1117-2005f
FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analysis from all around the world’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç / e-mail : sbahadir@bilkent.edu.tr - Subscribe to FPR
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H1 New York Post - Ralph Peters: “…the best hope for the region would be the emergence of a Kurdish state that joined northern Iraq and the Kurdish territories in Syria (and other Kurdish regions in the future); a greater Lebanon that included Syria's coastal provinces; a rump Sunni-Arab state formed of Syria's desert provinces and western Iraq — and a Shi'a-Arab state at the head of the Gulf.”

From the Archive Spotting the Losers: Seven Signs of Non-Competitive States by Ralph Peters Parameters, Spring 1998

Guardian The forward march of liberty has been halted - even reversed Britain, America and France have all reduced civil liberties since the twin towers fell. But has this made us any safer? Timothy Garton Ash

Asia Times Sex, shopping and the death of a regime Syria is under threat more from internal problems than American challenges. Its economy is a mess and ripe for the picking by the relentless forces of globalization, which will exacerbate the rifts within the country's military-merchant complex. Throw in a disenchanted, and frustrated - in more ways than one - youth, and the regime is in trouble. - Mark LeVine

Senate Foreign Relations Committee High Costs of Crude:The New Currency of Foreign Policy

MEMRI Nov 17 IA# 253 - The “Second Islamic Revolution” in Iran: Power Struggle at the Top

IHT China No. 1? Don't hold your breath ROSS TERRILL / The Boston Globe A Leninist-ruled Chinese superpower eclipsing the United States is not on the horizon.

WSJ Fouad Ajami Blowback Zarqawi, a Jordanian export to Iraq, now wreaks havoc in the land of his birth


H2 Dan Fried US Wants To Work with Europe in Afghanistan, Elsewhere Washington File

Washington Times Cash-strapped Greece cuts arms purchase (Andrew Borowiec)

SlateToday's Papers / Blogometer realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird thru GovExec - antiwar.com / Wikipedia / technorati

EurasiaNet China Joins the Great Central Asian Base Race STEPHEN BLANK Although apt to make public denials, China seems eager to expand its strategic influence in Central Asia.

Azerbaijani Opposition Faces Important Tactical Choices Subtle divisions are emerging within the movement, with opposition leaders preferring moderate tactics while some rank-and-file activists are arguing for non-stop protest rallies.

EDM WILL AZERBAIJAN'S OPPOSITION CHOOSE TURMOIL AS A STRATEGY?
RFE/RL Opposition Struggles To Keep Momentum
Stratfor Realism in Russia? From an American perspective, the Eurasian landmass can be both an intimidating and endlessly invigorating place. Intimidating, because it is the only landmass on the planet save that of North America that has sufficient resources to nurture and give rise to a truly global power; invigorating, because the existence of many disparate powers there make the task of preventing a single power from arising relatively easy. The sheer size, internal geographic divides and myriad states and ethnic groups that are native to Eurasia are perhaps the strongest factor guaranteeing U.S. national strength -- and on a subconscious level, all U.S. policymakers realize that.

Slate What Did Bob Woodward Know, and When Did He Know It? - Jack Shafer, Slate
H3 Turkey and Europe

Turkey and the U.S.

Greek press on Cyprus and Turkey

Turkey and the Middle East

Turkey, Russia, Caucasus, C. Asia

Ext links-Google News Turkey –Turquie- Türkei - Dış Basında Türkiye - İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası - Kurdish Media - FPR Archive - Quickread - Google News - Iraq -Iran - Syria – Kurdish - Greece - Cyprus – Azerbaijan - Israel - BBC Turkish 0700 -TurcoPundit - Mideastwire.com -
Iraqi&Regional MediaMonitoring -

Several killed in Turkish clashes

Turkey Pushes Syria to Cooperate With UN Probe

Iran-Turkey trade to exceed $5b this year: official

AEI Event Video Revitalizing NATO for the Challenges of a New Era

Der Spiegel MERKEL'S FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA The World According to Angie

Los Angeles Times We Should Pay To Plan For Nation Building - AMERICA REMAINS an empire in denial. Max Boot

Financial Times Foreign inflows drive dollar Foreign iinvestors poured a record $101.9bn into US assets in September, according to Treasury data that eased market concerns about funding the US current account deficit and propelled the dollar towards two-year highs against the euro and sterling.

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The south's rise is hindered at home By Quentin Peel Leading the globalisation charge is a new generation of southern multinationals, from China, Korea, India, Latin America and even the odd one from Africa, aggressively seeking investments

H4 New York Times Too Few Good Men By DAN SENOR and WALTER SLOCOMBE
Why it made sense to let the Iraqi army disband.

Editorial A Timetable for Mr. Bush No matter how the White House chooses to spin it, the United States Senate cast a vote of no confidence this week on the war in Iraq. And about time.

General Rejects Any Call for Timetable for Withdrawal of Troops

Riots Worsen Europe' s Leadership Crisis

Brooks What Palestinians?
The dream of peace in Israel has been replaced by another dream, the dream of disengagement from the Palestinians.

American Faces Charge of Graft for Work in Iraq Philip H. Bloom has been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes for jobs in reconstruction.
Banned Egyptian Group Gains Parliament Seats in Runoff Vote
Cheney Says Senate War Critics Make 'Reprehensible Charges'
Iraqi Rift Grows After Discovery of Prison
Vietnam Archive Casts Shadow Across Decades

Congress Nears Deal to Renew Antiterror Law Negotiators entered last-minute wrangling tonight over several narrow points of the USA Patriot Act.

New Disclosure Could Prolong Inquiry on Leak The emergence of a new source hinted that the special counsel had failed to learn a significant fact after his two-year inquiry.
Woodward Faces Questions on Multiple Roles
H5 Washington Post Among Insurgents in Iraq, Few Foreigners Importance of foreign element under growing debate in U.S. military, intelligence circles. Analysis of offensive in Tall Afar suggests U.S., Iraq may be inflating foreign role in insurgency.

Iran Ignores Pleas to Halt Uranium Work Move to begin converting uranium threatens to derail meeting between European and Iranian officials meant to reinvigorate negotiations.
What's French for Lost? By Jim Hoagland, The French place language at the center of their culture and their politics. But words have failed them in the nearly three weeks of urban violence that has scarred the country's self-image.

Editorial Mr. Putin's Counterrevolution
Vladimir Putin's paranoia is set to become the basis for a far-reaching crackdown on civil society in Russia. President Bush cannot ignore this assault on freedom.

Shortfalls of Special Operations Command Are Cited It was an unconventional move in an unconventional war when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, nearly three years ago, assigned responsibility for the military's counterterrorism effort to the U.S. Special Operations Command and provided more troops, helicopters, gunships and other equipment to...

Europeans Probe Secret CIA Flights Questions Surround Possible Illegal Transfer of Terrorism Suspects

Congress Arrives at Deal On Patriot Act Revisions Limits would spare some controversial powers, such as government access to library, bookstore records in terrorism probes

Editorial Moderation Needed WATCHING Republican moderates stand up to the congressional leadership is a bit like experiencing Indian summer: It's enjoyable even though you know that it can end at any moment. Last week's display of moderate backbone was especially refreshing because it was bicameral.

Cheney Denounces Critics of Iraq War

Woodward Could Be a Boon to Libby

Sunni Arabs Tell of Abuse at Secret Iraqi Prison Student Alleges Torture With Chain, Shocks

H6 Guardian The forward march of liberty has been halted - even reversed Britain, America and France have all reduced civil liberties since the twin towers fell. But has this made us any safer? Timothy Garton Ash
Blair can't govern alone. He must learn to listen - or fail There is a new mood in the Labour party, and the prime minister's conflict with it risks turning into a Greek tragedy.
A hero of Guantánamo As the Camp Delta hunger strikers grow weaker, the US Senate is denying them justice.
As China rises, so does Japanese nationalism Japan is stuck in its past, and its refusal to come to terms with it threatens to define its future and that of the whole of east Asia.
Ludendorff, not Lincoln Sidney Blumenthal Bush's White House is dismissive of history, yet increasingly desperate to rewrite it.
Baghdad brutality Two new items must now be added to Iraq's daily tally of horror and misery. It is right that the Baghdad government is to investigate how 173 prisoners came to be locked up in a secret bunker, many of them showing signs of severe hunger, beatings and torture.
Rising from the ashes The aftermath of France's riots has seen both Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity soar, writes Jon Henley.

For whom the wedding bells toll Luke Harding wonders how long the union of Germany's two biggest political parties will last.

Operation Steel Curtain Travelling with US marines in north-western Iraq.

Watergate journalist was given CIA name
H7 Der Spiegel MERKEL'S FOREIGN POLICY AGENDA The World According to Angie Washington won't be shedding any tears at the departure of Gerhard Schröder. His successor as German leader, Angela Merkel, is promising to repair the damage he did to US-German relations. But hopes of a big shift in German foreign policy are likely to go unfulfilled. Changes will likely be more in style rather than substance.
AEI The New Bolsheviks Understanding Al Qaeda By Frederick Kagan
Bush Risks Alienating GOP Over Iraq
Cheney & Pre-Iraq War Intell

National Security Ahead of Partisan Advantage - Senator Joe Lieberman, U.S. Senate
The 'No Exit' Strategy - Ari Berman, The Nation

Washington Times W., Washington and war (Michael F. Scheuer)
The Pathetic Me-Too Republicans Wimp Out On Iraq - Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard
Needed: A Strategy For An Exit From Iraq - Rep. Jane Harman, The Hill

McCain Stakes Out Brave But Risky Stand On Iraq - Robert Robb, Arizona Republic
H8 Asia Times More at stake than regime change The American line on Iraq is that the war is fueled by foreign fighters infiltrating from Syria and Iran, making these two countries prime targets for military attack. Syria is certainly the easier one to deal with, but the consequences are likely to be as devastating as they were with the invasion of Cambodia, a sideshow to the Vietnam War.

Wag the dog: Crisis scenarios for Bush In the run-up to the Iraq war, the Bush administration had no hesitation about employing "wag-the-dog" scenarios in which manufactured crises wagged the "dog" of national politics - and that was when the administration was riding high. Similar ploys are likely with regard to Syria, Iran and North Korea if the situation grows too desperate and elections get too near. - Michael T Klare

BBC Iran 'processing more uranium' Iran starts processing uranium into a gas that can be enriched into nuclear bomb material, diplomats say.

Saddam 'punched by court clerks' Saddam Hussein was attacked by two court clerks while undergoing questioning for his trial, Iraqi television reports

Police under fire Iraq's latest prisoner abuse crisis may have sectarian roots
NBC: Massive bid-rigging scam alleged in Iraq U.S. says businessman bribed coalition officials to land rebuilding contracts
H9 Ha’aretz – Syria proposes UN offices in Golan as venue for Hariri probe

Nixon worried about Israel's nukes

Iran says its Sina-1 satellite is capable of spying on Israel

UPI Netanyahu interview: Rise of radical Islam
Former Israeli PM Wants US to Pull Out From Iraq
Tikkun Noam Chomsky Interview One of the world's most respected (and vilified) public intellectuals challenges conventional wisdom on Israel and much more.
Daily Star Arafat is dead, but despair survivesBy Michael Young
Arab opinion is not monolithic when it comes to religion By Rami G. Khouri
Weekly Standard Striking a Syrian Pose? Hezbollah looks to explain its photo op with a subject of the Mehlis probe. by Seth Colter Walls

New Republic Why Sadr appeals to both Sunnis and Shia by Spencer Ackerman


MEMRI Nov 17 SD# 1024 - British MP George Galloway at Damascus University to Support Bashar Al-Assad: If the U.S. Invades Syria, The People will Fight the U.S. Occupation Like the Brits Were Ready to Fight the Nazis
H10 Christian Science Monitor China's high-tech army within an army Its new force is designed to conduct lightning attacks to paralyze smaller foes, using an all-out missile attack

Senate flexes muscle on the Iraq war From detainee policy to war strategy, it's asserting itself in White House dealings.

Not all Muslims want to integrate

US advocates for jailed Syrian
As the US has been trumpeting the plight of Kamal Labwani, internal Syrian opposition has distanced itself from him.

Discovery of abused Iraqis sparks outrage Sources say the Iraqi prime minister and US forces had been told about 'torture cells' months ago.

Iraqi torture practices could be widespread Revelations that the Interior Ministry abused detainees in a secret prison may be just the beginning.

H11 IHT China No. 1? Don't hold your breath ROSS TERRILL / The Boston Globe A Leninist-ruled Chinese superpower eclipsing the United States is not on the horizon.

Waking to a new threat OLIVER SACKS AND JOEL A. VILENSKY The bird flu, if it comes, may bring more than influenza.

BBC US on fine line White phosphorus use sparks chemical weapons debate
"Eurabia" Defined - Andrew Boston, The American Thinker


Washington Times EU setting up system of spy satellites (David Rennie)

The New Republic Group Think by James Forsyth France's integration model differs from those of its neighbors, but they all have one thing in common: None of them really works.
H12 RFE/RL EU Says It Will Continue Dialogue With Iran
Central Asia Trampling Religious Rights? The head of a U.S. body that monitors religious freedom has criticized the U.S. State Department for failing to list Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan among the most serious violators.
EDM PUTIN PLEDGES TO BACK UP KARIMOV IN A CRISIS
RUSSIA'S WARMING TOWARD UZBEKISTAN MAY DAMAGE RELATIONS WITH THE WEST
ATTEMPT TO PURGE YUSHCHENKO PARTY FAILS
PINR "The European Union's Tough Message to Belarus"
Russia, India & $10 Bn Arms Contracts RFE/RL 16 Nov 2005 -- Russia & India are discussing some $10 billion worth of arms sales contracts.
Russia to Host Military Exercises With India in 2006-2007
London Review of Books Jade and Plastic Andrew Nathan: How bad was Mao? Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

H13 The Times US defends its control over new domains in last-minute global deal The US has won its battle to remain in charge of the internet in an eleventh-hour deal that averted a clash with other nations

Kaletsky Brown's treacherous road The Chancellor will become PM just at the point when the economy goes into a tailspin

WSJ Fouad Ajami Blowback Zarqawi, a Jordanian export to Iraq, now wreaks havoc in the land of his birth

Why Did the 9/11 Commission Ignore 'Able Danger'? - Louis Freeh

Bush's Approval Rating Falls AgainBush's job approval ratings sank to another low, according to the latest Harris poll, with 34% of Americans giving him a positive rating, while 65% rank his performance as "only fair" or "poor."

Woodward Was Told Plame's Identity Woodward's revelation that he was told Plame's identity in 2003 spotlights his unusual role as a reporter, book writer and television commentator.
Financial Times Benefits of a target Ben Bernanke's testimony to the US Senate offers a precious insight into how US monetary policy is likely to evolve once he succeeds Alan Greenspan as chairman of the...

COMMENT: China's exchange rates are a domestic problem China’s fixed exchange rate is complicating domestic economic management, write Paul Cavey and Bill Belchere of Macquarie Securities

Google's digital page-turner ife in the digital age is searchable: that is the best thing about it. Why not let Google do for books what it has already done for the rest of online life: link everything together?

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Way of the web: start-ups map the route as big rivals get Microsoft in their sights

Japan's divided policymakers The recent news about Japan's economy has been increasingly positive. The same, alas, cannot be said of its top economic managers.
H14 Financial Times Foreign inflows drive dollar Foreign iinvestors poured a record $101.9bn into US assets in September, according to Treasury data that eased market concerns about funding the US current account deficit and propelled the dollar towards two-year highs against the euro and sterling.

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The south's rise is hindered at home By Quentin Peel Leading the globalisation charge is a new generation of southern multinationals, from China, Korea, India, Latin America and even the odd one from Africa, aggressively seeking investments

COMMENT: Remittances are an effective weapon against poverty By Norman LamontThe top destination for migrants is the European Union, currently with 71m, followed by the US with more than 40m, writes Norman Lamont, British chancellor of the exchequer 1990-93

COMMENT: Europe must be heavy on values, light on red tape People fear an anonymous European bureaucracy getting involved in too many aspects of our lives, write Atzo Nicolai, Dutch minister for European affairs, and Douglas Alexander, UK minister for Europe.

Merkel eyes early US visit to mend ties

US tries to step up pace of UN reform

Iran’s former president hits out at Ahmadi-Nejad

Muslim Brotherhood strongly supported in Egypt poll

Bush opens Asia trip with rebuke for China

Bush eager to talk up health of US-Japan links during his visit

Phosphorus ‘may have killed’ in Iraq


H15 Los Angeles Times We Should Pay To Plan For Nation Building - AMERICA REMAINS an empire in denial. Max Boot

Battle of the fatwas By Reza Aslan
The real jihadist battle is Muslim against Muslim. Can the clerics mobilize to protect Islam?

Editorial Condi gets it RICE has finally demonstrated what a little roll-up-your-sleeves diplomacy can achieve in the Middle East. Tuesday's agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on opening the borders of the Gaza Strip and allowing freer movement of Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza reflects Rice's involvement in advancing the peace process.
Iraqis Probe Inmate-Abuse Claims Prime minister vows to get to bottom of allegations that Iraqi police tortured detainees.
Zarqawi Has Edge in Deadly Battle of Wits
Woodward Touches off Furor in D.C. Speculation grows over the identity of the famed journalist's source in CIA leak case.



H16 We're Not Going to Sit By and Let Them Rewrite History - Vice President Cheney
Don't Rewrite Rewritten History - Richard Cohen, New York Daily News

Woodward 'sorry' for hiding Plame info

National Security Adviser was Woodward's source, attorneys sayRaw Story

GM shares hit lowest level since crash of Oct 1987...

Senators demand oil execs re-testify -- under oath...

CIA: Castro has Parkinson's disease Assessment based on his public appearances and the opinions of agency doctors.
H17 Daily Telegraph This coalition is grand in name only Kate Connolly says Angela Merkel, who is set to become Germany's first female leader and the leader with the most talked about haircut of recent times, will disappoint with her coalition.

Saddam beaten for insult Saddam Hussein was beaten up while being interrogated by a judge after he insulted two of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.

The world of bin Laden Osama bin Laden wants the United States to convert to Islam, ditch its constitution, abolish banks, jail homosexuals and sign the Kyoto climate change treaty.

Chinese trio on US spy chargesA Chinese-American engineer has appeared in court accused of passing naval secrets to China in a case that will intensify the Pentagon's concerns over Beijing's military threat.
H18 Independent Incendiary weapons: The big white lie The Iraqi government is to investigate the United States military's use of white phosphorus shells during the battle of Fallujah - an inquiry that could reveal whether American forces breached an international weapons treaty

US wins right to keep internet control after warning of censorship risks

Sunnis demand UN inquiry into Iraq ministry's torture chamber

Leading article: Bush is betraying the founding values of his nation

H19 Lords committee examines migration to the European Union Report full text

The US Current Account Deficit and the Expected Share of World Output. Charles Engeland John H. Rogers.
H20 Slate What Did Bob Woodward Know, and When Did He Know It? - Jack Shafer, Slate

Taking Clintonism to the Next Level: She's for the war! He's not! Wacky consequences ensue. Mickey Kaus

H21 Attack of the Career-Killing Blogs: When academics post online, do they risk their jobs?

The new commentariat Oliver Burkeman meets Britain's most influential political bloggers.

Meanwhile: Literature, one screen at a time ALEX BEAM / The Boston Globe Amazon Pages, which will allow customers to purchase books by the page, is starting next year.
Ext links Blogs - memeorandum - Slate's Today's Blogs - Blogometer - Juan Cole - Kevin Drum - Belgravia Dispatch - Thomas P.M. Barnett
Joshua Marshall - Daniel Drezner - Laura Rozen - the washington note - Syria Comment - David Corn - William Arkin - Phil Carter - Helena Cobban - Matt Yglesias - Oxblog - Brad DeLong
winds of change - - CounterterrorismBlog OutSide the Beltway - InstaPundit - Kausfiles - andrewsullivan.com - Becker Posner-- armscontrolwonk - Registan
Turkey Watch  ¶ 10:26