1205-2007f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses 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 Diving Deep but Coming Up Empty Handed How a Search for Iran's Nuclear Arms Program Turned Up an Unexpected Conclusion. New report on Iran underscores the fluid nature of American intelligence and its uncomfortable marriage with the nation's foreign policy.

Guardian Intelligence expert who rewrote book on Iran Report torpedoes military action and brings 'howls' from neocons

Israeli 'Military strike still an option'

William Arkin The Special Relationship

Jerusalem Post Israeli Official: 'US Report Ended Attack Option on Iran' Cabinet official tells Time magazine that Israel won't attack the Islamic republic alone.

Interesting Times: Pump up Plan B By SAUL SINGER The only thing we know with "high confidence" is that intelligence assessments change all the time

Bushwhacked DAVID HOROVITZ

Abandonment of the Jews CAROLINE GLICK

A new Middle East: Where are the natural boundaries of the Middle East?

Financial Times COMMENT & ANALYSIS: World war four is off: time for a bargain with Tehran? It’s not as implausible as it sounds – diplomatic rapprochement and economic assistance for a renunciation of nuclear weapons and terrorism, writes Niall Ferguson

Moscow warns west on Kosovo stability

US criticises Israel over settlements

Is President Bush the Real Author of the Iran NIE?

The Thousand Volt Farce NIE: Did US, Iran cut Iraq deal...
at Israel's expense? Melanie Phillips, UK Spectator.

Pentagon Thinking on Iran Unchanged

US reversal on Iran intel reflects breaking of the ranks: analysts

MERIA "Azerbaijan and the Challenge of Multiple Identities: In Search of a Global Soul" Alireza Asgharzadeh

Strategic Studies Institute Force and Restraint in Strategic Deterrence: A Game-Theorist's Perspective This monograph is a short nontechnical introduction to the use of game theory in the study of international relations, focusing is on the problem of deterrence against potential adversaries and aggressors. The author uses game models to provide a simple context where we can see more clearly the essential logic of strategic deterrence. by Dr. Roger B. Myerson

CFR Considering the PetroEuro

Helena Cobban Moqtada (and Petraeus) repositioning?

The Times Leader War or Peace? The break-up of Yugoslavia could turn bloody again

Basra's women must cover up or die Gangs are murdering women who do not follow Muslim dress codes in city the British Army is about to return to Iraqi control

Sadr Militia Moves to Clean House By: Ned Parker | Los Angeles Times Since halting attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces, the Shiite cleric's Mahdi Army has been weeding out alleged rogue elements.

Kissinger speaks on US policy in Middle East

Misestimating Iran's Nuclear Strategies

In New Brammertz Report, the U.N. Hariri Investigation Goes Backwards By: Markus Bickel | World Politics Review Invoking the confidentiality of the investigations, for the seventh time since assuming his responsibilities in January 2006, Brammertz declined to identify the possible perpetrators of the crime.

Christian Science Monitor

Iran's nuclear know-how still grows unimpeded As its atomic power research proceeds, Tehran can still gain the expertise needed for a bomb

IHT LESSONS OF NORTHERN IRELAND Peace is not about justice By MICHAEL GOLDFARB Peace does not equal justice.

Al Hayat Repercussions of the American Establishment's Decision to "Coexist" with Iran Raghida Dergham - What will the United States gain in return for this, from recognizing Iran as the de facto force to offering a status of superiority par excellence to the clergymen and Islamic revolutionaries? This is the big question, which is difficult to answer definitively speaking right now.

Ha’aretz – Yoel Marcus: Olmert wants to leave his mark as a PM with a peace agenda

Rice warns Israel E. Jerusalem construction plan imperils peace

Gates: Persian Gulf states must unite to counter Iran U.S. Defense Sec: If Iran adopts report it stopped nuclear development, it must accept reports it backs terror

Forward In the Wake of Annapolis, Other Fronts Develop

Marc Perelman In a bid to reassert itself in a region where it long held sway, Russia has re-entered the Middle East diplomatic fray by serving as a go-between for Israel and Syria and by offering to host a follow-up meeting to last week’s peace summit in Annapolis, Md.

Asia Times A smart side to US intelligence... The US intelligence assessment on Iran may well have been the brainchild of bureaucratic infighting aimed at fettering the neo-conservatives who pin their hopes on a US attack on Iran. This it has done. Equally important, its side effects, such as sidelining Europe, torpedoing the ship of Iran's cooperation with Arab states and easing nerves over Middle East oil, may yet prove to be a unique example of American smart power. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

... and the flip side From underestimating the Soviet Union's ability to detonate a nuclear bomb to almost missing India's, American intelligence has got it wrong more often than not when it comes to assessing foreign powers' nuclear prowess. The rapidity with which the spies have reversed course on Iran should itself induce circumspection. - Jacob Heilbrunn

Los Angeles Times Nine little words in the NIE ,By Thomas Powers

Is this really World War IV?

By Peter Beinart

Symptoms of an economic depression ,By Steve Fraser

Beyond preemption ,By Matthew Yglesias

Salon For the CIA's eyes only Was the agency's destruction of two video recordings of harsh interrogations by the CIA a coverup?
By Mark Benjamin

Bush Engages for Foes as Syrians Make a Come Back

CFR Robertson: Prospects for Future Oil Production

H2 Washington Post KURDISTAN The Kurdish Question How a rebel group has tried to capture a people's aspirations

Hakan Yavuz 'İran Raporu Türkiye'ye Yarayabilir'

The Times Plan to lift headscarf ban angers Turkish secular elite

Turkey Ruling Party Looks to Ease Headscarf Ban

TURKEY AND GREECE: STILL SUSPICIONS BEHIND THE SMILES Eurasia Daily Monitor

FT First Person: Taner Akçam FT MAGAZINE: 'Wikipedia said I was a terrorist'

BBC Monitoring Quotes From the Turkish Press 7 Dec 07

Ankara’dan AP’deki Kürt konferansına tepki

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

Mehmetçik, Kuzey Irak'ta devriye gezmeye başladı

Kurdistan Region's foreign policy explained
Kurdistan Regional Government

Speech by Falah Mustafa Bakir

DTP'nin İstanbul mitingine PKK engeli

Erdoğan yeni Pişmanlık Yasası'na sıcak bakıyor

Kurdish Group Said to Threaten Iraqi Turkomans in Kirkuk

Iraqi Kurds Would Welcome US Military Base - Peshmerga Spokesman

Iraqi Oil Minister Discusses Kurdish Contracts, Corruption, "Smuggling"

Kurdish Delegation to Head to Iran

Iraqi Kurdish Writer Discusses Regional President's "Disappearance"

'Kayıp' Barzani, Erbil'e döndü

Barzani Erbil'e döndü

Palestinian Lessons for Kurdish Independence

Arab lawmakers win power-sharing deal, return to Kirkuk-area ...

Report Discusses Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Parliament

Iraqi Kurdish Press Highlights 6 Dec 07

PKK not representative of Turkey’s Kurds, says Prime Minister Erdoğan

ABD dış politikasını ülkedeki İsrail lobisi mi belirliyor?

H-Net Review: Amir Hassanpour on Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman ...

Kosovo syndrome: Kurdistan

Department of foregone conclusions: Kurdistan

Kurdish Minister Says to Resort to UN if Anfal Verdicts Not Carried Out

Iranian Kurdistan: Eradicating Mines
UNPO –

The Iraqi Oil Rape begins: Oil showdown in Kurdistan

Bleak Prospects for Kurdish Returnees
Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

Sami KOHEN Atina ile "çift yol" politikası

Ankara seeks to ease Greek anger after Gümülcine visit

Batı’nın bilinç altındaki korku ‘Eyvah yine Türkler’ dedirtiyor

Ermeni seçiminin gündemi Türkiye

Türkiye'ye Almanca eğitim veren üniversite geliyor

Türkler pilotun cesedini bulurken biz ne yapıyorduk

Chinese military delegation to pay visit to Turkey

Türkmen liderden Gül'e: Senin gibi samimi birine rastlamadım

When will Turkey sign the Kyoto Protocol? Gila BENMAYOR

[CLIMATE CHANGE] Drought may spark mass migration in search of water

KONDA'ya göre başörtülülerin yüzde 65,7'si cuma namazı kılıyor!

Yazıcıoğlu: The gov't has no intention of converting Alevis

Burası artık Cemevi değil cami

Alevi diye öğrencisini dövdü

Ayrımcı öğretmene Meclis'ten jet rapor

Gaffar Okkan suikastı zanlısı olarak aranan tetikçi yakalandı

Okkan suikastinin kilit ismi yakalandı

YÖK’e sürpriz isimler

Piton, dost askerle düşmanı ayıracak

Atatürk’ün psikolojisi tahlil edilecek

Şemdinli dosyası askeri mahkemede

Doğan'ın rafineri restine karşı rest

'Kiliseleri hedef gösteriyorlar'

İstihbaratçı astsubay köstebekmiş

Government called upon to shed light on Malatya murders

Skandal cinayette 7 gazeteciye jet soruşturma

H3 Dağdakilere çağrı

Erdoğan'dan Pişmanlık Yasası sinyali

Enis Berberoğlu Parkalıların kaçı hálá Kızıl Bayrak sallıyor

Öcalan’dan 'Kürt sorunu'nun çözümü için 9 öneri

Malatya'da eşi bulunmaz skandal

2 silah nereden?

Malatya'da ne oldu? İsmet Berkan

İlter Türkmen Sipariş üzerine hazırlanan bir istihbarat raporu mu?

Gel ananın babanın yanına git

Pişmanlık Yasası'ndan 353 kişi faydalandı

Çoğunluk 'Din eğitimi ailede verilsin' diyor

Aranan komutan M.Ali Kışlalı

Kuzey Irak'ta satranç

AKP'li Fırat: Yeni anayasa türbanı çözmeli Murat Yetkin

Fikret BİLA Türban anayasada yer almayacak

300 ünlü isim sivil anayasayı tartışacak, 70 milyonun görüşü yansıyacak

Anayasa'ya 'sivil' görüş

YÖK için beş favori

Taha AKYOL Sabah ve atv'nin satışı

Cevdet Aşkın Erdoğan'ın PKK planı ABD'ninki ile atbaşı

Cengiz Çandar Paris’te bir gün; Yıllar içinde Paris...

Misyonerlik sorunu Hasan Celal Güzel

Can Dündar İşkence ve yargısız infazın dönüşü

Sami KOHEN Atina ile "çift yol" politikası

Semih İDİZ AB'NİN ANKARA BÜYÜKELÇİSİ MARC Bu ülkeyi böleceğimiz düşüncesi saçmalıktır

Mehmet BARLAS
Anketler bilimsel ama sosyolojik çalışmalar bilimsel değil mi?

Abdülhamit Bilici Türkiye raporundaki büyük eksiklik

Şahin Alpay Hoşgörüsüzlük vahim bir sorun

Fatih Altaylı İlk raund Çalık'ın

Oğlum çekti kurayı gitti Siverek’te 8 ay askerdi

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 Medyada da zemin sarsılıyor

Fehmi Koru Devletin zaafı, rejimin selâmeti

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU

KÜRŞAT BUMİN Yargının bağımsızlığı ve tarafsızlığı

'Mülakatı bakanlık değil, HSYK yapsın'

Western Kemalists do not understand Turkey!

Religion, secularism and the headscarf in daily life by MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE

Genelkurmay’dan gazetecilere uyarı

Güneri CIVAOĞLU Çarşaf torpili

Metin MÜNİR Dayak yemeden reform yapamayan ülke (4)

Derya SAZAK Katliam davası

Ertuğrul Özkök Onlar niye sevinemedi

Oktay Ekşi Teziç gitti, kavga bitti

Bekir Coşkun CEO...

Özdemir İnce Bir kez daha tevhid-i tedrisat (2)

Serdar Turgut Mutlak doğrular

Can Ataklı

“Türban artıyor” araştırması siyasal İslamcı kesimi çok rahatsız etti!

MUHARREM SARIKAYA

ERDAL ŞAFAK Lizbon'dan selam

ERGUN BABAHAN SABAH'ın çizgisi

EMRE AKÖZ Medya yönetimi farklıdır

Umur Talu

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK Basın hürriyeti ve patron menfaati

MAHMUT ÖVÜR

YAVUZ DONAT

ÖZLEM ALBAYRAK

Mahir Kaynak Neyi nasıl yapmalı?

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Deniz Gökçe Esas sorun medya satışı değil sosyal güvenlik reformu!

Ertuğ Yaşar Asgari ücret yüksek mi

Erdal SağlamBakan Şimşek ve ekonomik gerçekler

Şimşek’in maaş hesabını OECD verileri yalanlıyor

Ege Cansen İslam’da tecdit

Enflasyon beklentisi yüzde 8.66'ya yükseldi

Boşanma tezi doğru mu?
Taner Berksoy

H4 New York Times C.I.A. Was Urged to Keep Interrogation Videotapes The Central Intelligence Agency ignored advice from the White House, Congress and Justice Department to preserve hundreds of hours of interrogation videotapes.

H5 Washington Post Diving Deep but Coming Up Empty Handed

New report on Iran underscores the fluid nature of American intelligence and its uncomfortable marriage with the nation's foreign policy. How a Search for Iran's Nuclear Arms Program Turned Up an Unexpected Conclusion

House Democrats Close To Deal on War Funds Lawmakers finalizing plan that would keep troops in Iraq without the withdrawal timelines Bush has rejected in return for domestic spending boost.

U.S. Losing Its Allies in Iraq Once robust "coalition of the willing" is now a small number of troops toiling in relative obscurity

How To Win the War By John Batiste and Pete Hegseth We are veterans of the Iraq war with vastly different experiences. But we both agree: It's time for Congress, and the rest of us, to discuss the way forward rather than prosecute the past

Military Lost Track of Equipment In Iraq Worth Millions, Audit Says

U.N. Panel Unable to Win Kosovo Agreement

Bombings In Diyala Province Kill 26: Attack by Woman Claimed 16 Lives

Inquiry Sought on CIA Tapes President is said to be unaware of decision to destroy video tapes; lawmakers call for probe

New and Improved? By Harold Meyerson, The promise of Obama's newness could prove potent with voters eager to put the Bush years behind them.

Bush and the Torture Tapes

Inspector General Will Leave State Department: Krongard Was Accused of Impeding Probes

Gates to Urge Cooperation Among Gulf Nations: At Bahrain Talks, Defense Secretary to Name Iran as One of the Threats Facing Region

H6 Guardian Intelligence expert who rewrote book on Iran Report torpedoes military action and brings 'howls' from neocons

Israeli 'Military strike still an option'

A fragile victory for the pragmatists

Britain's empty chair
EU Africa summit: Britain warned fellow EU nations three months ago that Gordon Brown would not attend the Europe-Africa summit in Lisbon today if Robert Mugabe turned up

Positioning before principle
Terror laws: Sweet reason was the watchword when the government presented its anti-terrorism plans this week

US backs down over Afghan poppy fields destruction
US concedes defeat in attempt to persuade Afghan government to begin aerial destruction of poppy fields

H7 A new Middle East: Where are the natural boundaries of the Middle East?

Mesh / Harvard: Iran NIE and a prediction — From Stephen Peter Rosen — For the most part, the arguments about the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran have been and will be a debate, not about intelligence, but about Bush foreign policy

The Mideast Strategic-Consensus Fantasy by Leon Hadar

The Warpath to Regime Change
by Gareth Porter

WT Is Iran irrational? By Terence P. Jeffrey If the national intelligence report is correct maybe Iran's mullahs are sane after all.

Follow the Leaders By: Hendrik Hertzberg | The New Yorker
Regime change was one of the stated goals of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Unlike cleansing the place of weapons of mass destruction and breaking up the alleged Baghdad-Al Qaeda nexus, it was a reality-based goal.

Islam's Silent Moderates By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali | The New York Times
When a “moderate” Muslim’s sense of compassion and conscience collides with matters prescribed by Allah, he should choose compassion.

Islam and Democracy Are Not Incompatible at All By: Tom Plate | The Daily StarConsider the idea that Islam is incompatible with democracy. It's a really bad idea -- but it can serve a very good purpose. For starters, the proposition of Islamic incompatibility with democracy can motivate the most moderate.

Asia Times How central bankers could save the world Discussions on climate change in Bali ignore the crucial role that can be played by inflation-targeting central banks. If they do what it says on the can, central bankers could help to engineer substantial changes in the flow of capital and ideas across the global economy, helping to cut carbon emissions. Instead, they have chosen short-term goals much to the detriment of the world population.

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

Sadr Militia Moves to Clean House By: Ned Parker | Los Angeles Times
Since halting attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces, the Shiite cleric's Mahdi Army has been weeding out alleged rogue elements.

In New Brammertz Report, the U.N. Hariri Investigation Goes Backwards By: Markus Bickel | World Politics Review Invoking the confidentiality of the investigations, for the seventh time since assuming his responsibilities in January 2006, Brammertz declined to identify the possible perpetrators of the crime.

Female suicide bomber kills 16 in Diyala revenge attack

Iran's Ex-Nuclear Chief Cites "Difference in Tastes" As Reason for Quitting

CAP Iraq’s Displacement Crisis and the International Response

Vote on Lebanon president delayed Lebanese MPs again put off a vote on a president - they are now scheduled to hold the vote on 11 December.

Daily Star Aoun's arguments may be right, but his timing is all wrong

A new test for Americans and Palestinians
By Rami G. Khouri

No policy is there to address the Iranian danger
By Jonathan Schell

Nuclear fallout
Iranians react to regime's 'victory' in US intelligence report

Pentagon Thinking on Iran Unchanged

CSM Egypt's economic reform meets unprecedented wave of labor resistance

This week, tax collectors went on strike, adding to growing labor unrest that threatens to unleash a 'social explosion' against Mubarak's regime

Egypt During the Ottoman Era

A review of Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace by Avi Shlaim (and more and more).

A review of Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World by Amaney A. Jamal.

A review of The Great Arab Conquests How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy; and Jews and Power by Ruth R. Wisse.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trapped by his unwillingness to acknowledge that Israel must leave the occupied territories completely.

An article on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after Annapolis

A review of Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out by Ibn Warraq. From Asia Times, Spengler on Ayaan Hirsi Ali, atheism and Islam

H9 Ha’aretz – Yoel Marcus: Olmert wants to leave his mark as a PM with a peace agenda

Rice warns Israel E. Jerusalem construction plan imperils peace

Gates: Persian Gulf states must unite to counter Iran U.S. Defense Sec: If Iran adopts report it stopped nuclear development, it must accept reports it backs terror

The NIE and the freedom to grumble

Poll: Few West Bank settlers willing to leave homes for cash

A French Romance By: Daniel Ben-Simon | Haaretz In May, Sarkozy is due to visit Israel, when he will no doubt display his friendship and make remarks that will be music to Israeli ears.

Hizb ut-Tahrir: A Rising Force among West Bank PalestiniansHizb ut-Tahrir does not maintain an armed wing. Violent action − such as the destruction of Israel, which it supports − is to be left to the conventional armed forces of a restored caliphate.

Gaza's donkeys in demand as fuel crisis mounts

Bradley's Burston: Self Test: Are you a fanatic on the Middle East?

Inside Intel / The woman who knew too much

Jerusalem Post Israeli Official: 'US Report Ended Attack Option on Iran'

Cabinet official tells Time magazine that Israel won't attack the Islamic republic alone.

Interesting Times: Pump up Plan B

By SAUL SINGER The only thing we know with "high confidence" is that intelligence assessments change all the time

Bushwhacked [ DAVID HOROVITZ

Abandonment of the Jews [ CAROLINE GLICK

Israeli Military Presence in West Bank Justified to Protect Jewish Lives - Matthew Wagner

Impending Demise of Christian Communities in PA Must Be Prevented - Editorial

Yedioth Ahronoth Russia against Iran sanctions

'Decision time on Iran near'

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

Nuclear Iran a Matter of Life or Death By: Frida Ghitis | Miami Herald
For Israel, the question of whether Iran is engaged in a program to build apocalyptic weapons is a topic for every dinner table, and a matter of unsurpassed urgency.

Annapolis: three-ring dplomacy
Harvey Sicherman, FPRI.

WSJ Miracle in the Holy Land
Little noticed amid the grim Middle East headlines, a Jewish state founded by European socialists and long hobbled by stagnant growth and inflation is turning into a mature market economy.
By MATTHEW KAMINSKI

Myths about the American Peacemaking Role - Leon Hadar

Israel's Silicon Valley - Amar C. Bakshi (Newsweek/Washington Post)

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Iran's nuclear know-how still grows unimpeded

As its atomic power research proceeds, Tehran can still gain the expertise needed for a bomb

CIA's destruction of tapes likely to spur lawsuits

US detainees who had challenged the agency's harsh interrogations may claim obstruction of justice, attorneys say.

Senate rejects far-reaching energy bill But Congress could still pass a slimmer version mandating more efficient cars and more biofuel use.

Is Sri Lanka's spurned Muslim minority ripe for fundamentalism?

The island nation's Muslim minority was driven into camps 17 years ago. Rising frustration over their plight raises concerns they'll turn to radical forms of Islam.

ASIA

US 'must change lifestyle' for planet's sake China has told a UN meeting in Indonesia that America should lead the fight against climate change

Bible fires new revolution of faith in China The 'sacred doctrine' was burnt during the Cultural Revolution but now the 50-millionth copy is being printed

Malaysia's Fraying Racial Compact By: Philip Bowring | International Herald Tribune The informal racial compact that has worked so well for Malaysia since the bloody riots of 1969 is unraveling under domestic and international pressure.

Malaysia's Democracy By: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi | The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
This year, Malaysia celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, what we Malaysians term "merdeka." In this short period, we have achieved much as a nation. Poverty has been reduced tenfold, a thriving middle class created, and the foundations for a competitive 21st century economy put in place.

A New Bush Tack on North Korea By: Helene Cooper | The New York Times President Bush, directly engaging the man he publicly called a “tyrant,” wrote a letter to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, in which he held out the prospect of normalized relations with the United States if North Korea fully disclosed its nuclear programs and dismantled its nuclear reactor, administration officials said Thursday.

Religions in Conflict: India's State of War By: Andrew Buncombe | The Independent
It is five years since Gujarat erupted in violence between Hindus and Muslims. But next week's elections will be dominated by the fallout from the bloody events.

Pakistani Protesters Eager for Bhutto-Sharif Deal By: Shahan Mufti | The Christian Science Monitor As Pakistani opposition leaders mull running in January elections, analysts doubt street activists' patience for a decision on Musharraf.

Analysis: Pakistan border plan -- Part 1

PROSPECTS 2008: US-China tensions set to increase

H11 IHT Trading for a future

By MARI PANGETSU AND PASCAL LAMY Only a multilateral approach to climate change will allow us to properly address all of the issues at stake.

LESSONS OF NORTHERN IRELAND

Peace is not about justice

By MICHAEL GOLDFARB

Peace does not equal justice.

EUROPE European press review

Breaking Point By: Julian Borger | The Guardian It's a crisis that's been simmering since 1999, when Nato troops enforced an uneasy peace on Kosovo. But from Monday, the Albanian majority in this former Yugoslav province will no longer be bound by the UN-brokered truce. And the fallout could be disastrous.

'Americans talk of the death of French culture'
Bernard-Henri Levy on why France has been stung by a lament in Time magazine that French culture is all but dead

BBC The next statelet
Kosovo's declaration of independence is coming soon

A French Romance By: Daniel Ben-Simon | Haaretz
In May, Sarkozy is due to visit Israel, when he will no doubt display his friendship and make remarks that will be music to Israeli ears.

H12 RFE/RL

Google News Azerbaijan

Give the Donkey a Sporting Chance By: Chris Weafer | The Moscow Times
The State Duma elections did more than just give President Vladimir Putin a mandate to choose his future role as a moral authority and national leader after he leaves office

Time Games By: Mikhail Zygar | Kommersant Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday nominated Yulia Timoshenko for prime minister. The only thing that can hinder her endorsement is Mr. Yushchenko’s fear that Ms. Timoshenko may strip him of power as she heads the government. That is why the president wants the parliament to pass a new law to cut the government’s powers before voting for the premier

Outcast Kasparov still squaring up to Putin
Election results rigged, says opposition leader, the ex-chess champion who hopes his fame will protect him

FT COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The resourceful oligarch

Thaw in Russian-Polish relations
Russia and Poland open a "new chapter" in their strained relationship, the Polish foreign minister says.

WT Vladimir's vote variation

By Patrick Basham

Russia's democracy is not perfect, but it is moving in the right direction.

H13 The Times Leader War or Peace? The break-up of Yugoslavia could turn bloody again

Kosovo's generations of hatred The Serbian province is rapidly heading towards independence, which may only add to tensions between ethnic groups

Basra's women must cover up or die Gangs are murdering women who do not follow Muslim dress codes in city the British Army is about to return to Iraqi control

Wall Street Journal Iran Curveball
This latest intelligence fiasco is Mr. Bush's fault.

White House Shifts Pakistan Aid

The Bush administration is shifting the ways it channels financial assistance to President Musharraf's government, seeking to deflect Congressional pressure from its Pakistan policy.

H14 Financial Times COMMENT & ANALYSIS: World war four is off: time for a bargain with Tehran? It’s not as implausible as it sounds – diplomatic rapprochement and economic assistance for a renunciation of nuclear weapons and terrorism, writes Niall Ferguson

Moscow warns west on Kosovo stability Europe will be on a "slippery slope" to potential instability if the west recognises the independence of Kosovo if negotiations over the future of the breakaway...

US criticises Israel over settlements Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, has warned that Israel’s plan to build on occupied Palestinian land risks undermining the current peace efforts

Mottaki misses Bahrain meeting Iran cancelled plans yesterday to send its foreign minister to a conference on Gulf security at which Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, is giving the keynote...

Bombers kill 26 in attacks on Iraq police Suicide bombers killed up to 26 people in Iraq, targeting police and a US-allied Sunni paramilitary group in a province north-east of Baghdad, in two attacks that represent a small spike in a form of insurgency that had been in decline

US intelligence on Iran dismays Europe European officials have reacted with dismay to this week’s US announcement that Iran halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003

Hopes of half-point Fed rate cut slim The likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by more than a quarter point next week fell sharply after new figures showed that the US economy continued to add jobs at a decent rate last month

Lunch with the FT: Richard Armitage The controversial former deputy US secretary of state talks candidly about President Bush and what ‘waterboarding’ feels like

COMMENT & ANALYSIS: A trial without rhyme or reason

Prayer and the presidency Christopher Caldwell on Romney and religion

A rescue plan that is worth the price The US Treasury’s initiative is not perfect. But authorities around the world have already found that this crisis demands extreme measures

Economists’ Forum Climate change wolf is hard to kill off: Adaptation is in no way incompatible with thinking hard about emissions reductions, says Paul Seabright as he joins the debate

Fix minimum pay with care, says OECD If set too high, statutory minimum wages can price low-productivity workers out of the job market and encourage employers to seek cheaper cost production abroad

Moldovans suspicious of Romania’s intentions Vladimir Voronin, president of Moldova, is wary of what he sees as its bigger neighbour’s attempt to subvert the country’s independence

Legacy of strife stalks the future Europe and Africa will proclaim a new "strategic partnership" of equals at an unprecedented gathering of leaders in Lisbon this weekend, aiming to draw a line under 50...

H15 Los Angeles Times Nine little words in the NIE ,By Thomas Powers

Is this really World War IV?

By Peter Beinart

Symptoms of an economic depression ,By Steve Fraser

Beyond preemption ,By Matthew Yglesias

Gates takes hard line on Iran

Editorial

H16 American Politics

Huckabee Surges, Obama Gains in Iowa

Bill Clinton, the elephant in a Hillary White House
By David Ignatius

Democrats Call for Inquiry in Destruction of Tapes by C.I.A.

Just 18% Believe Iran has Stopped Nuclear Weapons Development Program

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

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

H17 Daily Telegraph Leader Partition Kosovo

It seems, at first glance, an intractable Balkan dispute. Serbia regards Kosovo as an integral and sacred part of its territory.

Nato ready as Kosovo fears rise

UK troops on alert for a possible war

The most powerful man in Britain?

Rupert Murdoch anoints his son James as successor

Hell will freeze before a BBC Mohammed film

After the High Court upheld a decision to refuse an attempt to prosecute the BBC for blasphemy in broadcasting Jerry Springer - The Opera, Charles Moore wonders who wants a society where nothing is sacred.

H18 Independent Leading article: The moral shame of these 'techniques'

Rupert Cornwell: The dynasties of democratic America

Albanians demand independence now in massacre village

Germany prepares to ban Scientology

Pakistan poll rivals fail to break deadlock in Pakis

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

Interrogation tapes
CIA director faces credibility test over terror suspect tapes

Aleksandr Feklisov: Spy handler for the KGB

a review of The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation by Stephen Flynn;

and a review of ten essential homeland security books.

UK Guantanamo four to be released

Four of the five British residents being held at Guantanamo Bay are to be released, the BBC learns.

Pressure kept up on Taleban town International and Afghan troops continue a major offensive on the Taleban-held town of Musa Qala

Coordinating on Africa

By Elizabeth L. Colagiuri The United States has made a momentous decision to establish a new military command for Africa. The initial reaction from the Africans is decidedly negative.

Espionage enters the 'un-Rumsfeld' eraThe National Intelligence Estimate's conclusion that Iran ditched its nuclear program in 2003 highlights a sea-change in the direction of the US's $60-billion intelligence-industrial complex. In the wake of former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his successor Robert Gates is working to soften the Pentagon's footprint on national security policy and pushing to place intelligence collection in the hands of elected leaders concerned with national security, not just the tactical needs of the military

H20 Slate Interrogation Dos and Don'ts The Army's handbook on grilling prisoners.
Bonnie Goldstein

the chat room

Eye on Iran Fred Kaplan takes readers' questions about future relations and remaining nuclear potential.

Return of the Neuropundits!

Should presidential candidates have their brains scanned?
Daniel Engber

Syria blocks FACEBOOK access, citing Israeli 'infiltration'...

STUDY: Regular cellphone use increases tumor risk...

H21

Stalin obsessed over John Wayne, while Brezhnev had a crush on Chuck Connors. The Soviets had this thing about cowboy movies... more»

From New English Review, Ibn Warraq on skepticism and Koranic research

“Easier to forgive an ugly foot than ugly socks.” Or should Karl Kraus’s aphorism go the other way around?... more»

JAMES MURDOCH, THE MAN WHO WILL BE KING...

From Wired, Clive Thompson on the Age of Microcelebrity: Why everyone's a little Brad Pitt.

Artifact: Warhol Goes to China By: Charles Paul Freund | Reason
This looks a lot like a Godfrey Kneller portrait of William III painted in the 17th century, but it’s actually a copy of Kneller painted the other day in a sweatshop in Dafen, China

Patriots vs. patriots

By Jacob Heilbrunn

New scandals fuel the old war between the New Republic and the National Review

Hittites 'used germ warfare 3,500 years ago'

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