0717-2007f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses from all around the world for informed debate’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç U.S. / Britain / Turkey / Magazines / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports - FPR Table - Subscribe to FPR

H1 Washington Post Exit Strategy Would Iran Take Over Iraq? Would Al-Qaeda? The Debate About How and When to Leave Centers on What Might Happen After the U.S. Goes. U.S. military is performing role-playing exercises and studying historical parallels to predict what may happen to Iraq when U.S. forces leave.

U.S. Weighs Larger 'Surge' in Iraq...

Filling Gaps in Iraq, Then Finding a Void at Home A rented army of 130,000 civilians supports 150,000 United States soldiers and marines, dying and suffering alongside their brothers and sisters in uniform.

Security Council Is Deadlocked on Kosovo Plan

Geopolitical Diary: The State of the War(s) Stratfor

The Middle East’s Five Crises Click here Joris Voorhoeve, a former Dutch Defense Minister

Salon Leave the Muslim world alone Bush's moralistic Middle East crusade has backfired, creating more enemies than it destroys. It's time for a tactical retreat. By Gary Kamiya

Financial Times WORLD NEWS: Hands tied

MARKETS AND INVESTING: While America is sleeping, Europe is catching up The US seems to take its economic hegemony, and reliance on free markets, for granted, writes Jason DeSena Trennert

COMMENT: With due respect to Mr Putin . Russia’s new belligerence demands a response that is both coherent and tough, writes Philip Stephens

COMMENT: Only now is Europe learning to stop fearing the Germans Poland is not alone in its suspicion of Germany, but it is the only EU country where these fears dictate policy, writes Gideon Rachman

WORLD NEWS: Democrats struggle to mount Iraq challenge

Analyst Says CFE Pullout Harms 'Trust And Transparency
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Ha’aretz ANALYSIS: Rice's influence seen throughout Bush's address If Rice manages to drag the Saudis to the regional peace conference, she will be able to report a breakthrough

More Rumors of bin Laden's Death

The Times Commentary: Merkel embraces a new European order Germany's Angela Merkel heads the new European triangle of power with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown

Jerusalem Post Analysis: Building a bridge over troubled waters
By HERB KEINON Sidelining Hamas will be much more difficult than isolating Arafat, which Bush tried five years ago.

Experts Skeptical About Bush Mideast Proposal

Christian Science Monitor Risky US alliances in Iraq

Frustrated with the Iraqi Army, US forces cultivate ties to ex-insurgents.

Opinion: Bush and Cheney: the insular 'deciders' FDR promoted a healthier style of leadership. By James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn

Opinion: Yes, you can work with Hamas The US approach to the Palestinian territories is inviting disaster. By Augustus Richard Norton and Sara Roy

Russia plans big nuclear expansion Leading the globe in construction of new plants, it also hopes to export as many as 60 plants in the next two decades.

Why US sees Al Qaeda as a growing threat With a haven in Pakistan, the terror group is boosting funding and training, US agencies say.

Guardian Leader Chill in the air
Britain and Russia: It would be tempting to dismiss Britain's decision to expel four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko as another diplomatic spat, reminiscent of cold-war tit-for-tat explusions.

Los Angeles Times Owning on borrowed time Niall Ferguson: Woes in the sub-prime mortgage market will ripple across global financial systems.

Army's middle ranks are dwindling

The US and the New Middle East Gideon Rose, Managing Editor, Foreign Affairs

CFR From Gaza to Beirut and Tehran (Audio) Sallai Moshe Meridor, Israeli Ambassador to the United States

H2 FT ANALYSIS: Crescent rising Why modern Turks are less willing to drop tradition Sunday’s election is the result of strains between secularists and Muslims, but Turkey may find a way to satisfy both Key issues

CFR Cook: Border Crisis between Turkey, Iraq Worsens US-Turkey Ties

Christian Science Monitor In southeastern Turkey, democracy feels the sway of ancient clan culture Political parties often tap clan leaders, knowing a host of loyal voters will follow. But some say such practices are a hindrance to democracy

Jerusalem Post Israel, Palestinians urge Turks to help at Gaza crossings Exclusive: Ankara may offer training at terminals; head of Palestinian Federation of Industries: Proposal "acceptable to both sides."

Turkey's Islamic Business Class Helps Erdogan's Re-Election Bid Bloomberg

Global Markets, Local Risks -- Part II
Barron's (subscription) Ultimately, the Turkish government will move toward accepting an independent Kurdish state. But not next year. It's going to happen gradually,

The Building Blocs for Peace for Kurdistan

Last Stop Kurdistan By Chirol

Turkey's ruling party set to win elections amid tension over role ...

BBC Have Your Say
How do you plan to vote in Turkey's parliamentary poll?

Washington Post Bombings Kill Scores in Kirkuk As Violence Escalates in North Office of Iraqi President's Kurdish Party Targeted; Attack Is Deadliest for Oil City

NYT Islamic Creationist and a Book Sent Round the World

Washington Times Economic and political realities (By Tulin Daloglu)

EurasiaNet TURKEY: IN SOME AREAS, CLANS CALL THE POLITICAL SHOTS In many parts of southeast Turkey, where hidebound traditions and blood ties rule and feudal clans dominate public life, politics can be a family affair. When election time comes around, political parties have long known that having a leader of a clan – known as "asiret" in Turkish – as a candidate can guarantee victory at the ballot box.

Interview with Nechirvan Barzani Iraqi Kurdish PM on Turkish Troops, PKK, Oil Bill

BBC Peaceful offensive
Kurds seek change of tactic to gain votes in Turkey elections

Surprise Turkey-Iran Energy Deal Trumps Russia's Ambitions MEMRI,

NPR Istanbul's Tarlabasi Under Constant Transformation

What would the caliph do? [Against mis-Islamic terror] Mustafa Akyol

22 Temmuz 2007 seçimleri ve KÜRDLER

The Times Seçim kimliği etkileyecek

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

Iraqi Kurdish PM on Turkish Troops, PKK, Oil Bill

ABD: 'Doğru Zaman Değil' ABD, Türkiye’nin İran ile imzaladığı doğal gaz mutabakat zaptını olumlu karşılamadı ancak, nihai kararın Türk hükümeti tarafından verileceğini açıkladı

US says Turkey's gas deal with Iran ‘particularly unwise'

Parties plan different strategies to fight terrorism

Hüsnü Mahalli Dağınık düşünceler

Derya SAZAK Mehmed Uzun'u anlamak

PKK leader flies from Europe to Iraq as free man

Serdar Turgut İran doğalgazı

Are the Turks Confessing from Conviction or from Convenience? Rauf Naqishbendi American Chronicle

IKYB Temsilcisi Behroz Gelali: Sınır ötesi operasyon, Türk firmalarını zorda bırakır

Onlar Irak ordusuna verdiğimiz silahlar

ABD'den Türkiye-İran işbirliğine tepki

US Envoy to Turkey Urges Against Relaying on Iran for Gas Supplies

'PKK'ya silah sağlandığı' iddialarına ABD'den ret

ABD: PKK'ya silah verdiğimiz iddiaları asılsız

Servet KABAKLI
Kerkük'ten Ankara'ya: 'Gardaş mısın, gara daş mısın?!.'

Analysts warn of politically motivated violence prior to polls

Müttefik güçlerin,140-maddenin uygulanması konusunda yazılı desteği var

Ahmet Türk 'Evimden çıkmasam bile seçilirim'

Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman says US to take Turkey's side if it ...

Iraqi Kurdish Press Highlights 16 Jul 07

Iraqi Kurdish Media Note on Corruption 2-15 Jul 07

Kerkük'te katliam

Talabani'den en ilginç tehdit!

PKK silahları için ABD itirafı

Prime Minister Barzani launches civil service training programme ...
By KRG.org

Turkey's Suicide amass is leading to a possible mess in a stone age war culture

Iraqi Kurdish Islamic Party to Split - Paper

Seminar: Kurdish Language: Past, present and future

Kurds' High Hopes Over Turkey Elections

Stockholm'deki Musul

Erhan Çelik Barzani bile döndü bu ayıptan ama Türkiye...

Oyak 'Irak'ta faaliyetimiz yok'

Ortadoğu'nun önünde üç yol var

Hillary Clinton as Turkey Envoy
The Conservative Voice -

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

Fransa ve Avusturya göz yumdu, PKK'nın kasası Erbil'e kaçtı

Nabucco önemini yitiriyor mu?

HÜSEYİN SÜMER - Nabucco yeniden toparlanıyor mu?

[GAME TOUGHENS ON THE ENERGY CHESSBOARD-1] Vladimir Putin’s Energystan and the Caspian

Turkish-US military ties leave not much room for emotions

Türkiye'deki Amerikan karşıtlığı tehlikeli bir hal aldı JOshua W. Walker

Ali Bulaç Germany’s new law

America's Perspective on Turkish EU Relations Nicholas Danforth

Greek Cyprus cabinet appoints new ministers

Rusya, AKKA'dan 13 Aralık'ta çekiliyor

İlter Türkmen Rusya meydan mı okuyor?

FİKRET ERTAN - Anlaşma tehlikede

Finnish Ambassador Serenius: I like the idea of being related to Turks

Basındaki fenerbahçeli Genelkurmay Başkanı

TSK açıklamasını eleştirmeye beraat

Yargıda derin tartışma

Banka davalarını HSYK'dan başka duymayan kaldı mı?

Eski Adalet Bakanı Çiçek neler anlattı neler...

İşte 'olay hâkim'in yaşadıkları

Yargıtay’ı şoke eden mektup

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu ADD head: We sold gold rings to fund rallies

Anayasa Mahkemesi hem davalı, hem davacı, hem yargıç

İstanbul bağımsız vekil adayı silahlı saldırıda öldü

Kuran kurslarında yaş sınırı ihlali

Yavuz Semerci
Abdullah Gül’e bir özür borcum var

Pepe '600 değil, 5 daire var'

Emin Çölaşan Konuşunuz Unakıtan

Mehmet Altan Gizli uyarı mı?

Vatanseverlik, çetecilik ve Çerkes Ethem meselesi

En pahalı internet Türkiye'de, en ucuzu Japonya'da

Ali Kemal'in torunu Londra için aday

17 Temmuz 2007 Basın Özeti

H3 Fikret BİLA Türkiye'nin ABD-Kuzey Irak-PKK sorunu

ABD ile yeni kriz

NTV sordu, Erdoğan yanıtladı

'Cumhurbaşkanı en çok oyu alan partiden olmalı'

İki komşunun işbirliği ABD'yi ilgilendirmez!

Doğalgazda İran tartışması
Murat Yetkin

Taha Kıvanç Yeni bir Hudson?

Sabah MİT'teki Fethullah Gülen raporu!

Ahmet Taşgetiren “Türkiye'nin stratejik derinliği” işte bu!

Taha AKYOL Ekonomi ve laiklik

Hasan CEMAL Koalisyon değil, tek parti hükümeti!

M. Ali BİRAND PKK ile Kürt sorununu ayıramadıkça...

Meral Akşener: Milliyetçilik aynı zamanda darbelere karşı olmaktır

ŞAHİN ALPAY - Türk İslamı neden kendine özgü?

Radikal Türkiye Çıkış Yolları Haritası 'İnsan haklarına dayalı, laik, demokratik ve sosyal bir hukuk devleti'ni hedefleyen anayasa, 'haysiyet-eşitlik-özgürlük' üçlüsünden hareketle, 'ülke-insan-devlet' sıralaması üzerine inşa edilen bir metin olmalı. Anayasada öncelikle insan hakları güvencelenmeli; sonra devlet organlarının 'yetki sınırları' çizilmeli

Burası Washington 14 - Seçim sonrasının Türk-Amerikan gündemi

Bir hedef var orada uzakta... UMUT EKMEKÇİ –

Ahmet Taşgetiren

Doğu’da parlayan ışık ve umutlar

Ali Bayramoğlu

Son tahminler, son analizler

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

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

Dış Basında Irak BBC Turkish 0700

VOA TSİ 06:30 Dış Basında Türkiye Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey Turquie Türkei TurcoPundit

Taha Kıvanç Yeni bir Hudson?

Fehmi Koru Oylar ve sandalyeler…

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU Yeni demokrat ittifak üzerine…

NAZLI ILICAK Bahçeli, Telekom ve IMF

Cumhurbaşkanı seçiminde ihtimaller

EKREM DUMANLI - CHP'yi zorlayan meydanlar

TAMER KORKMAZ - Ulusalcı/Bush'çu İlhan Selçuk ile MHP

KÜRŞAT BUMİN Okudukça kafamız daha da karışıyor

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL Seçim sonrası nasıl bir Türkiye olacak?

Güler Kömürcü Kimler tasfiye edilecek?

MHP’liye bak MHP adayı Aktan baş örtülüleri ‘sıkmabaş’, ‘kadere iman’ı ahlaklı olmaya engel, Kuran’ın bazı ayetlerini de laikliğe...

Şakir Süter Bildiklerimiz bilmediklerimiz

Erdoğan: 2002’den az oy başarısızlıktır

Erzurum'da Baykal'ın kürsüsüne yumurta attılar

Ertuğrul Özkök Bahçeli'ye oy verilir mi

Partilerin seçim karneleri
Hasan Celal Güzel

‘En şanslısı MHP ’

Cüneyt Ülsever Bağımsızlar

Enis Berberoğlu Kuşadası’ndan yanıt var

Siyasette yeni yüzler
Mahfi Eğilmez

'İp kavgası' neyi gizledi?
Altan Öymen

Mustafa Karaalioğlu İki tehditten bir iktidar çıkar mı?

Mehmet Y Yılmaz Yenilginin sınırı nereden geçiyor?

Özdemir İnce Halki tanımah

Hakan Aygün Baykal "populist" söylemden kaçarak popülerleşiyor!

Murat Çelik Ne oldu ‘teröre karşı duruş’ mitingleri?

'Modern aşiretler' hangi partiye oy verecek?

Sami KOHEN Seçimde üslup ve içerik

Burak Bekdil Mazot 1 YTL; bir oy kaç YTL

MAHMUT ÖVÜR
Miting kalabalığı sandığa yansır mı?

[IMPRESSIONS]
In Turkish politics, size really does matter

Eser Karakaş En tehlikeli gelişme: Dünyaya tek bir cevap yeter(!!!)

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN MHP'nin serencamı

'Azgın azınlık' Nuray Mert

Murat Birsel MİT’ten bombacı psikolojisi dersi!

EMRE AKÖZ Baskın Oran kazanırsa

Asaf Savaş Akat

Oyumu açıklıyorum

Cengiz Aktar Bağımsızlar

Güneri CIVAOĞLU Genel kanı 'CHP birinci'

Can Dündar AKP'nin nefesi CHP'nin ensesinde

Baykal, Kanadoğlu'nu dışarıdan aday göstersin!

[Yorum - İbrahim Sarıtaş] AK Parti mi yoksa CHP mi?

Aleviler yönlendirme ile hareket etmez

Alevilerden MHP'ye övgü

Alevilerin oyları 4 partiye

Oyumuz CHP ve MHP’ye

Oylar mecburen CHP’ye!

Rauf Tamer DP yükseliyor

Prof. Dr. AYDIN AYAYDIN
Seçimlerde son haftaya girerken

Mehmet Tezkan

‘Şakşak’ı çok gördük de bu kadarı fazla!

Reha Muhtar Medyaya neden İkinci Cumhuriyetçiler hakim?...

LEYLA İPEKÇİ - Gerçekleri unutun, yalnız yalanları hatırlayın!

[Yorum - Mümtaz'er Türköne] 'Vatan satan politikacılar'

Mahir Kaynak Düşman değiştirme

Yusuf KANLI Presidential powers

Andrew Finkel Facing the future backward

İlnur Çevik Citizen Osman is paying the bill

Suat Kınıklıoğlu A strange election

Berat Özipek Uzlaşmayı nasıl anlıyorlar?

Analysts warn of politically motivated violence prior to polls

Can Ataklı Kanıtı olmayan gerçekler

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM Küresel etkiyle trendler silbaştan

Ercan Kumcu Kurlardan memnuniyetsizlik

Erdal Sağlam İş aleminin yeni hükümetten beklentisi yüksek

Murat Yülek A test of good governance for the IMF

IMF’yi Türkiye besliyor

İşsizlik oranı geriledi, işsiz sayısı arttı

Güngör URAS Ayşe Hanım Teyzem üç kuruşunun derdinde

Hükümetten fındık üreticilerini sevindiren karar

Hurşit GÜNEŞ Biyolojik yakıtlar bizi kurtarır mı?

Yiğit Bulut 'Dolar ne olur' sorusunu bir kediciğe sordum

Yiğit Bulut Bu faizle borçlanmak “akılcı” değil...

Paranın risk haritası

Deniz Gökçe Kafayı kaldır dünyaya bak!

MELİHA OKUR Petkim'in Türk ortaklarını arıyorum!

Erdoğan: Doğruysa felaket; birlik başkanının maaşı 17 milyar lira

PETKİM'de ihale MİT'e kaldı

Petkim ihalesinin çağrıştırdıkları... (1) Korkmaz İlkorur

Turkish business culture unraveled

Democrats Plan to Keep Senate in Session All Night for Iraq Vote

Earthquake Shakes Japan’s Northwest Coast

DAVID BROOKS Heroes and History President Bush’s self-confidence is the most remarkable feature of his presidency.

U.N. Inspectors Confirm Shutdown of North Korean Reactor

H5 Washington Post Exit Strategy Would Iran Take Over Iraq? Would Al-Qaeda? The Debate About How and When to Leave Centers on What Might Happen After the U.S. Goes. U.S. military is performing role-playing exercises and studying historical parallels to predict what may happen to Iraq when U.S. forces leave.

Bombings Kill Scores in Kirkuk As Violence Escalates in North Office of Iraqi President's Kurdish Party Targeted; Attack Is Deadliest for Oil City

Bush Renews Mideast Efforts President Plans Peace Conference, Direct Aid to Abbas

No Magic Bullets For Iraq By Anne Applebaum, Leave Washington in the winter, return in midsummer. First you'll be surprised by the heat, then by the humidity. Then you'll be surprised by the certainty.

Democrats Maneuver To Force Iraq Votes

After Quake, Japanese Nuclear Reactor Leaks Radioactive spillage into Sea of Japan is deemed insignificant by Tokyo, but U.S. nuclear experts say incident raises safety concerns.

Editorial A Reactor Shut Down Diplomacy with North Korea finally takes a step forward.

Obama Faces the Test Dean Failed: Broadening Support

16 Detainees Transferred From Guantanamo Bahraini Man Who Attempted Suicide Nearly 2 Dozen Times Is Among Those Sent to Saudi Arabia

Pakistani Government Seeks to Salvage Peace Deal

Showing Jailed Americans, Iran TV Cites Confessions

H6 Guardian Leader Chill in the air
Britain and Russia: It would be tempting to dismiss Britain's decision to expel four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite the main suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko as another diplomatic spat, reminiscent of cold-war tit-for-tat explusions.

Cold war diplomacy is back as UK expels spies Moscow vows retaliation after four agents thrown out over Litvinenko case.

British companies feel Russian backlash

Timeline: The Litvinenko case

Comment: Rodric Braithwaite

More than 80 killed as three bombs explode in Kirkuk
More than 80 people were killed and 150 wounded in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, as debate over a US exit plan intensified.

Yes, Iraq is a calamity, but military intervention can be a very good thing Max Hastings: It's an unfashionable view, but the exercise of force abroad can be both useful and honourable - unlike lazily directed aid.

A historic anomaly Ghada Karmi: The rift between Fatah and Hamas is far more damaging to Palestinians than to their enemies.

US to broker Middle East summit US to broker Middle East summit
President Bush announces US-led international conference to resolve all the outstanding issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. US president urges Palestinian people to choose peaceful co-existence with Israel and reject violence.

Clayton E Swisher: Bush's last ditch effort

Help us out, west asks Opec, with pound at 25-year high against dollar

· Warning that oil could hit $95 a barrel by end of year · UK inflation outlook may force sixth bank rate rise

Congress and the generals

Tim Watkin Jul 16 07, 08:00pm: George Bush claims that military generals, not congress, should be running the war in Iraq. So why didn't he listen to the generals when the war started?

H7 Why We Need Each Other in Tackling Global Challenges : David Miliband

Update on Humanitarian Issues and Politics in Iraq
Source: The Brookings Institution

New York Times vs. Reality By: Gwynne Dyer | The Japan Times
For all the drama in Washington, there will be no pullout of American troops from Iraq this year, and almost certainly not next year either.

Unshakeable Optimism on Iraq By: Steve Chapman | Reason
By now, we should all know that the president is determined to portray Iraq as a success in the making no matter how much it looks like a failure. The president's mood is always good and always wrong.

New Yorker Letter from Pakistan

Days of Rage Challenges for the nation’s future. by William Dalrymple

Islamism and war: the demographics of rage, Gunnar Heinsohn

FPIF America Should Leave Iraq, but for the Right Reasons

Dan Drezner Coping with the global economy

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

US Papers Tue: Carnage in Kirkuk kills scores

Iraq Papers Tues: Where Are they From?

New Middle East Peace Steps Urged by Bush

Ban presses U.S. to use 'caution' in leaving Iraq

Hundreds of Iraqis Protest Draft Oil Law

OxAn SYRIA: Regime survival depends on Hariri outcome

A Violent, 'Normal' Day in Baghdad

Saudis Vow Greater Cooperation On Security Iraq's national security adviser says Saudi Arabia has promised to help in curbing the flow of militants across the border.

Middle East Times Commentary: A smarter Hamas strategy

BBC Hezbollah's shadow
The challenges facing UN troops in Lebanon one year after war

Paris Daily Ponders Likelihood of Progress After Lebanon Conference

Iranian President Urges Mass Participation in Decision Making

CEPS What Went Wrong? The Impact of Western Policies towards Hamas & Hizbollah

Saudi Paper Says Bush Has No "Definite Policy" on Iraq

U.S. Troops Find Iranian Rockets Aimed at Their Iraq Base -

H9 Ha’aretz – Bush calls for int'l peace conference

ANALYSIS: Rice's influence seen throughout Bush's address If Rice manages to drag the Saudis to the regional peace conference, she will be able to report a breakthrough

ANALYSIS: Bush's tough talk on Hamas helps Olmert with Abbas Bush's verbal attack on Hamas enables PM to warn Abbas of end to dialogue with PA if he reunites with Hamas.

Blair to start today as Quartet envoy

All the president's words / Bush's tough talk on Hamas

Interview / If you can do it, so can we

Arens Defense or offense? Let us go back to the old and tried Israeli defense doctrine, so successful in past years. There is no substitute for the strategic triad - deterrence, early warning and victory.

Rosner's guest: Former Clinton adviser discusses Mideast issues

Marcus Go for it, Peres! The man has an insatiable desire to achieve peace. He's got the reputation, the mike and the mouthpiece. Peres, don't let the fanatics and the peace refuseniks get in your way.

How to stop Hamas It is necessary to vanquish Hamas, and military campaigns and arrests are not enough - it is imperative to bring about its political-public defeat via another Palestinian element.

Dennis Ross Can Fatah Compete with Hamas?

Jerusalem Post Analysis: Building a bridge over troubled waters
By HERB KEINON Sidelining Hamas will be much more difficult than isolating Arafat, which Bush tried five years ago.

Opinion: The Peres presidency

Analysis: A dubious pair of 'allies' for Abbas [ KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Our World: The joke's on us
[ CAROLINE GLICK, JUL. 16 20:32 ]

The Region: 'There are no bad terrorists'
[ BARRY RUBIN, JUL. 16 20:34 ]

Bush calls for international conference with Israel, Palestinians, neighbors

'Bush serving Zionist enemy'
Palestinian group Hamas rejects US president's call for an international peace conference in the fall; 'Such a summit will tear a deeper rift between Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank,' organization spokesperson says

Ramon's realignment plan

Vice premier offers withdrawal from 70 percent of West Bank territory, settlement evacuation

Daily Alert.org – Middle East Progress - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel - Palestine

Geopolitical Diary: Israel and Fatah's Strange Relations Stratfor -

A Risky Bet on Fatah - Mortimer B. Zuckerman (U.S. News)

Egypt and the Specter of Hamas - Daniel Kurtzer

In Gaza, Tensions Grow between Hamas Pragmatists and Hardliners as More Radical Groups Gain Adherents –

Those 'progressive' Jews...
who bash Israel. Alvin Rosenfeld interviewed.

H10 Christian Science Monitor Risky US alliances in Iraq

Frustrated with the Iraqi Army, US forces cultivate ties to ex-insurgents.

Opinion: Bush and Cheney: the insular 'deciders' FDR promoted a healthier style of leadership. By James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn

Opinion: Yes, you can work with Hamas The US approach to the Palestinian territories is inviting disaster. By Augustus Richard Norton and Sara Roy

Russia plans big nuclear expansion Leading the globe in construction of new plants, it also hopes to export as many as 60 plants in the next two decades.

Why US sees Al Qaeda as a growing threat With a haven in Pakistan, the terror group is boosting funding and training, US agencies say.

Suicide bombings and failed cease-fire threaten Pakistan Nearly 80 people have died in Pakistan in last two days as militants avenge Red Mosque raid

ASIA BusinessWeek's current cover story, "Can China Be Fixed?"

Japan and India as Partners for the Peace and Stability of Asia
Nautilus Institute

Delhi Anxious Over Islamabad's Troubles By: Sudha Ramachandran | Asia Times Indians have been watching developments in Islamabad with a sense of deja vu. Twenty-two years ago, the Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar - Sikhism's most revered shrine - to flush out Sikh militants holed up there.

India Wants Kashmir Border as 'Line of Peace' With Pakistan By: Ashok Bhattacharjee | Bloomberg News Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wants the Kashmir cease-fire line to be converted into a "line of peace" with Pakistan, pooling resources from both sides of the border to develop the disputed Himalayan region.

Winning With Opium in Afghanistan By: Raymond Kendal and Norine MacDonald | The Japan Times
Eradication will never be successful in Afghanistan, because it destroys the single crop that will grow in the south's harsh climate — and thus serves as the main source of income to millions of people. So a new, long-term, economically sustainable solution is urgently needed — one that directly engages with the communities that are suffering most — in order to achieve the support of the deeply impoverished rural population.

Musharraf Under Siege By: Harsh V. Pant | ISN Security Watch
Following the Red Mosque crisis, Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf finds his 'mullah-military' alliance damaged, while his own credibility is tainted both at home and in the West.

Seven dead and 400 hurt in Japan quake
An earthquake struck Japan sparking a blaze at the world's biggest nuclear power station and flattening buildings

Dirty, crowded, rich and wonderful
By SUKETU MEHTA / Yale-Global Online
For the young person in an Indian village, the call of Mumbai isn't just about money. It's also about freedom.

H11 IHT John Vinocur: Sarkozy's ambitions reach wide, but where's the depth? By JOHN VINOCUR
The new French president has leapt into French life as the man who will change everything. The hitch is that on inspection the depth of Sarkozy's convictions has not become clear.

Polish leader defends antimissile plan By BRIAN KNOWLTON In the face of fierce Russian opposition to the proposal, President Lech Kaczynski insisted Monday that the program was "really a defense instrument" that would in no way threaten Russia.

London keeps euro adoption under review, Brown says

EUROPE European press review

CEPS Is Europe back on track? Impetus from the German EU Presidency

Opinions: Arrogant Germany and fearful France tearing euro apart

PINR "E.U.-China Partnership on the Galileo Satellite System" Full text of report

Dreaming a continent: The European project will wither and die if it does not place culture and the arts at the heart of its identity, writes the legendary film-maker Wim Wenders.

A review of The Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent by Walter Laqueur (and more).

A review of Can Germany Be Saved? The Malaise of the World's First Welfare State by Hans-Werner Sinn.

In a place far from the geographic heart of German culture, on the lower reaches of the Volga River in the southern part of European Russia, there once existed a separate republic for Russia’s Germans. The story of how these Wolgadeutsche or Russlanddeutsche came to live in Russia and later leave it again, is a now largely forgotten part of European history.

Portugal and Spain will be one, says Nobel author
Nobel laureate Jose Saramago has sparked controversy by suggesting that Spain will, one day, swallow Portugal.

H12 RFE/RL Armenia Says Not Aiming For NATO, EU Membership

Russia: Gazprom Looks To A LNG Future

Google News Azerbaijan

Der Spiegel The World from Berlin: Putin's Election Year Power Play

Regnum Opinion: Kosovo and Nagorno Karabakh are similar issues

EDM INTELLIGENTSIA EXCHANGE SPARKS DEBATE, RAISES HOPES IN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

- PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTY DOMINATES ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN KAZAKHSTAN

BBC Russia warns UK over expulsions

The Kremlin warns Britain it faces "serious consequences" after expelling four Russian diplomats from the UK.

Will diplomatic spat widen?

Your views on UK-Russia row

H13 The Times Commentary: Merkel embraces a new European order Germany's Angela Merkel heads the new European triangle of power with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown

Bush backs Blair Middle East peace push with aid

Blockade drains life from Gaza

Comment: Britain picks a fight it cannot win Times Diplomatic Editor says Gordon Brown had no choice but to act on Russia's refusal to extradite Andrei Lugovoy

Leader The Price of Murder Britain’s measures against Russia are balanced and appropriate

Britain braced for Moscow retaliation Russia’s Foreign Ministry gave warning that Britain faced 'the most serious consequences' for expelling its diplomats

Brown and Merkel bring in new order It was Gordon Brown’s first military honours and the Merkel chancellery appeared flattered he had touched down in Berlin

Someone wake me from this nightmare The New York Times's call to pull troops out of Iraq represents a disreputable bit of moral cowardice

David Aaronovitch

Boris, n. eccentric, original, good thing In an age that values accuracy over flair, statistics over emotion, there is less room for the maverick

Andrew Roberts

Wall Street Journal Musharraf's Problem -- and Opportunity
Pakistan's president now has a chance to break up the military-mullah alliance.
By NAJAM SETHI

NEWS CORP. REACHED a tentative agreement to buy Dow Jones at its original $5 billion offer price, although the Bancroft family remains divided. The deal will be put to the full Dow Jones board on Tuesday evening.

The China Syndrome By: Jeremy Haft | The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
What could be reassuring about killer Chinese toothpaste, toys and tires? Hard to believe, but there's a silver lining. The rash of product recalls reveals that China is not the manufacturing juggernaut we fear -- and that America has an edge we tend to overlook.

Libertarians and the War
Ron Paul doesn't speak for all of us.
By RANDY E. BARNETT

Washington Times U.S. energy options (By Daniel L. Davis)

H14 Financial Times WORLD NEWS: Hands tied

MARKETS AND INVESTING: While America is sleeping, Europe is catching up The US seems to take its economic hegemony, and reliance on free markets, for granted, writes Jason DeSena Trennert

COMMENT: With due respect to Mr Putin . Russia’s new belligerence demands a response that is both coherent and tough, writes Philip Stephens

COMMENT: Only now is Europe learning to stop fearing the Germans Poland is not alone in its suspicion of Germany, but it is the only EU country where these fears dictate policy, writes Gideon Rachman

WORLD NEWS: Democrats struggle to mount Iraq challenge

COMMENT: Do notrely on the stateto make you happy It is an error to urge governments to set policy based on flawed well-being data, write Helen Johns and Paul Ormerod

Transferring 23,000 mostly Sunni prisoners from US custody to a Shia-dominated regime is a recipe for more bloodshed

US hopeful on approval of arms treaty with UK Exclusive agreement that seeks to ease the export of arms and defence technologies to Britain is up for ratification at US Senate later this year

WORLD NEWS: Bush drives for two-state Mideast solution

Moscow envoys expelled in spy row Britain expelled four Russian diplomats in protest at Moscow’s failure to extradite to London Andrei Lugovoi, an ex-KGB officer and the main suspect in the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent

NATIONAL NEWS: Litvinenko affair increases friction with west

Leader Franco-German motor still ticking Nicolas Sarkozy has shown his energetic pragmatism can win results – now he needs to learn when to stop

COMMENT: Strong euro 'fling' could end in German tears

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Today's rich nations became rich thanks to strong trade protection

Iranian-US detainees shown on TV

ANALYSIS: Detainees chief sees Koran as key ally

Business lobby groups move to reduce barriers US Chamber of Commerce and Business Europe to announce initiative amid frustration at what they say is slow progress by governments on cutting down regulatory barriers

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: Why the Americans and Brits do not save for a rainy day The paradox of financial market liberalisation is that it has fuelled consumption, not saving, writes John Kay

COMMENT: How to bring good governance to Chinese companies

COMMENT: An irreverent take on an American idol

Turmoil in markets unlikely to shift Bernanke's forecasts

When Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, delivers the twice-yearly Economic Report to Congress tomorrow the markets will, as ever, hang on his every word.

Redesigning EADS Nicolas Sarkozy's eruption into Europe's political arena has been nothing if not energising

H15 Los Angeles Times Owning on borrowed time Niall Ferguson: Woes in the sub-prime mortgage market will ripple across global financial systems.

Army's middle ranks are dwindling

U.S. says more Iraqi troops are needed

Editorial

H16 American Politics

Brownback Ready to Attack Iran, Declares War Will Probably Last a Generation

Washington Monthly The New Vision The speech I want the Democratic nominee to give. By Theodore C. Sorensen

Senate Democrats plan faux filibuster to pressure Republicans on Iraq

GOP senator to Rove: Bush legacy on the line in Iraq

realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note – US News Political Bulletin

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post: Bill Kristol: On the Train to Delusionville

SCAIFE PAPER TURNS ON BUSH...

H17 Daily Telegraph LEADER

Things can only get worse with Mr Putin The new Brown administration has no option but to restrict official Russian operations in this country.

Putin vows revenge as UK expels diplomats

Russia threatened Britain with "serious consequences" last night after David Miliband announced that four Russian diplomats were to be expelled from London

Income divide at widest for 40 years

The wealth gap is at its widest for more than 40 years, creating ghettoes of the richest and the poorest.

Bush backs Fatah with summit promise America added her weight to the drive for peace in the Middle East when George Bush set out plans to bring together Israel and Palestine at a major summit in the autumn.

Gordon Brown faces the realities of ruling Shortly before Tony Blair left Number 10, he said the main lesson he had learnt as Prime Minister was that "you can't please all the people all the time". Rachel Sylvester believes Gordon Brown is acquiring this knowledge fast.

H18 Independent Just another day in Iraq: 100 more fathers, mothers, sons and daughters killed A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives in Kirkuk yesterday killing at least 85 people and wounding a further 183.

Britain expels Russian diplomats in Litvinenko row Britain expelled four Russian diplomats after President Vladimir Putin refused to allow the extradition of the chief suspect wanted for the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

Leading article: A difficult balance of justice and diplomacy

Oleg Gordievsky: An inadequate response to this assassination

Brown backs a European Treaty without referendum

Gordon Brown began his first trip abroad as Prime Minister with a pledge to introduce the European Treaty without calling a referendum.

Nuclear leak after earthquake in Japan

Hamas left in cold as Bush backs Abbas to find peace blueprint

Steve Richards: The reasons why Brown should consider an early election - and why he shouldn't do it

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

USA Today leads with an in-house investigation that found service members on the ground in Iraq had been asking for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, which provides much better protection against roadside bombs, since as early as December 2003. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the issue a priority only two months ago.

International Biodefense Handbook 2007 Source: Center for Security Studies (CSS) Full Document (PDF; 2.5 MB)

The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
CRS

From Wired, an article on the evolutionary brain glitch that makes terrorism fail.

A special report on a world wide web of terror: Al-Qaeda's most famous web propagandist is jailed, but the internet remains its best friend.

The myth of al-Qaida's omnipotence: In reality, the terrorist network has no useful answers to the complex questions of modern Islamic societies. In time, it will wither away; and don't flatter terrorists with po-faced hush.

Mock them: Taking the mickey out of these criminals is a serious necessity - by laughing at them we deny them all dignity.

A review of The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World by Rupert Smith.

Planet Pentagon: How the Pentagon came to own the earth, seas, and skies

Gov't classified 20.5m docs in 2006
Oversight office says more than 10% lacked sufficient basis for classification.

Secrecy and U.S. Satellite Reconnaissance, 1958-1976
Source: National Security Archive

H20 Slate The Only Choices Are Bad Choices:

Endless plans, no good options for Iraq. Anne Applebaum

From IHT, a review of The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption by John Perkins.

From FT, a review of Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy by Daniel Altman.

Some liken capitalism to a religion. The comparison goes too far, yet unquestionably some religious faiths and ethnic groups seem to have a particular affinity for free enterprise.

New Yorker Sick and Twisted by Atul Gawande The documentary-maker Michael Moore has more than a few insufferable traits. He is manipulative, smug, and self-righteous. He can’t always be trusted with facts. He has no interest in complexity. For all that, his movie about the American health-care system, “Sicko,” is a revelation…

Glorious, Indeed What the English Revolution of 1688 meant.
by Gertrude Himmelfarb

What if they held a War of Ideas and nobody came? by Jonathan Chait

State of the World Population 2007
Source: United Nations Population Fund

Cato First We Take Manhattan, Then We Take Berlin

The List: The World’s Stupidest Fatwas

H21 The Bible was the world’s first Wikipedia article. So many later hands have edited the original texts that we’ll never know what they first said... more»

Better Bombs: Scientists Develop Metal That Explodes on Impact (David Hambling/Popular Mechanics)

George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” made the right argument at the right time and put him in the pantheon of American history... more»

In this increasingly celebrity-obsessed world has the "gossip-isation" of the news rendered the columns redundant?

From PopMatters, an article on film portrayals of journalists.

Two new long-form investigative series, in the Boston Globe and the Washington Post, demonstrate the value of this news format.

From Discover, a look at the 7 most exciting moments in science (Hint: Newton and Archimedes didn't make it).

English may be the language for science in Europe, but people are 10% dumber working outside of their native tongue. Why not German science in German?... more» ... auf Deutsch

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