010308f - 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 CSIS - Iran, Israel, and Nuclear War by Anthony H. Cordesman (pdf)

Foreign Policy A World Without Islam What if Islam had never existed? To some, it’s a comforting thought: No clash of civilizations, no holy wars, no terrorists. Would Christianity have taken over the world? Would the Middle East be a peaceful beacon of democracy? Would 9/11 have happened? In fact, remove Islam from the path of history, and the world ends up exactly where it is today.
By Graham Fuller

After Bhutto’s Murder: A Way Forward for Pakistan*, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group

Forward Israel Signals Willingness To Reopen Talks With Syria Following a softening of the Bush administration’s opposition to Israeli-Syrian contacts, the Israeli government is actively exploring the possibility of reopening negotiations with Syria

The internal struggle for the Iraqi oil law continues

After Annapolis: What Chance for Agreement with Abbas and the PLO? - Efraim Karsh (Institute for Contemporary Affairs Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Pakistan, Bhutto and the US-Jihadist Endgame | Stratfor

Guardian Who should be the world's most powerful person?
Timothy Garton Ash: As Iowa's caucuses start a global ball rolling, my dream team is President(s) Clinton and Vice-President Obama

Leader The first votes are cast
USA presidentials: There are times when the rest of the world fixates too easily on internal American politics, but 2008 is not such a time

The Brotherhood opens up Ibrahim El Houdaiby: In an unprecedented initiative, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has circulated a draft of its manifesto for widespread consultation

This time it's personal Anthony Giddens: There is a disconnect between awareness of climate change and the lifestyle changes necessary to combat it

• Is political Islam dying? Jon Alterman replies to Hillel Fradkin

Independent The future starts here It's the most expensive, unpredictable and crucial presidential race in modern US history. And today, in Iowa, people start to cast their votes

Leading article: The marathon has begun, and the world is watching

Crisis, What Crisis? By: Jason Burke | The Guardian Talk of civil war in Pakistan is nonsensical. History shows the country has a bizarre capacity to absorb shocks that would destroy most nations

Networks obtain secret report alleging Pakistani vote rig

From NYRB, Max Rodenbeck is an American in Iran; and Michael Massing on as Iraqis see it.

Political predictions for 2008
Middle East Times, by CLAUDE SALHANI

Forward The Tribal Dynamics of Old Play Out Again in the Middle East
Yossi Alpher

Daily Star Damascus may have just lost the Arabs
By Michael Young

2007 confirmed the pitfalls of accelerated opinion By David Ignatius

The rodeo ride of manipulating Middle East politics By Rami G. Khouri

Musharraf's Last Jam By: John McCreary | Foreign Policy
The tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto was merely the coup de grâce for a U.S. strategy that was already doomed to failure. When Pervez Musharraf falls, too, will American leaders finally wake up and see Pakistan for what it is, not for what they wish it to be?

The World Needs You, America By: Moisés Naím | The Washington Post A yearning for U.S. leadership will reshape world politics over the next few years. This trend will be as unexpected as it is inevitable: unexpected given the powerful anti-American sentiments around the globe, and inevitable given the vacuums that only the United States can fill.

Why We're in the Gulf By: Walter Russell Mead | The Wall Street Journal Few subjects matter as much as oil, the Persian Gulf and American foreign policy. But few subjects are less well understood. Even relatively sophisticated observers will attribute American interest in the Persian Gulf to Uncle Sam's insatiable thirst for crude, combined with an effort to gain lucrative contracts for American oil firms.

Terror on the Run - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Financial Times

Breakaway territories watch and wait In the separatist territory of Abkhazia, Russian warnings that a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could set a precedent for other breakaway territories are welcome

Musharraf is wrong to delay the election President main threat to democracy, says Jo Johnson

Wall Street Journal Oil's Surge Reshapes the World Oil briefly touched $100 a barrel, from just over $10 a barrel a decade ago. The rise is altering the wealth and influence of nations and industries. Oil's surge adds to the pressure on the U.S. economy

The Times Oil leaps above $100 per barrel to set new record

Cold weather, aggressive buying by speculators and the falling US dollar helped propel the price to an all-time record

World Oil Transit Chokepoints
Source: Energy Information Administration

Guardian Stagflation cometh

Joseph Stiglitz he fallout from a combination of rising inflation and global recession seems inevitable: how can the world's economies survive it?

Independents' day John Judis and Ruy Teixeira US elections 2008: Voters who are not affiliated to either the Republican or Democratic parties may be decisive in picking the next president

Asia Times Sneak peek at a desert Armageddon A theoretical briefing just released by a Washington-based think-tank posits the various outcomes of a nuclear war between Iran and Israel as well as an Israel vs Syria scenario. Israel is the ultimate victor in all exchanges, but at a terrible cost. The only way to win is not to play. - David Isenberg

Ha’aretz – Editorial Bush's final effortBush?s mission during his upcoming visit will be to convince his hosts of his determination to see his vision - which is also their vision - realized.

Hezbollah: Israel behind assassinations in Lebanon

H2 Washinton TimesUnveiling the PKK (By Bruce Fein)

US, Turkey operating joint intel center for northern Iraq World Tribune

Turkey's Wrath Asharq Alawsat

Al-Jazeera Shows Damage to Iraqi Kurd Villages Attributed to Turkish Raids

Iraqi Kurds Angered By Kirkuk Referendum Delay

[US FOREIGN POLICY AFTER NOVEMBER 2008] Prospects for increased Turkish-American cooperation (1) by MEHMET KALYONCU*

Syria wants bigger share from Euphrates

Turkey Ponders Obama As Cure for Anti-Americanism | The New York ...

CSM Celebrating Rumi, Islam's poet of peace The Sufi mystic's message of love still reverberates on the 800th anniversary of his birth.

Suriye, Türkiye'den yatırım çekmek için özel sanayi şehri inşa ediyor

ABD çıkarması

ABD, Osmanlı gibi çöküyor

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

Kurdish Issue: New Concept Based on Class Biamag

AKP’nin Diyarbakır adayı Hatipoğlu

İtirafçı ABD’yi suçladı

Kerkük'te Türk-Kürt düşman değil

State Dept. committed to eradicating PKK, says regional coordinator

Ortadoğu’ya ortak tarih IRCICA öncülüğünde Arap Birliği’ne üye 22 ülke ile Türkiye, Ortadoğu’nun tarihini barışçıl şekilde yeniden yazacak. İlk uygulama Suriye ile başladı. 6 aydır karma bir komisyon ders kitaplarını tarıyor.

Cooperate or Die Kurdish Aspect By Azad Azadi

Hem Türk hem Kürt bir parti olur mu?

Şırnak'a düşen uzman istifa ediyor

AKP'den Diyarbakır'a sürpriz aday

Iraqi Kurdish Article Highlights 2007 Milestones

Iraqi Kurdish Report Says Iran "Drying Up" Diyala Oil Wells

BBC Monitoring Quotes From the Turkish Press 02 Jan 08

Iraqi Kurdish Press Highlights 02 Jan 08

The Truth About Kurds and the PKK

Serpil YILMAZ K. Irak'tan petrol hissesi aldınız mı?

Coming days historic step reach a state of understanding article ...

30 Ağustos tepkisi Türk’ü 301’lik etti

Ahmet Türk hakkında fezleke

Gaziantep'te DTP binasında arama: 2 tutuklu

Tarık El Haşimi Türk büyükelçiyle görüştü

Terör örgütü PKK'ya yılın ilk darbesi

Jetlerden keşif uçuşu

Hashemi calls for pre-notification of cross-border operations

Pervin Buldan'ın aracıyla irtibat var

Turkey: Pro-Kurdish MP Denies His Car Was Used for Drug Smuggling

Turkey: Syrian Delegation Asks for More Water From Euphrates

[Fbis] OSC: Turkey: Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Arrives in Ankara for Official Contacts

Turkish Minister Says Turkish-Syrian Economies Complementary

Türkiye ile Suriye daha çok ekonomi işbirliği istiyor

Syria frees 6 Kurds detained after protesting Turkey

Damascus' School for Kurdish Literature (Part Two)

Michael Rubin, Turkey, the PKK and Lies for American Enterprise ...

04:00 Uzman çavuşlara ait araçlar kundaklandı

Iran-Turkey transactions exceed dlrs 7.385bn

Iran-Turkey to build power plants

BBC: 2008 Türkiye için test edici bir yıl olacak

Sami KOHEN Pakistan'da seçim krizi

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

2008: might be a 'make or break' year for Cyprus, politicians agree

[Yorum - Amanda Akçakoca] AB-Türkiye hattında 2008 tahminleri

Rauf Denktaş Bağımsızlık haktır

AB'yi Türkiye'ye, Türkiye'yi AB'ye anlatacaklar-lar Funda Özkan

The Armenian 'genocide' bill will knock on the door again - Turkish Daily News Jan 02, 2008

2262) Turkey Paid $1.3M by 1934 to Settle Armenian Claims ~ Turkish Armenians

2008'in ilk konuğu Talat

Firebombs thrown at Turkish consulate in western Austria; no injuries reported - International Herald Tribune

Turkey asks Austria for more measures after attack on consulate

'Euro, Kıbrıs'ta barış umutlarını artırdı'

MELİHA OKUR Nükleer santralde son durak: Balıkesir

Türk gençlerin masonluk ilgisi

Türkiye insan hakları raporu yayımlayacak

İnsan Hakları Vakfı'na göre Türkiye'nin 2007 karnesi kötü

Türkçe bilmeyene vatandaşlık yok

Pilotlara gece harbi eğitimi

Lantrin yerine Aselpod

Gizli haberleşmenin yeni binasını birlikte açtılar

Dink sanığı için Adli Tıp '19' dedi

Aileden derin soruşturma isteği

Küçükçekmece'deki patlamada 3 kişi hafif şekilde yaralandı

Yaşı için son kararı mahkeme verecek

Azeri Mason Locası'nı Türk biraderler kuracak

Askerliği sevmeyene 'terk et' denmeyecek

Reha Muhtar Nur Vergin’e Boğaz’da 2.5 dönümlük arazi sorusu...

Yüce Divan'dan ilginç gerekçe: Mal varlığındaki artış belirsiz; ama delil yok

Koray Aydın değil bürokratı sorumlu

Erdoğan: Bu kurdeleleri saklıyorum Paşam

Fazıl Say Kendimle hesaplaşmam

Elektronik sigarada zincirleme aymazlık

Sigara yasağı kâğıt üzerinde kalmamalı Murat Yetkin

'Uzman çavuşlarda sorun yaşıyoruz'

Sigara yasağı içenler için de yararlı

Turkish youth prefers love marriages over arranged ones

Türkiye-ABD Parlemantolararası Dostluk Grubu Başkanını seçemedi

Beyaz eşya bayileri endişeli: Sonumuz bakkallar gibi olacak

3 Ocak 2008 Basın Özeti

H3 Taha AKYOL Kürt meselesi, seçenekler

İşte sivil anayasa taslağı

8. ABD, Cemil Bayık'la 3 saat görüşmüş

Ruşen Çakır El Kaide’nin gündeminde Türkiye var, Türkiye’nin gündeminde El Kaide yok

PKK’nın kodları çözülüyor

Hakkari’ye yeni üs mü kuruluyor

Ahmet Taşgetiren

Amerika'ya ne verdik?

Ne ABD'den talep geldi ne de Türkiye taahhütte bulundu

New constitution to overhaul system

Heron'un gözü Bayık ve Karayılan üzerinde olacak

12 yerli casus havalandı

Cengiz Çandar Abdullah Gül, hangi Washington’a gidiyor

SOLİ ÖZEL 2008'e bakarken

Bu yıl çok zor bir yıl olacak
İsmet Berkan

Kürt sorununda elimizi çabuk tutalım
Tarhan Erdem

Cevdet Aşkın PKK'dan 'taktik yangın'; TIR'lar, fabrikalar hedef

YASİN DOĞAN Barzani'nin yeni söylemi

Birand Bugüne kadar kaç Kürt isyanı oldu?

Semih İDİZ İran'dan Türkiye'ye 'Kürt sorunu' ile ilgili öğütler

Hasan CEMAL Silkinip kendine gelebilecek mi AKP?

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu A bleak picture for 2008 and Dolmabahçe compromise

Ekrem Dumanlı Türkiye'yi bekleyen en yakın tehlike

Ağrı Dağı benzetmesi

Kapalıların görünürlüğü arttı

Nur Vergin: “Toplum kapalıydı. Şimdi kapalı kadınların görünürlüğü arttı. Evlerinden çıkıyorlar”

Cüneyt Ülsever 2008’de dünya (II)

Sahte Taraf sitesinin arkasında kim var? Ahmet Altan bir süredir gazetenin adını kullanarak TSK ile ilgili gizli bilgiler yayınlayan internet sitesinin arkasında, ordunun içinden birilerinin olabileceğini söyledi.

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL Pakistan nükleer füzeleri ve en korkunç senaryo!..

2008 yılındaki en büyük tehdit
Hasan Celal Güzel

Ali Bayramoğlu 2007: Hürriyet hamleleri, kurbanları ve sarhoşları...

Serdar Turgut Gül'ün ABD gezisi

Gül için süper hızlı program Beyaz Saray’da Başkan Bush’un konuğu olacak Cumhurbaşkanı Gül’ün ziyareti, Ortadoğu gezisinin ’kurbanı’ olacak. Bush 8 Ocak’ta Ortadoğu gezisine çıkacağı için, iki liderin görüşmeleri ’hızlandırılmış programla’ yapılacak. Bunun anlamı, ABD basınına göre şu: Görüşme kısa, öğle yemeği hızlı olacak...

Bilal Çetin Reform sürecini canlandırma atağı...

Yiğit Bulut Türkiye’de gerçek iktidar “kimler”?

ABD, “Sivil Anayasa” istemez!

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri Günlük Haftalık - 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 yıla böyle girdim

Fehmi Koru 2008: Hükümetin demokrasi sınavı Too bad, we are hopeful

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLUSiyasi iktidarın iki ödevi…

TAMER KORKMAZ Ezberler bozulurken…

Şahin Alpay Yasaksız üniversite ideali

İbrahim Kalın Turkey’s confidence consolidated in 2007

Sebahattin Önkibar MASAK operasyonu ve sahipsiz TV'lerde Erdoğan'ın varlığı!

İsmail Küçükkaya Geciken reformun bedeli...

Ertuğrul Özkök Meryem Ana rolündeki kız

Kişisel hikâyelerimiz - Nuray Mert

Mehmet Yılmaz İki farklı Türkiye görüntüsü

Ahmet Hakan Kültür ile sanat Osman’a emanet

Mümtazer Türköne Geçmişini pazarlayan adam

Yalçın Bayer Vergin’in sözlerinin arkasındaki gerçekler

ERDAL ŞAFAK Şerefe!

ERGUN BABAHAN Anayasa ve kriz

Mustafa Karaalioğlu Devletin zirvesi, zirvenin üslubu

Gerçek Türkiye hangisi?

Can Dündar'ın kaleminden 2007'nin çalkantılı Türkiyesi

Hüseyin Gülerce 2007'nin en önemli olayı

Umur Talu Ortada sandık!

NAZLI ILICAK Sigaraya dair

YAVUZ DONAT Öküzün altında buzağı aramak

Can Ataklı Nur Hanımcığım, değişim mi bu?

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM Ülke fonları kurtarıcı olur mu?

Ercan Kumcu Enflasyonu artırarak istikrar aranmaz

Kriz ekonomisi Mahfi Eğilmez

Hatanın da ötesinde Korkmaz İlkorur

Likidite bolluğu ve büyüme Fatih Özatay

Şükrü Küçükşahin Çağlayan’ın zor işleri!

Erdal Sağlam İhracat başarı ya ithalat

Asaf Savaş Akat 2008’e girdik

[Yorum - Eser Karakaş] 2008'de büyüme ve demokrasi

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU
Projesini getiren yatırımcı teşvik alabilecek

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ Petrol çıksa dert düşse başka dert

MELİKŞAH UTKU Mikro politikalar neler olmalı?

Seyfettin Gürsel Dış ticaret ve büyüme

Faik ÖZTRAK Mevcut politikalarla 2008 de kayıp bir yıl

Deniz Gökçe Olasılık ile bilimsellik farkı ve medya!

Türkiye'nin yıllık ihracatı yüzde 23.49 arttı

Turkey's foreign trade gap widens in November - Turkish Daily News Jan 02, 2008

Hurşit GÜNEŞ 2008 yılında Çin gaza, ABD frene basacak

Turkey puts 2008 export target at $125 bln

Turkey to speed up privatisations in 2008 -report | Industries | Financial Services & Real Estate | Reuters

Kızılot: KDV indirimi yapmayan teşhir edilsin

Mustrafa Erdoğan Piyasa ekonomisi: Yağmadan üretime

MÜSİAD'dan cari açığa çözüm yolu

H5 Washington Post Editorial Pakistan's Postponement A delay in elections should be used to ensure that they are democratic -- and not to bolster President Musharraf

Night of the Opinions By David Ignatius, In the age of the Internet, all facts are certainties. Until they aren't.

U.S. Urges Pakistani Steps: Diplomatic Push Stresses Freedoms, Credibility of Election

Suicide Blast Targets U.S.-Allied Iraqi Force: Leader in Sunni Group Among 4 Dead

Too Quick to Triangulate By Robert D. Novak, Appealing to a general election audience too early could wind up a fatal flaw for Hillary Clinton's chances in Iowa.

Mr. Mukasey's Move The destruction of CIA interrogation tapes will get the criminal investigation it deserves

Iowa by the Numbers

All you ever wanted to know about Iowa but were afraid to ask

U.K. to Help Investigate Benzair Bhutto's Death

Libya's Inconvenient Truth By Mohamed Eljahmi, Why does President Bush praise Libya even though it jails democracy advocates like my brother

H6 Guardian Who should be the world's most powerful person?
Timothy Garton Ash: As Iowa's caucuses start a global ball rolling, my dream team is President(s) Clinton and Vice-President Obama

Leader The first votes are cast
USA presidentials: There are times when the rest of the world fixates too easily on internal American politics, but 2008 is not such a time

The Brotherhood opens up Ibrahim El Houdaiby: In an unprecedented initiative, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has circulated a draft of its manifesto for widespread consultation

This time it's personal Anthony Giddens: There is a disconnect between awareness of climate change and the lifestyle changes necessary to combat it

Stagflation cometh Joseph Stiglitz The fallout from a combination of rising inflation and global recession seems inevitable: how can the world's economies survive it?

Independents' day John Judis and Ruy Teixeira US elections 2008: Voters who are not affiliated to either the Republican or Democratic parties may be decisive in picking the next president

Selfish capitalism is bad for our mental health Oliver James: Growth in materialism over past 20 years taking toll on English-speaking nations

Oil at $100 a barrel: markets begin 2008 in turmoil
Price of oil breaks $100-a-barrel barrier as fears of a recession in US plunges markets into turmoil

Musharraf delays election
Troops will stay on streets to maintain order, he says
Scotland Yard to assist inquiry

Iowa just too close to call
Candidates scramble for votes as final polls show dead heats
Obama: Fired up in the final hours
Huckabee: God and rock'n'roll
FAQ: Iowa caucuses

Criminal investigation of CIA tapes
Attorney general appoints outside prosecutor to lead investigation into interrogation tapes destroyed by CIA

Global warming and hot air

David Roberts: US elections 2008: It's no shock that Republican candidates aren't pushing sensible energy policies. But some are worse than others

H7 Asia Times Sneak peek at a desert Armageddon A theoretical briefing just released by a Washington-based think-tank posits the various outcomes of a nuclear war between Iran and Israel as well as an Israel vs Syria scenario. Israel is the ultimate victor in all exchanges, but at a terrible cost. The only way to win is not to play. - David Isenberg

From The American Conservative, here's a reality-based assessment of Iran’s nuclear capability.

Is democracy doable?
In 1956? Today? MESH.

The Western image of a closed society of mullahs dictating every Iranian's thoughts and movements is far from the reality.

From NYRB, Max Rodenbeck is an American in Iran; and Michael Massing on as Iraqis see it.

"The US got rid of one Saddam and replaced him with 50": An article on the politics of the local in Iraq.

Terror on the Run - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Iraq: 4,000 Sacrificed to Vindicate 3,000 - Tony Blankley, Washington Times

Prophetic Briefing - F. Andy Messing, Washington Times

A tall order for a Marine: Divining how to treat the ally who tried to kill you in Anbar Province.

Some US soldiers have spent so much time in Iraq, it feels like home.

An interview with George McGovern on Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now

Did A Hi-Tech Laser Beam Kill Benazir Bhutto?

Musharraf deploys army for elections

Asia Times Bhutto's death a blow to 'war on terror'
Even before Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had been planning for severe disruption of its supply lines from Pakistan into Afghanistan. The situation is now even more critical, and with Pakistan's political map no longer anything like the one dreamed up in Washington, US special forces are highly unlikely to be given Islamabad's permission to operate inside Pakistan to beef up the border. - M K Bhadrakumar

Commentary: Sins of omission and sins of commission haunt Bush in Pakistan

Speak Subtly to Pakistan - Boston Globe editorial

After Bhutto - Los Angeles Times editorial

Democracy Mustn't Wait in Pakistan - London Daily Telegraph editorial

Open Letter to Bhutto's Son - Los Angeles Times editorial

Bhutto Assassinated Because She was a Women – Pamela Bone, The Australian

No, Things Aren't Falling Apart in Pakistan - Amir Taheri, New York Post

Islamist Expansion in Pakistan - Trudy Rubin, Baltimore Sun

A Patriot's Tragic Death - Cal Thomas, Washington Times

Peril in Pakistan - John O'Sullivan, New York Post

'Person of the Year' - Helle Dale, Washington Times

Can Pakistan Bring Back Stability? - Ravi Khanna, Voice of America

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

The internal struggle for the Iraqi oil law continues

Iraq oil production up and rising (By Sinan Salaheddin)

McClatchy Returning Iraqis face lack of services, property disputes Millions of Iraqis who fled the bombs and ambushes in 2006 and 2007 are choosing between the rising costs of displacement and the painful memories of home. For 2008, those choices will become even more difficult as Iraqi officials work to woo them back to their neighborhoods, whether services and security are ready or not

Unlikely forum for Iran's youth

BBC Monitoring Quotes From Iranian Press 2 Jan 07

Iran's Khatami Returns from the Shadows

Forward The Tribal Dynamics of Old Play Out Again in the Middle East
Yossi Alpher

Daily Star Damascus may have just lost the Arabs
By Michael Young

2007 confirmed the pitfalls of accelerated opinion By David Ignatius

The rodeo ride of manipulating Middle East politics By Rami G. Khouri

Editorial Lebanon's problems must have Lebanese solutions

Sustainable Peace in Sudan By: David L. Phillips | The Boston Globe
The U.S. is threatening Sudan with more sanctions unless the Khartoum government stops obstructing the deployment of a peacekeeping mission to Darfur. While peacekeepers are desperately needed to provide safety and humanitarian access, more will be required to achieve conditions for sustainable peace.

Sudan: China, Helicopters and Genocide - Los Angeles Times roundtable

Libya's Inconvenient Truth - Mohamed Eljahmi, Washington Post

[Fbis] OSC: Syria Halts Cooperation With France Following Sarkozy's Remarks; Al-Mu'allim Says

H9 Ha’aretz – Editorial Bush's final effortBush?s mission during his upcoming visit will be to convince his hosts of his determination to see his vision - which is also their vision - realized.

Hezbollah: Israel behind assassinations in Lebanon

Benn Now's not the time Anger is not a good compass for practical politics, and the main question is whether removing Olmert at this point would be beneficial or counterproductive for the country

Rosner Here come the tribal leadersIowa on the eve of the primaries is a really dazzling democratic celebration. There is the farmer who could decide how the war in Iraq will be conducted; there is the shopkeeper who could decide what will happen with Iran?s nuclear program.

Our violent presenceOur presence in the Palestinian territories, which is based on military and political superiority, is violent and arrogant by its very nature, even when it is expressed in pleasant ways, like cultivating gardens in settlements or taking a pre-Shabbat hike

J'lem seeks Bush okay for IDF free hand in W. Bank

Hezbollah dismisses senior commander for wartime failures

U.S. Rep. Lantos, only Holocaust survivor in Congress, to retire

Cease-Fire with Hamas in Gaza Is No Solution - Ely Karmon

Uzi Benziman: Sooner or later, Olmert will have to quit

The policy that castrated the IDF

· Jerusalem Post Rattling the Cage: Dr. Rice strikes a nerve

[ LARRY DERFNER

Letter to a Serbian friend [ SHLOMO AVINERI

The new Muslim anti-Semitism

[ MARK R. COHEN

What Ariel Sharon might have done differently [ ABRAHAM RABINOVICH

Yedioth Ahronoth World’s largest videocracy Baruch Leshem asks - is television’s influence over US presidential elections a good thing?

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

Bush must address settlements: Abbas
Palestinian president says Israeli settlements 'making peace talks impossible.'

CSM Israeli-Palestinian fatalities drop, but other issues persist

In its year-end report, the leading Israeli human rights organization B'tselem noted a roughly 50 percent reduction in fatalities

Israeli Arabs Split Over National Service Plan By: Ken Ellingwood | Los Angeles Times The initiative has stoked a fierce debate among Israel's 1.4 million Arab citizens. Arab politicians and activists in Israel have denounced it as a government attempt to co-opt young Arab citizens into serving the Jewish state, erode their sense of identity as a minority group and possibly one day integrate them into the Israeli military, where they could end up fighting their Arab brethren

BBC Hamas militants die in Gaza raid

Six Palestinian militants have been killed in an Israeli helicopter attack on the Gaza Strip, hospital sources say.

Analysis: After Annapolis

2008: The year of Palestine?

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Gingerly, US reaches out to Sharif in Pakistan

With elections there postponed until Feb. 18, and turmoil unabated, the Bush administration evaluates its options for spurring its war-on-terror ally toward greater democracy.

Bhutto's rise carved path for Pakistani women

But analysts say the slain leader was adept at transcending the politics of gender.

With Iowa and New Hampshire races close, a hustle for turnout

Most polls show a very close race among the top candidates in both parties, so the outcome hinges on which campaigns are best at turning out their supporters.

In US, Al Gore has more company on climate change now

As the climate debate shifts away from the blame game, there's a growing interest in climate-action strategy.

ASIA

China Flexes Its Muscles By: Gordon G. Chang | The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
The immediate causes of China's recent rebuffs to the U.S. Navy may be American arms sales to Taiwan, and the award of a congressional medal to the Dalai Lama. But something suggests the decisions were made at the highest levels of the Chinese central government -- and at a time when senior leaders are reorienting the country's foreign policy

Guardian Redder than the real thing Ian Williams: Taiwan's brand of democratic socialism succeeds and improves on the Chinese model

The Times 08.08.08: unlucky for Beijing? In the build-up to the Olympic Games, the Chinese are nervously watching farmers' rebellions

Rosemary Righter

China faces a second land revolution Farmers in three provinces are firing up the Internet with demands for an end to the vaunted communist ideal of collective land ownership. Their anger is aimed at greedy developers and corrupt officials who seize farmland for real estate projects. Though Beijing has taken little official notice, it's a sign of things to come if land-use policy doesn't change. - Kent Ewing

The Afghani Way of Banking By: Eric Ellis | Asia Sentinel In banking, there’s Switzerland and Singapore, secure and secretive. There’s Indonesia, which has been so plagued by corruption you can never be sure who's actually holding your money. And then there is Afghanistan, in a class of its own.

H11 IHT A balancing act for Merkel as state elections loom With Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative-led government facing crucial tests this month in two state elections, the sensitive issues of juvenile crime and immigration are playing an increasing role in the campaigns.

About that peace process

Annapolis was photo-op enough. Bush should use his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this month to get real work started.

The economy and the new year

Americans don't need more denial. They need an unvarnished appraisal of the nation's economy.

Last bastions of smoking fall in France Under a sweeping decree that took effect Wednesday, smoking has been banned in every commercial corner of "entertainment and conviviality" - from Parisian nightclubs to village cafés.

EUROPE European press review

Europe's Eastern Promise By: Ronald D. Asmus | Foreign Affairs
After the Cold War, NATO and the EU opened to central and eastern Europe, making the continent safer and freer than ever before. Today, NATO and the EU must articulate a new rationale for enlarging still further, and now in the face of a more powerful and defiant Russia.

Balkan Focus For Slovenia's EU Presidency

Kosovo train-wreck warnings (By James Lyons)

GuardianItaly denies being Spain's poor relation
Italy's prime minister claims that European Commission figures saying it is now poorer than Spain are wrong

The Roadmap to Better EU-NATO Relations CER

Europe: Climate change: the cost of inaction and the cost of adaptation

Kosovo Train-wreck Warnings - James Lyons, Washington Times

H12 RFE/RL

Google News Azerbaijan

Georgian Youth Activists Take Back Seat for 2008 Presidential Vote
BY MOLLY CORSO
In 2003, the Georgian youth movement Kmara (Enough) emerged as one of the headline-grabbers of the Rose Revolution. More than four years later, the buzz surrounding Georgian youth activists appears to have faded. Although young activists for both former President Mikheil Saakashvili and the opposition have worked for weeks on the campaign trail, political scientists believe that their impact on Georgia’s January 5 vote will be minimal.

H13 The Times Oil leaps above $100 per barrel to set new record

Cold weather, aggressive buying by speculators and the falling US dollar helped propel the price to an all-time record

Scotland Yard asked to find Bhutto's killers

President Musharraf calls in British police to help with forensics work as elections are postponed until February 18

McCain rejuvenates Republican race

John McCain abandoned the 'Granite state' and returned to Iowa on the eve of its caucuses having leapt into third place

Just don't do it: a motto for Gordon

If the Prime Minister wants to get his Government back on track, here is some more seasonal advice

Anatole Kaletsky

Wall Street Journal Oil's Surge Reshapes the World Oil briefly touched $100 a barrel, from just over $10 a barrel a decade ago. The rise is altering the wealth and influence of nations and industries. Oil's surge adds to the pressure on the U.S. economy

H14 Financial Times

Breakaway territories watch and wait In the separatist territory of Abkhazia, Russian warnings that a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo could set a precedent for other breakaway territories are welcome

Musharraf is wrong to delay the election President main threat to democracy, says Jo Johnson

US confronts prospect of a recession

Top US general warns on Afghan self-defence planBritish plans to equip tribes to defend their villages against the Taliban will not work in the region of Afghanistan in which UK forces are responsible, the top US...

Europe in 2008: Asia can drive Europe’s global aims John Thornhill on the struggle to stay relevant

Why I am not using the R-word this time It’s not likely, says Alan Reynolds

LEADER: Dishonesty and the UK defence budget

FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION: Oil and gold soar on dollar fears

The era of easy money is over

Clinton strives for victoryHillary Clinton was fighting hard for the Democratic presidential nomination in the closing hours before Iowa holds the first and highly influential caucuses against a perceived surge of “Obama-mania” in favour of her leading rival, Barack Obama

Huckabee taps middle-class insecurities After surging into the lead in Iowa over the past two months, polls have shown Mr Huckabee dragged back into a dead heat with Mitt Romney, the wealthy former governor of Massachusetts, in recent days

Nominating begins in neighbourly fashion In normal elections all that is required of voters is a few minutes of their time and, if necessary, a pair of reading spectacles. But for the Iowa caucus - defined by...

COMMENT: The crisis in Kenya leaves a guilty stain on the west

H15 Los Angeles Times

Editorial After Bhutto

Editorial: The U.S. strategy in Pakistan is in ruins, but it now has a chance to get on the right side of history.

- Editorial: Open letter to Bhutto's son on Pakistan's future, and his own

H16 American Politics

Poll: McCain, Romney tied in New Hampshire —

Bill Clinton turns enemy into a friend Richard Mellon Scaife has offered surprising praise the former US President Bill Clinton, the politician he once despised

Rep. Lantos won't seek reelection

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

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

A spectre is haunting America, the spectre of theocracy: Presidential candidates are either citing scripture or dropping broad hints that they will govern as "people of faith".

Garry Wills on Romney and JFK: The Difference.

NOVAK: HILLARY WILL FINISH IN 3RD PLACE...

H17 Daily Telegraph LEADER

The start of the White House race

The most gruelling electoral race in the world - the presidency of the United States - has the first test for Democratic and Republican candidates in Iowa.

Russia foils atomic smugglers

This time, it's Russia in the dock

H18 Independent The future starts here It's the most expensive, unpredictable and crucial presidential race in modern US history. And today, in Iowa, people start to cast their votes

Leading article: The marathon has begun, and the world is watching

So what do the candidates stand for?

Johann Hari: The American right is dazed and confused

Blogger who dared to expose Saudi corruption is arrested

CIA faces criminal inquiry into loss of 'torture' tapes at Guantanamo

Oil and gold prices surge to fresh record highs

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

Analysis: U.S. lost Fallujah's info war y SHAUN WATERMAN A secret intelligence assessment of the first battle of Fallujah shows the U.S. military believes it lost control over information about what was happening in the town, leading to "political pressure" that ended its April 2004 offensive with control being handed to Sunni insurgents.

'Sudden Jihad Syndrome' Poses Domestic Risk By: Sara A. Carter | The Washington Times Sympathy for al Qaeda has produced "sudden jihad syndrome" in domestic terror cells unaffiliated with foreign terrorists and people seeking to carry out attacks in the U.S., a law-enforcement intelligence analysis says.

Iraq and Al Qaeda CRS

BBC Global threat
Looking at the 2008 challenges for the fight against terrorism

H20 Slate

Who are the net food importing countries ? Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Papers

Putting a Plague in Perspective By: Daniel Halperin | The New York Times
Last year, as the U.S. spent almost $3 billion on AIDS programs in Africa, it invested only about $30 million in traditional safe-water projects. This nearly 100-to-1 imbalance is disastrously inequitable -- especially considering that in Africa H.I.V. tends to be most prevalent in the relatively wealthiest and most developed countries.

Are We Taking Full Advantage of Older Adults' Potential? Urban Institute An 8-page US study highlighting the benefits of engaging older people in work and voluntary activities

Improving Development Outcomes: Annual Integrity Report World Bank An 80-page report on anti-corruption activities undertaken by the World Bank

Entrepreneurial Philanthropy in the Developing World
Source: Development Policy Outlook (American Enterprise Institute)

1905 and the Birth of Modernity: An excerpt from Savage Century: Back to Barbarism by Therese Delpech

H21 Milan introduces traffic charge

Italy's first traffic charge is launched in Milan in an attempt to reduce congestion and pollution levels.

A baby planet 10 million years old

The planet is the youngest yet discovered and is in a solar system still being formed from cosmic dust and gas

Fresh search for parachute hijacker

The FBI has posted pictures and information about 'D. B. Cooper' on its website in the hope the public can identify him

GALLUP POLL: Most Americans 'Very Satisfied' With Their Personal Lives...

Atlantic Eye: The death of honor in sports As a child I was fascinated by sport heroes. There was baseball’s Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron; track and field’s Wilma Rudolph; soccer’s Pele; swimming’s Mark Spitz and the incomparable all-round athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Other athletes also held the mantle high. But today, from U.S. baseball to international biking -- and even tennis -- greed, dishonor and arrogance are the new credo.

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