Foreign Press Review - March 20 2006 0320-2006f
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 Iraq: Appalling--But Not Hopeless - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek

Financial Times Editorial Iraq's last chance to pull back from brink It seems long ago but it has only been three years.

COMMENT: There is menace in America's policy of prevention By Anatol Lieven The US National Security Strategy uses the language of “pre-emption”, when it clearly means “prevention”, writes Anatol Lieven, of the New America Foundation

IHT William Pfaff: If Bush ruled the world The Bush administration's new National Security Strategy statement is nonsensical in content, insulting to other nations and unachievable in declared intention.

Washington Post Iraq Needed a Benign Dictator KANAN MAKIYA

What We've Gained In 3 Years in Iraq By Donald H. Rumsfeld

Iraq's Insurgents: Who's Who By Jonathan Finer, Long considered a fragmentary and disorganized collection of groups with varying tactics and aims, Iraq's insurgency is showing signs of increasing coordination, consolidation and confidence

Sunday Telegraph Divided, Iraq might just have a chance It is three years since Saddam was toppled, and civil war now seems inevitable. Gareth Stansfield argues it is time to consider partition.

If avian flu doesn't get us, political Numskulls will Could globalisation break down again, asks Niall Ferguson. It is just as possible, he warns, that we might wreck our economy ourselves, without any help from a vengeful Nature.

Sunday Times ANDREW SULLIVAN TEAM BUSH LOSES ITS WAY They're exhausted. They're sleepwalking through their second term



H2 Boston Review- The Roots of Iraq's Sectarian Violence By Nir Rosen

Ephraim Inbar MERIA The Need to Block a Nuclear Iran --- Adobe

Patterns of Discontent: Will History Repeat In Iran? Patrick Clawson and Michael Rubin Adobe

New York Times Suppose We Just Let Iran Have the Bomb By DAVID E. SANGER Some experts in the United States have been thinking the undiscussable: If all other options are worse, could the world learn to live with a nuclear Iran?

Editorial The Stuff That Happened The last three years have shown how little our national leaders understood Iraq

The State of Iraq: An Update

A Top-Down Review for the Pentagon By PAUL D. EATON Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces.

Christian Science Monitor Realism pushes US and Iran a bit closer Mutual interest in Iraq's future will bring the two together for first time since 2003 – but to what end?

American influence wanesas full-scale civil war looms Today's grim reality is in sharp contrast to the faith many Iraqis once had that the US would bring a better life.

The way forward in Iraq hinges on the United States' way out Western experts agree that Iraq is not yet lost, but differ on how to withdraw.

Rising doubts in US As Iraq draws closer to civil war, not even administration supporters see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Al Qaeda's hand in tipping Iraq toward civil war Creating chaos in Iraq serves Al Qaeda's goal of uniting the Muslim world under one

Los Angeles Times Editorial Shock, awe and humility The Iraq war, three years later.

Dreams turned to dust By David Rieff The war rages on, but the administration's goal of exporting democracy has already failed.

Why are we trying to reheat the Cold War? By Anatol Lieven HISTORIANS OF the future will look back with amazement at U.S. foreign policy at the turn of the millennium, especially with regard to Russia.
H3 EIU Turkey economy: Change at the Bank

Milliyet Yasemin CONGAR Atalet ve değişim

BBC Cypriot delight Cyprus calls the tune for Turkey's EU membership talks

Symbol of protest Why Kurds took out their anger on Halabja monument

EU raps Ankara for pace of reforms (Andrew Borowiec)
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

Jerusalem Post The Region: Iraq's one-sided civil war By Barry Rubin

Daily Star U.S.-Iran talks a welcome first step in preventing Mideast sectarian inferno

A U.S. pullout from Iraq would be a catastrophe By Ali-Asghar Kazemi

WSJ A 'Third Term' for Bush Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove need new jobs. By FRED BARNES

NYT Book Review - 'AMERICAN THEOCRACY,' BY KEVIN PHILLIPS Clear and Present Dangers Review by ALAN BRINKLEY - A former Republican strategist characterizes the movement he helped build as ideologically extreme and dangerously shortsighted.


Syriana screenplay PDF link

Here's the introduction by Paul Krugman to The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, by John Maynard Keynes



Slate Today's Papers Wikipedia antiwar.com technorati

H4 New York Times On Anniversary, Bush and Cheney See Iraq Success President Bush and senior officials argued their strategy was working even as a former Iraqi prime minister spoke of civil war.

Suppose We Just Let Iran Have the Bomb By DAVID E. SANGER Some experts in the United States have been thinking the undiscussable: If all other options are worse, could the world learn to live with a nuclear Iran?

Editorial The Stuff That Happened The last three years have shown how little our national leaders understood Iraq, and have reminded us how badly attempts at liberation from the outside have gone in the past.

The State of Iraq: An Update
By NINA KAMP, MICHAEL O'HANLON and AMY UNIKEWICZ While a strategically passable outcome still seems within reach, it is increasingly hard to believe that there are the makings of a major success for American foreign policy in Iraq.

Rice Seeks to Balance China's Power

Before and After Abu Ghraib, a U.S. Unit Abused Detainees At a secret detention center, the military's most highly trained counterterrorism unit committed serious abuses of Iraqi prisoners

A Top-Down Review for the Pentagon By PAUL D. EATON
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces.

Wonderful World? By JAMES TRAUB Since the cold war, the earth has become more peaceful. Why doesn't it feel that way?
French Protests Over Youth Labor Law Spread to 150 Cities and Towns
Hamas Completes Lineup for Palestinian Ministries
Shiite Pilgrims Are Walking Targets in Sectarian Conflict
News Analysis: A New Landscape: Hamas Digs In
Top Iraqi Leaders Agree to Form a Policy Council
Deep in China, a Poor and Pious Muslim Enclave In one of China's most isolated places, the Dongxiang people are separated from the prosperity lifting other parts of the country.
DAVID BROOKS All Politics Is Thymotic The hunger for recognition drives the public actions of men and, increasingly, women. (Wanted: Participants in The Brooksian Thymotic... )
But Will They Love Him Tomorrow? If Senator Barack Obama's popularity among Democrats grows, will it be possible for him to maintain his smooth trajectory over time?

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The Silence of Bystanders It's our own silence on the genocide spilling out of Darfur, Sudan, that is inexplicable.

PAUL KRUGMAN Bogus Bush Bashing A look at the policies the new wave of conservative Bush bashers refuses to criticize.
Protesters Charge Fraud in Belarus Presidential Vote
French Unions Threaten to Strike
Hamas, Failing to Find Partners, Proposes Cabinet
H5 Washington Post My Vision For Iraq By Ibrahim al-Jafari, Iraq's prime minister is hopeful "we can defeat the terrorists and make Iraq the first democratic Arab country."

Iranians See Talks as Historic Acceptance of direct talks with U.S. being regarded as a major foreign policy development.

Tehran Courts Support of ArabsOfficials Seek Alliances, Backing for Nuclear Program

Iraq's Insurgents: Who's Who By Jonathan Finer, Long considered a fragmentary and disorganized collection of groups with varying tactics and aims, Iraq's insurgency is showing signs of increasing coordination, consolidation and confidence, those who study it now say. There is no consensus on the precise number of insurgent fighters, but estimates...
Statements by Insurgents

A CONVERSATION WITH KANAN MAKIYAIraq Needed a Benign Dictator

What We've Gained In 3 Years in Iraq By Donald H. Rumsfeld, The terrorists seem to recognize that they are losing in Iraq. Now is the time for resolve, not retreat.

Diminishing the U.S. Footprint By Jim Hoagland, Two important and related changes in the Bush administration's strategy for the long war on global terrorism emerged here last week. One tiptoed in quietly. The other came with trumpets blaring for political effect. It might have worked better the other way around.

Bleakness In Baghdad By George F. Will, At this moment, one of the most dangerous since World War II, America's perils are exacerbated by the travails of a president indiscriminately despised by Democrats and increasingly disregarded by Republicans. What should he do?

As Iraq War Heads Into 4th Year, Bush Pledges 'Complete Victory'

Veterans' Voices on Iraq Voices of 100 Veterans: The War in Their Words
Left to Rot in Gaza Strip's Economy Suffers as Trade Passage to Israel Remains Sealed -The main trade passage between the Gaza Strip and Israel has been closed for much of the year despite an agreement in November that required Israel to "ensure the continued opportunity to export."
Hamas Is Alone In Cabinet Plan
Other Factions Balk at Joining Government

Protests in France Unions Bring Many Thousands to Streets

the BLOGGER One Week In Baghdad By Zeyad

Shevardnadze the Survivor By Paul Quinn-Judge

When the Senate Isn't Enough By Mark Leibovich, One of the enduring notions about U.S. senators is that they're congenitally infected with the urge to run for president

Dutch Convert to Islam: Veiled and Viewed as a 'Traitor' A Woman's Experience Illustrates Europe's Struggle With Its Identity

GOP Struggles To Define Its Message for 2006 Elections

Editorial Another Blown Case?
The death penalty case against accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacharias Moussaoui has barely survived the government's latest bout of incompetence.




H6 Guardian This misadventure has alienated most of the world from Bush Gary Younge: Since going to war, the president has managed to make himself almost as unpopular with US voters as he is with Iraqis.
It's not too late for lasting peace in the Middle East Israel should withdraw from the occupied territories, and its right to exist must be recognised by all Arabs, writes Jimmy Carter.
'Iraq was awash in cash. We played football with bricks of $100 bills'At the beginning of the Iraq war, the UN entrusted $23bn of Iraqi money to the US-led coalition to redevelop the country. With the infrastructure of the country still in ruins, where has all that money gone? Callum Macrae and Ali Fadhil on one of the greatest financial scandals of all time
Leader Nine years is long enoughTo Tony Blair's immense credit he can still control the circumstances of his departure from office.

Rumsfeld singled out over Iraq· Criticism on war's third anniversary· This is civil war says ex-PM Allawi

The Observer – Today, French protest seems more like farce Will Hutton French students last week reminded us once again that nobody does protest with the élan of the French. It's a tradition, but the curious paradox of these riots is that they are mounted to preserve the status quo.

France's global warning French students are leading the march against an unpopular employment law, writes Alex Duval Smith in Paris.

Tony Blair has squandered his own legacy on sleaze Andrew Rawnsley: As another scandal stains the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and David Cameron must vow not to repeat his mistakes.

UK guns in al-Qaeda hands
H7 Ex-NSA Brzezinski: That's 'absolutely crazy'

Time One Morning in Haditha (TIME Investigation) U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes last November. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge? A TIME exclusive

NRO Victor Davis Hanson: Should we shut down Guantanamo and outsource its inmates to The Hague?

WFB: Hit Iran?

Bush's Enduring Foreign Policy Framework - Michael Barone

Facing Reality in Iraq - Joe Klein, Time

PINR "The Increasing Importance of African Oil" Full text of report

Newsweek Pakistan: A Most Surprising Success Story?
H8 US War Spending to Rise 44%

War Has Emboldened Iran, Extremists in Iraq

White House No Longer Sees Quick End to War

Washington Times King Abdullah: protector (S. Rob Sobhani)

UPI Policy Watch: Ahmadinejad's logic

KR Iraqi police report details 11 civilians' deaths at hands of U.S. troops

KR Egyptian Islamists hamstrung by Mubarak's dominance

MEMRI Mar 20 SD# 1118 - Islamist Cleric on Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal's New TV Channel: "The West's Conflict With Islam & Muslims is Eternal - a Preordained Destiny That Cannot Be Avoided Until Judgment Day"

UPI Analysis: Operation Swarmer less than meets the eye?

H9 Ha’aretz - Only as a last resort The Palestinians elected the parliament and government that Hamas will apparently rule, and it is with these elected bodies that Israel must hope to reach an agreement. Israel must go back and present its preconditions, but it cannot choose the partner for dialogue.

EU to sign urgent aid deal for Palestinians; weighs Hamas gov't

Hamas presents new cabinet Prime minister-designate Haniyeh presents government roster to Abbas, who is expected to approve list despite his opposition to Hamas’ basic principles. Government to include 24 ministers, among them a Christian, woman

UPI Analysis: In trying to form coalition, Hamas finds itself alone Hamas' refusal to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people is the main obstacle preventing Fatah and other PLO faction members from joining the new government.

Daily Star Was Syria right to hail Hamas' victory?By Ibrahim Hamidi
H10 Christian Science Monitor Realism pushes US and Iran a bit closer Mutual interest in Iraq's future will bring the two together for first time since 2003 – but to what end?

American influence wanesas full-scale civil war looms Today's grim reality is in sharp contrast to the faith many Iraqis once had that the US would bring a better life.

The way forward in Iraq hinges on the United States' way out
Western experts agree that Iraq is not yet lost, but differ on how to withdraw.

Rising doubts in US
As Iraq draws closer to civil war, not even administration supporters see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Editorial Fresh thinking on Iraq

Al Qaeda's hand in tipping Iraq toward civil war Creating chaos in Iraq serves Al Qaeda's goal of uniting the Muslim world under one caliph. By Abdel Bari Atwan

Key Hamas cabinet posts go to hard-liners Moderate politicians have refused to join the group's new government, leaving militant players in charge.

Belarus: cries of fraud, no 'Orange Revolution' Early results indicate President Alexander Lukashenko would win with 90 percent of the vote.

Serbian nationalism stirs again
The Serbian government faces three crises that could inflame sentiments following the death of Milosevic.

H11 IHT William Pfaff: If Bush ruled the world The Bush administration's new National Security Strategy statement is nonsensical in content, insulting to other nations and unachievable in declared intention.

Villepin facing deadline for a general strike
H12 RFE/RL Russia’s UN Ambassador Comments On Iran Standoff

Israel, Russia Reach Preliminary Gas Agreement


Newsweek Russia: Putin's China Problem

BBC Landslide win for Belarus leader President Lukashenko of Belarus is re-elected by a huge margin, sparking protests from the opposition.
In pictures: Belarus votes
Q&A: Belarus election
Expelled from Belarus

UPI Outside View: Transdniestr blockade

From Transitions Online, critics say Russian society's growing intolerance of minorities is largely down to the acts and words of media, politicians, and police

As Kosovo moves toward independence, its leading public figures are debating whether there is a Kosovar national identity
H13 The Times Three years after Iraq invasion leader says civil war has begun Iyad Allawi told the BBC that civil war in Iraq had already started and that violence could spread to Europe and the US

'Last dictator in Europe' celebrates another landslide Thousands of Belarussians protested in central Minsk to demand a rerun of presidential elections

Gaza below breadline as blockade bites

Iraq The road to recovery will take two years, says Bush

Three years onThe anti-war movement have nothing but contempt for 'bourgeois democracy' By Tim Hames

This dishonourable affair William Rees-Mogg Sleaze and deceit will hasten Blair's exit. Now expect a surprise general election in the autumn

Sunday Times ANDREW SULLIVAN TEAM BUSH LOSES ITS WAY They're exhausted. They're sleepwalking through their second term

Released Saddam papers hint at links to Al-Qaeda

WSJ A 'Third Term' for Bush Condi Rice, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove need new jobs. By FRED BARNES

Democracy and Security Rumors of the Bush Doctrine's demise are exaggerated.

Wise Council Another successful reform at the United Nations. By KOFI A. ANNAN

Europe's Last Dictator For promoters of democracy, Lukashenko is a reality check. By MATTHEW KAMINSKI
H14 Financial Times Editorial Iraq's last chance to pull back from brink It seems long ago but it has only been three years.

Iraqi leaders establish new council in effort to build unity

Prospect of anarchy on rise in strife-torn nation

COMMENT: There is menace in America's policy of prevention By Anatol Lieven The US National Security Strategy uses the language of “pre-emption”, when it clearly means “prevention”, writes Anatol Lieven, of the New America Foundation

Quiet disapproval of Bush marks third anniversary of Iraq invasion

Nations sidestep China at security talks

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: US attitude to unfree countries lacks consistency

Ex-Putin aide says G8 appeasing dictatorial Russia

Protectionism 'fireworks' to dominate EU talks

Lukashenko set to claim Belarus landslide victory

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: Forgotten Britain: how Labour has presided over a deepening divide By Chris Giles, Economics Editor

Leader A grand coalition could solve Italy's problems The economic consequences of monetary union have been so serious for the country that they require urgent political action by the next Italian government. Italy's seven years within the eurozone seem consistent with Dante's famous inscription at the entrance of hell: "Abandon all hope, ye that enter".

The sick man of Europe - but it need not be fatal By Martin Wolf

Editorial Do not browbeat your central bank, WarsawIt is an irony of protectionism that while domestic interests are its intended beneficiary, they so often end up the victim. This is what is happening in Poland, where...
H15 Los Angeles Times Editorial Shock, awe and humility
The Iraq war, three years later.
3 Years in, U.S. Lowers Goals in Iraq ANALYSIS: The White House is again trying to define victory in more modest terms than at the war's start.
Dreams turned to dust By David Rieff The war rages on, but the administration's goal of exporting democracy has already failed.
Bush Sees No 'Civil War' in Iraq, but Many Disagree Ayad Allawi, a staunch American ally, says it's already started: "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."
- Insurgents Fire Mortar at Shiite Pilgrims
Why are we trying to reheat the Cold War? By Anatol Lieven HISTORIANS OF the future will look back with amazement at U.S. foreign policy at the turn of the millennium, especially with regard to Russia.

How Harvard could share the wealth By Peter Hong HARVARD University has an endowment of about $26 billion, which exceeds the gross domestic product of more than 100 nations and is greater than all the physical assets of McDonald's Corp. It is the richest university in the country; in fact, a few years ago, the Boston Globe reported that Harvard's endowment was greater than that of any nonprofit institution in the world except the Catholic Church.

Sell off the Sudan stocks Why divestment from Sudan makes more sense now than divestment from South Africa did then.

Taiwan argues with itself, disturbing all By David DeVoss EXILED FROM THE United Nations and estranged from most of its neighbors, the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan is a bit off Asia's beaten track. But last week, the often-overlooked country once again became a major concern in Washington, as two huge rallies brought the nation to the brink of political impasse and raised the specter of regional instability.

H16 The Nation Iraq: The Democrats' Dilemma
ERIC ALTERMAN With Bush's popularity dropping and Iraq in chaos, Democrats must provide clear leadership without making themselves targets of political assassination by the right. How can they do that when the master story in the media depicts a party in disarray?

Newsweek The Republican Party: United No More?

Raw Story CIA leak case filing names National Security Advisor as 'Key' Libby witness; Woodward's source?

Blogometer realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird thru GovExec -
H17 Daily Telegraph So, you thought the constitution was dead Never mind that 15 million Frenchmen and five million swag-bellied Hollanders voted against the European constitution, says Daniel Hannan. The Eurocrats have worked out a deft way of getting around them.

Leader Iraq three years onPrejudice is part of the human condition. It would be nice if we always looked dispassionately at the facts and then moved to a conclusion. But it is more common to do the opposite.

Sunday Telegraph Divided, Iraq might just have a chance It is three years since Saddam was toppled, and civil war now seems inevitable. Gareth Stansfield argues it is time to consider partition.

If avian flu doesn't get us, political Numskulls will Could globalisation break down again, asks Niall Ferguson. It is just as possible, he warns, that we might wreck our economy ourselves, without any help from a vengeful Nature.

US ponders civil war The United States has begun making plans to deal with a civil war in Iraq, three years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Peres: Withdrawal talks Israel will negotiate a planned withdrawal of settlers from the West Bank with the Palestinians after the election in 10 days time, Shimon Peres, the country's former leader has said.

Blair's role in scandal Evidence linking Tony Blair personally to the £14 million "loans for peerages" scandal engulfing Labour can be revealed.
H18 Independent Iraq occupation: Three years on and still they're lying to us

'Whether we like them or not, the British can't leave us in a vacuum'

Analysis: The rich get richer in poor old Britain

Iraq War Special: Three Years On Robert Fisk on the march of folly, that has led to a bloodbath Death squads on the prowl in a nation paralysed by fear
Blair unrepentant, but still tormented by legacy of war
Bush still sees no reason to apologise
Unions pile pressure on Villepin with threat of a national strike action
The end of Gandhi's dream: India's economic boom and bust


H19 UPI Film warns of military-industrial complex Eugene Jarecki's "Why We Fight" is a study of the growth of the U.S. military-industrial complex.
Newsweek IEDs: Insidious, Dangerous WeaponsDeadly Puzzle: IEDs are killing U.S. soldiers at a scary clip. At war with an insidious weapon.

From the latest issue of Parameters, Eric A. Heinze (Oklahoma): Humanitarian Intervention and the War in Iraq: Norms, Discourse, and State Practice; Ali Ahmad Jalali (NDU): The Future of Afghanistan; Janeen Klinger (Marine Corps University): The Social Science of Carl von Clausewitz; and many book reviews.


H20 Slate



WaPo - Newspapers in an Economic Storm By Deborah Howell, Recent events in the newspaper business make it clear that newsrooms cannot escape market forces.

Guardian Champion of ambiguityTerry Eagleton: The misinterpretations of Beckett's work on his 100th anniversary would not have pleased him
H21 Syriana screenplay PDF link.

Sunday Times MELVYN BRAGG THE WORLD'S BEST BOOKS He found himself making some startling choices in books that changed mankind

Book, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Words Some say computer analyses of books help provide insight into the influences on a text, whether the work of Shakespeare or your average high school student.

NYT Dark Days for Tony Soprano Some viewers of "The Sopranos" are no doubt turning away because they suspect that Tony Sopranos's life story is not going to end happily.

'MANLINESS,' BY HARVEY C. MANSFIELD Who's the Man? Review by WALTER KIRN A Harvard professor rolls up his sleeves to investigate the nature and value of manliness.
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 - political theory/
CounterterrorismBlog OutSide the Beltway - InstaPundit - Kausfiles - andrewsullivan.com - Becker Posner-- armscontrolwonk - Registan Arts & Letters Daily/  ¶ 10:11