1223-2006f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses 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 Newly Released FRUS Volume II, Organization and Management of U.S. Foreign Policy, 1969-1972 including The NSC System --- The Intelligence Community and the White House -- Managing the Department of State

Wall Street Journal Iraq Policy Delay Shows What's at Stake

Los Angeles Times U.S. commanders in Iraq recommend troop 'surge' Their endorsement eliminates one of the last hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for an increase in forces.

Washington Institute The Iraq Study Group: Assessing Its Regional Conclusions by Robert Satloff

Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq Source: American Enterprise Institute

NYT Shiites Remake Baghdad in Their Image As the U.S. debates what to do in Iraq, Shiite militias are pushing thousands of Sunni residents from once-mixed neighborhoods.

Time America's Double Standard on Democracy in the Middle East Viewpoint: What's good for Beirut is not good for Gaza, according to Washington's playbook. And that discrepancy undermines the credibility of U.S. claims to be promoting democracy in the region

Heritage Foundation The False Promise of "The Alliance of Civilizations"

Der Spiegel FATAH BY DAY, HAMAS BY NIGHT The Double Life of Abu Khaled By day, he's a member of Fatah security forces. By night, he wages holy war with Hamas. With the two Palestinian groups fighting against each other these days, Abu Khaled's life has become a dangerous balance. If need be, he says, he would even kill his friends.

CFR Season of Change for Iraq Policy

Time When Religion Learns Humility The new millennium saw the rise of fundamentalist faith as a cultural force. In 2006, says Andrew Sullivan, the religious monoliths began to break down

The Real Divide in U.S. Politics - Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard (see also Spencer Ackerman elaborates:)

Democracy Arsenal How Trade Strengthens US Security

MCClatchy Plan to isolate al-Sadr finds little support among Iraqis

Basra: City on the Edge - Amir Taheri, New York Post

Financial Times US ‘has cut too many troops in Europe’ The outgoing head of US forces in Europe says American troop reductions on the continent have gone too far and that plans to reduce numbers further should be re-evaluated.

Editorial Sorry tales of the cross and the veil

Guardian Moscow wins Georgia gas battle Georgia caves in and agrees to pay more than double current rates for Russian natural gas.

The poisoned gift of power Joschka Fischer The situation in Iraq represents, above all, a defeat of America's unilateralist approach.

American Prospect Gunboat Diplomacy With warships, UN sanctions, and a new round of coordinated messaging, Washington steps up the pressure on Iran. By Laura Rozen

Der Spiegel THE RACE FOR IRAQ'S RESOURCES Will Iraq's Oil Blessing Become a Curse? The Iraqi government is considering a new oil law that could give private oil companies greater control over its vast reserves. In light of rampant violence and shaky democratic institutions, many fear the law is being pushed through hastily by special interests behind closed doors.

Iran: Loss at the Polls, but No Foreign Policy Shift Stratfor

Regionalizing the Iraq Conflict?
MIT Center for International Studies

East of the Middle East: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and U.S. Security Implications CDI

Islamist Movements in the Arab World and the 2006 Lebanon War CEIP

H2 Le Monde Pour le démantèlement de l'Irak, par Peter W. Galbraith

Taha AKYOL Türkmenbaşı ve kurucu lider kültü

[Yorum - Dr. Selim Hancıoğlu] Türkmenbaşı ve Türkmenistan'ın dönüşü

NAZLI ILICAK Türkmenbaşı altın heykelini beraberinde götüremedi

Bu dünya Türkmenbaşı'na da kalmadı işte İsmet Berkan

İki diktatör Murat Belge

ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ - Dalga geçenler hiç yardımcı oldu mu?

Peres: We are experiencing the labor pains of a new era

Iraq Slogger US Papers Saturday: "Long Haul"

Google News Kurdish Kurdish Media

RFE/RL Istanbul Conference Enflames Sectarian Tensions

AP belgesinde, Doğu Anadolu'ya "Kürdistan" deniyor

Iraq northern oil attacks take $11 billion

Kurdish Peshmarga should stay where they belong By Ardalan Hardi

James Baker: The wrong man for Iraq and Iraqis By Amir Abdullah

Iraq had to deal with Turkey during Kurd genocide Iraqi forces were told to cooperate with their Turkish counterparts during a 1980s campaign against Kurdish civilians, according to evidence presented to a court trying Saddam Hussein.

Öcalan: Kürtlerin dayanacağı güçler var

Turkey’s Democratic Dilemma - Forum on Democracy :::::: Safe Democracy Foundation The intensification of the Kurdish conflict

Counter IED operations in Kirkuk Province

Turkey And The EU Versus Turkey And The Muslim World Al-Jazeerah.info

SERGE SARGSIAN: THERE IS NEITHER NEED NOR SENSE IN HOSTILITY ...

Turkey in the 20th century: between Sufi groups, the EU and ...

British Tourists Heading to Kurdistan?

Google News Greece - Cyprus

NYRB What About the Iraqis?
By Christian Caryl Americans, by now, can be forgiven for believing that we know something about the situation in Iraq; we hear about it, after all, every day, in what seems like benumbing detail. And yet, in reality, what we know about the lives of individual Iraqis rarely goes beyond the fleeting opinion quote or the civilian casualty statistics.

Jerusalem Post Europeans circulate final draft of Iran sanctions resolution Effort seeks to win Russian support; diplomats say changes did not involve any major concessions; vote scheduled for Saturday.

Weekly Standard Believe It or Not by Joseph Epstein American presidents can be divided into those who are true believers and those who are something else: managers, politicians, operators, men who just wanted the job.

The Great Game on a razor's edge
Asia Times Over the past year, it has become clear that the US will not be able to become the single dominant power in Central Asia and thereby control oil and gas and their transportation routes. Russia and China have together put up dikes delimiting US influence, though they are far from being a tight couple. The death of Turkmenistan's president Saparmurat Niyazov, however, could dramatically shift the center of gravity of the Great Game. - M K Bhadrakumar

The pending fourfold crisis Making predictions is a dangerous game, but experience shows that careful analysis of a situation can provide accurate foresight. Kaveh L Afrasiabi notes the unfortunate accuracy of his own warnings on the probable debacle that would result from a US invasion of Iraq, and offers some insight into King Abdullah of Jordan's triple - or more likely quadruple - crisis in the Middle East

From The New York Review of Books, Michael Tomasky reviews "Work Hard, Study...and Keep Out of Politics!": Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life by James A. Baker III and The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward—A New Approach;

World War IV as Fourth-Generation Warfare By: Tony Corn | Policy Review

H3 TÜSİAD erken seçime karşı çıktı: 2007'yi kaybetmeyin:
Patronların yedi talebi

[Yorum - Özdem Sanberk] Türkiye, AB'siz de yoluna devam edebilir mi?

Eroğan Köşk adayı kafamda

Enis Berberoğlu Çankaya kararı AKP’ye kaç puan kaybettirir

Ege Cansen Her yol taksime çıkar

KONUMUZ Kıbrıs

PKK ile mücadelede son tarih Mart başı

Çankaya’ya dışarıdan biri de aday olabilir

Başbakan Erdoğan'a bir soru
Murat Yetkin

Birand Erdoğan’a “yapma etme” baskısı giderek artıyor…

FEHMİ KORU Neden, neden, neden...

Ermeni meselesinde dünyaya dert anlatabilmenin yolları YILMAZ ARGÜDEN

Menderes'in kaçan şansı M.Ali Kışlalı

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu Çuval üzerinden aklanma arayışları...

Ruşen Çakır Prof. Şükrü Hanioğlu: “Ulusalcılık marjinalliğin sınırlarını aşamaz”

Sami KOHEN Türkiye'nin Ortadoğu "tezleri" farklı...

ŞAHİN ALPAY - Askerin siyasi rolü niye azalmıyor?

Namık Tan Yaptığımız işe 'monşerlik' demek insafsızlık

Sadi SOMUNCUOĞLU Kıbrıs’ta “hayırlı” saptamalar

Türkiye ile Ermenistan sonsuza kadar düşman kalamaz

"Ön şartsız diplomatik ilişkiye açığız"

Güngör URAS TÜSİAD siyaset konuşmayı seviyor

MEHMET BARLASİktidar da, muhalefet de Çankaya da kulak vermeli...

ERDAL ŞAFAK Başımızda üç bulut

Yusuf KANLI A memorandum

Mahir Kaynak Erken seçim

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri - Dış Basında Güncel Türkiye Bülteni

Dış Basında Irak BBC Turkish 0700

Dış Basında Türkiye Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey Turquie Türkei TurcoPundit

Cengiz Çandar Tüm yazıları

İlter Türkmen Neden mi bahane mi?

İsmail Küçükkaya Genelkurmay Başkanı Papermoon’daydı

Semih İDİZ AB'ye değil, Avrupalı sağcılara kızıyorum

Fehmi Koru

TAHA KIVANÇ Baykal'ın dilinden Mevlana

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU Mahçup bir 28 Şubat havası

Hasan CEMAL
2007: Türkiye'nin olgunluk sınavı!

Kadınsız, gençsiz ve ışıksız siyaset... Altan Öymen

Evde kontrol ayıp

Köşk’e sert mesaj Eve eleman gönderip başı açık mı örtülü mü diye araştırılıyor, bu ne çirkin ne ayıptır

Büyükanıt’tan sert mesaj

ABD tüm Ortadoğu'da iç savaş istiyor Jonathan Cook

Arapları Batı'nın tuzağı birbirine düşürdü AHMED EL GADİDİ

Şakir Süter Mevzu Çankaya!

Ömer Lütfi Mete Baldır-kültürden pornoya

Hadi Uluengin İslam savaşları (IV)

Serpil YILMAZ Ertegün'ün mirasçısı çekmece sözleşmede

Özdemir İnce İrtica algısı nedir?

2006'da Türkiye Ekonomisi

Erdal Sağlam TÜSİAD’ın 2007’de takip edeceği başlıklar

Deniz Gökçe Dış ticaret açığı reel küçülüyor!

H4 New York Times nytcolumns

Judge Links Iran to ’96 Attack in Saudi Arabia

Palestinian Truce Shaky, but Violence Ebbs

H5 Washington Post Toyota's Rise Mirrors Fall of U.S. Carmakers With the Japanese firm poised to overtake GM's top place in world market, Congress is likely to push domestic auto industry in a new direction.

3 Crises Face U.S., With Risky Options Iran, Sudan, N. Korea Tactics Stall, But New Directions Hold Pitfalls

Royal Intrigue, Unpaid Bills Preceded Saudi Ambassador's Exit Policy Dispute Regarding Iran Loomed Large

Saudi Takes on Sharia Human rights lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem uses his religious education and legal training to push from within the system.

Al-Qaeda Allies Claim Bigger Base of Support in Iraq

Iran Held Liable In Khobar Attack Judge Orders $254 Million Payment

Nuclear Talks With N. Korea End in FailureSix-Party Process Thrown Into Doubt

Editorial Just Capitalism Not all attacks on business are crazy. Here is the sane version.

William Arkin Rumsfeld's Africa Command

H6 Guardian Moscow wins Georgia gas battle Georgia caves in and agrees to pay more than double current rates for Russian natural gas.

Turkmen power struggle begins after death of dictator

Religion causes tension - UK poll More people in Britain think religion causes harm than believe it does good, according to new poll.

Leader: Beyond belief From Bethlehem to Blackburn - and, sadly, Baghdad more than either - religion, identity and the way politicians respond to them are shaping the first decade of the new century.

The Muslim prophet born in Bethlehem Karen Armstrong: The story of Jesus held a special place within early Islam. There is no need for a clash of civilisations.

Old allegiances crumble in battle for Palestinian hearts Anger and frustration drive territories towards chaos.

Somalia on the brink of war
Ethiopian forces advance to defend government as rebel Islamist fighters threaten full-scale assault.

Fanning the flames The 1945 destruction of Dresden has been criticised before, but a controversial German bestseller, newly translated, accuses Churchill and Harris of war crimes. By Stuart Jeffries.

US tests call-up system White House officials deny return to conscription.

H7 UPI CIA exercise shows consequences of Iraq defeat The CIA this month conducted a simulation of how the Iraq war affects the global jihadist movement, and one conclusion was that a U.S. loss would embolden al Qaeda to expand its ranks of terrorists as well as pick new strategic targets,

Jim Lobe A Bad Year for Empire

Islamist Movements in the Arab World and the 2006 Lebanon War CEIP

American Prospect Gunboat Diplomacy With warships, UN sanctions, and a new round of coordinated messaging, Washington steps up the pressure on Iran. By laura Rozen

TNI Iran’s Tectonic Elections by Hossein Askari

Ahmadinejad and his defeat may have been the headliner in the elections, but there is a more preponderant, slower-moving back-story to the vote, reflecting a potential shift in a real center of power.

BBC End of a dream
How America's neo-con project melted in the flames of Iraq

Is American Influence Really on the Wane? - Michael Young, Reason

2007: Rethinking unilateralism
ISN,

Weekly Standard Wahhabis or "Salafis"? What's in a name . . .
by Stephen Schwartz

The Arab Lion Bears its Head in Darfur By: Julie Flint | The Daily Star Arabs constitute approximately a third of Darfur's population of 7 million and are no less neglected and marginalized than the non-Arab tribes who form the backbone of the rebel movements. Although the conflict in Darfur is popularly depicted as a war between "Arabs" and "Africans," it is estimated that no more than 20,000 Darfurian Arabs have joined forces with the government, motivated as much by the promise of a salary and loot as by any fuddled notions of Arab supremacy.

The World Bank's François Bourguignon on a prognosis on globalization: The poor will get richer.

H8 Google News Iraq Iran Syria Mideastwire.com - NPR Iraq

MCClatchy Plan to isolate al-Sadr finds little support among Iraqis

Basra: City on the Edge - Amir Taheri, New York Post

Bush to Mull Iraq Strategy Over Holidays

Iraqi Shi'ite Leaders Head to Najaf to Avert Govt Crisis

Der Spiegel THE RACE FOR IRAQ'S RESOURCES Will Iraq's Oil Blessing Become a Curse? The Iraqi government is considering a new oil law that could give private oil companies greater control over its vast reserves. In light of rampant violence and shaky democratic institutions, many fear the law is being pushed through hastily by special interests behind closed doors.

Iran: Loss at the Polls, but No Foreign Policy Shift Stratfor

MEMRI Dec 22 IA# 310 - Iran Presides over Coalition of Extremists

Daily Star Sanctions on Iran figure to increase pressure on Lebanon and Palestine

How can the Arab Christians survive? By Rami G. Khouri

Al Hayat Tony Blair: Peacemaker or Warmonger? Patrick Seale

BBC UN set to vote on Iran sanctions The Security Council is likely to vote on a resolution on sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities.

Gulf of misunderstanding

Q&A: Iran nuclear stand-off

Timeline: US-Iran ties

Syria Will Not 'Perform Free Services for a Country That Supports Israel'

Could the US be Planning Covert Action in Lebanon and beyond?

Think Tank: US-Syria Talks Key to Ending Lebanon Crisis

BBC Sudan 'to accept UN Darfur force' UN chief Kofi Annan says he believes Sudan will approve the deployment of a joint UN-African Union force in Darfur.

UAE elects 1st female Parliamentarian

December a very bloody month for U.S. troops

Al-Qaeda Offers US Safe Passage From Iraq

Time The Haditha Charges: Symbol of a War Gone Bad

The Crisis in Lebanon: The Future of Middle Eastern Democracy Chibli Mallat

H9 Ha’aretz - Yoel Marcus: It's too bad no Sharon clone has emerged

Belief in peace-making The cumulative experience of recent years shows that interfaith dialogue is possible.

Daily Alert.org - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel –

BBC Palestinian aid plan is extended The quartet of Middle East mediators agree to continue providing aid to Palestinians, while bypassing Hamas.

Der Spiegel FATAH BY DAY, HAMAS BY NIGHT The Double Life of Abu Khaled By day, he's a member of Fatah security forces. By night, he wages holy war with Hamas. With the two Palestinian groups fighting against each other these days, Abu Khaled's life has become a dangerous balance. If need be, he says, he would even kill his friends.

Jerusalem Post Europeans circulate final draft of Iran sanctions resolution Effort seeks to win Russian support; diplomats say changes did not involve any major concessions; vote scheduled for Saturday.

Yedioth Ahronoth Russia seeks soft Iran draft
Moscow insists proposal to impose a travel ban on Iranian scientists, officials be lifted, demands Security Council vote delayed till Saturday; Israel closely following developments, wants sanctions as soon as possible

'Jews responsible for war'

Holocaust denier David Irving supports Mel Gibson's recent anti-Semitic comments

'Syria's isolation is over'

Syrian deputy PM: West realizes it needs to work with Damascus if it wants progress in Mideast

NYRB Looking at Ourselves
By David Grossman At the annual memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin, we pause to remember Rabin the man, and the leader. We also look at ourselves, at Israeli society, at its leadership, at the state of the national spirit, at the state of the peace process, and at our place, as individuals, within these great national developments. This year, it is not easy to look at ourselves.

A new Yale center for study of anti-Semitism is latest sign of elite school’s changing, and growing, Jewish presence. A review of Tikkun Reader: Twentieth Anniversary

H10 Christian Science Monitor The UN is a Blessing By: Salil Shetty Every few years, the United Nations is declared dead. The reality, however, is that I cannot remember when the UN has been more in the center of the news and public debate. The need for the UN is felt the most when there is a crisis that goes beyond national boundaries, and you would all agree that we have had no shortage of those in recent times, whether it is 9/11 or Iraq or the tsunami.

The UN is a Criminal Enterprise By: Tom DeWeese The UN gives validity to zealots and bigots. It helps to keep tyrannical dictators in power. It gives a voice to international terrorists. Delay. Negotiate. Recommend. Study. Reconsider. Do nothing. This is the game the UN has played in nearly every international crisis.

ASIA Made in China: The Sweatshop behind the Bratz
Source: The National Labor Committee

New Base for Reconiliation By: Kazuo Ogoura | The Japan Times
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to China in early October was important for several reasons. In the short term, it represented a significant contribution to easing tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. From a long-term perspective, it helped to lay the foundations for a stronger bilateral relationship.

Manmohan Singh Scores on Energy; Peace Is Next A breakthrough in relations with Pakistan may not cause stock prices to surge or bond yields to crash. Yet if Singh succeeds in his efforts, it could well be the biggest news out of India next year.

Beijing's Safari: China's Move Into Africa and its Implications for Aid, Development and Governance CEIP

LRB The General in his Labyrinth
Tariq Ali: Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US

H11 IHT Turning around the UN ALEXANDER CASELLA
When Ban Ki Moon assumes his functions as secretary general of the United Nations he will be taking over an organization that has never been in a worse situation both administratively and politically.

Majority in poll back pullout from Iraq An overwhelming majority of Europeans and Americans favor the withdrawal of coalition forces in Iraq early next year,

Gazprom of Russia to double natural gas prices for Georgia

NATO request for German jets in Afghanistan strains coalition in Berlin

Ensuring global uranium supplies
DEBRA DECKER AND ERWANN MICHEL-KERJAN
The solution to problems in nuclear energy is to involve the private sector, starting with the largest industries in the world, insurance and finance.

To live and let live, among the olive groves
FIRAS ARIDAH The village of Aboud in the West Bank, a model of respect among religions, is suffering from the expropriation of land for Israel's wall.

Heritage Foundation Is the E.U. America"s Friend or Foe?” by John Blundell is ready to

EUROPE Partners in an unhappy marriage: A hoax Belgian TV show tricked the public into thinking their country had been split in two last week, but the reality isn't far from the fiction

Le Monde Chronique Europe Angela Merkel et les "euro-inquiets", par Thomas Ferenczi

H12 RFE/RL

Which Way Will Turkmen Gas Flow?
Council on Foreign Relations

BBC Georgia 'agrees Russia gas bill' Georgia agrees to pay twice as much for gas from Russia, ending a bitter dispute between the two.

Russia and Ukraine forge new ties

Google News Azerbaijan

Causes and Consequences of Corruption in Russia CSIS

East of the Middle East: The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and U.S. Security Implications CDI

H13 The Times Symbols and Substance The real strength of religion today rests in its values

Putin visit reveals new power over Ukraine

Christians suffer for Iraq, says archbishop In an extraordinary attack, the Archbishop of Canterbury accuses Tony Blair and the US of endangering the lives of thousands of Christians

2006: A Year of Religious Conflict - Gerard Baker

Wall Street Journal Iraq Policy Delay Shows What's at Stake

Bush won't be making a speech to the nation by year end, as was originally planned, explaining how he is changing course in Iraq. The delay is a testament to how high the stakes have become.

H14 Financial Times US ‘has cut too many troops in Europe’ The outgoing head of US forces in Europe says American troop reductions on the continent have gone too far and that plans to reduce numbers further should be re-evaluated.

Editorial Sorry tales of the cross and the veil

Gates pledges ‘enduring’ US presence in Gulf

MIDDLE EAST: Western politicians take the road to Damascus

WORLD NEWS: US and Iraqis 'agree on broad strategy' says defence secretary

Georgia agrees to Gazprom price

FT MAN OF THE YEAR LAKSHMI MITTAL: Man of steel with a showman's flairfor flying in the face of the improbable Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel entrepreneur, has become the world’s fifth richest person, with a fortune estimated at $23.5bn. But his achievement is more than amassing wealth or reviving an industry that was thought to be in its ­twilight years.

Lakshmi Mittal talks to the FT

Putin vows to maintain Ukraine gas flow

Toyota set to surpass GM in 2007 Toyota is poised to surpass General Motors as the world’s largest automaker next year with plans to produce a record 9.42m vehicles.

Lunch with the FT: Andrew Roberts The historian tells Gideon Rachman about the hazards of being a Thatcherite in Britain when he has ‘never known the country in such an anti-American mood’.

H15 Los Angeles Times U.S. commanders in Iraq recommend troop 'surge' Their endorsement eliminates one of the last hurdles to proposals being considered by President Bush for an increase in forces.

'A new way forward' faces resistance

Iran forging ahead in Iraq without U.S. Tehran's top envoy here said there was no need for contacts with the United States aimed at stabilizing Iraq, saying that Iranians already were pursuing channels to help secure their embattled neighbor.

How Bush can make Iraq disappear Rosa Brooks

It's not as easy as 'Presto!' but the president just yet may be able to use his magic touch on Iraq.

Editorial

H16 American Politics The Real Divide in U.S. Politics - Matthew Continetti, Weekly Standard (see also Spencer Ackerman elaborates:)

Rice: U.S. is 'ready for black president' Still no plan to run;

Exclusive: Cheney's office 'prepped Gates for hearings'

Just how screwed are the Republicans? Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, authors of Off Center, investigate.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the 2006 mid-term elections will give pause to the "long-term trend" school—industry, actually—of American politics.

realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird GovExec

H17 Daily Telegraph

Asia Times Global economy faces a dangerous yearA recession in the US, triggered by rising inflation and falling home prices, will likely combine with factors such as unprecedented geopolitical instability and soaring energy prices to make 2007 a bleak year for the global economy. - Jephraim P Gundzik

CHINA Small clouds in blue skies
The overall outlook for China in 2007 is positive. The economy is growing quickly, but not wildly. Fears of overheating have been exaggerated. Inflation pressures are muted, and the only medium-term risk is that the US suffers a severe recession, which could knock a point or two off GDP growth. - Tom Miller

The dragon crouches Chinese politics have traditionally been defined by the need for economic development above all. But China's astonishing change in economic fortunes has forced Beijing to seek more exposure on the world stage, from Asia to Africa to Latin America, to secure natural resources and political influence.

INDIA Sizzling economy may be too hot India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with its gross domestic product expanding at a rate of more than 9%. However, there are problem areas, such as high consumer-price inflation and asset bubbles, that indicate the economy is not as robust as it appears. - Indrajit Basu (Dec 22, '06)

JAPAN Challenges ahead for premier Topping new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's agenda are a revision of the postwar pacifist constitution and a hike in the broadly levied consumption tax, both of which will be highly divisive and potentially explosive issues for him as he tries to consolidate his grip on power by leading his ruling coalition to victory in next summer's triennial Upper House election. - Hisane Masaki (

KOREA The ever-threatening nuclear shadow Amid political invective and charges of influence-peddling and bribery in business and government, the South Korean economy remained strong, growing 4-5% in 2006. The biggest concern among South Koreans thus remains the danger that negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program might break down entirely. - Donald Kirk

H18 Independent Leading article: Little symbol of the suffering of the Middle East

Robert Fisk: Banality and barefaced lies

Villepin says he is a 'victim' after grilling by judges

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

McClatchy U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa may aid al-Qaida, experts warn

World War IV as Fourth-Generation Warfare By: Tony Corn | Policy Review Contrary to what is often argued, the main problem with U.S. strategy in the war on terrorism lies not so much in the difference of organizational culture between law enforcement and national security agencies as in the disconnect between the two lead foreign affairs agencies — the Pentagon and the State Department.

Major Management Challenges Facing the Department of Homeland Security (PDF; 2.01 MB)
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General

Director of National Intelligence Releases Four Decades of U.S. Intelligence on Yugoslavia (PDF; 331 KB) Source: Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Violence and Insecurity: The Challenge in the Global South
MIT Center for International studies

The Effect of Economic and Cultural Globalization on Anti-U.S. Transnational Terrorism 1971-2000

US Troop Levels in Iraq Are Actually Unknown

State Dept Says Terror Recruits Are Threat to US

Missile Defense: US on Collision Course With Russia

Eric Umansky

Release of Foreign Relations Volume II
US Dept of State (press release),

The Social Benefits and Economic Costs of Taxation: A Comparison of High- and Low-Tax Countries (PDF; 512 KB)
Source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers from the OECD

Globalization from a World-System Perspective: A New Phase in the Core; Clifford L. Staples

H21 Believe It or Not by Joseph Epstein American presidents can be divided into those who are true believers and those who are something else: managers, politicians, operators, men who just wanted the job.

Children are not repositories of wisdom The dominant view today is that children are a unique repository of wisdom to whom the rest of us must defer. However, they are even more ignorant and selfish than the rest of us, claims Charles Moore.

The American Dream is now being dreamed, via cinema, by the whole world, says Wim Wenders. Is there a European Dream movies can bring to the world audiece?... more»

From The New York Review of Books, Michael Tomasky reviews "Work Hard, Study...and Keep Out of Politics!": Adventures and Lessons from an Unexpected Public Life by James A. Baker III and The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward—A New Approach;

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