011608f - 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 Iran and the US: Key Issues from an American Perspective Report analyzes the prospects for negotiations between the US and Iran. Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies Full Report (PDF; 276 KB)

Guardian Bush's trip, without principle or plan, had one big winner Simon Jenkins: In talking war and being feted by autocrats in the Gulf, the US president just drummed up more support for Ahmadinejad

Independent Bloody reality bears no relation to the delusions of this President As a bomb explodes in Beirut and Israel kills 19 in Gaza raids, President Bush takes his Middle East peace mission to Saudi Arabia (and signs off $20bn weapons deal with the regime). Robert Fisk reports

Leading article: The proof of a foreign policy that has failed

NPQ Nathan Gardels: NON-WESTERN MODERNIZATION CHALLENGES DAVOS MAN

Iran NIE: The Foreign Policy Research Institute has a new paper examining to what extent the recently released National Intelligence Estimate will disrupt President Bush’s foreign policy agenda in the Middle East.

Asia Times Gulf allies turn their backs on Bush From the "Filipino Monkey" non-incident involving US warships and Iranian speedboats to the reported - true or not - visit by a senior Iranian military official to the Green Zone in Baghdad, the George W Bush administration is being made to look foolish. Meanwhile, Tehran, by ignoring Washington's rhetoric and letting the chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog do the talking, has effectively undercut Bush's diplomatic moves in the region. - M K Bhadrakumar

Iran spars with its enemy within
Iran believes the United States is providing moral, material and financial support to ethnic and sectarian-based secessionist movements, especially to ethnic Baloch nationalists. This may be overstating the case in terms of material aid, but all the same, Tehran, as does Pakistan with its Balochis, has a major problem on its hands

Daily Star The Arab League might get results by moving the battle of Beirut to Cairo

MEF Augmenting Israel's Qualitative Military Edge, by William Wunderle and Andre Briere

Boston Globe Death of the Bush Doctrine THE Bush Doctrine - born on Sept. 20, 2001, when President Bush bluntly warned the sponsors of violent jihad: "You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists" - is dead. Its demise was announced by Condoleezza Rice last Friday. (By Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe)

Salon -America needs realists, not William KristolIf the New York Times wants true diversity on its Op-Ed pages, it should hire foreign policy realists, not ideologues.

Gareth Porter How the Pentagon Planted a False Story

ME Forum Juan Cole's Crooked Tales of Hormuz by Winfield Myers

Los Angeles Times Gates faults NATO in Afghanistan Defense secretary says forces do not know how to combat a guerrilla insurgency

Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review, January 14-15, 2008

H2 MEF Is Iraqi Kurdistan a Good Ally? by Michael Rubin (January 2008)

NYT Ankara Journal: In Complex Times, Turkey Seeks a Reassuring Face

Turkey military confirms bombed PKK targets in Iraq Reuters

Soner Çağaptay Gül'ün Cumhurbaşkanlığının önemi

The Kirkuk-Ankara balance ISN –

Syria and Iraq to rehabilitate Kirkok-Banias Oil Pipeline

Kurds' Kirkuk demands raised after rebuff

Turkey bombs rebel targets in northern Iraq

Is Orhan Pamuk a prophet or a poseur? A debate

'Kürtlerin bağımsızlık talebi'

EDITORIAL: Fast-food diplomacy

Rice Talabani ve Barzani ile görüştü

Turkey won't let weapons of mass destruction in the region, says Gül

Turkish General Visits Baghdad as Planes Hit PKK

[Fbis] OSC: Turkish General Staff Says Warplanes Hit PKK Targets in North Iraq 15 Jan

[Fbis] OSC: Turkish TV Cites Iraqi Kurdish Sources on Bombing of PKK Targets in North Iraq

Erdogan shrugs off US opposition to Iran-Turkey energy deal Tehran Times

Oil development or Iraq's division?
GulfNews

Google News Fırat News Agency KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

US Secretary of State Meets Iraqi Kurdish Leaders in Baghdad

Bağdat'ta sürpriz trafik

Yalçın Bayer Fethullahçı işadamları Diyarbakır’a yükleniyor

DTP’li Yıldız’dan PKK açıklaması

'Kürtçe bildiğim için kurban seçildim'

DTP, CHP'nin Doğu Raporu'na katkıda bulunacak

DTP Leader Not Urging Separation From Turkey - Iraqi Kurdish Paper

Iraqi Kurdish Government Prevents Journalists' Rally in Qandil

[Fbis] OSC: Turkey's Ergin Saygun Visits Iraqi Counterpart, Petraeus in Baghdad 15 Jan

[Fbis] OSC: Iraq: Kurdish Leader Says New Memo 'Serious Development'

[Fbis] OSC: Kurdish Figure Attacks Allawi Alliance, Urges Kurds To Review Alliance With UIC

Iraqi Kurdish Green Bloc Leader Interviewed on Ties With Baghdad

Turkish President, Arab League Leader Discuss Regional Issues

Saygun visits Baghdad as planes hit PKK in Iraq

Kirkuk Referendum Needed, Kurdish Leader Says By: Ned Parker | Los Angeles Times The president of Iraq's Kurdish region warned Monday that Kurdish leaders would resist efforts to scrap plans for a referendum on the fate of the multiethnic city of Kirkuk. His tough comments came a day after nearly a dozen political parties in Baghdad challenged Kurdish designs by calling for the central government to impose a solution.

Biraz da Biz Kürtleşelim, Dersler Başlıyor!

Türkiye-Suriye savaşının eşiğinde

[HABER İZLENİM] Arap dünyası Türkiye'yi keşfetti

İlnur Çevik Turkish diplomatic offensive on all fronts

Türkiye Körfez sermayesini tartışırken Sarkozy 70 milyar dolarlık iş bağladı

view: Egypt or Turkey? —Farrukh Saleem

ABD de 301 değişsin istiyor MEMDUH EŞŞEYH

Northern Iraqi Universities Proving a Draw to Students from Southeastern Turkey

'Mısır, doğalgazını Türkiye üzerinden pazarlamak istiyor'

Enerji, sinerji Türkiye için

[Yorum - Davut Şahiner] Kayıp yılların telafi dönemi

Mısır medyasında Türkiye

El ele, baş başa

Arap ligiyle aramız iyi

Mısır'dan yarım adım

Turkey, Syria sign mutual energy, pipeline accord - Oil & Gas Journal

Iran decides to construct separate gas pipeline to Turkey_English_Xinhua

Turkish Mobile Operator Sues Iran Over Contract Obligations

Turkey Said to Send Iraq-Destined Vehicles Back to Britain

Iraq : Kurdish reporter arrested while covering PKK demo in Kirkuk

Kirkuk Police Academy graduates 1,325

Engin Ardıç Sarı ve yeşil kanları nereden bulacaklar?

Announcements of Jewish Lobby in US in Support of Turkish ...

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

EU-Turkey Long Lasting Relations - ampliacion ue

"Türkiye kriterleri yerine getirdiğinde AB'ye alınacak"

The Turks' notorious reconciliation
C. Cem OĞUZ

Sarkozy ‘too busy’ to meet with Erdoğan in February

Küresel barışın örneği Türkiye

Erdoğan şubatta Almanya'ya gidiyor

Zapatero'dan AB üyeliğine tam destek

Türkiye'nin üyeliğine engel, aydınlığı bitirir

Türk F-16'larına bir günde 6 taciz

Avrupa'dan Alevî açılımına destek

Sami KOHEN Önce "içeriden" başlamalı...

Alliance of Civilizations aims to celebrate diversity by Mahmood Ayub*

Erdoğan calls on EU to help global peace

European leaders support government's Alevi initiative

Turkey, and the Fictitious Europe of the Irreverent German Minister Markus Söder

Greek premier to visit Turkey

Kıbrıs'ta kayıpların kimlik sonucu bekleniyor

JTW News - Cyprus: The complete history from 1960 to 1974 (1-8)

Spain is in favour of EU accession for Turkey

SLEEP TIGHT: TURKEY IS NOW A CENTRAL COUNTRY! : EUROPEUS

19 Ocak 2007'den 19 Ocak 2008'e ERDAL DOĞAN

Congratulatory messages on the first anniversary of Today’s Zaman

Suudi hediyeleri sorunu
M.Ali Kışlalı

Malatya zanlısı çelişki yumağı

Her akşam toplanıp rüşveti paylaşmışlar

Turkey aims for 40 million mark - 15-01-2008

Şimşek: 100 üniversite daha gerekli

Serdar Turgut
Orhan Pamuk’un kurtuluşu

16 Ocak 2008 Basın Özeti

H3 Jetler yine vurdu

SORAR PKK - 30.11.2007 - DTP - 18.12.2007

Who rules Turkey? Burak BEKDİL

Orgeneral Saygun'dan Irak'a sürpriz ziyaret

Hakurk kampı yerle bir oldu

Haşim Kılıç Yeni anayasa yerine madde değişikliklerine gitmek daha doğru

Ece TEMELKURAN AKP "evine" dönüyor: Açık büfeden ideolojiye

Ruşen Çakır|KÜRT SORUNUNDA YENİ SÜREÇ

Sanayi için acil plan gerek
İsmet Berkan

Martın ilk haftasına dikkat!
Murat Yetkin

Ahmet Taşgetiren Siyasi simge veya değil

Sadi Somuncuoğlu Türkiye'de anadil ve aidiyet duygusu

Türbanda geri sayım

Türban tamam

Serdar Turgut Sakıncalara dikkat

Rektörler hemfikir: Türban serbest olamaz

Taha AKYOL Merkez Bankası ve Cumhuriyet

Hasan CEMAL Başbakan Erdoğan'ın dikkatine: Sorunlar yine birikiyor!

Diyanet'e düşen görev Avni Özgürel

Cengiz Çandar Hrant'a ne diyebilirdim

Cevdet Aşkın Genelkurmay'dan müthiş zamanlama: Rice, Talabani ve Barzani'yle görüşürken Diyarbakır misillemesi

Fatih Altaylı Paşa'nın Bağdat gezisi kara harekatı için mi?

Hakurk'a etkili vuruş

Serdar Akinan Doğru mu?

Mensur Akgün Türkiye Ortadoğu ülkesi mi oluyor

Sosyal güvenlik reformu
Sendikalar neden birlik olamıyor?

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 KıvançABD'de 'derin devlet' ha!

Fehmi Koru Yasak yok ki kaldırılsın...

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU Gül, Kahire, PKK, demokrasi…

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

Ekonomik kolera yılı ve tehlikeli pazarlık!..

Din istismarı ve siyasetin normalleşmesi Haluk Şahin

Gül: 301 değil zihniyet önemli

Ahmet Taşgetiren Siyaset ve hizmet ya da kasap ve koyun meselesi

Ertuğrul Özkök Küfürbazlar mahallesinden bir cümle

Ahmet Hakan Paranoya sevgilim

M Ali Birand Mübarek’e Süleyman beyin selamını götürdüm (!)

Cüneyt Ülsever Yabancı çalıştırma zorluğu

Enis Berberoğlu

Oktay Ekşiİnatla çözemezsiniz...

Tufan Türenç Başbakan Erdoğan sonunda baklayı ağzından çıkardı

Özdemir İnce Dinden düşmanlık çıkarmak

Mehmet Barlas Herkes vatanını sever ve bazıları da memleketi ele geçirir…

Mehmet Y Yılmaz

İsmail Küçükkaya
Türban siyaseti

MUHARREM SARIKAYA "Çözümsüzlük..."

ERGUN BABAHANAnayasa tartışması

EMRE AKÖZ Liberaller ve demokratlar merkeziyetçiliği sevmez

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMANMedeniyetler savaşında Türkiye

NAZLI ILICAK Başörtüsü ve "siyasal simge"

"Başbakan Türkiye'yi yanlışa sürüklüyor"

Erdoğan, türbanı çözümsüzlüğe itti

AKP anayasa taslağında türbana formülü buldu

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIMFatura ödeme dönemi

Ege Cansen Özelleştir-me!

Ercan Kumcu Faizlerin inmesi ödüllendirmedir

Erdal Sağlam

Merkez'in ağızları sulandıran arsası

OKAN MÜDERRİSOĞLU
Maliye 3.5 milyar YTL'lik vergi borcu ile uzlaşacak!

Güngör URAS Tekstilci Mısır'ı can simidi olarak görüyor

Deniz Gökçe Kötümserlere de şans verelim!

İ.Hüseyin Yıldız Merkez Bankası’nın çalışma yeri

Taşınma konusu nasıl tartışılıyor?
Uğur Gürses

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ

Dövizde çapraz kıskaç oyunu

H4 New York Times Romney Beats McCain in Michigan Vote Promising to revitalize the distressed automobile industry, Mitt Romney defeated his principal rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona, by winning a clear plurality of Republicans and conservatives

H5 Washington Post Rice, in Detour From Bush Trip, Visits Iraq

Lollipop Economics The Limits of What Politicians Can Do By Robert J. Samuelson, In an election year, economic lollipops help voters feel better.

France Announces Base in Persian Gulf Country becomes the only Western power other than the U.S. to have a permanent defense installation.Deal With U.A.E. Seen as Warning to Iran

Blast Near U.S. Embassy Vehicle Kills 3

Citing Prices, Bush Urges OPEC to Boost Output

3,200 Marines to Deploy To Afghanistan in Spring

20 Palestinians, Mostly Fighters, Killed in Israeli Raids

Clinton, Obama Distance Selves From Talk of Race

Romney Wins Michigan GOP Primary

A Prosperity Dilemma By Michael Gerson

Global prosperity sounds good, but it will come with hidden problems of its own.

A Different Recession The Old Remedies Won't Work This Time By Harold Meyerson The old remedies won't work for this recession in this economy.

Station Chief Made Appeal To Destroy CIA Tapes Lawyer Says Top Official Had Implicit Approval

Editorial

Bhutto's Last Day, in Keeping With Her Driven Life

Before Assassins Struck Dec. 27, Pakistan's Ex-Premier Kept Up Frenetic Pace but Also Found Time for a Prayer

H6 Guardian Bush's trip, without principle or plan, had one big winner Simon Jenkins: In talking war and being feted by autocrats in the Gulf, the US president just drummed up more support for Ahmadinejad

Iraq's healthcare in disarray
Experienced staff emigrate due to lack of protection

19 Palestinians killed in Gaza raid
Hamas leader's son among dead after Israeli troops launch incursion

The Taliban's bloody iconoclasm

Jason Burke The Taliban's bombing of the Serena hotel in Kabul symbolises everything that has failed over the last five years in Afghanistan

Tribal leaders' family suspected over Kabul attack Main suspects behind hotel storming are father and son with links to Taliban and al-Qaida, writes Jason Burke

Romney back in the hunt after Michigan victory

Mitt Romney grabs lifeline in Republican race after scoring first major primary win

Four dead in Beirut roadside bomb

Four Lebanese people killed and 16 injured in car bomb attack that apparently targeted US diplomats

Better politicians who row over race than candidates who hardly care
Jonathan Freedland: The US Democrats' feud has highlighted the gaps in the London campaign. Excitement, and genuine cultural awareness

The world according to Wall Street

Ian Williams Jan 15 08, 09:00pm: Complaints that Europeans are biased against capitalism ignore the facts about the European economy and the social injustices and economic inequalities in America

An unpleasant intrusion
Diana Inquest: What is the point of the inquest into the death of Princess Diana? A mawkish indulgence of a conspiracy cult that will satisfy no one, it has gone beyond anything needed for justice

Out of Egypt Khaled Diab: After countless generations not venturing far from the comforting embrace of the Nile valley, why have millions of Egyptians left?

Blowback in the war on terror

Anita Inder Singh The west has lost credibility by failing to adhere to international law and human rights norms in its promotion of security

H7 Iran NIE: The Foreign Policy Research Institute has a new paper examining to what extent the recently released National Intelligence Estimate will disrupt President Bush’s foreign policy agenda in the Middle East.

Asia Times Gulf allies turn their backs on Bush From the "Filipino Monkey" non-incident involving US warships and Iranian speedboats to the reported - true or not - visit by a senior Iranian military official to the Green Zone in Baghdad, the George W Bush administration is being made to look foolish. Meanwhile, Tehran, by ignoring Washington's rhetoric and letting the chief of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog do the talking, has effectively undercut Bush's diplomatic moves in the region. - M K Bhadrakumar

Iran spars with its enemy within
Iran believes the United States is providing moral, material and financial support to ethnic and sectarian-based secessionist movements, especially to ethnic Baloch nationalists. This may be overstating the case in terms of material aid, but all the same, Tehran, as does Pakistan with its Balochis, has a major problem on its hands

Daily Star The Arab League might get results by moving the battle of Beirut to Cairo

One soldier's assessment of the global war on terror By Rami G. Khouri

The Gulf Security Dialogue and Related Arms Sale Proposals (PDF; 122 KB) Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

Smart Bombs, Dangerous Ideas By: David Isenberg | Asia Times
Smart bombs, dangerous ideas President George W Bush's visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with a push to get a US Congress green light for a Gulf Security Dialogue deal worth some $20 billion in weaponry. For the US, it's a return to arms-peddling form: plying "moderate" Arab states with weapons to coax a de facto coalition with Israel to "fight back extremism" -- and Iran.

Iraq, Anyone? By: James Reston Jr. | USA Today
Why aren’t the U.S. presidential candidates talking about the postwar era and how they would repair the damage this terrible war has done to the nation? After all, our own reconstruction is at stake.

Gulf Allies Turn Their Backs
on Bush by M.K. Bhadrakumar

The NY Times is Trashing the Troops Again - Ralph Peters, New York Post

Iraq: In Search of Answers - New York Times editorial

Washington Times Trying to sell democracy (By Claude Salhani)

Globaloney (By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.)
Iraq: More Than Half Full - David French, National Review

Boston Globe Death of the Bush Doctrine

THE Bush Doctrine - born on Sept. 20, 2001, when President Bush bluntly warned the sponsors of violent jihad: "You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists" - is dead. Its demise was announced by Condoleezza Rice last Friday. (By Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe)

Pakistan's personality test

HISTORY, geography, and domestic politics have all helped mold Pakistan into a large question mark for its neighbors, its allies, and itself. Intermittent military rule has had its role in this identity crisis, as have Pakistan's major political parties, with their feudal structures and their corruption. At least as destabilizing, though, have been the entanglements of Pakistan's powerful military intelligence ... (Boston Globe)

Iraq: Death Blow to Defeatists - Pete Hegseth, National Review

Iraq: One Happy Mob - Michael Leeden, National Review

Democracy Promotion: Cornerstone of U.S. Foreign Policy? (PDF; 203 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

A step towards reconciliation
GulfNews By Amir Taheri

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

Iraq: Will Passage Of New Law Appease Sunnis?

Turkmenistan/Iran: Good Relations Take Turn For The Worse

Forward Threat To Cut U.S. Aid Opens Rift With Egypt Pro-Israel advocates in Washington refrained from contesting a congressional decision last month to withhold part of American military aid to Egypt, in what appears to be a departure from a 30-year-old unwritten understanding that Israel would help Cairo fight off any efforts to cut American assistance to Egypt

GAO Doubts Truth of Sept. Iraq Report

In Baghdad, Rice calls Iraq's future 'promising but fragile'

Bush to meet Mubarak as tour ends US President George W Bush is preparing to wrap up his eight-day tour of the Middle East by visiting Egypt

French move
President Sarkozy makes a deal for naval base in the Gulf

Cycle of violence
Beirut explosion fuels fears that Lebanon crisis will drag on

Iraq’s new flag half satisfies everyone

As Bush Visits, U.S. and Egypt Grow Farther Apart –

Israel to Get "Smarter" U.S.-Made Bombs than Saudis

PBS Focus on U.S.-Saudi Relations

Peace Talks Bolstered by Bunkum - Richard Gwyn, Toronto Star

Peace Promise - National Review editorial

Two-state Solution Worth Effort - The Australian editorial

Peace in the Middle East? - Gwynne Dyer, Philadelphia Inquirer

Powell: I warned Bush about 'price' of security in 2003

BBC Monitoring Weekly Roundup of Iraqi Press 9-15 Jan 07

BBC Monitoring Headlines, Quotes From Iraqi Press 15 Jan 08 (Package B)

[Fbis] OSC: Russian Paper Cites Israeli, Russian Reactions to Bush's Mideast Tour

[Fbis] OSC: BBC Monitoring: Quotes From Iranian Press 15 Jan 08

Iran, Iraq Believe Algiers Accord Not Negotiable - Spokesman

Iran Paper Cites U.S. "Motives" Behind Gulf Naval Incident

Greece Respects Iran's Right to Peaceful Nuclear Energy - Minister

Displaced Iraqis suffer hardship (By John Zarocostas)

Bush to Send 3,200 More Marines to Afghanistan

Enforcing Iran's Dress Code May Cost Votes

H9 Ha’aretz – Amira Hass: Israelis don't get the extent of their domination over the Palestinians

The case for bombing Iran (WTR)

Bush: Olmert's coalition strong, can withstand peace process Senior diplomat says Bush's intention of returning to Israel shows 'there is a chance' of reaching agreement

The last refuge The (declared) adherence to peace with the Palestinians is becoming the refuge of Ehud Olmert's supporters against the expected severe conclusions of the Winograd Committee

There are no more excuses If Kadima is a party and not a mere accident of circumstances, if it plans to run again in the next elections, it must prove that it intends to fulfill the prime minister's promises

Gaza militants fire at least 25 Qassams at southern Israel

IDF troops kill Islamic Jihad's top West Bank commander

Rosner: PM tells U.S. Jews he wants to hear their voice on J'lem

Jewish leaders: "falsehood and innuendo used in mischaracterization of Obama" (WTR)

Jerusalem PostRevelations of an inquisitive historian [ SHIMSHON ARAD

A nation that is in search of leadership [ ISI LEIBLER

Threat to human uniqueness

[ SHMULEY BOTEACH

Are the Palestinians as Desperate as the West for Peace? - Barry Rubin (Jerusalem Post)

Yedioth Ahronoth What does Cairo want?

Zalman Shoval wonders whether recent tensions with Egypt indicate worrisome trend

Bush's damage control/ AzoulayAfter leading US to needless wars, president seeks quick fix during regional tour

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

MEF Augmenting Israel's Qualitative Military Edge, by William Wunderle and Andre Briere

DEBKAfile: Israeli skirmishes on fringes of Palestinian strongholds may lead up to long-delayed Gaza offensive

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Gaza strike hardens Hamas position In an interview, key Hamas strategist Mahmoud Zahar discusses how his movement has been preparing for a potentially imminent Israeli assault on Gaza

On emptying seas, a vanishing way of life

Overfishing on the Mediterranean is threatening artisanal fishermen and endangering more than 100 marine species

Is Latin America heading for an arms race?

Recent increases in defense spending by Brazil and Venezuela are attracting observers' attention

For election 08, youth voter turnout swells

Their numbers surged in the Iowa and New Hampshire contests. Will the trend continue?

ASIA

FT Editorial Slowstep in Beijing for Asia’s giants It is high time China and India sorted out border disputes in the Himalayas that took them to war in 1962, and continue to be a source of tension

IHT Why cooperation matters By TARUN KHANNA

The link established by Buddhism centuries ago is now being strengthened by trade.

LA Times There's room for China in space By Jeffrey Manber The U.S. shouldn't turn a cold shoulder to Beijing's emerging efforts.

China’s Economic Fluctuations: Implications for its Rural Economy
Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

China's Consumer Is Stymied By Lack of Credit By: Andy Mukherjee | Bloomberg News
The Chinese government's efforts to steer the economy away from exports and investments and toward more vigorous domestic consumption are clearly not working.

U.S. Commander Searches for More Openness in China By: Mark Magnier | Los Angeles Times
The growing range of Chinese submarines and other weapons systems, recent tensions over canceled Hong Kong port calls and heightened sensitivities over Taiwan's upcoming presidential election underscore the importance of improved relations between the Chinese and U.S. militaries, a high-ranking American commander said today.

Recurring Dream About Asia's Prospects By: Tom Plate | The Japan Times
North Korea's Dear Leader decides to feed his people? Sri Lanka ends its self-destruction? Japanese scientists create a Koizumi clone without the ultra-nationalist gene? It's the stuff of Asian dreams.

Pakistan Election Fueling Cynicism By: Betsy Pisik | The Washington Times
Backroom dealing will play as big a role as mass rallies and campaign speeches in Pakistan's Feb. 18 elections, with the three main parties already feeling out one another for potential alliances in the face of a likely hung parliament.

China’s Holdings of U.S. Securities: Implications for the U.S. Economy (PDF; 180 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

Emerging Trends in the Security Architecture in Asia: Bilateral and Multilateral Ties Among the United States, Japan, Australia, and India (PDF; 144 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

COMMENT: Beware the personality cult in the pursuit of democracy

A report from the World Bank examines efforts to cut back on energy waste in China, even as the country ramps up its construction of power plants.

World View: Timing will be everything for Chinese carmakers

H11 IHT Iraq's shaky effort to bring in the Baathists The Justice and Accountability Law may be worse than useless.

Oil and the polar bear

Vice President Dick Cheney and his friends are not going to let the polar bear stand in their way of locking up as many oil and gas leases as they can.

Election-year gridlock in Germany With the divisions increasing in Germany's coalition government as state elections approach, Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that she could promise no big reforms this year and hinted that little could be expected in 2009, when new federal elections are scheduled.

UN leader urges global dialogue to help fight terrorism

EUROPE European press review

Washington Times Fixing Kosovo (By Helle Dale)

Warsaw ups ante for U.S. shield The United States is headed for tough negotiations with Poland over a planned missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, with Warsaw now demanding that Washington pour hundreds of millions of dollars into improving its defense capabilities

Polish defense minister, visiting U.S., discusses plan for missile shield

Chertoff: Europe 'Poses Key Threat to US'

US Missile Shield Discussed in Warsaw and Prague

Analysis: U.S. rockets face Polish hurdles

H12 RFE/RL The Making Of A President The Kremlin political machine is running at full steam to promote Dmitry Medvedev as the next Russian president. As Putin's chosen heir visits the regions, pressing local officials into service, the Kremlin-controlled media is giving Medvedev "complete supremacy" in its coverage.

Google News Azerbaijan

YEREVAN REPORTS DOUBLE-DIGIT GDP FOR 2007

- AKHMETOV SIGNALS KAZAKHSTAN’S NEW CONFIDENCE

From Russia With Spite - London Times editorial

[Fbis] OSC: Russia to review its security arrangements if Georgia joins NATO - Lavrov

Forgotten frontline
Chechens in the once-notorious Pankisi Gorge reflect on war

Georgia to push through reforms despite turmoil

Georgia plans to press ahead with market-oriented reforms despite the recent challenges to president Mikheil Saakashvili’s authority, according to prime minister Lado Gurgenidze.

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Play Energy Games While Central Asia Shivers
The leaders of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are trying to extract the maximum benefit from their neighbors’ misery. As the people of Central Asia shiver through the harshest winter in generations, Ashgabat and Tashkent are turning the screws, or shutting off the valves altogether, in a bid to obtain a higher price for their natural gas exports.

Conflict Resolution, Border Security Are Top OSCE Priorities for 2008 -- Chairman
BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH
Trying to solve the protracted Soviet-era conflicts of Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and the Transdniester was among Belgium’s top priorities when it assumed the rotating leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2006.

H13 The Times Squabbles with Russia must not turn into big brawl

The scrap over the British Council could signal that Vladimir Putin is ready for a fight and will take the ill feeling further

Bronwen Maddox

Russia: Britain behaving like colonial masters

Foreign Minister launches furious attack on British Council's decision to defy orders to close, as crisis deepens

Race Against Time Al-Qaeda could still undo six years' work in Afghanistan

A tragic tale of Sootynomics

Fruitless attempts to create equality in a complex world can have disastrous consequences Daniel Finkelstein

Obama's detestable dirty tricks

An historic Democratic contest is being ruined by the two contenders flinging mud Alice Miles

Reference books? Give me Wikipedia The sniffy critics of the internet think we should be traipsing down to the library to do our research

Magnus Linklater

Squandered Oil Bonanza May Bring Down Iranian President By: Bronwen Maddox | The London Times
Oil at nearly $100 a barrel cannot keep Mahmoud Ahmadinejad safe in the presidency of Iran for ever. Finally, it seems as if his breathtaking economic mismanagement, squandering an unprecedented bonanza, may prise him from office.

Wall Street Journal World Rides to Wall Street's Rescue

Citigroup and Merrill are turning to investors from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as they post big losses linked to the subprime-mortgage crisis.

• Who's Who: The investors behind the infusions

Too Big to Succeed? Citigroup seems to find the middle of every financial mess. Review & Outlook

The State of the Stimulus Debate
by Lawrence B. Lindsey
Mrs. Clinton's plan is very political. Fundamental tax and regulatory reform is better

Biggest inflation jump in 26 years
Over 6 percent rise in all of 2007 despite falling gas prices in December.

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Financial Assets: Implications of a Withdrawal (PDF; 133 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

H14 Financial Times Study warns USA may lose financial leadership...

WORLD NEWS: Wary White House hopefuls loath to mention the war

WORLD NEWS: President occupied by opportunity and a threat Two themes have occupied President George W. Bush’s tour of the Middle East – his attempt to urge the Israelis and the Palestinians towards a peace agreement and his bid to increase pressure on Iran

Rice says reconciliation now a priority in Iraq US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met top Iraqi officials in Baghdad after Iraq’s parliament passed the first in a series of critical laws aimed at reconciling warring Iraqis

WORLD NEWS: Saudis tightlipped on Bush oil appeal

Slowstep in Beijing for Asia’s giants It is high time China and India sorted out border disputes in the Himalayas that took them to war in 1962, and continue to be a source of tension

WORLD NEWS: Israel raid kills 19 Palestinians in Gaza Strip

WORLD NEWS: Bombing in Beirut targets US car

Why regulators should intervene in bankers' pay The regulatory net should cover all systemically important financial institutions. The question the authorities need to ask themselves is simple: if a specific institution fell into substantial difficulty would they have to intervene?, writes Martin Wolf

Beware the personality cult in democracies Western Europe has so far avoided the appropriation of organisations by personalities, but the trend may be creeping in, writes John Kay

Europe is caught mid-river in labour reforms The European Union has its lowest unemployment for more than 25 years, but its labour market reforms are still incomplete and there remains a danger of backsliding, writes Tito Boeri

Microsoft wars The European Commission should try to avoid another protracted legal fight. Its inquiry should be forward-looking and not just rake over the past

ANALYSIS: A subprime swing?

Economic woes dominate Spain poll campaign

Spain’s slowing economy is becoming the main battleground of a general election called for March

Gazprom raises offer for Serbian oil group The government-controlled Russian company Gazprom is pressing to reach a deal in its bid to take control of NIS, the state-run Serbian oil and gas company

Merkel rejects French ‘summit’ proposal Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Tuesday rejected France’s proposal for a “summit” of the eurozone’s heads of states and governments, saying it was “unnecessary” and potentially “divisive.”

Foreign funds lead $21bn US bank rescue Citigroup and Merrill Lynch turned to foreign investors for an unprecedented bail-out, saying they would raise a total of $21.1bn in fresh capital to shore up balance sheets devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis

Abolishing income tax Gideon Rachman: Not all economists reckon that Republican primary election candidate Mike Huckabee’s plan to abolish tax is loopy.

Q&A: Energy security Thursday: Is the global problem of energy security best tackled by tough political or military policies or via supporting a free market in energy? Quiz expert Pierre Noël

MARKETS & INVESTING: Gold makes headway above $900 an ounce

H15 Los Angeles Times Gates faults NATO in Afghanistan Defense secretary says forces do not know how to combat a guerrilla insurgency

Support the Country, Not the Dictator By: Brian Katulis | Los Angeles Times
For decades, the U.S. has faced a fundamental national security dilemma: How does it address the threats posed by global terrorist networks without further entrenching dictators and antidemocratic governments? This challenge existed long before 9/11, and it remains one of the most difficult policy questions facing the U.S. today.

An Alliance That Has Saved American Lives By: Lisa Curtis | Los Angeles Times
The U.S. fixation on supporting individual undemocratic leaders in Muslim nations has contributed in some cases to strengthening Islamist extremist movements. In Pakistan, we have an opportunity to help turn the situation around and get U.S. policy right.

Editorial

H16 American Politics Romney claims Michigan victory

Battle stations
Republican nomination race wide open after Romney's Michigan win

CNN:

How Romney won: Economy, evangelicals, local ties

Salon McCain Owns the Iraq War – for Better or Worse
by Juan Cole

Obama's real fairy tale

By Jonah Goldberg He touts hope and unity. Democracy, though, is about disagreement

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

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

H17 Daily Telegraph

H18 Independent Bloody reality bears no relation to the delusions of this President

As a bomb explodes in Beirut and Israel kills 19 in Gaza raids, President Bush takes his Middle East peace mission to Saudi Arabia (and signs off $20bn weapons deal with the regime). Robert Fisk reports

Leading article: The proof of a foreign policy that has failed

Citigroup and Merrill Lynch raise $21bn to cover mortgage losses

Hamish McRae: Don't panic! The golden age is not over

John Lichfield: President Sarkozy's new philosophy for the world

• Mark Steel: If you think Islam is medieval, look at Catholicism

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

WINEP Prosecuting Terrorism: A Change in Tactics - Matthew Levitt

MEF Contrasting Secular and Religious Terrorism, by Jonathan Fine

Living in a Dream World By: Michael Rubin | The Weekly Standard
As pundits begin to write their obituaries of the Bush presidency, much ink will be spilled over foreign policy. As always, the victors will pen the history. And in the case of the Bush administration, those victors are the permanent bureaucracy at the State Department--the Foreign Service.

City without Joy - Australian Defence College Occasional Series by Michael Evans

Bagram, the other Gitmo
Not as well known as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a US prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, has drawn the attention of the Red Cross, which has documented accounts of deaths, abuses and possible "ghost prisoners" at the base. Efforts to transfer Bagram's prisoners to Afghan control have run into problems, and the mistakes of Gitmo are in danger of repetition. - William Fisher

How the pill drove men to drop out of college.
Tim Harford

H21 We are are in danger of losing a major cultural force, the muse behind much art, poetry, and music. We are blithely getting rid of melancholia... more»

From Boston Review, words behind bars: Do prisoners have a right to read what they want?

Microsoft seeks patent for office 'spy' softwareMicrosoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity and competence

Poverty and Marriage, Income Inequality and Brains
Source: American Enterprise Institute

Like so many marriage “traditions” – the white dress, diamond engagement ring, rice throwing – the honeymoon is relatively new... more»

Is the recording industry broken?

Forum: EMI is looking to cut more than a third of its staff. Can artists now reach fans directly via the internet? Or is the marketing muscle of the major labels still essential for bands to break into the big time?

Oral history: The Monica Lewinsky scandal ten years on...

Dozens claim F-16s chased flying saucer across Texas skies

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