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
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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