0111-2007f - 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 President's Address to the Nation (text – video) Highlights of the Iraq Strategy Review (PDF) ---Fact Sheet: The New Way Forward in Iraq ---- Background Briefing by Senior Administration Officials

Democracy Arsenal 10 Fallacies of Bush's New Strategy

NYT Editorial The Real Disaster Wednesday night was President Bush’s chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation about Iraq, and he did not take it.

WP Analysis: As He Touts a 'Way Forward,' Bush Admits Errors of the Past

Editorial Mr. Bush's Strategy The president raises the number of troops -- and the level of risk -- in Iraq.

Hadley's Role: Bush's New Plan for Iraq Echoes Key Parts of Earlier Memo

The Mess at State By Robert D. Novak, The judgment by thoughtful Republicans is that Condoleezza Rice has failed to manage world diplomacy.

William Arkin War With Syria and Iran = Peace With Iraq?

McClatchy Bush outlines new tactics for Iraq, but faces big obstacles

Slate John Dickerson Deus ex MalikiBush bets big on Iraq's prime minister.

Fred Kaplan What happens if the Iraqis fail again?

The President's Face Showed Fear - Howard Fineman, Newsweek

Wall Street Journal Two Alliances Bush has managed to divide and conquer the Middle East. By BY EDWARD N. LUTTWAK It was the hugely ambitious project of the Bush administration to transform the entire Middle East by remaking Iraq into an irresistible model of prosperous democracy. Having failed in that worthy purpose, another, more prosaic result has inadvertently been achieved: divide and rule, the classic formula for imperial power on the cheap.

Forward Sharon Warned Bush
The Strategic Interest Yossi Alpher

Sometime prior to March 2003, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told President Bush privately in no uncertain terms what he thought about the Iraq plan. Sharon’s words — revealed here for the first time — constituted a friendly but pointed warning to Bush. Read more

Independent Robert Fisk: Bush's new strategy

Patrick Cockburn: Man who now holds Iraq's future in his hands

Ha’aretz Meshal: Hamas recongizes existence of State of Israel as established fact

Bar’el Hamas and Israel / Road map to recognition

Jerusalem Post Israel and Hamas downplay Mashaal's comments Israeli diplomat: "Saying Israel is an established fact is just a recognition of reality, it doesn't say they accept this fact."

UPI Intelligence Watch: Target on Iran? Is U.S. President George W. Bush contemplating a U.S. air strike on Iran or permitting Israel to attempt one?

IraqSlogger US Papers Thurs: New Strategy in Iraq

Iraqi Papers Thursday: Sistani Chimes In

Amer Araim What Is the Recipe for Ending the War in Iraq? San Francisco Chronicle

Tony Karon Bush’s New Iraq Plan: Bomb Tehran

Salon.com | Shuttle without diplomacy Sidney Blumenthal on what the hell he thinks is going on inside the White House bunker:

Guardian Leader Defiance and delusion

Once more unto the breach Simon Tisdall.

Neither sanctions nor bombs will end the Iran nuclear crisis
Roger Howard

CIA Gets the Go-Ahead to Fight Hizbullah

Christian Science Monitor

Resolve steady, Bush presses to shore up Iraq Infusion of troops and reconstruction aid offers the best hope, he says. Early accountability of Iraqi leadership is sought.

IsraPundit Washington’s Unfolding Strategy? Call it Shiite Lite.

Belgravia Dispatch on Bush Speech

Franz Schubert knew the fragility of life, the vulnerability of the human soul. There is no bombast, no vanity in his music. It springs forth like a fountain... more»

H2 Washington Times Editorial Turkey's concerns One of the most intractable problems that have beset the U.S.-Turkey relationship centers around Turkey's fight against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party. This continued estrangement could hardly come at a worse time.

FT WORLD NEWS: Cypriot bridge demolition reverberates in Ankara

IHT A 16-year cycle of treachery DIANE E. KING When America scales down or leaves Iraq, retribution against Iraqi Kurds will follow.

LeanLeft In Which I am Unfashionably Unsympathetic to the Kurds

EurasiaNet Turkey: Recent Study Sheds Light on Plight of Internally Displaced Persons

From the Archive The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy. The European Union, Turkey and Islam

'Türkiye, Irak'ı Türk kenti ve Kerkûk'u bu kente bağlı bir köy olarak görüyor'

Zalmay Halilzad: 'Erdoğan'ın Kerkük'le ilgili sözlerini önemsemiyoruz'..

'Bağımsız devlete varmadığı sürece, Irak’ta Kürtler’in kazanımlarını kendimize sorun etmeyelim'

Sezer: Türkiye’deki Kürd kökenli yurttaşlar çoğunluğun bir parçasıdır

Ermeni tasarısı, gelecek hafta ABD Kongresi'ne sunulacak

Savaş uçakları İncirlik’te..

ABD F16'ları 3 yıl sonra İncirlik'te

Gül, MİT Müsteşarı Taner gibi konuştu

'Türkiye'nin güvenliği ABD'ninki kadar önemli'

Squadron of 24 US F-16s lands at Incirlik AFB, Turkey

Irak, 10 bin Türk'ün ekmek kapısı

İncirlik Üssü'nde hareketlilik

ABD F-16’ları İncirlik’te

ABD bilgi vermedi başsağlığı diledi

ABD: Türkiye'nin AB üyeliğini Destekliyoruz

BBC 11 Ocak 2007 Basın Özeti

Google News Kurdish Kurdish Media

Kerkük’e 600 bin Kürt’ü yerleştirdiler

Kerkük'te Kürt akınının fotoğrafları

Mısır'dan Kerkük desteği: Türkiye'nin yanındayız

Ankara'da Kerkük mesaisi konferansla başlıyor

Arslan BULUT Pentagon, “emin adam”ını bu yıl mı gönderecek?

Ümit ÖZDAĞ Rusya’nın yeni stratejisi ve Türkiye (1)

Hasan DEMİR Suriye 54 Türk ajanı nasıl yakaladı!

Basına 'Öcalan beyanı' sansürü

Silahların gölgesinde 20 bin Türk işçisi var

Google News Greece - Cyprus

Gündüz Aktan - Zamanı mıydı?

ŞAHİN ALPAY - Lokmacı Kapısı ve Kıbrıs'ın geleceği

Fikret BİLA Büyükanıt'ın görüşü niye alındı?

Semih İDİZ Talat'ı 'yalancı' ilan etmek neye yarar?

Yusuf KANLI Dismantling a footbridge

Çağdışı milliyetçilik duvara tosladı
İsmet Berkan

Rum tarafı yine hatalı -

Hadi Uluengin Tatsız lokma

NAZLI ILICAK İyi niyet önemlidir

Taha AKYOL Azınlık vakıfları

Felaket değil, bekliyorduk

Yunan uçaklarından 'önleme'

Hizbullah'a karşı operasyon emri

Büyükelçi restleşmesi Bush, 'soykırım' demedi diye engellenen Hoagland'ı Erivan'a yeniden elçi atadı

Birlikten ne doğar?

AP'de aşırı sağın birleşmesini Ali Yurttagül'e sorduk

Facing Iran By: Amir Taheri | New York Post Few Western governments wish to contemplate a military showdown with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yet a recent tour of Arab capitals presents a different picture: Arab leaders appear resigned to such a showdown as inevitable, and are preparing for it.

New Republic Religion, Identity, and the State by Isaiah Berlin & David Ben-Gurion

IHT EU unveils plan to tackle global warming The EU must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to limit global warming.

FT EU readies for battle over energy markets

Troop Surge Already Under Way

Foreign Policy Seven Questions: The Urge to Surge

Expert Sees 'Profound' Oil Dependence Vulnerability

Tom Barnett Great financial map

H3 Ahmet Hakan Siyasete ilgisizlere son durum rehberi

At taciri iltifatmış Irak savaşı öncesinde Bush’un "at pazarlığı" dediği Ankara-ABD müzakerelerinin perde arkası Eski ABD Hazine Bakan Yardımcısı Taylor yeni kitabında, Türkiye’nin ABD ile sürdürdüğü cephe pazarlığına da geniş yer verdi.

Hasan Celal Güzel - ABD'nin Kürt oyunu

Murat Yetkin - ABD'nin Irak planı, Erdoğan'ın rol talebi ve yeni tehlike

What happens if Pelosi breaks US-Turkish modus vivendi? Burak Bekdil

Can Dündar Türkiye Kürt devletiyle yaşamayı öğrenmeli

Cengiz Çandar Irak’taki ABD: Geri çekilme yok; Tırmanma var

'ABD, Kerkük'te PKK ile görüştü'

Vedat YENERER ABD’nin korkacağı son örgüt PKK’dır!..

SOLİ ÖZEL Değişmeyi bilmek

Türkiye'nin bölgesinde seçeneği çok NEJAT ESLEN

Referans Sadece uçak değil Irakla ticaret de yere çakılmak üzere

Does Turkey have a sustainable Iraq policy? Cengiz Çandar

İlnur Çevik US setting an example with Somalia air strike

Can Dündar
Türkiye Kürt devletiyle yaşamayı öğrenmeli

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

ASLI AYDINTAŞBAŞ Ankara sessiz çünkü...

Cüneyt Ülsever ’Irak meseleleri’

ERDAL ŞAFAKSeçim yılında reform

Hükümet meğer AB'yi unutmamış

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU MİT'in serencamı...

MİT'te yenilenen organizasyon
Tarhan Erdem

Yalçın Doğan Köprüyü bırak sen şu karara bak

Şamil Tayyar Medyayı korkutan MİT saati

Sami KOHEN Bir yandan AB, diğer yandan Irak...

Mehmet Ali BİRAND

FEHMİ KORU Hâcet kapıları

EKREM DUMANLI - Çankaya üzerine absürt tartışmalar

HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE - Milli İstihbarat

MÜMTAZ'ER TÜRKÖNE - MİT'in vizyonu

[Yorum - Prof.Dr.Samir Salha] Somali'ye bu saldırı niye?

[Yorum - Doç.Dr.Fahtettin Sümer] ABD, Irak'ta çıkış arıyor...

[Yorum - TÜRKİYE, MİT'İN YENİ VİZYONUNU TARTIŞIYOR] Özgür toplum için güvenlik reformu(1)

Derya SAZAK MİT'in çıkışı

Genelkurmay AB toplantısında

'ABD'liler PKK'yla görüştü' iddiası

Güler Kömürcü Karışık gündemden karışık notlar...

Turgut Tarhanlı - Irak siyaseti

Nuray Mert - Saddam'ın idamı

Deniz Ülke Arıboğan
Ulus-Devlet bitiyor mu?

Ömer Lütfi Mete

Ercan Kumcu Para politikasının sanat tarafı

Ege Cansen Enflasyonu düşürmek ve milli gelirin bölüşümü

Ercan Kumcu Avrupa Birliği’nin yeni yüzleri

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM 100 milyar dolarlık ihracat hedefi niye korkutur beni?

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU Mısır, Türk yatırımcı için sanayi bölgesi kuruyor

Cumhurbaşkanlığından başka sorun mu yok? Fatih Özatay

Georgia Will Not Refuse from Kars-Akhalkalai Railway Despite US ...
PanARMENIAN.Net

Editorial The Real Disaster Wednesday night was President Bush’s chance to stop offering more fog and be honest with the nation about Iraq, and he did not take it.

DAVID BROOKS The Fog Over Iraq With so much spin and misdirection, it’s nearly impossible to figure out what the president is proposing.

H5 Washington Post Bush to Send More Than 20,000 Troops to Iraq

President says soldiers and Marines will help the Iraqi government provide security in Baghdad and fight the Sunni insurgency in Anbar province.

Analysis: As He Touts a 'Way Forward,' Bush Admits Errors of the Past

Editorial Mr. Bush's Strategy The president raises the number of troops -- and the level of risk -- in Iraq.

Hadley's Role: Bush's New Plan for Iraq Echoes Key Parts of Earlier Memo

The Economic Plan: Reconstruction Effort to Emphasize Iraqi Jobs

The Mess at State By Robert D. Novak, The judgment by thoughtful Republicans is that Condoleezza Rice has failed to manage world diplomacy.

Intensified Street Combat Likely

OPINION: Sketch |

A Change in Tactics, Not Strategy

PostGlobal Write an open letter to the new UN Secretary General.

Democrats Aim to Block Funds for Plan

The Prime-Time President: Amid Misjudgments and Upbeat Forecasts, a Belief That the War Is Crucial

Russia-Belarus Standoff Over Oil Ends, Clearing Way for Accord

Unwitting Party to Genocide The International Criminal Court Is Complicating Efforts to Save Darfur By Stephen Rademaker

H6 Guardian Bush gambles on new Iraq troops 21,500 US troops to focus efforts on Shia death squads and militia.
'US patience is not inexhaustible'

Leader Defiance and delusion
George Bush's announcement last night that he is going to pour more troops into Iraq was the last throw of the dice in a misconceived enterprise that has dragged his country, this country and the Middle East into a nightmare.

Once more unto the breach In the manner of Henry V, with terrible aspect of eye, George Bush last night invited the American people to follow him once more unto the Iraqi breach, writes Simon Tisdall.

Neither sanctions nor bombs will end the Iran nuclear crisis
Roger Howard: If Bush really wants a safer Middle East, he should stop giving Tehran compelling reasons to acquire nuclear weapons.

Hamas chief accepts Israel but stops short of recognition Lack of Palestinian state is real problem, says leader.

The tale of the archbishop and the spies has lessons for us all Timothy Garton Ash: By insisting on an unmasking of the communist past, Poland's Catholic right has unmasked its own.

Belarus yields to pressure from Moscow in oil dispute Deal means deliveries to EU could resume soon.

EU warns of global climate chaos
· Report forecasts wars, famine and migration · Strategy aims for world's first low-carbon economy

H7 A 'Make-It-or-Break-It Moment' on Iraq - Susan Page, USA Today

The President's Face Showed Fear - Howard Fineman, Newsweek

Startling & Clear: Bush Defies Critics - Gerard Baker, RealClearPolitics

Inviting a Battle on Capitol Hill - Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

A Sketchy Blueprint for Iraq - Michael Duffy, Time

How Maliki Could Slow the Surge

Global Schizophrenia - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics

More troops for Iraq? Time to just say "No" (full text .html) by Carl Conetta, PDA Briefing Memo #39, 09 January 2007.

Amer Araim What Is the Recipe for Ending the War in Iraq? San Francisco Chronicle

Tony Karon Bush’s New Iraq Plan: Bomb Tehran

McClatchy 5 years after detainees' arrival, policy questions remain

Military `surge' in Iraq won't include many fresh troops

Walker's World: Is Doha really dead?

PINR "Intelligence Brief: U.S. Moves to Implement the Surge Strategy" Full text of report

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

BBC Bush boosts troop numbers in Iraq President Bush orders some 20,000 extra troops to Iraq, as part of a new strategy for tackling the conflict.

Full text: Bush address on Iraq

Vietnamising Iraq?
George Bush battles history with his new plan for Iraq

Al-Maliki tells Shi'ites to surrender Iraq's prime minister has told Shi'ite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said yesterday.

Russia backs Syria in probe request (Nicholas Kralev)

...Claim: Mahdi militia 'in Green Zone'

Foreign Investors Reassessing Their Involvement with Iran
Washington File

Boston Globe Editorial Bush's refusal to face reality THE INCREASE of US forces in Iraq that President Bush announced last night offers practically no chance of thwarting the Sunni Arab insurgency or quelling the sectarian civil war that is turning life there into a nightmarish inferno for Sunnis and Shi'ites alike.

Al Qaeda on the Run in Somalia - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Will the U.S. Win in Somalia? By: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross | The Weekly Standard While the Somali war is far from over, this is an appropriate time to consider the likely future of the conflict: America's decisions over the next few weeks will have a great impact on the success or failure of the mission.

Der Spiegel A Christian Exodus from the Arab World

H9 Ha’aretz - Israeli, Syrian officials gather in Spain to mark historic 1991 meet

China: Iran has right to civilian nuclear energy, but not the bomb

Benn A Chinese sphere of influence

Israel Harel: Gaza pullout, Lebanon war were strategic failures

Jerusalem Post Israel and Hamas downplay Mashaal's comments
Israeli diplomat: "Saying Israel is an established fact is just a recognition of reality, it doesn't say they accept this fact."

Ehud Barak is the right man
By YOSEF (TOMMY) LAPID

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

BBC China 'reassures' Olmert on Iran

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says China has made it clear that it is against Iran developing nuclear weapons.

'Encouraged by China'

Commentary: Carter's echo in Israel
United Press International

New Republic Religion, Identity, and the State by Isaiah Berlin & David Ben-Gurion

Memo to Mrs. Merkel: Think Trusteeship By: Elliot Jager | The Jerusalem Post
With Palestinian factions killing each other in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank, the steadfastly rejectionist Hamas controlling the government and President Mahmoud Abbas as politically impotent as ever, Merkel's desire to go down the Quartet's road map path again strikes me as worse than futile.

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Resolve steady, Bush presses to shore up Iraq Infusion of troops and reconstruction aid offers the best hope, he says. Early accountability of Iraqi leadership is sought.

How Congress could block a US troop 'surge'

New US team in Iraq: seasoned – how tough? Bush's new military and diplomatic picks have less of an ideological bent than the first administration's.

Is US Army blocking the use of Israeli anti-RPG weapons in Iraq?

Critics say the Army prefers to develop its own system to protect against insurgents' grenades.

THE MONITOR'S VIEW Europe's oil shock ... and opportunity

Helena Cobban: Shut down Guantánamo

Fighter jet signals China's military advances China unveiled the locally built Jian-10 last week, saying it narrows the gap with advanced nations.

ASIA China: a "great nation"? | Li Datong

H11 IHT EU unveils plan to tackle global warming The EU must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to limit global warming.

A Chirac hat in the election ring? By KATRIN BENNHOLD Jacques Chirac has kicked off this election year with a series of long-term proposals that look suspiciously like campaign promises. But the president's intentions remain a mystery.

Can terrorists be tamed?
PETER R. NEUMANN When dealing with terrorists negotiations can be an end in themselves; the more people talk, the less likely the violence.

EUROPE

BBC Germany in nuclear power rethink

Winds of change
Mark Mardell on the EU's energy blueprint and industrial change

OpenDemocracy Europe's energy policy: economics, ethics, geopolitics | Richard Youngs

Religion in Britain in the Blair era | Tina Beattie

Rising to the Energy Challenge: Key Elements for an Effective EU Strategy
EPC
This 26-page issue brief calls for urgent, concrete policy delevopment and action to underpin Europe's energy security

H12 RFE/RL

EurasiaNet Armenian President Has No Plans to Leave Politics

BBC Belarus 'restarts oil shipments' Belarus has restarted the flow of crude oil from Russia after talks with Moscow, says the operator of a key pipeline.

Q&A: Russian oil row

Oil row grips media

Oil row highlights changing ties

EDM OIL SUPPLY CUTOFF TO BELARUS AND EUROPE SHAKES RUSSIA’S REPUTATION FOR RELIABILITY

- PRESIDENTIAL WHIMS AT ROOT OF RUSSIA-BELARUS OIL DISPUTE

- YUSHCHENKO FACES NATO REFERENDUM PROBLEM

Russia's Oil Woes
AHI
A US article arguing that Russia's renationalization of its energy sector is counter-productive

Google News Azerbaijan

Saakashvili Offers New Format of Dialogue with Opposition
Civil Georgia,

Washington Realist What Would Patton Do?

Russia, The New Enemy?

H13 The Times A Shift not a Surge The new Iraq strategy involves serious risks but is better than the alternative

A last throw of the dice: Bush goes for bust with an extra 22,000 troops President Bush is gambling his political legacy on the success of an 'Iraqi-led' plan to quell sectarian violence the crush the gathering power of militias

New US general will copy British 'softly-softly' style Lieutenant-General David Petraeus believes that the war can be won with a radical change of tactics

History will not forgive a failure to match words with deeds
Gerard Baker, In the end President Bush's historic decision to wade deeper into the swamp of the Iraq war was neither surprising nor, perhaps, avoidable

The 'surge' author Tom Baldwin
Balding and bespectacled, Frederick Kagan would struggle to be noticed by, let alone inspire, the battle-weary US soldiers heading to Baghdad

Hamas leader accepts the 'reality' of Israel In a clear softening of his position Khaled Meshaal even held out the possibility that he would one day formally recognise Israel

Embassy bomber 'killed in attack' The American airstrikes in Somalia have killed the main al-Qaeda target in Africa, according to US intelligence officials

China faces silent power struggle
The stage is set for a bruising internal power struggle among the highest ranks of China’s secretive ruling Communist Party

Matthew Parris
The need to establish his legacy in history grows ever more urgent in Tony Blair’s thoughts

Wall Street Journal Two Alliances Bush has managed to divide and conquer the Middle East.
By BY EDWARD N. LUTTWAK

A Cynical Opposition
Democrats criticize Bush without taking any responsibility

Economists Struggle for Poverty Strategy

Despite billions in spending from charitable organizations, economists are still struggling to identify the best methods for spreading prosperity along with better health to poor countries.

Trans-Atlantic Trade Vision
Angela Merkel's good intentions can pave the road to overregulation.

H14 Financial Times Strategy rejects diplomatic offensive President George W. Bush, setting out his new strategy for Iraq on, appeared set to ignore the advice of allies and the Baker-Hamilton commission

Bush pledges 21,500 more troops for Iraq

Bush’s Iraq plan faces obstacles

WORLD NEWS: McCain could gain by backing minority line

FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION: Brussels plans to break grip of energy groups

EU readies for battle over energy markets Germany and France geared up for a battle to save their powerful integrated energy companies from being broken up after Brussels published plans to tackle ‘serious competition problems’ in the sector

Belarus yields to Moscow over oil transit Belarus backed down in its trade conflict with Russia by abolishing an export duty on oil pipeline transits. The move allows Moscow to resume supplies to Europe via its neighbour.

Guantánamo inmates ‘driven insane’

Radical tide could spell disaster for Serbia If some pro-western leaders are to be believed, democracy itself is at stake in ­Serbia’s parliamentary elections on January 21. Unless voters come out to support more moderate options, the Serb Radical party could form the next government – an outcome that would allegedly drag the largest ex-Yugoslav republic back into international isolation and economic ruin

US-China trade deficit at all-time high...

COMMENT: Protectionism and pollution, China's twin pitfalls How these matters are handled by Beijing’s leadership during the coming years will shape the fortunes of the world economy, writes Maria Bartiromo, anchor of CNBC’s Closing Bell.

COMMENT: Congress is helpless only out of choice There are plausible arguments for supporting a surge of US troops in Iraq and some good ones for rejecting a precipitous pullout. But Democrats who argue for withdrawal and fail to act on their convictions haven’t a leg to stand on, writes Jacob Weisberg.

COMMENT: Populists, not juntas, are the real risk for Asia Since Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by a military coup, the new regime has managed to make his record look slightly less dreadful, writes Guy de Jonquières.

Editorial Chávez's left turn

A reassuring Reserve Central banking can be a bit like dentistry. You need great technical skill, an understanding of the latest research and years of experience, but all are for nought...

H15 Los Angeles Times Admitting failures, Bush sends more troopsPlan calls to end sectarian violence, assign primary responsibility for security to Iraqi forces and shift U.S. troops into a supporting role.

Bush's Iraq strategy splinters GOP Republicans must choose between backing unpopular buildup or taking on head of their party.

2008 contenders stake ground on war

Maybe Israel should bust Iran's bunkers By Zev Chafets The alternative could be a nuclear Iran that destabilizes the Middle East and sets off a well-armed Israel. Given the evident failure of American diplomacy and U.N. sanctions, Israel has two basic choices. It can sit and wait, hoping the Iranians do not drop a bomb on Tel Aviv; or it can preemptively attack, hoping to destroy, or at least retard, the Iranians' nuclear capacity.

In Congress, Bush's plan unites Dems, splinters GOP

Set a spending limit on Iraq

By Bruce Ackerman Congress should creatively use its power of the purse to keep Iraq from becoming an indefinite quagmire. There are lots of bad ways for Congress to respond to President Bush's escalation in Iraq. But there is one good way: Set a price tag on the long-run cost of the war — say $500 billion — and tell the president that he won't be getting a penny more.

Experts remain skeptical of Iraqi prime minister

U.S. to step up offensive against Iranians, Syrians in Iraq

Don't blame the media Max Boot: Fingering the press for the problems in Iraq deflects the blame from where it belongs

Editorial A 'surge' isn't a policy

Editorial: Stabilizing Iraq requires a comprehensive plan, not just an increase in troop levels and a jobs program.

H16 American Politics

WSJ Trans-Atlantic Trade Vision
Angela Merkel's good intentions can pave the road to overregulation.

Washington Times Damaging national security The Democrats had tried several pre-emptive strikes against President Bush's speech last night about how to win the war in Iraq. But in addition to opposing measures to end the war, the House would now undermine national security.

McClatchy Sen. Brownback embraces a flat tax in his 2008 presidential bid

realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note - Early Bird GovExec

House Passes Increase in Minimum Wage to $7.25

Measure Gets Support of 82 Republicans; Senate to Take Up Own Bill This Month

H17 Daily TelegraphBush takes one last roll of the dice

George W. Bush is nothing if not bold in his pursuit of success in Iraq. A month after the bipartisan Iraq Study Group reported, he has signally ignored two of its main conclusions.

3,000 British troops to pull out of Iraq by May

Thousands of British troops will return home from Iraq by the end of May, The Daily Telegraph can reveal today.

Bush borrows 'McMaster' plan from British

Clarke: Blair's foreign policies turned to dust

H18 Independent Robert Fisk: Bush's new strategy So into the graveyard of Iraq, George Bush, commander-in-chief, is to send another 21,000 of his soldiers. The march of folly is to continue...

Bush sends 20,000 more troops to Iraq in 'last-chance' plan

Patrick Cockburn: Man who now holds Iraq's future in his hands

Rupert Cornwell: This is a gamble of massive effrontery to the voters, the politicians and even the generals

Adrian Hamilton: So what has Britain to say on this new policy?

Hamas softens Israel stance in calls for Palestinian state

Leading article: Five years of injustice and shame

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

Defense workers warned about spy coins

FBI teaches Hollywood about terrorism...

Creating new security system fraught with obstacles
The Japan Times

Govt plans ministerial policy panel for NSC body
The Daily Yomiuri

CFR Flynn: Democratic Bill Highlights Persisting Security Gaps

H20 Slate John Dickerson Deus ex MalikiBush bets big on Iraq's prime minister.

Fred Kaplan What happens if the Iraqis fail again?

Four Ways To Stop the War What Congress could do—if it dared.

World Crude Oil Distillation Capacity, January 1, 1970 - January 1, 2007

Describing National Health Care Systems (Country Reports)

Global Trade Governance: The WTO at a Crossroads
EPC This 56-page working paper highlights how much is at stake in the negotiations to revive the Doha Round

On Isaiah Berlin | clivejames.com

Franz Schubert knew the fragility of life, the vulnerability of the human soul. There is no bombast, no vanity in his music. It springs forth like a fountain... more»

Cold virus may be cancer weapon
Scientists to launch trials this year of a radical new way to fight cancer.

Google Book Search And Freeing Google Books
Search Newz

New fruit from Apple If Apple's beautifully designed iPhone lives up to its hype - and that is still a very big if since it will not be released in the US until June - then it could change all mobile phones.

Japan Yawns at Apple's iPhone As U.S. markets swoon, consumers on the other side of the Pacific might wonder: Why the fuss?

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