1121-2006f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analysis from all around the world’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç U.S. / Britain / Turkey / Magazines / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports - FPR Table - Subscribe to FPR

H1 New York Times Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq

Between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters from the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias have been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon, a senior U.S. official said.

Financial Times LEADER: Dollar dynamics are an economic danger Movements in the currency market are best described as a random walk: unpredictable, like a drunk staggering home. But whereas most of the time the movements are...

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: The buck stops where? How a tattered dollar could quickly lose further allure Last week the dollar breached an important barrier. Its fall outside this range left investors wondering whether that was the start of a more sustained slide in the US currency.

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: The eurozone fears another 'brutal' shift

Editorial Afghanistan mission

Why We Need to Talk to Iran - Walter Isaacson, Time

Ha’aretz - Print Edition

Editorial Clear political horizon

A different path In a speech to honor David Ben-Gurion, Olmert tells Palestinians, 'I extend my hand in peace.'

McClatchy U.S. can do little to stop civil war in Iraq

NYT In Need of New Moves, but in Which Direction?

Washington Post Civil War in Iraq Near, Kofi Annan Says Study Group Begins Two-Day Meeting By Robin Wright and Thomas E. Ricks

Close Adviser to Rice Plans to Resign

The Sometimes Controversial Zelikow Leaving at a Challenging Time for Secretary

In Diplomatic Turn, Iraqi Reaches Out to Iran

Britain Planning to Reduce Troop Levels

PostGlobal: How to Stop Iraqi Militiamen

It's a Civil War, Stupid

From the Archive - WINEP Building Security in the Broader Middle East Read an unedited transcript of Mr. Zelikow’s remarks in PDF format.

Slate war stories Whatever happened to statecraft? Events in Iraq, Lebanon, and Asia highlight Bush's shortcomings as a leader. Fred Kaplan

·

The Limits of Coexistence:

Is Lebanon headed to civil war?

Michael Young

Asia Times The Saudis strike back at Iran Saudi Arabia views with disquiet the rapid ascendancy of Iranian influence in Iraq, and the Shi'ite claim of political empowerment in the region haunts Riyadh. This latent Saudi-Iranian rivalry is likely to play out in Lebanon, where, unlike Iraq, there is a convergence of Saudi and US interests. - M K Bhadrakumar

A senior columnist for the inside-the-beltway publication Congressional Quarterly speculated on MSNBC's Hardball that Vice President Richard B. Cheney may be the next to exit the Bush Administration, a report first caught by ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress has the video here.

Debka DEBKAfile: Bush to pursue US policy reversal on Israel in bid for Arab help on Iraq – in his Amman talks Thursday. Brent Scowcroft is new administration policy guru

WSJ Bush Approval Ratings Slip Bush's approval ratings slid to 31%., the second-lowest of his presidency, according to a new Harris poll.• Chart: Bush in the polls

Daily Telegraph Troops 'to leave Iraq by the end of 2007' Thousands of troops could be home from Iraq by the end of next year, Des Browne said yesterday. The Defence Secretary said that handing over Basra would be key to the withdrawal.

Why the Baker-Hamilton Commission Ought to Visit Mount Vernon Human Events by Newt Gingrich

FOUAD AJAMI: The American project in Iraq has been unimaginably difficult, its heartbreak a grim daily affair. But the impulse that gave rise to the war was shrewd and justified. U.S. News & World Report

Djerejian Did Somebody Say "Cakewalk", Or "Naive"?

Guardian Europe must shoulder its share of the Nato burden Jacques Chirac: For too long we have relied on our US allies. We must strengthen our national contributions, and boost the EU's role.

ELI LAKE: Bush, Maliki offer a tale of two revolts. New York Sun

Powell Doctrine Took a Back Seat to Neocon Fantasies - USA Today

Global Challenges for NATO
Ivo H. Daalder and James Goldgeier

MARTIN BECK MATUšTíK: Velvet revolution in Iran? Logos

Jerusalem Post Echo Olmert's offer The Palestinians should know: The offer is real. Take it. Take yes for an answer.

The 'no-military option' fallacy
[ JONATHAN ARIEL

Daily Star A Lebanese civil war? Not just yet By Nada Doumit

NRO VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Why rush to talk?

Christian Science Monitor New violence deepens Iraq's religious fissures After the largest death toll from a single attack since Hussein's fall, sectarian bloodletting seems likely to escalate.

How the Iraq Study Group went from obscure to high profile

The panel's rise was aided by a rare loosening of official Washington's hold of the reins.

Opinion: Iraq panel's real agenda: damage control By Andrew J. Bacevich

IHT Let's talk to religious radicals, too MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS It is important to include religious radicals in interfaith dialogue, as not talking to them only reinforces their prejudice and hatred.

LA Times Ranks of Iraq's militias rise with violence

The Times Blair’s Iraq exit strategy seems to be out of the frying pan, into the fire Now we know the plan for British troops in Iraq: begin to pull out, leaving a few thousand for training and helping with emergencies

H2 Soner Cagaptay Can the PKK Renounce Violence?: Terrorism Resurgent - Middle East Quarterly Winter 2007

WSJ The West's Eastern Front Who are the Turks, and what do they want? By HUGH POPE

NYT Awaiting Pope, Turkey Is Unsure About Ties to West

Allure of Islam Signals a Shift Within Turkey Turkey is navigating between the forces pulling it closer to Islam and the institutions that safeguard its secularism.

OpenDemocracy Turkey and the European Union: don't despair | Katinka Barysch

FT WORLD NEWS: Turkey's talks on joining EU face partial suspension

Roubini Turkey-LessThanksgiving in Turkey

Arab News Editorial: Turkey’s EU Bid

Does Turkey Belong in the EU?

FROM ALL SIDES: Reflecting on EU-Turkey relations - News news

TIME.com: How Western is Turkey? -- Page 1

Guardian Turkey's EU hopes suffer Cyprus setback

The Times Turkey's EU hopes are hit again as talks break down

Google News Pope Turkey Sort by relevance Sort by date

The Pope's Hopes in Turkey - John O'Sullivan, New York Post

NYT Pope Flies to Istanbul Today, Landing in a Political Cloud

Ft Turkish politicians head out of town to avoid Pope’s visit

CSM The Pope's fence-mending trip

Pope Benedict XVI faces a balancing act in Turkey as he tries to improve Christian-Muslim ties.

Tensions shadow the Pope's visit to Turkey

Time Why Turks Are Not Pleased to See the Pope

BBC Turkey boosts security for Pope Pope Benedict XVI is to begin a four-day visit to Turkey, amid protests against recent comments about Islam.

Pope on delicate Turkish mission

Profile: Pope Benedict XVI

McClatchy On eve of visit, Pope Benedict deeply unpopular in Turkey

Slate Today's Papers Wikipedia antiwar.com technorati

Hugh Pope Turning to Turkey

Independent Cyprus dispute halts Turkey's EU talks

Greece-Turkey pipeline could help break EU dependence on Russia.

US, Turkey hold military exercise

Christians in Turkey frustrated by popular distrust

Kürtler bir masada buluştu Devamı...

Oktay Ekşi Bize de buyurun... Arınç göreve geldiğinden bu yana sonuncusu Umman Krallığı olmak üzere 40 yurtdışı gezisi yapmış.

Mehmet Y Yılmaz Laik ülkenin Başbakan’ı gibi konuşmak zor mu?

Polemik (1) Gündüz Aktan

Özdemir İnce Gereksiz şeyler, yanlış işler

Hüsnü Mahalli Suikast!

Sami Selçuk Kemalistler Atatürk’e kötülük ediyor

Ahmet Taşgetiren Nasıl bir Müslüman toplum?

Alevîlerin partisiz gireceği son seçim,

Şakir Süter Esnaf-CHP ve Rumelili

NAZLI ILICAK 2007 darbe yılı mı?

Türk siyaseti, Newsweek'in darbe iddiasını ciddiye almadı

Sana o akılları kim verdi Zeyno

Güler Kömürcü 'Türkiye'de her an her şey olabilir'

Derya SAZAK Ne darbesi?

FATİH ALTAYLI Darbe olabilir diyen kim?

Yalçın Bayer Garip 'darbe' yorumunun ardındaki gerçek

Savaş SÜZAL Balon darbe ve papadan kaçanlar

EKREM DUMANLI - Irak'ın geleceği

TAMER KORKMAZ - Yakıt Gerektirmeyen Cunta Makinesi!

MÜMTAZ'ER TÜRKÖNE - Küresel Barış Projesi

ŞAHİN ALPAY - Türk-Alman diyalogu

Ali Bayramoğlu Atilla Yayla, Kemalizm, tesettür, özgürlük… Gerçek soru hangisi?

72 yıl süren Erke bilmecesi,

İngiltere Savunma Bakanı: Irak'ın Bölünmesi Bölgesel İstikrarı Tehdit Edecektir

Ağar, Askerliği peygamber ocağı olarak gören bir gelenekten geliyorum

Ahmedinejad: Sayın Talebani’nin de belirttiği gibi her alanda işbirliği yapacağız

Apo, bağımsız adaylara neden karşı çıktı?

Kürt Ulusal Demokratik Çalışma Grubundan Sempozyuma Çağrı

Türk-İslam-Sentezi’nden sonra Türk-Alevi-Sentezi

Ankara Maliki Hükümetini Destekliyor, Ancak PKK Ve Kerkük’ün Geleceği Konusunda Ondan Ayrılıyor

Kirkuk governor survives attack
The governor of Iraq's northern Kirkuk province survives an attack by a suicide bomber, police say.

Kurdish Globe.

"Diyarbakır serbest bölge olsun" talebi

Turhan Çömez'den açık mektup

İncirlik’ten Guantanamo’ya terörist transferi iddiası

Baydemir: 1 bomba 1 yıl kaybettiriyor

Talabani: İran'a ihtiyacımız var

Assyrian Leader in Iraq Assassinated for Advocating Assyrian ...

Iraqi group builds 'mini-city' in Kurdistan

Risks facing the agricultural sector in Kurdistan

US theaters pull Turkish film
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Sibel Edmonds White Paper "Hijacking of a Nation. Part 1: The Foreign Agent Factor"

Sivil toplum örgütleri 'Türklük' tanımında tıkandı

Amerikan çağının ardından SELÇUK SALİH CAYDI

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası - Dış Basında Güncel Türkiye Bülteni - Dış Basında Türkiye - Google News Turkey - Turquie- Türkei - Kurdish Media - FPR Archive - Quickread - Google News - Iraq -Iran - Syria – Kurdish - Greece - Azerbaijan Cyprus – - Israel - BBC Turkish 0700 -TurcoPundit - Stratfor Mideastwire.com

H3 ASLI AYDINTAŞBAŞ Washington gerçekten darbe mi istiyor?

Eyüp Can Aralık ayında devalüasyon olur mu

TAHA KIVANÇ Haydi hayırlısı...

Cengiz Çandar Tüm yazıları 2007’de Türkiye’de askeri darbe olabilir mi?

Cengiz Çandar Turkey's hard choices ahead

Gülay Göktürk Kaynağını açıkla!

MEHMET BARLAS

Türkiye'de siyaset AB ekseninden ABD eksenine kayar mı?

Radikal Avrupa'yla kaza geliyorum diyor

Finlandiya havlu attı ... Haberin Devamı>>>

[HABER ANALİZ] Rehn, Kıbrıs gerçeğini gördü, darısı liderlere! SELÇUK GÜLTAŞLI

Şimdi ne olacak?

Finlandiya'nın liman krizinin çözme girişimi başarısız oldu

AB ile ilişkilerde 2007 tatili Murat Yetkin

Tarık Toros Baykal hesabı

Serdar Turgut Siyasette 2007 stratejileri

Erhan Çelik Mehmet Ağar aslında ne yaptı?

Ağar: Siyasetçi asker gibi konuşmamalı

MUHARREM SARIKAYAAB denizinde alargada kalmak...

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU
Brüksel'de hava soğuk...

Erdoğan Ölüme inanan insanlarız

"Allah'tan geldik Allah'a döneceğiz"

Gazprom'dan ABD'ye yanıt

Gazprom gaz verdi
Kupriyanov: Uzun vadeli strateji öneriyoruz, gaz için ana koridor Türkiye

Cüneyt Ülsever AKP-Papa-İMKB-AB!

Ferai Tınç Kıbrıs düğümü aşılamadı, bundan sonra ne olacak

Müzakereye askı tehdidi

Tren durmaz ama yavaşlar

Mehmet Ali Birand Kriter dün çıktı…

İlter Türkmen NATO zirvesi

ERDAL ŞAFAK Yazık. Finlandiya'nın AB dönem başkanlığı kötü bitiyor. Polonya vetosu yüzünden AB-Rusya zirvesi fiyaskoyla sonuçlandı. Rumlar'ın "Haddini aşan" talepleri yüzünden Kıbrıs kilidi açılamadı.

Murat Çelik Fransa’ya neler yapıyoruz?

Hasan CEMALTehlikeli oyun!

Erdoğan'dan barış turu

'Rumlar, AB'yi kullanarak toprak almaya çalışıyor'

Merkel ve Plassnik'ten Türkiye karşıtı tavır

BBC 28 Kasım 2006 Basın Özeti

Aksiyon Veni Vidi Excusavi * - Kerim Balcı

[Yorum - İbrahim Kalın] Papa Katoliklerle Ortodoksları birleştirebilir mi?

[Yorum - Prof.Dr. Şinasi Gündüz] Hristiyan dünyasını birleştiriyor

Taha AKYOL Papa'nın gezisi

Fikret BİLA Bardakoğlu: Bize yaraşır şekilde davranmalıyız

Cengiz Aktar Sağırlar diyaloğu üzerine

Milliyet PAPA'YA HOŞ GELDİNİZ DERKEN

Papa'nın ziyareti, İslâmiyet ve Ayasofya
Hasan Celal Güzel

Sami KOHEN Papa'dan beklenen...

Pope, dialogue, alliance
Gündüz Aktan

1967 | Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras

Sezer'den Papa'ya Fatih fermanı ... Haberin Devamı>>>

EMRE AKÖZ Katolik-Ortodoks barışı

Papa hoş gelmiyor Nuray Mert

Erdoğan’la VIP’te

Almanların aklı Papa'da
Altan Öymen

FEHMİ KORU
Bol 'keşkeli' bir ziyaret

AKİF EMRE
Papa'nın Avrupa oluşumuna müdahalesi

Papa'ya 'İslâm barıştır' mesajı

Endişeliyim ama gidiyorum

Çelik yeleği reddetti

Mehmet Tezkan Ayasofya’da dua etse ne olur etmese ne olur..

Düşman kardeşler Murat Belge

Güneri CIVAOĞLU Papa sendromu

Can Dündar Papa

Letter to Bush on the Ecumenical Patriarch and Turkey

Recep Güvelioğlu The papal visit

Issues for the papal visit to Turkey
Spero News

Turkish PM outflanks the pope
Asia Times

Ertuğrul Özkök Erdoğan iyi ki kopmuş

Hadi Uluengin Hoşgeldiniz Papa Hazretleri!

Türkler Papa'dan haklı olarak bir jest bekliyor

16. Benediktus'un işi zor

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM Ekonominin kaderini Erdoğan'ın kararı belirler

Hurşit GÜNEŞ İşsizlik verileri ne diyor?

Metin MÜNİR En zengin 400

Erdal Sağlam AB çapası zora girince hükümet IMF'ye sarıldı

Asaf Savaş Akat
Ödediğimiz faizi hesaplıyoruz

Gila Benmayor İnanılmaz Hindistan muhteşem Türkiye

Erdal Sağlam Niyet mektubu imzası öne mi alındı

Ercan Kumcu Bankalarda sermaye yeterliliği

Nerede Türkiye mucizesi?
Mahfi Eğilmez

Özelleştirme gelirleri israf edildi SÜLEYMAN YAŞAR

Güngör URAS IMF'ye göre suç var da "suçlu belli değil!"

BOTAŞ, Ruslarla doğalgazda fiyat pazarlığına başladı

H4 New York Times Hezbollah Said to Help Shiite Army in Iraq

Between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters from the Mahdi Army and other Shiite militias have been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon, a senior U.S. official said.

Editorial Slouching Toward Riga

NATO is failing its most significant post-Soviet test: stabilizing Afghanistan

The Wars of Perception

By DOMINIC JOHNSON and DOMINIC TIERNEY

What happened in Tet and Somalia may hold important lessons for Iraq.

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF The Cowards Turned Out to Be Right

How about if the Bush administration devotes itself less to managing the news and more to trying to manage Iraq?

THOMAS B. EDSALL Speed Bump at the Border The strengthening of the Democrats' protectionist wing is virtually certain to force to the surface internal conflict between the party’s pro- and anti-immigration wings.

Global Warming Goes to Court

The Supreme Court will hear what may be the most important environmental case in many years.

Philip Zelikow, Senior Rice Aide and Realpolitician, Resigns Post

Israeli Premier Makes an Offer to Palestinians

Three Sent for Radiation Tests After Death of Russian Ex-Spy

Iran Promises to Help Iraq in Ending Violence There

Bush Asking Arab Friends for Iraq Help

H5 Washington Post Civil War in Iraq Near, Kofi Annan Says Study Group Begins Two-Day Meeting By Robin Wright and Thomas E. Ricks

Close Adviser to Rice Plans to Resign

The Sometimes Controversial Zelikow Leaving at a Challenging Time for Secretary

In Diplomatic Turn, Iraqi Reaches Out to Iran Britain Planning to Reduce Troop Levels

PostGlobal: How to Stop Iraqi Militiamen

It's a Civil War, Stupid

Radioactive Traces Found At More Sites In London

Marines' Outlook in Iraq

Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker

The Fight in Afghanistan

Bush to Pursue Fresh NATO Commitments

Editorial Shooting the Messenger

It's too soon to put the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction out of business.

William Arkin World War II and Iraq: It's More Than Just Days That Are Different

The Case of the Poisoned Spy

By Eugene Robinson

H6 Guardian Israeli prime minister offers prisoner exchange and hope of renewed Middle East peace talks

Editorial Slow movement A ceasefire is in place in Gaza after five months of fighting that has taken many Palestinian lives and left people on the Israeli side of the border, despite relatively low casualties, in a state of fearful insecurity.

Annan urges action to avert civil war in Iraq

Only paranoia can justify the world's second biggest military budget George Monbiot: Britain's level of defence spending isn't related to real threats we face, but the needs of our military-industrial complex.

Holding the purse strings

Ilana Bet-El Nov 28 06, 08:00am: The spat over the EU defence budget could be solved if the UK would only agree to spend an extra €1m.

Europe must shoulder its share of the Nato burden Jacques Chirac: For too long we have relied on our US allies. We must strengthen our national contributions, and boost the EU's role.

Israel offers prisoner exchange
Hope of renewed peace talks.

Persecution follows Europe's downtrodden minority Eight million Roma find political voice in face of evictions and mob attack.

Polonium detected at Berezovsky's office Police find traces of polonium 210 at the London offices of the exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

'We are just watching things get worse'
Afghanistan: The west said it was going to liberate Afghan women. Five years on, Natasha Walter visits Kabul - and is shocked by what she discovers.

Stop lecturing Scotland

Iain Macwhirter: Labour's scaremongering about the break-up of Britain is patronising, dishonest and counterproductive.

H7 Why the Baker-Hamilton Commission Ought to Visit Mount Vernon Human Events by Newt Gingrich

FOUAD AJAMI: The American project in Iraq has been unimaginably difficult, its heartbreak a grim daily affair. But the impulse that gave rise to the war was shrewd and justified. U.S. News & World Report

Djerejian Did Somebody Say "Cakewalk", Or "Naive"?

Department of Crude Agitprop

Read Spanish?

The Neo-Con's Gross Amateurism

MICHAEL RUBIN: raq was undercut by naive faith, not in democracy but in diplomacy. USA Today

ELI LAKE: Bush, Maliki offer a tale of two revolts. New York Sun

Powell Doctrine Took a Back Seat to Neocon Fantasies - USA Today

Global Challenges for NATO
Ivo H. Daalder and James Goldgeier

MICHAEL BARONE: Does Robert Gates mean continuity or change in Iraq? U.S. News

Tom Barnett Idealism is just impatient realism Can you keep your globalization under control?

Iran's not as glamorously totalitarian as you think What have we integrated in Iraq? What the Realists lost in Iraq, the Realists can fix

Schumer's Iraq Muse New York Observer

Debating "War and Peace" behind Closed Doors: NATO'S Riga Security ... Center for Research on Globalization, Canada

NRO VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Why rush to talk?

MICHAEL LEDEEN: President Bush ought to take another look at Vladimir Putin’s heart. “The Kremlin Murders”

DAVID PRYCE-JONES: “The Soviet Union is arising, vampire-like, from its grave.”

Presidential Material We must impose stiff sanctions on Iran- This imagined speech by George Bush draws on material from Mark Steyn, Amir Taheri, Arthur Herman, Patrick Clawson, Michael Eisenstadt, and Memri.org.

Time Can Bush Find "A Way Forward" for Iraq?

TNR Iraq: What Next? Bring the troops home Despite talk of troop increases, the United States is leaving Iraq. The question is how--and how fast. by David Rieff

Iraq: What Next? Keep the country whole
by Reza Aslan

Iraq: What Next? Divide the country by Peter W. Galbraith

Save Whomever We Can By: George Packer | The New Republic

CFR The Effectiveness of Foreign Aid

H8 MARTIN BECK MATUšTíK: Velvet revolution in Iran? Logos

Iran vows to help Iraq with security

McClatchy Baghdad residents tell of a society ripping itself apart

Asia Times The Saudis strike back at Iran Saudi Arabia views with disquiet the rapid ascendancy of Iranian influence in Iraq, and the Shi'ite claim of political empowerment in the region haunts Riyadh. This latent Saudi-Iranian rivalry is likely to play out in Lebanon, where, unlike Iraq, there is a convergence of Saudi and US interests. - M K Bhadrakumar

Asia Times Playing with death in Lebanon Even though Syria has previously been linked to assassinations in Lebanon, it is difficult to see what Damascus - or Hezbollah - would gain from the killing of Christian leader Pierre Gemayel. The only party that benefits from Gemayel's death is Israel. - Mark LeVine

Good deals, but no nukes for Pakistan Pakistan had been anticipating that Chinese President Hu Jintao would announced a grand nuclear deal during his visit to Islamabad. That didn't happen, but the Chinese offered many other goodies, from a free trade agreement to defense cooperation. And Beijing did not close the door to future nuclear cooperation

Asia Times The rise and rise of gold and oil The current condition of lower oil and stable gold prices is bound to be short-lived. They will be undermined by these inexorable trends: continuing geopolitical instability; declining production at major oilfields; greater output discipline from resource countries; and a falling US dollar coupled with rising inflation. - Jephraim P Gundzik

CFR Young: ‘Little Doubt’ Syria Is Responsible for Gemayel’s Assassination

National Security Adviser Steve Hadley publicly admitted that in Iraq, "obviously, as I think everyone would agree and as the President has said, things are not proceeding well or fast enough..."

Foreign Policy The List: The Political Assassinations of 2006

Will Bush Rehabilitate the Baathists? Al-Zaman ...

H9 Ha’aretz - Print Edition

Editorial Clear political horizon

A different path In a speech to honor David Ben-Gurion, Olmert tells Palestinians, 'I extend my hand in peace.'

Olmert: We will resume talks and evacuate territory

Olmert's Speech / Olmert has an agenda

Analysis: PM speech intended to promote W. Bank withdrawal

Analysis: Cease-fire shows that Hamas' strategy worked

Schiff The Cease-Fire / A tunnel at the end of the light

'Who is a Jew' redux - again

Daily Alert.org

EJC Israeli Press Review

Scowcroft: Israel is the key to peace in the Middle East

Amos Oz An end to darkness?

BBC Exit strategy
Israeli peace offer aims to capitalise on mutual weariness

Israeli domination 'atrocious': Carter

Jerusalem Post Echo Olmert's offer
The Palestinians should know: The offer is real. Take it. Take yes for an answer.

The 'no-military option' fallacy
[ JONATHAN ARIEL

Peretz: Cease-fire agreement only applies to the Gaza Strip

Daily Star A Lebanese civil war? Not just yet
By Nada Doumit

'Anti-theocracy' in Iran stems from the seminaries' loss of autonomy
By Mehdi Khalaji

Lebanon's South is quiet now, but this may not last
By Nicholas Blanford

Give peace a chance by providing it with momentum

Hizbullah promises 'surprising and random' actions

DEBKAfile reports: Russia sells Iran sophisticated missile systems capable of repelling US or Israeli air or missile assaults More...

How Iraq and Palestinian Issues Came to Be Twinned in Revised Bush Strategy on Iraq Print

New Hamas Tactics Tried in Real Battle Conditions Print

H10 Christian Science Monitor New violence deepens Iraq's religious fissures

After the largest death toll from a single attack since Hussein's fall, sectarian bloodletting seems likely to escalate.

How the Iraq Study Group went from obscure to high profile

The panel's rise was aided by a rare loosening of official Washington's hold of the reins.

Opinion: Iraq panel's real agenda: damage control By Andrew J. Bacevich

Jacques Chirac on France's vision for NATO

Abroad, Bush tests his persuasive powers His trip this week addresses sensitive security issues in two countries - Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Lebanon, a crisis for Christians

Pierre Gemayel's murder is yet another blow to the Christian bloc, sidelined by a Sunni-Shiite political divide.

H11 IHT Let's talk to religious radicals, too MICHAEL VATIKIOTIS It is important to include religious radicals in interfaith dialogue, as not talking to them only reinforces their prejudice and hatred.

NATO strives to mend rift over its future role

Politicus: Despite economic good news, Germans are more pessimistic than ever

Israel's land-rights problem JAMES CARROLL / The Boston Globe The West Bank land ownership dispute has laid bare Israel's larger problem.

The politics of pollution
PHILIP BOWRING / IHT
In Asia, complacent administrations make green noises but do little about pollution.

Bush to Press Allies on Defense Spending

UPI Policy Watch: Russia, Algeria and Europe

The NATO Riga Summit: Time for Backbone in the Alliance
Heritage.org

H12 RFE/RL CIS Foreign Ministers, Heads Of State Gather In Minsk The official theme of the summit is "questions of the effectiveness and improvement of the commonwealth."

Berezovsky's Partner Discusses Poisoning RFE/RL spoke with Yuly Dubov about the death of former FSB agent Aleksandr Litvinenko

Georgia Walking A Tightrope Toward The West Despite pressure from Russia, Tbilisi says EU and NATO membership remain its "primary focus."

Oil boom brings revival of Azerbaijan's petroleum spas

ICG Azerbaijan: Attacks on Media Hurt Conflict Resolution

Putin's Enemies Have a Nasty Habit: Dying - David Frum, National Post

Is Putin Being Set Up? - Pat Buchanan, Creators

EurasiaNet Broadcaster Shut-Down, Office Evictions Stir Free-Speech Concerns in Azerbaijan

EDM WAS LITVINENKO THE LATEST VICTIM OF A KREMLIN POWER STRUGGLE?

- SUMMIT OF “TECHNICAL” DISAGREEMENTS AND DIMINISHING TRUST

- OSCE’S YEAR-END DRAFT DECLARATION YIELDS TO RUSSIA ON ISTANBUL COMMITMENTS

YaleGlobal Secrets, Lies and Sweatshops

Was Spy Murdered in Russian Power Fight?

H13 The Times Leader The Core Role The Nato summit should look at the renewed threat from Russia

Blair’s Iraq exit strategy seems to be out of the frying pan, into the fire Now we know the plan for British troops in Iraq: begin to pull out, leaving a few thousand for training and helping with emergencies

Olmert offers 'serious' plan for new state Israel will release prisoners, withdraw from West Bank Jewish settlements and ease checkpoints if Palestinians abandon violence

David Aaronovitch
The argument for Scottish independence is essentially an argument for avoiding hard choices

Slaughter in the mosque: a new terror for Iraqis In the war for Baghdad mosques serve as garrisons and Sunnis use religious sanctuaries as strongholds to fight for mixed neighbourhoods

Violence returns as leaders debate the next step President Jalal al-Talabani has flown to Iran to enlist its help in halting Iraq’s slide into civil war

Nato searches for heavyweight fixer to break Afghan deadlock Nato leaders will discuss the appointment of a High Representative, similar to the role played by Lord Ashdown in Bosnia

WSJ NATO and the Taliban
The Anglo-Saxons fight; the French and Germans don't.

Russia: The Enemy
Russia has become openly, and often gratuitously, hostile to the U.S.
By BRET STEPHENS

H14 Financial Times LEADER: Dollar dynamics are an economic danger Movements in the currency market are best described as a random walk: unpredictable, like a drunk staggering home. But whereas most of the time the movements are...

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: The buck stops where? How a tattered dollar could quickly lose further allure Last week the dollar breached an important barrier. Its fall outside this range left investors wondering whether that was the start of a more sustained slide in the US currency.

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: The eurozone fears another 'brutal' shift

Editorial Afghanistan mission On the face of it, Nato's gathering in Latvia tomorrow has the makings of a small disaster. The ambitious agenda advanced by Washington for the alliance's first full...

THE AMERICAS: Bush and Maliki make last-ditch effort to keep control of Iraq in Amman talks

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Foreign policy realism comes in a variety of guises

Attack on hijab sparks fury in Egypt A minister’s description of the hijab as a sign of ‘backwardness’ has unleashed an storm of anger, with 130 parliamentary deputies calling for his resignation and the opposition Muslim Brotherhood lashing out at the government.

Olmert ‘ready to free jailed Palestinians’

COMMENT: Europe is the world's best hope on climate change, alasGlobal warming appears like just another issue on the EU leaders’ “to do list”: review innovation policy; reach agreement on EU patent; improve internal decision-making procedures; save planet. This mismatch between rhetoric and reality may be about to change, however, writes Gideon Rachman.

COMMENT: Britain's security depends on PakistanThe terrorist threat drifts in and out of the headlines. An attack today leaves us fearing another tomorrow. But memories are relatively short. You can see the pattern in shifting public attitudes, writes Philip Stephens.

Merkel wins party backing, calls for unity EUROPE: Merkel bid to end CDU squabbling over future

Jobless Germany fears demographic bottleneck With one in 10 people of working age looking for a job, Germany is a high-unemployment economy, yet its fastest growing companies still complain about how hard it is to fill vacancies these days.

Radiation traces found in Berezovsky office

France in ‘vigilance’ plea on falling dollar

MIDDLE EAST: Chirac seeks Afghan Nato role for Iran

OECD rebukes Kremlin over economy

H15 Los Angeles Times Iraq group seeks consensus

Editorial Get real, Hamas Israel's olive branch is an opportunity for the Palestinians -- if they can accept the facts of life in the Mideast.

NBC's use of 'civil war' makes waves Media outlets are using increasingly stark language to characterize the escalating violence gripping Iraq.

- Ranks of Iraq's militias rise with violence

Muslim students in Rome see learning as a two-way street

U.S. jet goes down in Iraq

FT COMMENT: Japan is ready for evolution and reformShinzo Abe, prime minister, is both a symbol and agent of a Japan in transition. He is the visible vanguard of a generation of proudly nationalist leaders, born after the second world war, writes Robert Zoellick, former US deputy secretary of state.

COMMENT: Derivatives exchanges owe much to wise regulation The critical and positive role of derivatives in the financial markets and the wider economy has not been fully appreciated by the public, writes Benn Steil of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Saudis suspend £10bn Eurofighter talks

War on drugs strengthens Afghan mafia Afghanistan’s war on drugs has been marred by corruption that has tightened the grip of an increasingly powerful mafia on the country’s narcotics trade, a report by the World Bank and United Nations said.

Editorial Correa's triumph

COmMENT: A giant's strength is valuable - if not used like a giantNatural monopolies – industries in which it is difficult for more than one company to survive – seem the easiest, most rewarding of business opportunities. It is not as easy as you think. History is littered with fallen titans, from United Steel to IBM, writes John Kay.

H16 WSJ Bush Approval Ratings Slip Bush's approval ratings slid to 31%., the second-lowest of his presidency, according to a new Harris poll.• Chart: Bush in the polls

Can the GOP Find Its Center?

By E. J. Dionne Jr This fall's election defeat was inglorious for Republicans because it ratified worries about the cost of chasing away the GOP's moderates

What Type of Playing Field in '08? - Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call

New Speaker, Old Virtues - George Will, Newsweek

Dems vs. GOP: Who Really Cares? - Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics

New Era of Cooperation Will Be Short-Lived - H. Hertzberg, The New Yorker

Lou Dobbs's Populist Crusade - Ken Auleta, The New Yorker

Justice Department begins internal review of NSA spying program

Giuliani, Obama top of new opinion poll; Kerry finishes last

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

H17 Daily Telegraph Troops 'to leave Iraq by the end of 2007' Thousands of troops could be home from Iraq by the end of next year, Des Browne said yesterday. The Defence Secretary said that handing over Basra would be key to the withdrawal.

Iraq commission: no withdrawal timetable

The threat to Nato Nato's leaders must start to take the non-military but potentially menacing threat posed by a resurgent and aggressive Russia with deadly seriousness

Blair urges Nato allies to do more fighting

Oxford dons are masters of their own destiny Oxford academics want to be allowed to focus on what they do best — the pursuit and realisation of ideas, which cannot be done to order. Many would like to have no central administration, or as little as possible. This attitude is understandable, but unrealistic, writes Robin Butler

H18 Independent Slaughter in Iraq soon seems to be part of normal life

A special dispatch by Patrick Cockburn on his journey through a country being torn apart by civil war, in which the police often pick up more than 100 mutilated bodies in a single day and the signs of collapse are everywhere

Exit strategy sees Browne commit to troop cuts

Leading article: At risk from the flames that are engulfing Iraq

Leading article: A dangerous lack of consistency

French poised to steal £10bn Saudi contract from BAE

• Ken Livingstone: To defend multiculturalism is to defend liberty

H19 CRS "Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?", November 21, 2006.

"Iraqi Civilian Deaths Estimates," November 22, 2006.

"Televising Supreme Court and Other Federal Court Proceedings: Legislation and Issues," updated November 8, 2006.

"Anti-Terrorism Authority Under the Laws of the United Kingdom and the United States," September 7, 2006.

"Information Sharing Environment Implementation Plan" (pdf), published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, November 2006.

Congressional Research Service. See "Sensitive But Unclassified Information and Other Controls: Policy and Options for Scientific and Technical Information" (pdf), updated November 14, 2006.

Anybody can tune in to the top spy agencies

H20 Slate war stories Whatever happened to statecraft? Events in Iraq, Lebanon, and Asia highlight Bush's shortcomings as a leader. Fred Kaplan

·

The Limits of Coexistence:

Is Lebanon headed to civil war?

Michael Young

·

From Beirut to Baghdad:

The ghastly predictability of nihilist violence. Christopher Hitchens

H21 Google Book Search: The Path To Dystopia? WebProNews

The Big Question: Are apologies for historical events worthwhile?

The online ego monster
Comment is free: The web swarms with people who want to share everything, writes Michael Kinsley.

YouTube, Meet Cellphone

Internet video service is launching a television-like channel on Verizon Wireless cellphones.

Intellectual Diversity: Does It Matter? - Roger Kimball, RealClearPolitics

Free or Farmed, When Is a Fish Really Organic? Wild fish, whose living conditions are not controlled, are not likely to meet the requirements for an “organic” label.

Blogs - memeorandum - Slate's Today's Blogs - political theory/ Blogometer - Juan Cole - Kevin Drum - Belgravia Dispatch - washington realist - Thomas P.M. Barnett - democracy arsenal - - William Arkin -

Josh Marshall - Daniel Drezner - Laura Rozen - the washington note -

PostGlobal - AmericaAbroad - Passport - Syria Comment - David Corn - William Arkin - Phil Carter - Helena Cobban - Matt Yglesias - Oxblog - Brad DeLong

CounterterrorismBlog / OutSide the Beltway - InstaPundit - winds of change Kausfiles - Becker Posner-andrewsullivan.com - Registan -armscontrolwonk - Arts & Letters Daily/ Open University