1018-2007f - 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 The End of Exceptionalism - Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek

Before We Bomb Iran by Jonathan Alter

Yedioth Ahronoth 'Israel cannot be destroyed' Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy believes Iran was the big loser in Second Lebanon war

"The Secret History of the Impending War With Iran That The White House Doesn't Want You to Know," by John H. Richardson, Esquire, November 2007, p. 104.

How Israel Thinks Forward

Asia Times Caspian summit a triumph for Tehran This week's summit of the Caspian littoral states in Tehran has opened up new breathing space for Iranian diplomacy from the Caspian to the Arab world and brought Iran to the verge of a new strategic relationship with Russia. Simultaneously, the US's coercive diplomacy in the region has been frustrated. Washington will be particularly incensed by Moscow's siding with Tehran on its nuclear program. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Christian Science Monitor Russia, Iran harden against West

NYT Putin Is Said to Offer Idea on Standoff Over Iran

Washington Post Divisions in Europe May Thwart U.S. Objectives on Iran

By Robin Wright

Portents of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda By David Ignatius

Guardian Never mind the treaty squabbles. Europe's real problem is Babel Timothy Garton Ash: The chief lesson of a unique polling project is that the EU's greatest worry is not Brussels - it's 23 different languages

BBC Q&A: Costly oil
Why have crude oil prices spiralled to nearly $90 a barrel?

What Rice Must Do to Pave Way for Mideast Deal - Dennis Ross, USA Today

Al Hayat Was It Napoleon Who Invented The Idea Of The Middle East? Roger Owen - A case could easily be made that the more important a country or a region is from a western military standpoint the more its inhabitants are subject to a process of essentialist reductionism, based on such primitive questions as how will they respond or, more importantly, are they to be trusted

Financial Times Editorial Risky optimism The IMF is forecasting strong growth for the world economy next year but much could go wrong to ensure there is a less pleasant reality

IMF says dollar ‘overvalued’ China urged to let renminbi appreciate The dollar is vulnerable to more falls in spite of its recent sharp decline, the International Monetary Fund signalled yesterday

IHT The U.S. has run out of tricks By RAMI G. KHOURI

Most people in the Mideast no longer fear America's power

Roger Cohen: The 'American' rebooting France By ROGER COHEN

France, long hung up in a left-bank bubble filled with quaint notions of reversing globalization, now wants 'to take advantage of a globalized world.' An interview with Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

McClatchy Commentary: McCaffrey - 'defense strategy' unbalanced, incoherent and underfunded

UPI U.S. unveils new maritime strategy U.S. military officials unveiled the new U.S. maritime strategy at the International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I., Wednesday.

A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower Source: U.S. Navy

Maritime Strategy at a Glance
+ Full Document (PDF: 1.8 MB)

The Times Leader Lisbon, not Lisbon Economic reform, not a new treaty, must be the priority

ABC The Blotter After Comments, US Terror Chief Resigns

Time The Next Saudi King

CFR Riedel: Delay on US-Indian Nuclear Accord Only a ‘Hiccup’ On Road to Stronger Ties

H2 The Times Karayılan Interview - Kurdish separatists vow bloody resistance As Turkey votes for cross-border attacks PKK chief Murat Karayilan warns that the war will spread to Turkish cities

Daily Telegraph Leader Turkey and the Kurds Turkey's parliament has authorised military strikes into northern Iraq - but any incursion may cause yet more chaos and fatally weaken the Baghdad government.

Bush says US is telling Turkey not to strike at Iraqi Kurds

Press Conference by the President

Bush urges Turkey against Iraq incursion

Norman Stone Armenian story has another side – Chicago Tribune

Crime and Punishment - Deterrence and its Failure in Theory and Practice 2001

ABD Güvenlik Politikalarında Güç Kullanımı ve Caydırıcılık Ağustos 2002

NYT House Speaker Now Unsure if Armenian Genocide Motion Will Reach a Vote

New York Times Parliament in Turkey Approves Iraq Incursion Turkey, a member of NATO, made it clear that it would not immediately carry out the resolution

CAP Tensions Peak in Northern Iraq

Laura Rozen/ - Middle East Economic Survey: "The simmering row between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Irbil over its recent moves to license oil companies for exploration and development in KRG-controlled areas of northern Iraq stepped up a gear this week after allegations by former Iraqi Oil Minister Issam Chalabi, in a /MEES /interview, that the production-sharing contract awarded to US independent Hunt Oil in early September relates to areas of Iraq at present outside KRG control. If confirmed, the development would appear to suggest that the KRG is not only targeting oil investment, but may have broader political ambitions for control of oil and gas in the disputed areas adjacent to its territory in northern Iraq."

Newsmax's Ken Timmerman reports from the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq while hanging out with the Iranian Kurdish militants the PJAK dreaming of attacking Iran and anticipating a possible Turkish invasion. An Iranian American contact quite hostile to the Iranian regime comments skeptically, "[PJAK] are not destabilizing Iran, They are destabilizing IRAQ! Turkish forces want to enter the Kurdish area to go after them." But Newsmax sounds quite excited with its new found rebel friends, kissing cousins of the PKK terrorist group attacking Turkey.

The Economist 'Operasyon Türkiye'ye hiçbir fayda sağlamaz'

Jamestown - Making Sense of the Current Phase of Turkish-Russian Relations Igor Torbakov

Asia Times Turkey into Iraq? Easier said than done Turkey is taking final steps toward a military foray into Iraqi. Such a move, favored by the public and the military, would be fraught with danger, with the Turkish military likely to confront well-organized Iraqi Kurdish forces, and possibly even US troops

National Review THE EDITORS: What great cause justifies taking such grave risks? “History Lesson”

FRED GEDRICH: The U.S./Turkey relationship is too important to be sacrificed on the altar of self-serving domestic political interests. “Congressional Turkeys”

Independent Turkey votes to open new front in Iraq war

Washington Post Turkey Authorizes Iraq Incursion Parliament Permits Cross-Border Attacks on Kurdish Rebels

Geopolitical Diary: Emerging Turkish-Syrian Relations Stratfor

IraqSlogger US Papers Thursday: Turkey Raises the Stakes

Bracing for a Turkish Strike in Iraq
TIME

Turkish Parliament OKs Possible Invasion of Northern Iraq
PBS Peter Galbraith

Realism and Turkish Domestic Politics

So much for the "peaceful" haven of Northern Iraq. Iraqis prepare to seek safe haven. But where?

Dünyanın gözü sınırda

Dış basında tezkere yankısı

FT Turkey approves Iraq incursion MPs ignore US plea to hold back

Pelosi backtracks on Armenia ‘genocide’ bill

ABD'de denklem değişince Pelosi geri adım attı

Pelosi: Armenian genocide vote in doubt Link Search: Ask, Technorati, Sphere, Google, and IceRocketDiscussion: Weekly Standard, Los Angeles Times and Blue Crab Boulevard

TASARIYA FREN

Guardian Turkey's MPs back attacks on Iraqi Kurds · PM gets blank cheque for raids on rebel bases · Leaders in Baghdad appeal for restraint on both sides

NYT Parliament in Turkey Approves Iraq Incursion

The Times Turkish MPs approve offensive against Kurds Turkish Parliament approves military action against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq - despite White House warnings

Daily Telegraph Turkey to send troops into N Iraq Cross-border assault against Kurdish insurgents imminent

US applies a double standard to Turkey Online Journal

How 'genocide' vote lost steam
Christian Science Monitor

Politicians, Stay Out of Our History

LA Times Turkey OKs military action in Iraq Attacks against Kurdish rebels could move forward despite pleas from Washington.

Iraqi leader calls for Turkish restraint

Bush urges Congress to act quickly on legislation

Genocide resolution's support is fading

BBC Turkish MPs back attacks in Iraq

Kurdish voices
People in north Iraq speak of their fears of a Turkish attack

Iraqi Kurds' views on Turkey

Explosive potential of Turkish raid

Turkey's rising nuclear ambitions ISN

What if Turkish Forces Went Into Northern Iraq?

Turkey Vultures

FT Congress shifts from genocide vote Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a US resolution that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago

Pelosi Backs Off Pledge to Call Vote on Armenian Bill

Kongre'nin derdi Bush'la
Bronwen Maddox

Washington Times Sabotage in wartime Thomas Sowell The resolution on Armenia is just the latest in a series of congressional efforts to sabotage the conduct of the Iraq war.

[NEWS ANALYSIS]
Congress helps create diplomatic headaches for Bush in Turkey and China

Türkiye, lobi faaliyetleri için Ermenilerden fazla para harcadı

Bush blasts Congress

Tasarının Genel Kurula Gitme Şansı Azalıyor

Bush: 'Kongre Vazgeçmeli'

Cold Turkey Neocon Ignorance Reaps Another Disaster

Türk lobisi sayesinde zengin olanlar

Can we discuss the Armenian question?
Orhan Kemal Cengiz

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

Turkey’s Kurds fear Iraq incursion to fuel conflict

Operasyona 40 bin asker katılıyor

Jandarma ve Emniyet'e terörist saldırı uyarısı

The Kurdish Case Against Turkish Military Actions

The Kurdish Factor in Middle Eastern Developments World Press Review

Syrian president expresses support for incursion into N. Iraq

Esad'dan PKK desteği

Pro-Kurdish party calls for Spanish-style constitution
Turkish Daily News

Baydemir 12,5 yıl hapis talebiyle yargılanacak

Şırnak raporu tartışmaya neden oldu

Heritage Oil caught in Turkey-Kurd dispute

Talabani: PKK Irak'ı terk etsin

Operasyon, PKK'nın eylemlerini artırır

NATO, Türkiye'ye 'itidal' tavsiye etti

ABD'li general: Irak egemenliğini savunur

Şırnak'ta operasyonlar tüm hızıyla sürüyor

Irak: Bize fırsat verin

Arap Birliği: Türkiye askeri operasyon yapqmamalı

Büyükanıt: Haşimi ne almış, bilmiyorum

CHP'li Erdem: Türkiye, maceraya sürüklenmesin diye red oyu kullandım

18 Ekim 2007
Kürt edebiyatının öncüsü Mehmed Uzun'un ardından...

Iraqi MPs Condemn Turkish "Military Acts" in North - Al-Iraqiyah TV

Iraqi Kurdish Paper Discusses "Projects to Rescue Iraq"

Babacan temaslarda bulunmak üzere Mısır'da

Şam, Ankara’ya tam destek verdi

Fikret Ertan İsrail'in füzesavar hamleleri...

Türkiye'nin Aksa Raporu'ndan İsrail'e eleştiri

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

Semih İDİZ
Bu kez AB ile soykırım krizi görünüyor

After genocide dispute, France smoothes relations with Turkey - International Herald Tribune

Kıbrıs'ı 'infaz'dan kim kurtaracak? NİKos A. Rolandİs

For All Turks and Armenians: An Analysis and Manifesto Barin Kayaoglu
Journal of Turkish Weekly

KKTC-Suriye feribot seferleri başlıyor

AB bir dosta nasıl davranılacağını unutmuş görünüyor Chris Patten

New elite rising among Turkish immigrants in Germany

Avrupa Birliği 'vazgeçin' dedi diyalog istedi

İbrahim Kalın A historic call and the pope may miss it

Talat'ın temasları

Kuzey Kıbrıs lideri, BM'ye güven yaratıcı önlemler önerdi

Turk Cypriots seek greater UN role to start talks

Gaffar Okkan Suikastı planlayan meçhul

Emin Çölaşan kendini dokunulmaz görüyordu

Doğan-Çölaşan kapışması / Video

TUSAŞ'tan ilk F-16 Ürdün'e

Gül'den 'eşsiz' formül

Swedish hackers retaliate against Turkish attack

Uzmanlar uyardı: Melen Suyu kirli geliyor

Ali Bulaç Ne okumalı?

Kaz Dağları milli park olsun

'Şemdinli' mahkemesini Yargıtay seçecek

Serdar Turgut Amerika’da siyasi film patlaması

[İş dünyasına yön verenler - Ali Sabancı] Hiçbir şeyin uzantısı değilim, Ali'yim o kadar

Diyanetten, camilere ''GSM karıştırıcı cihaz kullanın'' genelgesi

İsmailağa cemaatinin liderinin yattığı hastane kurşunlandı

Meclis tuvaletlerinde 'abdest' sıkıntısı

Ekşi: VIP'teki yasak sansürdür

18 Ekim 2007 Basın Özeti

H3 Referans Tezkere tamam piyasaların gözü bu yedi senaryoda

Tezkere tamam

Sırada 'siyasi direktif' var

Ali Nihat Özcan Operasyon neden gerekli?

Cengiz Çandar Senaryolar ve ihtimalleri konuşma dönemi

Taha AKYOL 'Sınır ötesi' ama nasıl?

Scowcroft 'Misilleme size de zarar verir'

Ahmet Taşgetiren Doğu – Güneydoğu için bir hassasiyet çerçevesi

SOLİ ÖZEL Sıkıntı

Şamil Tayyar Tezkere geçti şimdi ne olacak?

Bilal Çetin ABD ve Irak’a “makul süre” tanınacak...

Türkiye üç PKK liderini istiyor

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu Turkey’s dangerous dance with isolationism

Public diplomacy needed more than ever on brink of incursion

Türkiye'nin sesi tezkereyle duyuldu Murat Yetkin

Dağ fare doğurmamalıdır Hasan Celal Güzel

M Ali Birand Askeri harekatı PKK başlatabilir

Deep cooperation in the region? by ÜMİT FIRAT *

Did the Americans really shoot themselves in the foot?
Burak BEKDİL

Uzmanlar tezkereyi tartışıyor

Dışişleri: Kimseye güvence verilmedi

Cüneyt Ülsever Ortadoğu’yu doğru okumak

Turkish operation may come soon if parties fail to scrutinize PKK’

Sami KOHEN Tezkere ve diplomasi

Cross-border motion and afterwards
Orhan KİLERCİOĞLU

ABD ile cephe riski yüzde 25

Oktay Ekşi Elekdağ’ın konuşması

Mehmet Barlas ABD Kürtlere, İran da Türkiye’ye daha mı yakın görünüyor?

Mustafa Mutlu Tezkere çözüm değilse çözümü söyleyin!

Sivil siyasetin önünü açmak Nuray Mert

"Türkiye istekli değil" Pentagon'dan, "Türkiye operasyona aslında istekli değil" açıklaması geldi.

Kıbrıs’tan sonra en yüksek oyla karar

Hasan CEMAL Tezkere ile çözüm!

Ardan Zentürk Tezkere sonrası Ankara soğukkanlı

Tezkere 507 oyla kabul edildi

Tezkereden sonrası İsmet Berkan

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU

Bu tezkere ülkeyi götürür?

İsmail Küçükkaya
Doğru teşhisi koyalım...

AKİF EMRE Türkü, kürdü rehin alan söylem

Büyükanıt: Tezkere katkımızla ortak hazırlandı

Irak'ın operasyon şartı

Referandum kararı bir oy farkla alındı

Seçmen kâğıdı alan bile yok

Yiğit Bulut Türkiye ile çatışma Amerika’nın işine yarar

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri -

Dış Basında Irak BBC Turkish 0700

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

Taha Kıvanç

Fehmi Koru A war on two fronts Terörün serbest bölgesi olmamalıyız

A funeral prayer for Turkish-American relations C. Cem OĞUZ

Karayalçın: Operasyon tek çözüm değil

Ertuğrul Özkök

Ahmet Hakan Tanıdığım kadarıyla İhsan Arslan

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

ABD'yi; teröre destek veren ülke ilan ettik..

Mehmet Tezkan AKP, tezkere travmasını atlattı ama referanduma da ‘siyaset’ karıştırdı..

Bekir Coşkun Bay yanlış...

Mehmet Yılmaz Biraz daha ciddiyet lütfen

Şükrü Küçükşahin Sessiz Dışişleri Bakanı

Yalçın Doğan Kimlik korkusundan kopan kavga

Yılmaz Özdil Demokratik promosyon...

Haydi bakalım Sınır Ötesi Yiğitlikleri! Perihan Mağden

Mustafa Karaalioğlu Ateşten top

İhsan Dağı Missing a historic opportunity?

YASİN DOĞAN

Bölge halkını anlamak…

Güneri CIVAOĞLU Cenazeler geliyor

Ekrem Dumanlı Would Turkish troops enter Iraq?

Referanduma karşı uyutma teknikleri

Hüseyin Gülerce Tezkere tamam da...

Şahin Alpay Fikirler özgür değilse, sorunlar çözülemez

Mümtazer Türköne '12. cumhurbaşkanını sen seç!'

Wilson: Türkiye ile güzel şeyler yapacağız

[HABER ANALİZ] Baykal'ın 'sağ kolu' tezkereye karşı

Can Ataklı

Can Ataklı

Amerika ile neden düşman olalım?

Vedat Yenerer AKP'nin ABD korkusu!

Sebahattin Önkibar Askere göre ABD artık müttefik değil!

Mehmet Altan Askerimiz nasıl şehit düştü?

Güler Kömürcü
Operasyonun kapsama alanı...

MELİHA OKUR Irak tezkeresi

Sistemik düşünce çerçevesinde anayasa
AYTEN AYDIN

MUHARREM SARIKAYA

ERDAL ŞAFAK Elekdağ'ın uyarıları

ERGUN BABAHAN Sorumluluk artık Irak ve ABD'de

EMRE AKÖZ İnşallah kötek gerekmez

Umur Talu Bu işler biraz böyle!

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN Soğuk savaş sonrası sonrası

NAZLI ILICAK Bıçak sırtında

MAHMUT ÖVÜR Kürt meselesi 40 yıl önce de aynıydı!

YAVUZ DONAT Türkler'in kabahati

ABD hem 'gitme', hem 'gel gel' diyor

Hadi Uluengin Sebep ve tedavi

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM Türkiye'de asıl kazanç yine faizden mi?

Ercan Kumcu Faiz indirme baskısı

Erdal Sağlam Piyasalar artık her terör eylemini izleyecek

Hurşit GÜNEŞ
Hükümet istikrardan taviz veriyor

7. gözden geçirme görüşmeleri Washington'da devem adecek

Eyüp Can Tık, tık, tık... Greenspan'den Yılmaz'a acil kodlu mesaj

İlanla faiz indirimi Mahfi Eğilmez

Bölgemizde finansal sektör fırsatları
Korkmaz İlkorur

Elektrik zammı Erdoğan'ı bekliyor

Fikret BİLA
Bakan Yıldırım: Sabotaj varsa skandal olur

[NEWS ANALYSIS] Turkish construction abroad

Seyfettin Gürsel İstihdam verileri ışığında faiz politikası

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ

Genç işsizler ülkesiyiz

Deniz Gökçe
Çıkar grupları topluma karşı, ondört kısım tekmili birden!

Salih Neftçi TCMB ve faizler... Ve ‘kaz’

Yiğit Bulut Dolar 1.18-1.20 bandına dönecek mi?

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU
130 bin mükellefin banka hesabına haciz

Prof. Dr. AYDIN AYAYDIN
Talimatla faiz indirimi, ilanla indirime döndü

Süleyman Yaşar Özelleştirmeye İsveç modeli uygulanacak

Petkim’de ‘Azeri’li bir çözüm Türkiye için mükemmel oldu

2008 bütçesinden en fazla ödeneği Karayolları istedi

Bir tepki de Bakan Şimşek'ten

H4 New York Times Parliament in Turkey Approves Iraq Incursion Turkey, a member of NATO, made it clear that it would not immediately carry out the resolution

Iraq Awards Contracts to Iran and China The contracts, awarded to build a pair of power plants, prompted concerns among American military officials.

Musharraf Rival Prepares for Return

Bush and Congress Honor Dalai Lama

Nuclear-Armed Iran Risks World War, Bush Says

Putin Is Said to Offer Idea on Standoff Over Iran

Bush Optimistic on Mideast Peace Despite Discord

Mastermind of ’80s Gas Attacks on Kurds Is Taken to a Gallows Site in Baghdad

House Speaker Now Unsure if Armenian Genocide Motion Will Reach a Vote

Overhaul of Afghan Police Is New Priority

H5 Washington Post Divisions in Europe May Thwart U.S. Objectives on Iran By Robin Wright

Portents of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda By David Ignatius

Rice Hears Palestinians' Grievances: After Her Visit to Bethlehem Church, Civic Leaders Cite High Stakes of Peace Effort

Migrants Sent Home $300 Billion in 2006: Study Says Money Sent to Families Has Potential to Aid Development in Poor Countries

Ambitious to a Fault By Robert J. Samuelson,

A great strength of American society is the drive to succeed -- well, not just to succeed but to do better than anyone else; to be a star, a tycoon, an authority, a power, a celebrity or a leader; to be admired, respected, feared or obeyed more than your peers. It is the belief in these possibili...

Bush Says Putin Is 'Wily' About Future

Russian Would Not Reveal Successor, President Says

Tough Punishment Expected for Warhead Errors

Officers May Lose Commands After Nuclear Missiles Were Flown on Bomber

Editorial Mr. Mukasey's Answers

The attorney general nominee speaks clearly -- and senators swoon

Bush Appears With Dalai Lama, Nudges China

Bhutto, Returning From Exile, Adds to Pakistan's Uncertainty

Huge Welcome Planned Despite Criticism Over Musharraf Deal

Bush: 'I Am Relevant'

Afraid of the Dalai Lama? China's Chance to Turn Toward Dialogue on Tibet By Maura Moynihan,

Help That Hits Home By David S. Broder, The House of Representatives, which has a penchant for spending time on issues such as the Armenian genocide of 1915, actually did something useful last week.

Senate and Bush Agree On Terms of Spying Bill

Some Telecom Companies Would Receive Immunity

H6 Guardian Never mind the treaty squabbles. Europe's real problem is Babel Timothy Garton Ash: The chief lesson of a unique polling project is that the EU's greatest worry is not Brussels - it's 23 different languages.

A national motto? That's the last thing Britain needs Tristram Hunt: The call for a statement of values is an invitation to find issues of blood, soil and faith on which we can all disagree.

The satisfaction guarantee With freedoms and opportunities unavailable elsewhere in the region, the people of Qatar have no need of extremism, Sheikha Mozah of the Gulf state tells Ian Black

Iraqi mutilation claims Lawyers are taking the MoD to court over allegations of abuse.

Leader Icy imperialism National territory: Like other international institutions, the Antarctic treaty is today struggling amid the instability and unilateralism of the post-cold-war world and in the face of competition for energy resources.

The tip of the iceberg Michael Bravo: Britain's new claim for sovereignty in Antarctica is all about energy, but we should now expect a sharp backlash and criticism from around the world.

Muslim secularism and its allies Ali Eteraz: Western pundits are misdiagnosing Islamism. Democracy is not the issue; the issue is appointed clerics who override legislation.

The innovation game Vijay Vaitheeswaran The rise of knowledge-based economies mean that today's winners are those who develop and exchange ideas and information most freely

Power in the sun China is changing more rapidly than the party can cope with. If it is to address the quality of economic growth, rather than merely its quantity, Mr Hu must also look outside the party to the growing ranks of professionals, campaigning lawyers and environmentalists for help.

The appliance of science Jeffrey Sachs The IPCC proved that scientists and policymakers can work together to help solve problems of critical importance for humanity

Speaking in tongues Jeff Jarvis: The English language hegemony over the internet is being challenged by Chinese and other languages: that's good for the internet and for us.

Chamberlain was right

Richard Overy Why do some British politicians still think confrontation is always preferable to appeasement?

Born again - in Iran? Francis Wilkinson Bush said in 2000 that the first 40 years of his (pre-Jesus) life didn't count. Wonder if he's now thinking of a way to make Iraq not count

H7 BBC Q&A: Costly oil
Why have crude oil prices spiralled to nearly $90 a barrel?

What Rice Must Do to Pave Way for Mideast Deal - Dennis Ross, USA Today

Al Hayat Was It Napoleon Who Invented The Idea Of The Middle East? Roger Owen - A case could easily be made that the more important a country or a region is from a western military standpoint the more its inhabitants are subject to a process of essentialist reductionism, based on such primitive questions as how will they respond or, more importantly, are they to be trusted

Lebanon's Government By Murder - David Schenker, Los Angeles Times

Iraq: Save the Champagne - New York Post

Time American Education in the Middle East

Foreign Policy Seven Questions: Ted Turner on the Future of the Planet

Juan Cole Oil Peak or Peak Oil?

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

BBC Lukewarm summit
Putin cool with Iran as rapprochement only goes so far

Talk of a velvet revolution in Iran only excites paranoia among the mullahs and in the state security apparatus, says Haleh Esfandiari... more»

Asia Times Iran jails its conscience
Iran's leading human rights activist is in solitary confinement in Tehran's sinister Evin prison. Tehran is in need of a new public relations strategy. Just when it most needs friends, it sends Emadeddin Baghi to jail - not exactly a brilliant move

H9 Ha’aretz - Syria: We never said nuclear facility was target of IAF strike

Bush warns that a nuclear Iran could spur 'World War III'

Olmert to confer with Putin on Iranian threat

Former Mossad chief downplays Iranian threat

Eye on the situation / What about national pride?

Oren Nasrallah's victory If, like in the case of revolutions, wars should be judged only after time has past, then the prisoner exchange deal in the works between Israel and Hezbollah suggests that Nasrallah won the Second Lebanon War.

HaREL Paying a high price The lull in meetings between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dragged Olmert, in an impulsive and unplanned move, into the trap that is the Annapolis summit.

Egypt: IDF troops behind arms smuggling to Gaza

BBC Rice wins no firm Mid-East pledges

Yedioth Ahronoth 'Israel cannot be destroyed' Former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy believes Iran was the big loser in Second Lebanon war

Olmert, Putin to discuss Iran
Prime minister set to leave Thursday morning on day-long visit to Moscow, to meet with Russian president for two hours at Kremlin. Topic of discussion: Iran's nuclear program, warmly adopted by Putin during visit to Tehran

Gates: U.S.-Israel Partnership as Important as Ever –

Expect a Process, But Likely No Peace - Oakland Ross

Jerusalem Post Rudy Giuliani is no George W. Bush [ DANIEL PIPES

Ahmadinejad & Annapolis
[ AMNON RUBINSTEIN ,

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

Abraham Lincoln and the Jews

Jewish rightist: 'Finish Hitler's work, kill Ashkenazi Jews'

Shragai: If we divide J'lem, Jews can forget the Western Wall

Study: Israel is biggest polluter in eastern Mediterranean

H10 Christian Science Monitor Russia, Iran harden against West In a historic first visit to Iran, Russian President Putin affirmed support for Tehran's nuclear program and rebuffed any militarization in the Caspian region.

How can you predict global warming if you can't predict rain?

Some say climate change is part of a complex natural cycle – so complex, in fact, that it can't be forecast. Are current climate models reliable?

The buzz on Gore's Nobel Peace Prize While it ruffles the feathers of his detractors, studies continue to support Gore's position

Pocketbook pinch ahead - if soaring oil prices stay high Consumers would feel the effects in the next few weeks, from the pump to the airline counter

ASIA

Boston Globe Editorial What Hu Jintao really meant THE SPEECH by China's president, Hu Jintao, to the Communist Party Congress on Monday was a reminder of how much the world misses George Orwell. Hu's touting of "scientific development" - a doctrine that is now to be enshrined along with Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong-thought as a guiding concept for China - would have been recognized by the author of ...

IHT One country or two systems? By PHILIP BOWRING

Seeking preference with Beijing undermines Hong Kong's role

Common exercise, different goals By YU BIN

'Normalcy' in Sino-Russian relations is a complex concept.

BBC Crowds gather for Bhutto return Supporters of Pakistan ex-PM Benazir Bhutto gather in Karachi ahead of her planned historic return.

BBC In pictures
Rare access to the life of a Communist Party official in China

Tibet leader awarded top US medal

The Dalai Lama is awarded a Congressional Gold Medal - the top US civilian honour, a move that infuriates China.

Deal demolished?
Will the India-US nuclear accord go up in smoke?

FT COMMENT: Japan's economy and the Koizumi myth David Pilling says reforms have been overplayed

COMMENT: China faces a tricky balancing act in Burma Priscilla Clapp on China’s Burma conundrum

Foreign fighters seen on the rise in Afghanistan

Journeying to democracy

(By Benazir Bhutto)

H11 IHT The U.S. has run out of tricks By RAMI G. KHOURI

Most people in the Mideast no longer fear America's power

Roger Cohen: The 'American' rebooting France By ROGER COHEN

France, long hung up in a left-bank bubble filled with quaint notions of reversing globalization, now wants 'to take advantage of a globalized world.' An interview with Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

EUROPE European press review

WSJ Drafting a Global Player
The new treaty could put Europe on the map. By MARK LEONARD

UPI Analysis: Churches vs. Mosques in Europe Europeans are alarmed by a rise in mosques that may become catalysts in another round of a cultural conflict, further hampering the integration of Muslims in Europe.

Guardian France awaits Black Thursday Workers in walkout over president's reform plans.

National soup Ian Bancroft In pursuing its own vision of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community has become part of the problem

BBC Mardell's Euroblog
Will EU Reform Treaty be agreed before dinner ends?

France wakes to transport misery

A one-day nationwide strike by public transport workers leaves France with almost no train, bus or metro services

Smooth operator
How Rome's popular mayor became the new hero of Italy's left

H12 RFE/RL

Google News Azerbaijan

Newsweek Power To The Party Owen Matthews Vladimir Putin says he may lead United Russia when he leaves office. That will solidify his control, and turn the party into a new center of political might.

Europe's Power Struggle

Adrian Karatnycky Russia looks potent. But now the continent is starting to fight back

Russian Analytical Digest - Nr. 29: Russia and Central Asia

Washington Times Editorial Putin's hostile course At virtually every turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian leadership appear to be doing their best in ways large and small to marginalize and embarrass the United States and undercut U.S. foreign policy interests.

UPI Commentary: Not since Stalin By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE The last visit by a Russian leader to Iran was by Joseph Stalin in December 1943 for a secret summit with Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The British leader wanted the next major allied invasion to target Europe’s soft underbelly in the Balkans. The Soviet dictator and the U.S. president outvoted him. Thus, the decision was reached to make the invasion of France, which took place seven months later in 1944, the next geostrategic priority. This second summit, 64 years later, could also prove momentous -- down the road.

Le Monde Poutine médiateur ?

H13 The Times Leader Lisbon, not Lisbon Economic reform, not a new treaty, must be the priority

We must stand up to this stitch-up The EU treaty battleground is not Britain versus Europe, it is the elites versus the people Camilla Cavendish

I will never give in to tyranny The forces of moderation and democracy must prevail against extremism and dictatorship Benazir Bhutto

Clinton rivals cling to Iowa to prevent coronation The two main rivals to Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination are taking the battle to the barns

Thousands await the return of Benazir Bhutto The former Pakistani Prime Minister is ending eight years' self-imposed exile to return to campaign for a third term

Wall Street Journal World Bank Runaround
A case study in downplaying corruption.

The Putin Touch
Don't harbor illusions on Russia's stance on Iran

Global Warming Delusions
The popular imagination has been captured by beliefs that have little scientific basis.
By DANIEL B. BOTKIN

Businessweek Next Stop: $100 Oil? — Some analysts say record highs are only the beginning. Traders betting on rising global demand could push prices up further

Morgan Stanley United States
How Long Will Global Growth Support the US Economy?

UPI Walker's World: The world and the dollar The meetings in Washington this weekend of the supposed managers of the global financial system face a daunting challenge. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the central bankers and the finance ministers of the Group of 7, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Fed’s Ben Bernanke all face a common problem, but most of them have different agendas

H14 Financial Times Editorial Risky optimism The IMF is forecasting strong growth for the world economy next year but much could go wrong to ensure there is a less pleasant reality

IMF says dollar ‘overvalued’China urged to let renminbi appreciate The dollar is vulnerable to more falls in spite of its recent sharp decline, the International Monetary Fund signalled yesterday

IMF sees 4.75% growth next year

Warning bells sound over currencies

ANALYSIS: In for the long haul? As problems welled up for western finance this summer and the global credit squeeze took hold, emerging markets were initially jumpy. But then something remarkable began to happen. In the last few weeks, international investors have piled in to buy assets from developing nations

US offers Putin deal over missile shield The US has told Russia it would be willing to delay switching on a missile def­ence system in Europe until both sides agree that there was a threat from Iran

Germany’s engine of reform The political noises coming out of Germany of late could tempt one to think that Berlin is getting cold feet over reform just as Paris is getting more ambitious

COMMENT: The great political divide at the centre of Europe Leaders must heal splits, says Stefan Wagstyl

Can the Group of Seven’s finance ministers provide a catalyst for the dollar to recover when they meet this weekend, asks John Authers

Europe’s relaunch discomfits BritainThere is real concern that Britain may sabotage the treaty by bringing its tortured debate on Europe into the heart of the EU

ANALYSIS: For eastern Europe, risk remains an enigma

Tide turns in battle for ‘Swiss values’

The ultranationalist Swiss People’s party, predictably alarmist in its campaigns, may have to find enough populist themes to bring out the vote for the federal elections

Palestinians pessimistic on peace talks As a series of high-profile international visitors, including Condoleezza Rice and Tony Blair, traipse through the Holy Land, Palestinians are looking on with a mixture of indifference and despair

Rights group hits at Syrian repression Human Rights Watch accuses the country’s security forces of routinely harassing activists and calls on authorities to stop repressing human rights organisations

WORLD NEWS: Debate eases acceptance of liberal reform Europeans are prepared to accept liberal reforms when they are given a chance to debate them, a poll to be published today shows.

Libya starts to deploy $40bn fund A newly established Libyan sovereign wealth fund is starting to deploy its $40bn (£19bn, €28bn) capital on international markets as the oil-rich state showcases its rehabilitation in the global community

MARKETS & INVESTING: Crude achieves new heights in volatile trading

COMMENT: Fox is for fun, not investment advice Buying shares based on what an analyst says on television – presumably long after he has told his institutional clients – is a mug’s game, writes John Gapper

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: A crucial catch in the banks' 'super fund'

Cool It Bjorn Lomberg produces some sorely needed balance on climate change in a new book that will infuriate Al Gore followers, argues Clive Crook

Mukasey vows to remain independent

Judge Michael Mukasey, the nominee for US attorney-general, distanced himself from the controversial White House policy on torturing terrorism suspects, and promised to resign if the president acted unconstitutionally

H15 Los Angeles Times Lebanon's government by murder By David Schenker An assassination campaign is targeting the pro-Western parliamentary majority

Attacks during Ramadan fall

Editorial Two questions for Mukasey What the Senate Judiciary Committee should be sure to ask the attorney general nominee.

Don't fence them in By Rubén Martínez

Washington's planned border barriers are running into cowboy resistance.

H16 American Politics

McClatchy Factions threaten to destabilize the GOP in 2008

Some Republican social conservatives are talking about maybe dropping out and forming a third party. Economic conservatives are angry that the GOP Congress and President Bush went on a six-year spending spree. Then there’s Iraq, and the question of whether the party is too rigid in support of the unpopular war. This is the mess that is the national Republican Party, vintage October 2007

Poll: Bush's job approval rating sinks to another record low

How Hillary Could Tank - Walter Shapiro, Salon

Rudy's Doin' It! — Battle Stations! Shocked Cacophony Among New York Democrats That Rudy They Know May Actually Become Republican Candidate;

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

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

CSM John McCain: keeping faith, on his own terms

How the Arizona senator, once a POW 'pastor,' finds purpose in his beliefs and survival.

Gore rules out presidential bid
Al Gore, has moved to squash suggestions that he will stand as a candidate for the 2008 presidential elections.

'Silver tsunami' to overwhelm US social security system
As first baby boomer applies for her pension, Americans are changing their perception of ageing.

H17 Daily Telegraph Seven in ten voters call for an EU poll

The Prime Minister is ready to defy the British people by refusing them a vote on the EU Reform Treaty despite a new poll for The Daily Telegraph showing almost seven out of ten want a referendum.

Let the UK take a Swiss role in the EU

By copying Switzerland, the UK could adopt a looser relationship with the EU, based on trade and cooperation, whilst opting out of political and economic union. This, says Sir Rocco Forte, would be a win-win situation.

Bush warns Putin over 'World War III'

President George W Bush has raised the spectre of "World War Three" breaking out if Iran acquires nuclear weapons

IMF raises spectre of UK property crash

Britain's housing market could be heading for a slump, with the credit crisis likely to have a 'sizeable impact' on property prices, the economic watchdog has warned

Cécilia Sarkozy 'has applied for a divorce'

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Cécilia have begun divorce proceedings, according to well-placed sources.

H18 Independent Brown heads to Lisbon defending decision to reject referendum Gordon Brown will warn Britain's EU partners that he will not agree to any further "navel-gazing" internal reforms once the 27-nation bloc has approved a new governing treaty

Leading article: Britain must look beyond the opt-outs and red lines

Debunking the Eurosceptic myths about EU Reform Treaty

Adrian Hamilton: The Iraq effect is far from over in British politics

Robert Fisk: Do you know the truth about Lockerbie?

Dark day at the BBC as staff learn their fate The BBC will announce the axing of 2,600 jobs this morning – one in nine of the total staff – risking a wave of industrial action over what is the biggest round of job cuts in the organisation's history.

Steve Richards: The BBC is too precious to be allowed to suffer at the hands of bad management

Returning Bhutto vows to restore democracy

Hamish McRae: Why the UK should celebrate its lead in the foreign investment league tables

IMF lowers growth forecastsas Western economies weaken

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

McClatchy Commentary: McCaffrey - 'defense strategy' unbalanced, incoherent and underfunded

UPI U.S. unveils new maritime strategy U.S. military officials unveiled the new U.S. maritime strategy at the International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I., Wednesday.

Analysis: A new USAF cyber-war doctrine
Recent pronouncements by U.S. Air Force officials about their view of cyberspace as a war-fighting domain have attracted little attention. But the questions they raise for U.S. military policy and doctrine are profound.

UPDATE: Air Force may file criminal charges after nuclear missiles are mistakenly flown across part of country...

Pentagon to alert 8 Guard units for duty — WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer, The Associated Press learned Wednesday

Washington Times Antiterrorist security primer (Nicholas Kittrie)

Progress at West Point
A new, privately funded institution teaches cadets about a new enemy.
by Paul McLeary

"Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS)," DoD Directive 1400.35, September 24, 2007.

NSA SIGINT Seminars for the Press

Emergency Lawmaking After 9/11 and 7/7
Source: Harvard Public Law Working Paper (via SSRN)

H20 Slate

Arthur M. Schlesinger's playbill for the American century Salon By Sidney Blumenthal

Global Economic Prospects 2007/2008
Peterson Institute

The IMF has a blog?

The State of Journalism: Webcast Presentation Recorded at Commonwealth Club
Recorded September 27, 2007. Program runs 65 minutes.

UN Briefing Series: Major Developments and Trends in Global Aging
Source: AARP Policy & Research

The US Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction
Source: Center for Integrative Environmental Research, University of Maryland

Arctic ‘Report Card’ Shows Continued Climate Changes
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

From the Brown Journal of World Affairs, (reg. req.), a series of articles on Christianity in international relations. A review of God and Gold: Britain, America and the Making of the Modern World by Walter Russell Mead. A review of Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics from the Great War to the War on Terror by Michael Burleigh. A review of The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God: A Political, Economic, Religious Statement by John Cobb, Richard Falk, David Griffin and Catherine Keller. Let's talk, says a letter from Muslim leaders: the survival of the world is at stake. From Policy Review, knowing the enemy: How to cope with global jihad. The trouble is the West: An interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam, immigration, civil liberties, and the fate of the West. A review of Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror by Nonie Darwish. A review of The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy. A review of Islam: Past, Present and Future by by Hans Kung.

Educated at Tufts, Naif al-Mutawa is writing Islam-inspired comic books that give the Middle East — and the US — a surprising band of superheroes.

H21 From New Statesman, in defence of hypocrisy: An article on the importance of insincerity, theft of policy and hypocrisy

Checking Out Tomorrow's Library

In Paris, an International Working Group Shows Off the Prototype For a Multilingual 'Intellectual Cathedral' of Digitized Knowledge

Morgan Stanley Sells Entire New York Times Stake — Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest shareholder in New York Times Co., sold its entire stake today, according to a person briefed on the transaction, sending the stock to its lowest in more than 10 years.

From Open Democracy, statistics and politics: Politicians' abuse of numbers is dust in citizens' eyes—a sceptical, informed questioning by citizens is their first line of defence; and are collective decisions a reliable route to better public judgment? James Surowiecki's influential argument about "the wisdom of crowds" provokes James Fishkin into elaborating the deliberative approach to public opinion as a means to revivify democratic processes and outcomes. An article on the science of collective decision-making. From Scientific American, an article on the genetics of politics: A study finds that biology strongly governs voter turnout.

Godfather stars have lost fire, says director Film director Francis Ford Coppola has attacked three of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Magazine search unlikely say Google

The Anglosphere: it’s not just soccer and a rude expression that will mark the British Empire. Ideas of 1649 and 1776 also spread across the globe... more»

Most of us know losing better than we know winning. That is why as a comic strip, Peanuts was at bottom tragic... more»

The bottom of the matter Frank Fisher We're urged to explore the human condition, but a great deal of that condition is too icky for polite conversation

Google News / Slate Today's Papers/ Editorialist / The Ag memeorandum / antiwar.com - political theory / Media Roundup / University Channel / DocuTicker / Arts & Letters Daily/ PolicyPointers / cursor / realclearpolitics / Drudge Report| raw story OpinionSource truthout / Dayan Current Contents / Blogometer - Wikipedia technorati / Slate's Today's Blogs Stratfor ABC’s The Note / eurointelligence

IraqSlogger Global Power Barometer Juan Cole - Kevin Drum - Belgravia Dispatch - washington realist - Tom Barnett - democracy arsenal - - Josh Marshall - Daniel Drezner - Laura Rozen - the washington note - David Corn - SyriaComment - William Arkin - Phil Carter - Helena Cobban - MatthewYglesias - Oxblog - Brad DeLong - coming anarchy / Wonkette William Arkin Tom Hayden -

PostGlobal - AmericaAbroad -The Corner - Passport - huffingtonpost / Pajamas Media / Open University / nytcolumns CounterterrorismBlog Today in Iraq / OutSide the Beltway - InstaPundit - winds of change Kausfiles - Becker Posner-andrewsullivan.com - Registan - armscontrolwonk - IsraPundit Regime Change Iran – Martin Kramer - Dani Rodrik