Foreign Press Review - February 28 2006 0228-2006f
FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analysis from all around the world’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç Subscribe to FPR
Ext. links Britain/ Turkey/ Magazines/ US / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports
H1 Washington Post 1,300 Iraqis Killed in Past Week

Diplomacy Helped To Calm the Chaos U.S.-Kurdish Campaign Sought to Steer Sunnis, Shiites From Brink of Civil War
CBS poll: Bush approval at 34% Rating falls to all-time low, Cheney at 18%, handling of Iraq war at 30%.
Asia Times SPENGLERThe case for complacency in Iraq No country fears civil war in Iraq more than Iran, which has been able to use the threat of a Shi'ite uprising as leverage against the United States. And a stable, constitutional, Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad is in the US's worst interest: the Iranization of the country would be inevitable. So what's happening in that hell-hole right now could be seen by Washington as a gift - from the devil.

WSJ Are We Playing for Keeps? In Iraq, Iranian practice outsmarts American principle. By MICHAEL RUBIN

Financial Times COMMENT: Do not condemn Putin out of hand By Anatol Lieven A measure of western hostility to Russia is justified, but unfortunately, it can take on an irrational and hysterical tone, writes Anatol Lieven

Slate Europe vs. Radical Islam: Alarmist Americans have mostly bad advice for Europeans. Francis Fukuyama

Los Angeles Times Iraq Chaos Clouds Troop Drawdown The recent sectarian violence complicates Pentagon thought on whether it can bring some soldiers home
H2 International Crisis Group - The Next Iraqi War? Sectarianism and Civil Conflict

Washington Institute Hamas Triumphant: Implications for Security, Politics, Economy, and Strategy

Guardian UN watchdog refuses to give Iran clean bill of health

The IAEA Report by the Director General - Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“From the New Yorker archives, a fascinating December 1978 dispatch from Iran on the eve of the revolution.”

Iran Focus Exclusive: Terrorist training camps in Iran

Ha’aretz – Israel to rethink ties with Russia

Slate Today's Papers Wikipedia antiwar.com technorati

UPI Outside View: A far too costly Pentagon By DAVID C. GOMPERT AND JAMES DOBBINS

EurasiaNet Iran’s Supreme Leader’s Hand Seen behind Russia-Iran Agreement

Syria Opposition Rejects US Funding

IHT Philip Bowring: Meeting Asia's demand PHILIP BOWRING The theory of the Fed chairman Bernanke that excess savings by Asians is a major cause of the monstrous U.S. trade deficit will be sorely tested in 2006.

H3

Bird flu, cartoons take toll on Turkey tourism

Bird flu hits Turkish holiday sales to UK


JTA - Turkey, Israel spar over Hamas Reverberations still echoingafter Hamas official visits Turkey

Al-Ahram - Comment: Opportunities gained or lost? The high-profile visit by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to Turkey has put the host country in the spotlight, writes Gareth Jenkins from Ankara

RFE/RL Iraq: Kurdistan Coalition Member Says Government Talks Delayed


Kurdistani identity is denied in the Iraqi constitution KurdishMedia

Ext links- Dis Basinda Turkiye - Google News Turkey –Turquie- Türkei - 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

EurasiaNet Allegations of Injustice, Corruption Dog Armenia’s Construction Boom

Axis News The Macedonia-Greece Name Dispute: Only the Tip of the Iceberg

A Preliminary Investigation into Assyrian Identity Assyria Times
H4 New York Times Editorial President Bush Goes to India It's a pity President Bush's trip to India revolves largely around whether India and America will manage to conclude a nuclear deal that shouldn't have been initiated to begin with.

U.N. Agency Says It Got Few Answers From Iran on Nuclear Activity and Weapons

Germany Denies Giving U.S. Iraq' s Plan to Defend Baghdad

Iraqis Return to the Streets After Curfew, but Cautiously

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The Soldiers Speak. Will President Bush Listen? A poll to be released today shows that U.S. soldiers overwhelmingly want out of Iraq — and soon.

Tortured Logic By ANTHONY LAGOURANIS No slope is more slippery, I learned in Iraq, than the one that leads to torture

A Port in the Storm Over Dubai By STEPHEN E. FLYNN and JAMES M. LOY America's port security challenge is not about who is in charge of our waterfront. The issue is that we are relying on commercial companies largely to police themselves.

Refugee Crisis Grows as Darfur War Crosses a Border

U.S. Is Settling Detainee's Suit in 9/11 Sweep An Egyptian man who was held for months after 9/11 and deported after being cleared of terrorist links will receive $300,000.
H5 Washington Post Surge in Violence Kills More Than 1,300 in Iraq Toll from week of attacks is more than three times higher than once reported, making recent days the deadliest outside major U.S. offensives.

For U.S. Troops: Tough Choices As Clashes Raged, Military Tried to Assist but Not Eclipse Iraqi Forces

IAEA: Iran Advancing Uranium Enrichment Report Noncommittal On Pursuit of Arms

Envoy: Palestinians on Financial Brink Wolfensohn has warned international donors that the Palestinian Authority could collapse within two weeks unless it finds fresh funding.

Editorial Homicide Unpunished ONE OF THE most shocking photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq shows a grinning guard giving a thumbs-up sign over the bruised corpse of an Iraqi detainee.

U.S. Opposes U.N.'s Planned Rights Panel Exclusion of Abusive Nations Sought

Editorial Prodding the U.N. THE BUSH administration's diplomacy toward the United Nations has often been abrasive and shortsighted. But yesterday's tough line on the U.N. Human Rights Council may turn out to be an exception.

Avoiding Another Dubai By C. Fred Bergsten, Nearly all objective observers of the uproar over "selling American ports to the Arabs" agree on three key elements of the situation. First, the purchase of port management operations by Dubai Ports World from a British-owned company will have no operational impact on the national security of the...

And the Winner Is: Not Washington By Eugene Robinson The Oscars suggest that America is a complicated place filled with minorities, that a worthy struggle can become a witchhunt and that we can't wipe out terrorism with bullets and bombs.

Bush, Speaking Up Against Bigotry By Richard Cohen, There are times when George Bush sorely disappoints. On the ports controversy, he has done the right thing.
H6 Guardian UN watchdog refuses to give Iran clean bill of health Nuclear aspirations 'not entirely peaceful,' says report · US and EU expected to push for tougher action

Secret papers reveal German spies passed intelligence on Iraq to US before invasion Berlin denies claim that spies gave intelligence to US before invasion.

America's captain faces sticky wicket Simon Tisdall: George Bush's abilities as an opening batsman may be tested when he visits Pakistan this week.

Worldwide poll shows 60% fear terror threat is worse after war

Bush to visit Afghanistan despite Taliban attacks · President to extend vital visit to India and Pakistan · US marines to lead huge sub-continent security

EU to pay £94.5m to save Palestinian Authority · Cash to fund utility bills, wages, health and schools · No direct payments after Hamas assumes power

A cause whose time has comeSomething happened in Britain between 1992 and 2005 that caused a significant disengagement with politics. The Power Commission report is a serious attempt to address a genuine crisis.
H7 Asia Times SPENGLERThe case for complacency in Iraq No country fears civil war in Iraq more than Iran, which has been able to use the threat of a Shi'ite uprising as leverage against the United States. And a stable, constitutional, Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad is in the US's worst interest: the Iranization of the country would be inevitable. So what's happening in that hell-hole right now could be seen by Washington as a gift - from the devil.

Iran's fate still in US handsWith Iran and Russia agreeing in principle to set up a joint uranium enrichment facility on Russian soil, some of the heat has been taken out of the nuclear crisis. But the ball remains in the US court: an inflexible US attitude could torpedo the Russian deal and force the issue at the UN Security Council. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Foreign Policy Misfiring at the India Nuclear Deal

Walker's World: What India wants

TomPaine.com - US Influence in Mideast Rests on Force and Fear Alone by Tom Porteous

NRO James S. Robbins: Bin Laden changes his strategy?

Mark Steyn: Europe may be the real problem for Muslims
H8 BBC Iran forges ahead with enrichment Iran has begun using nuclear enrichment "cascades", and is failing to co-operate with UN inspectors, they complain.
Q&A: Iran nuclear stand-off
Key nations' stances on Iran

Iran Focus Exclusive: Terrorist training camps in Iran

KR Sunnis say they're mobilizing to combat Shiites, protect mosques
What's Worse than Civil War? - Suzanne Nossel

UPI Analysis: Problem, promise of Iraq's oil

Daily Star Caught between Iraq and the hard guys By Lawrence Pintak

Against Holocaust denial, use arguments not laws By Peter Singer

Sage voices recommend taking time with Hamas By Maggie Mitchell-Salem

CSIS - The Impact of the Abqaiq Attack on Saudi Energy Security

A Guide to President Bush's Visit to South Asia

BBC War not yet won Saudis may currently have upper hand against al-Qaeda

SyriaComment "The Economy is Worse Today" by an Aleppine Businessman
H9 Ha’aretz – Israel to rethink ties with Russia

Suspicion yet to be lifted There is logic to the Russian position which aims to prevent a crisis with Iran, but Teheran must seize the opportunity.

Report: Iran promises Hamas to transfer $250 million to PA

Mofaz says Israel is prepared to defend itself against Iranian attack

'Financial collapse' of Palestinian authority

Washington Institute Hamas Triumphant: Implications for Security, Politics, Economy, and Strategy

Promoting Political Reform in Egypt: Meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Outside View: Israel's Destiny By Alon Ben-Meir

Analysis: Olmert hangs on

BBC Palestinians welcome EU aid deal An EU aid package worth 120m euros is hailed by Palestinians and the US but condemned by Israel.

UPI Israel differs with U.S., EU on aide to PA

Yedioth Ahronoth 'Hamas doesn't scare us'


J Post Exclusive: Dubai ports firm enforces boycott of Israel

Arab boycott largely reduced to 'lip service' Some Arab ports won't accept Israeli goods but if you send them through other countries the deal is done.
H10 Christian Science Monitor Bush looks to India The president's trip this week has both strategic and economic import.

A town doubts Hamas In Qalqilya, some locals say a Hamas backlash could spread in the Palestinian territories.

Europe must find a home for its Muslims

Pakistan sees its futurewithin a troubled province Violence rises in Balochistan, which is home to untapped energy reserves.

Taiwan's president abolishes China reunification council
Move angers China, worries US, may lead to crisis in Taiwan Strait.

BBC Hard sell Global public opinion on Iraq matters more than ever

Iraqi People Continue to Disappoint the Pessimists - Jack Kelly, RealClearPolitics

Oil Dependency's Dangers - Lee Hamilton, Indianapolis Star

UPI Analysis: U.N. seeks calm cartoon rhetoric
H11 IHT Philip Bowring: Meeting Asia's demand PHILIP BOWRING The theory of the Fed chairman Bernanke that excess savings by Asians is a major cause of the monstrous U.S. trade deficit will be sorely tested in 2006.

Germans insist they did not aid Iraq attack

EU threatens to freeze talks with Serbia

India rising By RENEÉ LOTH / The Boston Globe Only if India finds a way to reconcile growth and equity can its moment as a true world power arrive.

US rejects new UN human rights council

KR U.S. overture to India could complicate efforts to stop nuclear spread

Irving repeats Holocaust denial
H12 RFE/RL Russia Warns West Not To Meddle In Belarus Election

Iraq: Kurdistan Coalition Member Says Government Talks Delayed


EDM - KHRUSHCHEV'S SECRET SPEECH AND PUTIN'S PUBLIC PRAISE
- ROSNEFT EXPANDING ITS ROLE IN KAZAKHSTAN
- PUTIN IN AZERBAIJAN

Stalin's Resurgence in Russia - Cathy Young, Boston Globe


BBC 'Normal' Chechnya Dark past still haunts troubled region despite some progress
Russia Downplays Iran Nuclear 'Agreement'

US: Iran Has One Week to Defuse Standoff
H13 The Times Power to the people! Power needs to be dispersed for people to behave like adults, and not just consumers

WSJ Are We Playing for Keeps? In Iraq, Iranian practice outsmarts American principle. By MICHAEL RUBIN

'Energy Egotism Is a Road to Nowhere' Energy is an engine of social and economic progress. By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN

Indian Lessons Economic and political freedoms make a powerful cocktail. By JAGDISH BHAGWATI

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude Thankfully, nothing remains quite the same in U.S.-India relations.

A Passage to India, With Critics, Of Course The nuclear deal with India makes good sense. By GEORGE MELLOAN

Fact, Not Fear A reprieve in the ports furor may allow heads to cool. By WILLIAM S. COHEN and JAMES M. LOY
H14 Financial Times COMMENT: Do not condemn Putin out of hand By Anatol Lieven A measure of western hostility to Russia is justified, but unfortunately, it can take on an irrational and hysterical tone, writes Anatol Lieven of the New America Foundation in Washington

Leader - Collateral damagePerhaps the greatest achievement of Bill Clinton's presidency was his ability to persuade Americans that openness to foreign trade and investment was an opportunity,...

Leader The siren call of economic patriotismMany continental members of the European Union are turning defensive against each other, not just the outside world.

Tehran fails to dispel IAEA 'concern' Iran has failed to dispel suspicions that it is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons grade material, and its atomic programme remains “a matter of concern”, according to a long-awaited report

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Iranians have every right to be suspicious of the US

Bush steps up rhetoric on foreign oil dependency

UK warns exiled oligarch not to plot against Putin

US and India at 'delicate' stage in nuclear talks

COMMENT: The flight to Asian cities needs managing not curbing The equivalent of the entire population of western Europe is expected to move to Chinese cities from the countryside by 2020

COMMENT: Khrushchev, Crosland and the road to mediocrity There are many differences between Soviet planning and west European social engineering. But the belief that wise political direction can determine and implement universal policies is common to both.

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Challenging change: why an ever fiercer battle hinders China's march to the market Amid worries over inequality, a dispute over the extent and pace of liberalisation is threatening to hinder Beijing’s moves towards privatisation and foreign investment. Some measures have already been delayed.

COMMENT: A noble effort to end poverty, Bono, but it is misdirected By Jagdish BhagwatiTo translate this enthusiastic altruism into larger, sustained flows of aid, the answer is to go after personal, rather than governmental, flows, writes Jagdish Bhagwati, a member of United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan’s advisory group on Africa

COMMENT: Time to put trust in local democracy

COMMENT: Khrushchev, Crosland and the road to mediocrity

Leader The gender pay gapIt has been a long time in most western societies since women were paid lower rates than men doing the same job, but female earnings still lag behind those of males.

Eurozone loan spree boosts case for rate riseEurozone consumers and businesses are increasing their borrowing at the fastest pace since the start of the decade, supporting the case for the European Central Bank to raise interest rates this week and possibly again later this year
H15 Los Angeles Times Iraq Chaos Clouds Troop Drawdown The recent sectarian violence complicates Pentagon thought on whether it can bring some soldiers home
Case Against Iran Differs From Iraq
Arms Dealers Fight It Out for Sales in Booming Asia
Desk Jobs in a War Zone

Violence Subsides Across Iraq

Editorial On Hamas, patience
MAKING THE TRANSITION from critic to participant is always difficult. Leaders of Hamas, after their shocking win in Palestinian elections last month, find themselves undergoing just such a transformation. As they try to assemble a working government, all parties in the Middle East will need to resist the temptation not just of violence but of impatience.

H16 Harpers: The case for impeachment

BUSH NOW ADMITS BIN LADEN HELPED HIM BEAT JOHN KERRY

Mag: Cheney to quit after 2006 vote; Sources dubious

Blogometer realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird thru GovExec –

Brookings Through Their Eyes: Foreign Correspondents in the United States

CBSNEWS SHOCK POLL: 'Just 18% said they had a favorable view of the vice president'...
McCain: UAE is 'freer than China' so deal OK
When Bush-Worlds Collide - Patrick Buchanan, Creators

Michael Smith on the 'bullying of the press'

H17 Daily Telegraph The single market and Gallic delusionsDominique de Villepin's doctrine of 'economic patriotism' may gain votes in a nation neurotically prone to see its self-inflicted decline as part of a vast Anglo-Saxon plot, but it is bad for consumers, companies, and job creation.

EU takes Paris to court over lawsBrussels is to take France to the European Court in a move to halt its increasing use of protectionist laws, risking a clash that could divide the European Union.


Spies leak secrets to USGerman spies handed Saddam Hussein's war plans to the Americans while their government was denouncing the planned attack, it has been claimed in the US press.

European Commission report examines employment gender equality in the European Union Report full text [PDF 23pp]

Center for European Reform The EU's new financial services agenda working paper by Alasdair Murray and Aurore Wanlin
H18 Independent Water Wars
John Reid warns climate change may spark conflict between nations - and says British armed forces must be ready to tackle the violence
Armed forces are put on standby to tackle threat of wars over water
Michael McCarthy: World's most precious commodity is getting even scarcer
Germany handed Saddam's defence plans to US invaders


H19
H20 Slate Europe vs. Radical Islam: Alarmist Americans have mostly bad advice for Europeans. Francis Fukuyama

From the New Yorker archives, a fascinating December 1978 dispatch from Iran on the eve of the revolution.

H21 LA Times Barça, the toast of Santa Monica Andrés Martinez We scurried into the comforting, cave-like darkness from the bright midday Santa Monica sunshine to pay homage to the reigning deities of the world's game. Barcelona and Chelsea, titans of the Spanish and English leagues, clashed Wednesday in Europe's Champions League. It's the sort of dream matchup that can affect global productivity, transfixing not just Europe but also interrupting the workday in Latin America and keeping millions of avid fans across Asia up at odd hours of the night. Such a game has even been known to alter the work habits of certain newspaper editors in North America.

NYT JOHN TIERNEY The Happiest Wives What makes a woman happy with her marriage?


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   ¶ 10:30 (2) comments

  Foreign Press Review - February 27 2006 0227-2006f
FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analysis from all around the world’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç Subscribe to FPR
Ext. links Britain/ Turkey/ Magazines/ US / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports
H1 Sunday Telegraph The civilisations of the modern world are more likely to collapse than collide The future looks more likely to bring multiple local wars - most of them ethnic conflicts in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East - than a global collision of value-systems, writes Niall Ferguson.

Los Angeles Times A Weak and Fractious Iraq May Be Best-Case Scenario ANALYSIS: As sectarian violence wracks the nation, it seems likely power will be divided between various groups for an uneasy truce.
Analysts See Lebanon-ization of Iraq in Crystal Ball
The wrong way to fix Iran By Charles A. Kupchan and Ray Takeyh

American gulag By Thomas Wilner Torture, force-feeding and darkness at noon -- this is Guantanamo, a lawyer for prisoners says.

Newsweek India: Asia's Other Superpower Breaks Out Messy, raucous, democratic India is growing fast, and now may partner up with the world's richest democracy—America. By Fareed Zakaria

WSJ Democracy Angst What's the alternative to promoting freedom in the Middle East?

NYT Chaos in Iraq Sends Shock Waves Across Middle East and Elevates Iran's Influence

German Intelligence Gave U.S. Iraqi Defense Plan, Report Says

UPI Outside View: Russia may cooperate on Iran By IGOR ZEVELEV AND KIRILL GLEBOV - Can the United States and Russia cooperate on Iran? As with practically any complex political problem, the answer is not going to be monosyllabic

H2 New York Times What Civil War Could Look Like

We Can Live With a Nuclear Iran By BARRY R. POSEN While it's seldom a positive thing when a new nuclear power emerges, there is reason to believe that we could readily manage a nuclear Iran.

Washington Post What's Needed From Hamas - Henry Kissinger

A Conversation with Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh - Lally Weymouth

U.S.-Russia Relations Revisited White House reevaluates its policy toward Russia in face of concerns over the Kremlin's tactics.

Iran, Russia Reach Tentative Nuclear Deal Details of Venture to Enrich Uranium Not Yet Set; Agreement Could Prevent Showdown at U.N.

An Explosive Gas Deal Putin's Hard Bargain Could Undermine Democracy in Europe - Putin's gas-fired imperialism may have given the Kremlin a stranglehold on Ukraine's government, reversing one of the signal democratic breakthroughs of the Bush years.

FT - Moscow disputes Tehran claim of nuclear deal

Slate Today's Papers Wikipedia antiwar.com technorati

Sunday Times Fears over a 'new Saddam' as Iraq battles to avert civil war

Boston Globe Oil Futures”

AL-QAEDA WANTS TO DIVIDE ISLAM Abdel Bari Atwan, who has had unique access to Bin Laden, explains why
Time Time - An Eye For An Eye As the violence in Iraq grows more shocking and brutal, TIME explores the roots of the murderous rage--and why the U.S. may be powerless to stop it
Power Struggle, Tribal Conflict Or Religious War? Four experts shed light on what is really going on in Iraq
H3 FT Turkey upset by EU deal on N Cyprus

Comment: Isn't Kurdistan always ignored? KurdishMedia

The Race to Tap The Next GusherKurdishMedia

Turkey's Special Envoy To Iraq Celikkol In Baghdad

First Tour Of Iraqi Kurdistan And Kurdish Regions Mathaba.Net

Kurdistan Region Seal on Passports Ratified

Iraqi PM set for Turkey visit

US president thanks Kurdish leader for efforts to control Iraq security BBC Monitoring Service

Armenian Campaign in New York Times

Ext links- Dis Basinda Turkiye - Google News Turkey –Turquie- Türkei - 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

Yediothh Ahronoth 'Israeli enemy not a partner' Hamas lawmakers dismiss future peace talks with Israel, calling past negotiations 'a failed experiment'; Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa says 'it's necessary to support Hamas because they are Palestinian people's choice'

PINR - "Syrian and Iranian Interests Converge in Lebanon" Full text of report
H4 New York Times What Civil War Could Look Like

We Can Live With a Nuclear Iran By BARRY R. POSEN
While it's seldom a positive thing when a new nuclear power emerges, there is reason to believe that we could readily manage a nuclear Iran.

History Lessons: When a Country Cracks

Iraqi Sunni Bloc to Rejoin Talks on Government The threat of civil war appears to have helped drive Sunnis back to moderation, after they angrily withdrew from talks.
Chaos in Iraq Sends Shock Waves Across Middle East and Elevates Iran's Influence

German Intelligence Gave U.S. Iraqi Defense Plan, Report Says In providing the document, German officials offered more significant help to the U.S. than their government has publicly admitted

Coming in May: A Possible Balkan Divorce

Younger Clerics Showing Power in Iraq's Unrest Rival hard-line Shiite clerical factions have pushed each other toward more militant and anti-American stances.

DAVID BROOKS Keeping the Faith in Democracy The moderates of the Arab world face a choice: live with the corrupt regimes of the status quo or embrace the rising Islamist parties like Hamas. Brooks writes about a conference in Doha, Qatar, that brought Americans together with leading moderates of the Arab world. Yet there is no mass support in the Arab world for secular liberal democracies. So they have chosen to bet their lives and embrace the rising Islamist parties like Hamas rather than the corrupt regimes of the status quo. Brooks says the Arabs assume that in the Middle East there is always a gap between what people say and what they believe, yet they are still optimistic.

BOB HERBERT Ike Saw It Coming Dwight Eisenhower warned us at the end of his second term as president about the profound danger inherent in the rise of the military-industrial complex.
Israeli Minister Says Palestinian Leader Is Irrelevant
PAUL KRUGMAN Graduates Versus Oligarchs What we're seeing in American society is the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite.

From the Silk Road to the Superhighway, All Coin Leads to China History offers parallels to the yawning United States trade deficit and the resulting accumulation of dollars in China.

A Growing Afghan Prison Rivals Bleak Guantánamo The legal void at the prison is similar to the one that led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling on Guantánamo, officials concede

Editorial The Shame of the United Nations A once-promising reform proposal for the United Nations Human Rights Commission has been so watered down that it has become an ugly sham.

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The Arabs Are Coming! Do Democrats really want to join the scaremongering on the Dubai ports deal?

Editorial Danger Signs in Nigeria The world needs a stable Nigeria for reasons that go beyond oil.

Editorial A Judicial Green Light for Torture If the courts collapse when confronted with spurious government claims about the needs of national security, so will basic American liberties.

U.S. Security: Failures, Near-Failures and an A-Minus A report card by leaders of the 9/11 Commission asserts that the government’s progress in securing American ports is spotty at best.

How the Liberal Arts Got That Way By MATTHEW PEARL
Lawrence Summers's fall as president of Harvard started 140 years ago.

H5 Washington Post What's Needed From Hamas Steps in the Peace Process Must Match Conditions on the Ground - By Henry A. Kissinger - For there to be progress toward peace, Hamas must undergo an evolution comparable to Ariel Sharon's and accept that a Palestinian and an Israeli state can co-exist.

U.S.-Russia Relations Revisited White House reevaluates its policy toward Russia in face of concerns over the Kremlin's tactics.

An Explosive Gas Deal Putin's Hard Bargain Could Undermine Democracy in Europe - Vladimir Putin's gas-fired imperialism may have given the Kremlin a stranglehold on Ukraine's government, reversing one of the signal democratic breakthroughs of the Bush years.

Iran, Russia Reach Tentative Nuclear Deal Details of Venture to Enrich Uranium Not Yet Set; Agreement Could Prevent Showdown at U.N.

In Changed War, Battle Shifts to Insurgents U.S. soldiers say they are now primarily engaged in a political fight over the Iraqi government's future and whether it can prevent a civil war.

Outlawed Private Militias Still Pervasive in Iraq

Curfew Takes Its Toll on Iraqis Attacks Kill Dozens As Stores, Hospitals Run Out of Supplies

The Facts Behind the 'Confessions'
By Sebastian Mallaby, Contrary to what conspiracy theorist John Perkins writer, corporations do not rule the world, and intensifying global competition has rendered them more vulnerable.

WaPo Book Review The Blair Doctrine The Iraq War has driven America's trustiest ally to rethink the special relationship. Reviewed by Glenn Frankel, COUSINS AND STRANGERS America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century

A CONVERSATION with Ismail Haniyeh 'We Do Not Wish to Throw Them Into the Sea' Since Hamas won control of parliament in the recent Palestinian elections, policymakers in Washington and Jerusalem have been faced with a dilemma: how to deal with a democratically elected government that is also on the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Abbas Not 'Relevant,' Israeli Official Says
View at Odds With U.S., E.U. Stance

He's Welcome In Pakistan By Ahmed Rashid, After years of avoiding capture or death, every day Osama bin Laden stays alive is a day that inspires the extremists who protect him and join his ranks.

A Guide To the Hunt By Peter Bergen

We've Lost Sight Of His Vision By John Brennan, Osama bin Laden's plan to use terrorism to trigger an Islamic reawakening that will challenge Western dominance of world events and assure the ascendancy of Sunni extremists is moving forward -- at an alarming rate.

Musharraf v. Musharraf Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden

Bin Laden By the Book By Paul R. Pillar, As long as Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, remain at large somewhere along the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the hunt for them will be a major part of the al Qaeda story. Their mocking of the hunters, in their repeated audio- and videotapes, will keep them in the news...

Some U.S. Aid to Palestinians Will Continue Humanitarian Funds Won't Stop Despite Role of Hamas

Some U.S. Aid to Palestinians Will Continue Humanitarian Funds Won't Stop Despite Role of Hamas

Shiite Militias Roam Free Despite Curfew, Occupy Sunni Mosques

Analysis: Iraq Crisis Propels al-Sadr

Stumbling Past The Good News By Jim Hoagland, Laugh or cry? Hard to choose when it comes to the descent of the Bush White House into total incoherence over the Dubai Ports World contract. Once again we turn from weighty matters to ask: What did this president not know and when did he not know it?

Inmates Revolt at Afghan Prison; Many Hurt

Less Freedom, Less Speech By George F. Will, In some recess of David Irving's reptile brain, he knows that his indefensible imprisonment is helping his side. His side consists of all the enemies of open societies.

The Dropout Challenge By David S. Broder, They number in the millions -- 3.5 million Americans between the ages of 16 and 25 who have dropped out of high school and were not enrolled in school in 2003, the most recent year for which an estimate is available. Of every three young men and women entering high school, only two will emerge with...

H6 Guardian Sunni-Shia split may 'tear Iraq apart', says conflict group · Samarra bombing exposes widening religious gaps· Bush calls on party leaders to unite against violence

It takes more than tea and biscuits to overcome indifference and fear Madeleine Bunting: For many Muslims, the events of this month have exposed the inadequacies of Britain's smug multiculturalism.

Court starts hearing Bosnia's genocide claim The World Court is today due to start hearing Bosnia's claim for billions of pounds in reparations from Serbia.

Montenegro bids to change rules for independence vote· EU says referendum needs 55% majority to be valid · Serbian nationalists warn of war if split approved

Iran and Russia reach tenuous nuclear deal Agreement signalled on a joint uranium enrichment project aimed at reducing suspicions that Iran is building a bomb.

Abbas 'will quit' if Hamas make job impossible Palestinian leader warns Hamas that he will resign if the group makes it impossible for him to carry out his duties.
We have renewed Britain; now we must champion it Gordon Brown: Our civic society is more active than ever; individuals and communities are ready to be given more power.
Chirac bids to rekindle love for EUEuropean disaster relief force among proposals to restore France's faith.

The march of the MormonsIs America ready for a polygamous president? Julian Borger reports on the rise of the Latter-day Saints.

The Observer I don't destoy liberties, I protect them The Observer has published a series of articles on our disappearing freedoms. Here, the prime minister Tony Blair defends his government's record.

Sunni call to avert civil war Iraq's leading Sunni political bloc says it will rejoin talks to form a government of national unity if the prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, follows through on measures designed to banish the prospect of religious war between Shia and Sunni communities.

Booming India finds that America wants to be its new best friend Bush visits the next Asian superpower, a honeypot for US firms, a democracy - and a rival to China.

China paves way for £14bn BP oil stake Breakthrough deal with Sinopec would make UK energy major Beijing's biggest overseas partner.
H7 Newsweek Iraq on the Brink: How Likely Is Civil War?

Hamas Leader: ‘We Are Not Lovers of Blood’

Samuelson: Will America Pass the Baton? The world is addicted to America's shopping spree. But some experts see emerging markets increasingly driving the world economy.

Iraq Is Lost - William F. Buckley, National Review

Myths of the Current War - Frederick Kagan, AEI Online

Boston Globe Oil Futures”

NYT Book Review MY YEAR IN IRAQ,' BY L. PAUL BREMER III Desert Sturm Review by DEXTER FILKINS Americans in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III writes in his memoir, reminded him of "an understrength fire crew." First Chapter

Boston Globe India rising
H8 Time - An Eye For An Eye As the violence in Iraq grows more shocking and brutal, TIME explores the roots of the murderous rage--and why the U.S. may be powerless to stop it
Power Struggle, Tribal Conflict Or Religious War? Four experts shed light on what is really going on in Iraq
Has Iran Crossed the Rubicon? - Amir Taheri, Arab News

Iraq violence clouds exit strategy...

Iraq Govt Warns of 'Endless Civil War'
Pentagon: Insurgent Attacks Hit Postwar High
Commanders Hint at More US Troops for Iraq

Pentagon Mulls Base to Protect W. Africa Oil Trade

American Conservative - Don’t Democratize By John LaughlandDeterrence worked with the Soviets. Why not Iran?

BBC Divided history What lies behind Iraq's spiralling sectarian violence?

Saudi forces 'in militant clash'
Reports say security forces in the Saudi capital Riyadh have clashed with suspected Islamic militants.

What's So Wrong With a Little Islamophobia? - Kathleen Parker, Orlando Sentinel
H9 Ha’aretz – Haniyeh denies quotes that Hamas would recognize Israel

As EU debates PA aid, Kadima split over Abbas

U.S. demands Israel reorganize defense export arrangements

Amir Oren - Facing backward, they march forward The army's top brass was always political, but in recent weeks, in the service of Kadima, it has gone backward, to the 1950s of Mapai.
UPI Palestinian demographics challenged A new study, 'Population Forecast for Israel and the West Bank 2025' challenges the notion that Israeli Jews are facing an Arab demographic time bomb.
Jerusalem Post - The Region: Exposing Hamas

Former Mossad head urges ceasefire with PA
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Leader of UN Hariri probe formally requests interviews with Assad and a-Shar’a



H10 Christian Science Monitor Iraqi leaders sidestep all-out civil war After a violent week in Iraq, possibility of large-scale Sunni-Shiite conflict looms

Hamas leader roils Israel debate
Ismail Haniyeh appeared to suggest that peace could be made with Israel under certain conditions.

What aid cutoff to Hamas would mean The US provides about one-third of nearly $1.1 billion to aid Palestinians.

Finding a passage to India this time

At ports, security vs. trade
Rules on ports have existed since 1789, but debate sharpens as globalization rubs up against the threat of terror.

H11 IHT Unless we act now, bird flu may win LAURIE GARRETT Rather than waiting for a tide of H5N1 to wash over us, we should create lines of defense.

BBC Double concerns for EU ministers Issues in the Middle East and the Balkans will confront EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels.

Serbia in the dock A landmark genocide case brought by Bosnia picks up pace
America's New Ally.....Jacques Chirac - Denis MacShane, Newsweek International

Needing to Wake Up, West Just Closes Its Eyes - Mark Steyn, Chicago Sun-Times

UPI Analysis: Pope's appointments reflect new priorities
H12 RFE/RL Russian, Chinese Officials In Tehran

Governments Increase Measures To Stop Spread Of Virus In Georgia, the government ordered the slaughtering of domestic poultry in villages in the Adjara region on the Black Sea, as strict measures are being imposed in the European Union and Asia

Serbia - EU Future At Risk Over War Crimes Fugitives


NYT Magazine Bringing Down Europe' s Last Ex-Soviet Dictator By STEVEN LEE MYERS Democratic activists in Belarus expect to lose next month’s election. Then they’ll get on with their revolution. Go to Article
H13 The Times Bush strides out to change the world with his new best friend By Gerard Baker, US Editor The President arrives in Delhi hoping to cement an increasingly close relationship between the United States and India

Serbia tried for genocide but EU pulls its punches

Sunday Times Fears over a 'new Saddam' as Iraq battles to avert civil war

AL-QAEDA WANTS TO DIVIDE ISLAM Abdel Bari Atwan, who has had unique access to Bin Laden, explains why

PROBE: Princess Diana driver was secret informer...

7/7 cover-up exposed MI5 is facing an internal revolt by officers alarmed about intelligence failures

WSJ Democracy Angst What's the alternative to promoting freedom in the Middle East?
H14 Financial Times COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Uncertain alliance: Bush goes to India with his nuclear agenda incomplete The fate of nuclear talks threatens to overshadow George W. Bush’s trip to India this week. Although American trade with India remains small at $25bn a year, it is growing fast. The success of the visit will help determine the ability of US companies such as Wal-Mart Stores to open up one of the last great emerging markets

Disunity on Iraq could hit Democrat poll hopes

COMMENT: Europe must decide on beggars and bubbles By Wolfgang Munchau European central bankers face two key monetary policy questions: what to make of the German economic recovery, and whether to prick the housing bubble that has built up in some parts of the eurozone

Leader The soft shoe shuffle of profitless protection A faint glimmer of common sense penetrates the murky mercantilist depths of the European Union's trade policy. With its proposal to levy duties on shoe imports from...

Arab businessmen blame racism for backlash over takeover

Leader Containing Chávez without a megaphoneAfter a spate of name-calling, spying accusations and tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsion, US relations with Venezuela are now at their lowest ebb since President Hugo...

Acquisition and merger activity in the European energy market has inflamed nationalistic instincts. What a shame people are not more worked up about the economics of takeover-driven consolidation.

COMMENT: The stark choice facing Anglo-Saxon economies By Andrew Smithers It seems that we are faced with a choice between lower growth or higher investment
H15 Los Angeles Times A Weak and Fractious Iraq May Be Best-Case Scenario ANALYSIS: As sectarian violence wracks the nation, it seems likely power will be divided between various groups for an uneasy truce.
Analysts See Lebanon-ization of Iraq in Crystal Ball
The wrong way to fix Iran By Charles A. Kupchan and Ray Takeyh

American gulag By Thomas Wilner
Torture, force-feeding and darkness at noon -- this is Guantanamo, a lawyer for prisoners says.


Editorial Boxer's rebellion
EVEN AS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION promotes free trade and economic growth as a counter to extremism in the Middle East and elsewhere, some members of Congress appear determined to send a different message: America is happy to use your nation as a staging ground or refueling station for its military adventures, but we don't trust you enough to trade with you.

H16 BUSH, ROVE SAY HILLARY WILL WIN DEM PRIMARY -- BUT LOSE GENERAL ELECTION

Bush's Grand Strategy - Michael Barone, US News & World Report

Bush's Broken Political Antenna - Joe Klein, Time

Greenspan’s Great Depression - Patrick Buchanan, The American Conservative

Why Bush Is Standing Up For Dubai - John Judis, The New Republic

Blogometer realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird thru GovExec -
H17 Daily Telegraph Push for Palestinian aid France and the European Commission are leading a diplomatic drive to unblock £23 million in EU funding for the Palestinian Authority, without waiting for Hamas to renounce violence or recognise Israel.

'Worse than Guantanamo'An American-run prison for terrorist suspects in Afghanistan has grown to rival and even eclipse Guantanamo Bay, it has been disclosed.

Sunday Telegraph The civilisations of the modern world are more likely to collapse than collide The future looks more likely to bring multiple local wars - most of them ethnic conflicts in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East - than a global collision of value-systems, writes Niall Ferguson.
H18 Independent Blueprint to give power to the people A plan to revive Britain's dying democracy is launched today by an inquiry which warns that the parties are "killing" politics. The Power commission calls for the end of the first past the post system, the shift of power to local government and a lowering of the voting age to 16.
Serbia to be first nation charged with genocide
Iran agrees uranium deal with Russia
The World Finds It's Too Hard to Do Business With the US
Independent on Sunday Iraqis tortured by government death squads Hundreds of Iraqis are being tortured to death or summarily executed each month by death squads attached to the Interior Ministry in Baghdad, the UN's former human rights chief in Iraq has told The Independent on Sunday.
Iraq's death squads: On the brink of civil war
Hamish McRae: Nationalists, take note: there's no end in sight to the cross-border merger boom
H19 WP Book Review - Gray Anatomies Can neuroscience really explain our deepest thoughts and emotions? Reviewed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi THE THREE-POUND ENIGMA The Human Brain and the Quest to Unlock Its Mysteries

So what's the secret of 'The Economist'?

Messi, mesmeric, messianic
H20 NYT Cyberthieves Silently Copy as You Type Software that copies users' keystrokes and sends the information to crooks may be the next big trend in cybercrime.

NYT Magazine – The Freshman - By CHIP BROWN Rahmatullah Hashemi was the Taliban’s chief spokesman abroad. So how did he end up at Yale? Go to Article

Is Freedom Just Another Word for Many Things to Buy? That depends on your class status.

What Does Islam Look Like?
H21 NYT A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Measure By ADAM PHILLIPS Psychoanalysts have no business acting like scientists. Psychotherapy has manifested itself in two professional trends: making therapy into a "hard science" by emphasizing measurable factors, and the growing belief that the standard practice of using talk therapy to discover traumas in a patient's past is unnecessary and potentially injurious. Phillips says the attempt to present psychotherapy as a hard science is an attempt to make it a market competitor. Psychotherapy has to occupy the difficult middle ground between religion and science, without taking sides.


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   ¶ 20:42 (0) comments

  Foreign Press Review - February 25 2006 0225-2006f
FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analysis from all around the world’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç Subscribe to FPR
Ext. links Britain/ Turkey/ Magazines/ US / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports
H1 Washington Post Editorial A Step Back From War

Push for Democracy Loses Some Energy On Mideast Tour, Rice Focuses On Hamas

Guardian It was our mistake that led to this desecration and killing Martin Kettle: Forget revisiting Berlin 1945 or Saigon 1975. There is still a chance of pulling out in good order.
Ha’aretz - Iranian advisor: We'll strike Dimona in response to U.S. attack Advisor to Revolutionary Guard says Tehran would also strike Haifa and Israel's Jericho missile base.
UPI Analysis: Has the civil war in Iraq begun? By Claude Salhani When is a civil war officially declared a civil war? At what point in a conflict does sectarian fighting, car bombing, kidnapping and random acts of inter-communal violence officially get awarded the designation of civil war?
Daily Star Bearded Arabs 1; American ladies 0 By Rami G. Khouri
Weekly Standard The Long WarThe radical Islamists are on the offensive. Will we defeat them?by William Kristol

Rethinking The Interagency System (Donley, March 2005) Part I (67K PDF) Part 1 - How the scope and functions of the interagency system are being redefined, the recommendations of recent commissions and task forces ... interagency activities have outgrown the National Security Council's policymaking process and that a new interagency architecture is needed. Part II (261K PDF) Alternative approaches for improving integration of effort in the interagency system, including additional functions for the NSC.

H2 Financial Times Explosion of violence reveals weakness of US position

COMMENT: Hamas's recognition of Israel is not the only key to peace Harvey Morris

A crude conspiracy Syriana is as confusing as it is thrilling

Asia Times Payback time in Iraq More important than who planted the explosives is the fact that Shi'ites have seized on the attack to justify striking at Sunnis. - Sami Moubayed

The Times Analysis: can Iraq avoid civil war?

Slate Today's Papers Wikipedia antiwar.com technorati

The Roots of Democracy - Carles Boix, Policy Review
EU-ISS - Chaillot Paper nº 86 — February 2006 Why Georgia matters by Dov Lynch
EDM MOSCOW STUNG BY GEORGIAN RESOLUTION ON SOUTH OSSETIA
- PUTIN IN BAKU: CHANGES IN AZERI-RUSSIAN ENERGY RELATIONS ON THE HORIZON
- EUROPE HOPES TO REVIVE TRANS-CASPIAN ENERGY PIPELINES

Wall Street Journal - Will We Persevere? By Eliot A. Cohen - A brief tour of Iraq shows that the American military has developed Iraqi security forces to defeat insurgencies on its own, which demonstrates progress. However, Cohen says if a weak or sectarian Iraqi government emerges, or the private armies and militias are not contained, or the US does not remain engaged in Iraq, Iraq may slide into chaos. An American withdrawal will then have dire consequences for regional peace and America's reputation. Success in Iraq is possible but is far from assured. Cohen outlines what success in Iraq would look like. Link to full text in primary source.

H3 NYT Armenian Furor Over PBS Plan for Debate

FT WEEKEND - TRAVEL: An aesthetic triumph for today's Turkey The timing of the opening of Istanbul Modern Art Museum just over a year ago was no accident, but it was a surprise to...

Ext links- Dis Basinda Turkiye - Google News Turkey –Turquie- Türkei - 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

The role of Kurdish intellectuals in the Diaspora KurdishMedia.com - By Dr Rebwar Fatah Unless the communication and coordination between both home and Diaspora Kurdish community are improved and backed up by resources, the Diaspora community cannot achieve its objectives fully.

Kurdish TV is testing the limits of freedom of expression KurdishMedia.com - By Dr Kristiina Koivunen It would be strange if Denmark would close the Kurdish television after it has defended the right to publish caricatures which defame Islam.

Iraq's Chalabi: Kurds Must Work With Baghdad On Oil Deals

Iran boosts cooperation with Turkey against PKK New Anatolian

Turkish Court Overturns Journalist's Conviction

Turkey puts al-Qaida member on trial

Cyprus: 2 Israelis released from custody

PJAK is preparing to protest Iran in Copenhagen

US Department of Commerce Report Recommends Kurdistan as Gateway ... Kurdistan Regional Government
H4 New York Times Religious Strife Shows Strength of Iraq Militias The recent violence has demonstrated the power that the many militias in Iraq have to draw the country into a full-scale civil war.

Editorial Silenced by Islamist Rage With every new riot over the Danish cartoons, it becomes clearer that the protests are no longer about the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, but about the demagoguery of Islamic extremists

How a Speech Won the Cold War By WILLIAM TAUBMAN
Fifty years ago Saturday, Nikita Khrushchev gave a "secret speech" at the 20th Communist Party Congress that began the Soviet decline.

Arabs Tell Rice Violence Like Iraq' s Could Spread
Muslim Clerics Call for an End to Iraqi Rioting
Japan May Announce Iraq Pullout Next Month: Paper
Bush Sees a Tough Test for the Skills of the Iraqi Troops
Iran Is Said to Start Enriching Fuel, on Very Small Scale
Bush Sees a Tough Test for the Skills of the Iraqi Troops
Little Mideast Oil Wealth Is Going Toward Takeovers of U.S. Assets
H5 Washington Post Editorial A Step Back From War THE WAVE of sectarian violence that seemed to push Iraq to the brink of a civil war this week has ebbed, at least for now. If the relative peace holds -- and another attack such as the bombing Wednesday of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra could easily shatter it -- Iraq's political and religious...

U.S. Report on Iraqi Troops Is Mixed
Basra Is Lost for BritishIn a region long insulated from the rampant unrest in Iraq, relations between British forces and local leaders have sharply deteriorated.
A 'Moment of Choosing' Premier Orders Additional Measures

Push for Democracy Loses Some Energy On Mideast Tour, Rice Focuses On Hamas

America Abandons a Friend By E. Wayne Merry, An obscure arms deal from nine years ago has produced a major human rights case in the former Soviet country of Moldova, challenging the U.S. government to stand up for its own good name as well as for the rule of law.

Pentagon Corruption Probe Expands Probe Extends Beyond Bribes to Congressman

Pentagon to Identify Detainees Military to Comply With Court Order at Guantanamo Bay

Libby Loses Round in Court Ex-Cheney Aide Is Denied in Bid to Learn Leaker's Identity




H6 Guardian Iraq curfew cuts violenceShia and Sunni leaders call for calm as daytime curfew in Baghdad and surrounding provinces appears to check pace of sectarian unrest.

It was our mistake that led to this desecration and killing Martin Kettle: Forget revisiting Berlin 1945 or Saigon 1975. There is still a chance of pulling out in good order.

Looking for troubles Moazzam Begg wanted to help his fellow Muslims - in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan . In the eyes of the CIA and MI5, that made him an enemy combatant. He tells Simon Hattenstone what drove him on

To Brussels ... via The Hague The fate of Ratko Mladic will determine Serbia's future in Europe, writes Ian Black.

Lipstick and liberty Georgia's row with Moscow is more than just a tiff in a faraway place, writes Tom Parfitt.

Saudis foil oil plant attack Suspected Islamist militants attack oil facility in Saudi Arabia .

Friend or foe? UK forces enter Afganistan's dark zoneUK mission aims to reclaim night from Taliban but lawless province provides big challenge for soldiers.

Extremism: the loser's revenge Ian Buruma: Can sexual inadequacy or deprivation turn angry young men into killers?
Capital ideas Interview: Stuart Jeffries meets Jacques Attali, banker and champion of Marx.
Free speech: is it an illusion?James Harkin: Is there really such a thing as free speech, or is it all just an illusion?
H7 Transatlantic Security: The Importance of NATO Today Kurt Volker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Remarks at Howard University's Model NATO Conference

William Buckley: US mission in Iraq 'failed'...

Democracy & Its Discontents - Leon Hadar, The American Conservative
The Roots of Democracy - Carles Boix, Policy Review

PBS Newshour Religious Leaders Key to Peace in Iraq NewsHour analysts Mark Shields and David Brooks

Questions Raised Over Stability Of Foreign Oil Sources

NRO Victor Davis Hanson: It's the IED vs. democracy.

American Patience is Now Needed in Iraq - Victor Davis Hanson,

No Amount of Spin Can Provide Security in Iraq - James Klurfeld, Newsday
H8 UPI Analysis: Has the civil war in Iraq begun? By Claude Salhani When is a civil war officially declared a civil war? At what point in a conflict does sectarian fighting, car bombing, kidnapping and random acts of inter-communal violence officially get awarded the designation of civil war?
Analysis: Iraq on the brink By MARTIN SIEFF

Heritage Foundation Pulling Iraq Back from the Edge of Civil War by James Phillips
Pentagon: No Competent Iraqi Battalions
Poll: Americans See Iran as Enemy No. 1
Asia Times Payback time in IraqSeveral parties to the Iraq imbroglio stand to benefit from the bombing of the Shi'ite Golden Mosque, and fingers are being pointed at all the usual suspects. More important than who planted the explosives is the fact that Shi'ites have seized on the attack to justify striking at Sunnis. - Sami Moubayed

KR Iraq's insurgents focus on creating civil strife This week's surge in sectarian violence in Iraq - shootings, mosque burnings and mob attacks - is a chilling indicator of how successful the Sunni Muslim insurgency and foreign terrorists have been in fomenting unrest.

Fear of informants has stoked climate of fear in Baghdad Fear of informants turning in neighbors to police or militia groups has deeply undermined community trust in many parts of Baghdad. A word to the police can result in uniformed security officers or even private soldiers in fake uniforms dragging residents from their homes in the middle of the night - without legitimate cause, the victims complain

BBC Tense Iraq extends daytime curfew The Iraqi government extends a curfew and other measures aimed at ending the recent sectarian violence.

Al-Qaeda 'behind Saudi oil plot' A website used by Islamic militants says al-Qaeda was behind a foiled suicide bomb attack on a Saudi oil facility.

H9 Ha’aretz - Iranian advisor: We'll strike Dimona in response to U.S. attack Advisor to Revolutionary Guard says Tehran would also strike Haifa and Israel's Jericho missile base.

Abbas urges Israel, world to stop pressuring Hamas

Jerusalem Post Abbas: I'll resign if Hamas doesn't recognize IsraelAdvises Israel, international community not to 'push Hamas into a corner'; says Russia could help moderate Hamas's position.

Interesting Times: Those jihadi grins By SAUL SINGER Prominent Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, Evan Bayh and Howard Dean are trying to out-hawk Bush.

Yedioth Ahronoth An open apology to Steven Spielberg

Our Man in Damascus Stanford Review

MEMRI Feb 24 SD# 1101 - Cultural Advisor to Iranian Education Ministry and Member of Interfaith Organization Lectures on Iranian TV: Tom and Jerry - A Jewish Conspiracy to Improve the Image of Mice, Because Jews Were Termed

KurdishMedia Khaddam's conversion too late By Jamal Ekhtiar Recently news agencies reported that Abdul Halim Khaddam, politician and former vice president of the Syrian government, has held meetings with Syrian opposition groups including Muslim Brotherhood and Kurds.

Daily Star Iraqis need the help of the international community

Reconcile ego and ideology between the U.S. and Iran By Sanam Vakil

Egyptian judges see their independence stifled By Mona Eltahawy
H10 Christian Science Monitor Report: NSA continues controversial data-mining program Total Information Awareness projects, shut down by Congress in 2003, funded under different plan

KR President Bush will travel to India's New Delhi next week

U.S. overture to India could complicate efforts to stop nuclear spread
H11 IHT A fatal desire for order NINA L. KHRUSHCHEVA Russia's best opportunity to shed its brutal past is being lost in the popular desire for order and greatness.

Europe doesn't get free speech MATTHEW ROJANSKY Europe's guaratees of free speech must be consistently respected to avoid being undermined.

2 German spies aided U.S. before Iraq war

Der Spiegel Merkel's First 100 Days -- Foreign Flair, Domestic Denial Popular at home and lauded abroad, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made a remarkable start in her first 100 days in office. But pressing domestic issues could quickly end her political honeymoon.
Germany: Iraq Spying Affair Prompts Growing Calls for Full Inquiry
H12 RFE/RL Energy: NATO Considers Role In Increasing Energy Security

EDM MOSCOW STUNG BY GEORGIAN RESOLUTION ON SOUTH OSSETIA
- PUTIN IN BAKU: CHANGES IN AZERI-RUSSIAN ENERGY RELATIONS ON THE HORIZON
- EUROPE HOPES TO REVIVE TRANS-CASPIAN ENERGY PIPELINES

EurasiaNet Uzbekistan Sets Limits for Cooperation with Russia BY SERGEI BLAGOV
H13 The Times Analysis: can Iraq avoid civil war?

Emergency rule 'to stop coup' dismays old allies

WSJ Early Warning System A few lessons on the blogosphere's strengths and weaknesses. By GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS

Brookings Institution As President Bush embarks on his first visit to India and Pakistan, Brookings hosted a panel of experts which examined issues that he will face when he meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President and Army Chief Pervez Musharraf Transcript of the policy briefing
Q & A with Stephen Cohen on Bush's Trip

FT FT WEEKEND MAGAZINE - THE IDEAS DEPARTMENT: Reasons to be fearful By John Lloyd I'm not Jewish, though some of my best friends are, but if I were I would be worrying about whether or not I should worry...

Leader People power is backA decade on, it is a struggle to recall the excitement in the mid-1990s over south-east Asia's "tiger" economies. Their recovery from the 1997 financial crisis has...

By hook or by crook Britain's largest cash robbery in the early hours of Wednesday led tothe disappearance of used bank-notes whose value has yet to be determined but could reach...

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The taboos that undid Summers By Christopher Caldwell That a serious university would make the expression of opinions a firing offence is an idea too painful for many of Harvard’s alumni to bear
H14 Financial Times Explosion of violence reveals weakness of US position

COMMENT: Hamas's recognition of Israel is not the only key to peace If the international community wants to reinforce Mahmoud Abbas, it could offer more carrots and wield less stick, writes Harvey Morris, the FT’s Jerusalem bureau chief.

A crude conspiracy Syriana is as confusing as it is thrilling

Rebel Iraqi cleric issues plea to militia to halt revenge attacks

Oil prices jump as bombers strike at Saudi refinery Saudi Arabia’s oil industry came close to the most serious terrorist attack in its history when suicide bombers penetrated the Abqaiq refinery, the world’s biggest oil facility.

EU prepared to give cash lifeline to Palestine Authority


Multicultural Europe blamed for cartoon crisis

US to press Beijing on trade issues

Berlin comes in from the cold Sixteen years after the Wall came down, the German capital looks like a mess: it’s virtually bankrupt, unemployment is rampant and the property market is dismal. To all intents the city is a failure - but its reborn creativity makes it a fabulous failure.

Leader Bush badly needs a port in this storm

Bush trips up trying to balance security fears with free trade

BOOK REVIEWS: Occupational hazards


H15 Los Angeles Times Iraq Tense as It Teeters on the Brink of Civil War Many Iraqis fear it could be more bloody and heartbreaking than the post-invasion violence.
Iraq and U.S. Face Difficult, Decisive Time
Iraq Now Has No Units Able to Stand Alone
Attack on Saudi Oil is Ominous Thwarted assault on the world's "jugular vein" could have had disastrous effects on the U.S. economy

Editorial Trust the truth DAVID IRVING IS THE KIND OF creep who will stand up in front of a crowd of Holocaust deniers and brag, "This hand has shaken more hands that shook Hitler's hand than anyone else in the world." As a once-respected World War II historian, he has arguably done more than anyone else alive to add a gloss of academic respectability to the grossly inaccurate notion that there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Utopia lost By Andrew L. Yarrow
Fifty years ago, America's future was limitless. So what happened to optimism?

H16 What Has Happened to the Bush White House? - John Podhoretz, New York Post

Weekly Standard Losing Friends and Influence President Bush misjudges immigration and the ports issue. by Fred Barnes

Summers's End Too bad Harvard's president wouldn't take his own side in a quarrel. by Peter Berkowitz

Harvard Lays an Egg The triumph of the diversity faction and the fall of Larry Summers by James Piereson

Blogometer realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird thru GovExec -
H17 Daily Telegraph 'Long war' strategy on terror The Pentagon is aggressively promoting a new strategy for the "long war" against terrorism in which combat units will play second fiddle to diplomats, aid workers and civil servants.

Clinton gets seriousHillary Clinton has recruited the two loud-mouthed consultants who masterminded her husband's "back from nowhere" presidential run in a clear hint at her own White House ambitions.
H18 Independent Abbas threatens to resign if he fails to reach Hamas deal

Car bombers attack Saudi Arabia's oil processing facility

Robert Fisk: Is the problem weather, or is it war?

Chechens face intimidation and torture, says UN
H19
H20 Slate
From NPQ, an interview with Francis Fukuyama.

A look at how the neoconservative right adopted the worst errors of the left.

George Will reviews The Making of The Conservative Mind, National Review and Its Times, and Impostor

Weekly Standard Plagiary, It's Crawling All Over Me by Joseph Epstein
H21 Googling National Archives
Music landmark as billionth download is sold
Ruling May Undercut Google in Fight Over Its Book Scans
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   ¶ 12:09 (1) comments