7BOI9.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=X0WPmrGA)
Aaron Schaffer is a journalism graduate student at American University in Washington, DC. From 2017 to mid-2020, he was an editorial assistant at Al-Monitor, where he reported on Middle East lobbying and wrote a weekly newsletter on the subject. He began working at Al-Monitor as an intern in 2016.
![U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan pose for a family photo during the annual NATO heads of government summit at the Grove Hotel in Watford, Britain December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Pool - RC2COD9N7WI1](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/03/RTX7BOI9.jpg/RTX7BOI9.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=X0WPmrGA)
![ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 21: President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during TRT World Forum 2019, held under main theme of "Globalization in Retreat: Risks and Opportunities" in Istanbul, Turkey on October 21, 2019. (Photo by Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/03/GettyImages-1177310807.jpg/GettyImages-1177310807.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=I1DY21wc)
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Aaron Schaffer
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Aaron Schaffer
![U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RC1C1F12DE90](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/RTX3B23V.jpg/RTX3B23V.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ANowxboC)
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Aaron Schaffer
![A man walks past the headquarters of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 27, 2013. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - S1BETCCGREAA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/RTX2CS2X.jpg/RTX2CS2X.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=0Mth3KGm)
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Aaron Schaffer
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Aaron Schaffer
![WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES - JUNE 17: Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud (L), Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and US President Barack Obama meet at White House in Washington, D.C, USA on June 17, 2016. (Photo by Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/02/GettyImages-540933312.jpg/GettyImages-540933312.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=m1pUXTHp)
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Aaron Schaffer
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Aaron Schaffer
![Salwa Karoui, wife of detained Tunisian media mogul and presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, speaks during an election campaign rally in Tunis, Tunisia, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC1981714B10](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTX72V45.jpg/RTX72V45.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=TwdYuCUe)
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Aaron Schaffer
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Aaron Schaffer
![An aerial view taken after the recent crowning of Al Wasl dome shows the progress of construction at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in this undated picture obtained September 19, 2019. Expo 2020/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC176324ED10](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTX73M1V.jpg/RTX73M1V.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=pIvD-vGp)
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Aaron Schaffer
![Libyan National Army (LNA) members, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, equip the military vehicles to get out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 13, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori - RC1D53312530](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/01-1/RTX6RIZG.jpg/RTX6RIZG.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=FFsGW_VQ)
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Aaron Schaffer