062108f - 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 - Subscribe to FPR FPR Table - H4 NYT WP GU H7 ME Isr H10 CSM IHT Eur FSU Asia H13 Times WSJ FT LAT H16 USP DT Ind H19 Mil Int Ter Wonk H21 Misc

News Analysis: Bush May End Term With Iran Issue Unsettled

SATURDAY INTERVIEW; Oil’s Perspective on What’s Behind the Energy Crisis

Limelight to Shine on Saudis at Energy Forum as Oil Prices Continue to Soar

Ha’aretz – IAEA Chief vows to resign if Iran is attacked Oil prices jump on report of Israeli drill preparing for Iran attack; Iran cleric: Israel to get slapped if it strikes

Los Angeles Times Israel's peace efforts widen

Talks with Syria and Hezbollah are a shift from a U.S.-backed isolation strategy. Some accuse Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of trying to divert attention from his domestic troubles

Iran is offered conditional nuclear talks

A European incentive proposal includes an offer for a six-week period for preliminary talks to resolve the nuclear standoff if Tehran refrains from increasing its enrichment capacity.

Sistani quietly opposing U.S. presence

The Times Archive since 1785

Michael Hirsh / Newsweek:

Barack's Bounce — The latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows the Democrat with a 15-point lead over McCain.

Gallup Daily: Obama 46%, McCain 44%

Hagel says he'd consider VP offer from Obama

In Doubt for the Monarchy Autocratic Modernization in Saudi-Arabia Iris Wurm Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Germany Download the full-text document (968 KB)

Asia Times 'President' Larijani: A star is born Thanks to the patronage of Iranian heavyweights like Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament, is the man most likely to challenge President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in elections next year. Unless, that is, Ahmadinejad can reverse his sliding fortunes by turning the economy around. - Sami Moubayed

'Breakthrough' in Iraq pact
Although no details have emerged, United States and Iraqi negotiators say they have made a breakthrough in talks for a pact to provide a legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq. Opponents of such an accord, notably Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr, could yet have the last word

Weekly Standard Obama's Pooh-bah A childish foreign policy. by William Kristol

Are We Safer? by Reuel Marc Gerecht

Yes, George W. Bush has made America more secure since 9/11.

Darkness at the End of the Tunnel Penetrating the Iranian underground. by Gabriel Schoenfeld

Guardian UK tops world table of weapons sales Controversial deal with Saudi Arabia catapults Britain to top of last year's world arms export league

The great petrol gamble Dilip Hiro: By increasing the Saudi petroleum output and calling an oil summit, King Abdullah has raised hopes of dampening the market

The answer lies in oil Robert Fox: The multinationals negotiating deals to exploit oilfields in Iraq should reflect on the gloomy historical precedents

Time out for Hamas Jonathan Spyer: The 'period of calm' between Hamas and Israel is a period of rest, strengthening and consolidation before hostilities begin again

IHT RELIGION AND AMERICA Back to basics

By ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER AND TOD LINDBERG We have lost sight of the ways in which turning back to America's founding values - including faith - can once again unite us in the face of common problems.

EU leaders argue over whom to blame for Irish treaty vote The leaders delayed efforts to salvage the treaty until autumn after a two-day meeting that produced an attack by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France on the handling of trade negotiations

RFE/RL Armenia 'Shall Overcome' In an exclusive commentary, President Serzh Sarkisian acknowledges that Armenia is a country in transition, but says Yerevan is working hard to deepen reforms and strengthen democratic institutions

Financial Times Security fears over food and fuel crisis Western countries have upgraded the food and fuel crisis into a national security concern as they fear record high energy and agriculture commodity costs are destabilising key developing regions of the world

A Choice of Enemies This account of US engagement with the Middle East gives a sense of the pressures and trade-offs facing American presidents, writes Gideon Rachman

The Times There are no winners in Afghanistan Historically, British defiance turns to compromise. Why should it be different in Afghanistan? Matthew Parris

Regional diplomacy filling the vacuum
Al-Ahram Weekly

H2 Rice: "Davaya müdahale edemeyiz"

Amerika ve AB'den kapatmaya karşı net mesaj

Armed Forces Party’s plan to straighten out society by YASEMİN ÇONGAR*

The American The Case Against Turkey’s Ruling Party By Michael Rubin It is not secular, liberal, or democratic. In fact, Prime Minister Erdoğan has become the Turkish Vladimir Putin.

The Crisis in Turkey By Mustafa Akyol Extreme secularists are seeking to overthrow a government of Muslim democrats. Let’s hope they don’t succeed.

Kurds Support US-Iraqi Accord to Ensure Protection From External Threats - Article

[YORUM - ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ] Amerika, 27 Mayıs'ta da tarafsızdı!

Semih İdiz Obama’nın Ermeni merakı ABD’ye pahalıya patlar

Guardian Turkey find an even later twist Turkey bettered Croatia from the penalty spot after a dramatic extra-time equaliser in quarter-final

Barney Ronay: Turks leave it late again

The Times Bilic and Croatia crash out on penalties

FT SPORT: Turkey break Croatian hearts with late miracle

Avrupa basını: En deli maç, Türk mucizesi

Dünya basını: Bu Türkler kaç canlı

[YORUM - H.D.S. GREENWAY] Türkiye'nin dağılan hayali

Taraf exposes army’s covert operations plan

Avrupa'da Türkiye'nin esamesi yok

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası Dış Basında Türkiye - BBC Turkish 0700 VOA TSİ 06:30 Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey TurcoPundit

Google News Fırat News Agency KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect Dış Basında Irak BBC Monitoring Inter-national

UN Proposal Provokes Anger
Institute for War and Peace Reporting -

Iraqi Groups Oppose De Mistura Plan for Different Reasons Kurdish Paper

Serhat Erkmen İsrail-HAMAS Ateşkesi Taktik Bir Ateşkes mi Kalıcı Barışa Giden Yol mu?

Hamas leader wishes to visit Turkey

Cevdet Aşkın Öcalan: Marx'ın hatalarını düzeltiyorum

Kürtçe televizyon ve TRT
HALUK ŞAHİN

Irak, Türkiye’ye benzedi
MEHMET ALİ KIŞLALI

DTP, sözlü savunma için ek süre aldı

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri Günlük Haftalık

Unilateral moves derail Cyprus peace process

No Lisbon treaty, no enlargement, say Sarkozy, Merkel

TURKEY’S RESPONSE TO OBAMA’S MESSAGE AND FRIED’S SPEECH

US ambassadorial nominee refuses to call "genocide"

Mensur Akgün Hukuki temeli olmayan bir izolasyon hikâyesi

Rauf Denktaş Yaşayabilir-çalışabilir

ABD'nin yeni Erivan büyükelçi adayı ısrarlara rağmen 'soykırım' demedi

Sami Kohen AB’nin kafası karışık!

Erivan Büyükelçisi Tartışması

‘Soykırım’ demedi ‘etnik temizlik’ dedi

Kıbrıs�ta liderler zirvesi 1 Temmuz�da

FT FT MAGAZINE: One Of Us

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

Serdar Turgut Futbol ve oyun teorisi

İstihbarat deyince iş dünyası neyi anlamalı

H3

Ankara’yı sarsan belge

Taraf: Psikolojik savaş, Asker: Ucuz bir iddia

Genelkurmay: Onaylı bir plan yok

Komuta kademesi E-Andıç'ı sahiplenmedi

Ankara’da Lahika-1 planı tartısması

‘Hizaya gel’ projesi

Genelkurmay’a ‘topyekûn müdahale planı’ iddiası

Taraf'tan şok iddia: TSK, sivil hayata müdahale planı hazırladı

G.Kurmay'dan şok iddialara yalanlama! G.Kurmay Başkanlığı'dan, Taraf gazetesinde çıkan habere yalanlama geldi

DTP davasına bak, AKP davasını anla

Mahkemenin 16 Eylül şifresi

PKK'nın hain baskınına göz mü yumuldu? İnanılmaz gaflet. PKK'lılar göz göre göre karakolu bastı!

Derin plana kim ne dedi?

Savunmadaki çelişki

‘Köstebek’ soruşturması

Genelkurmay’dan yayın yasağı

Babacan, cemaat okulunu ziyaret etti 450 erkek öğrencinin eğitim gördüğü yatılı okulda 40 öğretmen görev yapıyor

Erdoğan’a 290 milyon YTL’yi ‘nerede, nasıl harcadın’ sorusu

'Biz yapınca düzen değiştirme, TÜSİAD yapınca entel işi oluyor'

Türbanlı, eşcinsel ve solcu darbeye karşı yan yana

Türkiye'de halk hoşgörülü gerilim elitler arasında

Mesut Yılmaz, sanki başka yüzyıldan sesleniyordu

Tuncay Özkan, Sarıgül ve Cem'in koltuklarını da istemiş

Yılmaz Türkiye’ye darbe başbakanı olmak istiyor

Bu gazete devletin çıkarlarına aykırı yayın yapıyor

BBP: Belge varsa savcılık el koymalı

DTP: Siyaset kurumu tavır almalıdır

Çiçek’ten anayasa değişikliği yorumu

Biz İslamiyetimizden memnunuz, AKP değil

21 rektör için gözler YÖK ve Gül’de

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman

Ertuğrul Özkök Bir belge üzerine

Murat Yetkin Genelkurmay çalışması ve düşündürdükleri

Cengiz Çandar

Ahmet Taşgetiren İddianame ve millet gerçeği

Ruşen - Çakır

Taha Akyol Kemal Derviş komplosu

Fikret Bila Temel çatışma sürüyor

Hasan Cemal

Murat Yetkin

İsmet Berkan Üzüm yemek, bağcı dövmek

Fehmi Koru Mesut Yılmaz'ın tarafı

Taha Kıvanç Öf be, bıktım artık!

Şamil Tayyar

Ali Bayramoğlu Hukuk alanının daraltılması

Yasemin Çongar

Şahin Alpay "İslamcılığın yenilgisinin benzersiz ürünü"

Derya Sazak Askerin ‘eylem planı’

Sabahattin Önkibar Ara rejim ya da milli mutabakat hükümeti ihtimali var mı?

Turan Alkan Türkiye, "askerî bir cumhuriyet" midir?

Ahmet Hakan

M Ali Birand Herkes Türkiye'den söz ediyor...

KÜRŞAT BUMİN AYM parlamentonun 'lala'sı mıdır?

HAKAN ALBAYRAK Yürüyelim arkadaşlar!

YASİN AKTAY Malumun tekzibi

Can Ataklı Asıl Cumhurbaşkanı adayı Vecdi Gönül’dü

Mehmet Altan ‘Kamuoyunu TSK çizgisine getirmek’...

Cüneyt Ülsever

Enis Berberoğlu

Oktay Ekşi

Özdemir İnce

Mehmet Y Yılmaz

MUHARREM SARIKAYA Org.Büyükanıt: Üzüntü verici

ERDAL ŞAFAK Zıkkımlar - zakkumlar

ENGİN ARDIÇ Sermaye yeni anayasa istiyor, işçiden tık yok

ERGUN BABAHAN Halkı yenileyin...

EMRE AKÖZDoğan'ın savcısı

Umur Talu

TÜSİAD’s constitutional convention move by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

Futbol topu Türkiye

NAZLI ILICAK Darbeye hayır

İsmail Küçükkaya
Siyaset kavgası mı “kavga siyaseti” mi?

[YORUM - DR. LÜTFÜ ÖZŞAHİN] Korku cumhuriyeti ve sanal merkez

Mehmet Kamış Düşünce özgürlüğü yok, seçim var

MEHMET BARLAS

MAHMUT ÖVÜR

YAVUZ DONAT

Ekonomi

Hedefler şaştı, istihdam ve ücret politikaları sil baştan

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Erdal Sağlam

Yaman Törüner Merkez Bankamız kimin için karar veriyor?

Güven Sak Müjdeler olsun, hastamız doğruldu

News Analysis: Bush May End Term With Iran Issue Unsettled

SATURDAY INTERVIEW; Oil’s Perspective on What’s Behind the Energy Crisis

Limelight to Shine on Saudis at Energy Forum as Oil Prices Continue to Soar

Former Bush Aide Testifies About C.I.A. Leak

H5 Washington Post Calm in Basra May Offer A Guide for Iraqi Security

Rebuilt Army Controls City Militias Once Held

Sunni Group Announces Execution of 2 Iranian Policemen

McCain Defends Trade Pact As Candidate Visits Canada, His Team Bashes Obama on NAFTA

Editorial Air Force Adrift

Israel Conducted War Games, U.S. Officials Report

Sami Moubayed: Syria's Uninspired Youth

New Data Found On North Korea's Nuclear Capacity Intelligence on Enriched Uranium Revives Questions About Weapons

McClellan Testifies About Bush Team Former Spokesman Says Little Beyond Details in His Book

Advice on Guantanamo Rebuffed

White House disregard for legal warnings about its detainee strategy leads to more judicial scrutiny

Colbert I. King: A Heretic's Advice to Obama

H6 Guardian UK tops world table of weapons sales Controversial deal with Saudi Arabia catapults Britain to top of last year's world arms export league

The great petrol gamble Dilip Hiro: By increasing the Saudi petroleum output and calling an oil summit, King Abdullah has raised hopes of dampening the market

The answer lies in oil Robert Fox: The multinationals negotiating deals to exploit oilfields in Iraq should reflect on the gloomy historical precedents

Time out for Hamas Jonathan Spyer: The 'period of calm' between Hamas and Israel is a period of rest, strengthening and consolidation before hostilities begin again

Britain's deadly businessEditorial: Britain won a dubious new accolade this week: it became the world's number one arms exporter

The age of scarcity Duncan Green: The huge challenges of dwindling resources and climate change can only be met by a global New Deal

Revealed: UK's blueprint for a green revolution Government unveils 12-year plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20%

Israeli jet exercise is warning to Iran over nuclear facilities, Pentagon says 'Sabre-rattling' display of capabilities could pressure Tehran into accepting uranium ultimatum

Obama rejects public election funds

Attacks from all sides of the party divide, as Barack Obama reneges on promise to accept public funding

PM tries to persuade Opec to go green Gordon Brown to plead with oil producers to channel profits into tidal and nuclear power in western countries

Browne casts doubt on Nato's long-term future

Solving the incendiary problem

Quietly spoken man from humble background exerts greatest influence over worldwide energy costs

A bad deal on surveillance Mark Agrast: Congress's compromise on warrantless wiretapping fails to curb the Bush administration's abuse of power

What happens after Kyoto? David Thorpe: Short-term responses and lack of any real leadership are sending the wrong messages on climate change

We must leave the fossil century behind to reach the golden age of renewable energy, Mr Brown

George Monbiot: We have begun to glimpse the green holy grail: reliable renewable electricity

H7 Asia Times 'President' Larijani: A star is born Thanks to the patronage of Iranian heavyweights like Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament, is the man most likely to challenge President Mahmud Ahmadinejad in elections next year. Unless, that is, Ahmadinejad can reverse his sliding fortunes by turning the economy around. - Sami Moubayed

'Breakthrough' in Iraq pact
Although no details have emerged, United States and Iraqi negotiators say they have made a breakthrough in talks for a pact to provide a legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq. Opponents of such an accord, notably Shi'ite cleric Muqtada Sadr, could yet have the last word

Iran and religious diplomacy
Bishop John Bryson Chane
The world isn't experiencing a clash of civilizations, it is witnessing the beginning of a "dance" in which civilizations are finding each other for the first time, says Chane, the Episcopal bishop of Washington and a leading voice of religious diplomacy, notably with Iran. His efforts have been called naive, but he tells Kaveh L Afrasiabi he feels "extravagantly unique new ways of diplomacy are being discovered with religion playing a key part

Iran: Leader of the Sunni Movements in the Region By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed | Asharq Alawsat Paradoxically, Iran, an extremist theocratic Shiite regime with Ahmadinejad at its helm, is orchestrating and funding the activities of extremist Sunnis in the region

Boston Globe Threats to and from Iran AN EXERCISE by Israel's air force over the Mediterranean earlier this month ought to set off alarm bells around the world, for the refueling operations and evasive maneuvers suggested a practice run for an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. (Boston Globe)

India Tiptoes to the New Middle East By: M.K. Bhadrakumar | Asia Times
India, with China on its mind, is in the midst of a flurry of Middle East activity to better place itself in what it considers its extended neighborhood

Amid Worsening Wars, Brown Spins By: Michael Glackin | The Daily Star
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is scheduled to make "an important strategy announcement" on Iraq next month. Much to US President George W. Bush's chagrin it will involve troop withdrawals, which are likely to take place in the last quarter of this year.

Rifts Are Growing in Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood By: Ibrahim Gharaibeh | The Daily Star
Debates surrounding the April election of Hammam Said as general guide of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood reflected the deep internal conflict within the organization.

Iraq and US: the Path of the Future
Asharq Alawsat By Amir Taheri

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

Saudi Writer Rebukes Syria for Seeking to Break Isolation Via France, Israel

Iraqi oil pipeline sabotage drops sharply

BBC Burst of optimism Sworn Mid-East enemies engage in talks and truces

Oil summit

Can Saudi meeting find an answer to rising oil prices?

'Al-Qaeda' members killed in Iraq The US military says four militants have been killed during operations against the al-Qaeda in Iraq network.

H9 Ha’aretz – IAEA Chief vows to resign if Iran is attacked Oil prices jump on report of Israeli drill preparing for Iran attack; Iran cleric: Israel to get slapped if it strikes

Hamas: Arms smuggling to continue despite truce PMO: Anyone saying end to smuggling not part of Gaza truce is trying to destroy calm before it begins

Hamas spokesman voices rare optimism regarding Gaza truce

N.Y. Mayor urges Jewish voters to denounce Obama Muslim rumors

Bradley Burston: Peace dead? Send us your own plan

Will we see a record number of Jewish lawmakers? (2)

Comparing Obama and Chamberlain (WTR)

Jerusalem Post ElBaradei: I'll resign if West launches military strike on Iran

IAEA chief says offensive would turn the Middle East into "fireball" and make the Islamic Republic more determined to obtain nuclear power

Temporary lull before the storm?

[ YAAKOV KATZ

Iran: We'll hit back with 'strong blow' Top cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami stresses the Iranian nation's mentality is "to fight foreigners."

Yedioth Ahronoth 'Jews cannot be trusted'

Gaza source: Militants to use lull for Islam workshops, expect Israel to violate truce

No need to know everything/ Haber

Daily Alert.org – Hebrew Press Editorials (2008) - Middle East Progress - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel - Palestine

Olmert gambles with the 'devil'
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's negotiated ceasefire with the "terrorist" Hamas in Gaza has more to do with his own survival than with any expectations of genuine peace: Hamas has effectively been set up for a fall. Olmert could be the first casualty though. - Simon Allison

Forward In Espionage Trial of Ex-Aipac Employees, Appeals Court Sets High Bar for Prosecution Two former American Israel Public Affairs Committee employees facing espionage charges won a procedural victory June 20, when a federal appeals court ruled against the prosecution’s request to lower the burden of proof in their upcoming trial

We’re Making Deals

H10 Christian Science Monitor

ASIA

China Debunks 'Domino Theory' in World Markets By: William Pesek | Bloomberg News China's currency gains aren't playing out in Asia as expected. Domino theories turn heads in Asian markets. One of the phrase's earliest incarnations referred to the spread of communism in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and '60s. In 1997, Thailand's devaluation touched off a domino effect that knocked over markets in Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and elsewhere

Tribute to the Good Sense of a Brighter Bush By: Tom Plate | The Japan Times The just-published "China Diary," by U.S. President George W. Bush's father, is one of the most sensible perspectives on China ever written by a powerful U.S. figure

Awaiting Japan's global vision

THERE WERE times when Japanese leaders knew exactly what to do. In the late 19th century they knew Japan needed to build a "rich nation and strong army," so they mobilized the population and took them on a forced march to industrialization and international prominence. Fueled by their success, they agreed in the 1930s that Japan should be a great ... (By Richard J. Samuels, Boston Globe)

China and Africa By: Hany Besada | International Herald Tribune In its dealings with Africa, Beijing has behaved no differently than other great powers acting in their own self-interest

Taiwan Courts Big Brother By: Mark O'Neill | Asia Sentinel
Although the re-establishment of high-level political dialogue between China and Taiwan represents a breakthrough after nine years of stalemate, opening the way for closer economic and social integration, the honeymoon does not extend to the military, diplomatic or political arenas

H11 IHT RELIGION AND AMERICA Back to basics

By ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER AND TOD LINDBERG We have lost sight of the ways in which turning back to America's founding values - including faith - can once again unite us in the face of common problems.

EU leaders argue over whom to blame for Irish treaty vote The leaders delayed efforts to salvage the treaty until autumn after a two-day meeting that produced an attack by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France on the handling of trade negotiations.

Soccer becomes a game to love again

By JOHN VINOCUR In the European Championships, the Dutch team brings back the romance of old to the Beautiful Game.

Unfinished business in Afghanistan

President Bush should work with European, Afghan and Pakistani leaders to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat the Taliban-Qaeda threat in Afghanistan.

EU to look at how biofuels affect food output European Union leaders planned Friday to call for study on how Europe's use of more biofuels might affect global food production.

EUROPE European press review

Europeans Don't Want a United States of Europe By: Michael R. Sesit | Bloomberg News
"Who do I call if I want to call Europe?" former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once asked. After the Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum last week, the question remains unanswered.

Macedonian Parties Slam Albanian Leader's Insistence on Multiethnic Name

Leaders Stress EU Perspective As Key for Western Balkans Stability

Czech threat looms for EU treaty

EU leaders meeting in Brussels admit that the Czechs, as well as the Irish, may not ratify the Lisbon Treaty

Le Monde Nicolas Sarkozy et l'OTAN : gaulliste ou gaullien ?, par Patrick Jarreau

No Clear Answer to the 'Irish Problem' By: Bronwen Maddox | The London Times What do the Irish have to be offered to vote “yes”? A lot more than they’ve been offered so far, clearly -- and even then it might not do the trick. As the European Union summit wraps up today, the gift bag that other countries were irritably putting together looked skimpy

Why the Irish Were Right to Say No By: Samuel Brittan | Financial Times
If you are looking for examples of nonsense on stilts you could hardly find a better instance than the reactions of the European political establishment to the Irish No vote in the referendum on the Lisbon treaty.

H12 RFE/RL Armenia 'Shall Overcome' In an exclusive commentary, President Serzh Sarkisian acknowledges that Armenia is a country in transition, but says Yerevan is working hard to deepen reforms and strengthen democratic institutions

Google News Azerbaijan

Armenian Opposition Rallies; PACE Says Reforms "Inadequate"
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN
With cries of "Fight, fight till the end!" supporters of ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian on June 20 held their first large-scale public demonstration in Yerevan since the violence of March 1 that left ten people dead.

H13 The Times There are no winners in Afghanistan Historically, British defiance turns to compromise. Why should it be different in Afghanistan? Matthew Parris

Why Times reports in 1863 were a shade unreliable In The Times archive: the Gettysburg battles were not quite the Confederate success our correspondent imagined

David Aaronovitch Archive: Old Times The Times Archive, now available online, is a window into 200 years of history

The Times Archive since 1785

J’accuse: Mandelson rounds on Sarkozy Britain’s Trade Commissioner accuses the French President of seeking to exploit the image of starving African children

Israel conducts 'Iran attack' drill

Israeli fighter jets take part in a long-range training mission to prepare for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities

Wall Street Journal Bernanke's Market Week
The Fed Chairman is squandering his most precious currency: credibility.

Military-Industrial Complications
U.S. soldiers wait while contractors, and a bumbling Air Force, duke it out. Review & Outlook

East China Sea Sense
China and Japan agree to cooperate in offfshore drilling.
Review & Outlook

The Post-Post-9/11 Candidate

By Philip Klein From The American Spectator: Obama would return to a law-enforcement approach to terrorism.

Sen. Webb Emerges as Military Point Man With his two Purple Hearts, three tattoos and spoiling-for-a-fight attitude, Sen. Jim Webb is seen by many as the best person to go into battle against McCain, a fellow war hero. Yet the rising Democratic star has been a politician for less than two years, and he could be a risky combatant for the party.

Soros Sees a 'Superbubble' George Soros's predictions in his books have fallen short of his track record as a hedge-fund operator. Twice he's foreseen doom -- and now he's predicting it again. In an interview, the famed speculator explains his forecast and why he succeeds financially when his world view has been wrong. Video

H14 Financial Times Security fears over food and fuel crisis Western countries have upgraded the food and fuel crisis into a national security concern as they fear record high energy and agriculture commodity costs are destabilising key

developing regions of the world

A Choice of Enemies This account of US engagement with the Middle East gives a sense of the pressures and trade-offs facing American presidents, writes Gideon Rachman

Czech refusal on treaty hits unity hopes The European Union’s efforts to limit the damage from Ireland’s rejection of a landmark EU reform treaty ran into trouble on Friday when the Czech Republic refused to give an explicit promise to approve the document

Italy’s left warns of authoritarianism

Italy under Silvio Berlusconi is moving towards authoritarianism, a veteran voice of the left has declared, as the opposition broke off talks on constitutional reform with the centre-right government

IMF says US economy is set to ‘stagnate’ The US economy is likely to “stagnate” in the second half of this year, the International Monetary Fund warned, as stock markets in the US and Europe fell to their lowest levels since March and US bank shares hit a five-year low

McCain attacks Obama’s ‘cowboy diplomacy’ John McCain has accused Barack Obama of “cowboy diplomacy” over free trade that threatened to undermine relations with Canada and reverse the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement

Democrats press on tracking of arms parts Democratic senators called on Robert Gates, US defence secretary, to explain how the US Air Force lost track of hundreds of sensitive components for nuclear weapons

FT MAGAZINE: The Undercover Economist: The Profits Of Political Connections

Italy is right to curb its politicised judges A proposed law providing immunity from prosecution for high-ranking members of the Italian government could allow Berlusconi to dodge a trial. That is not reason enough to oppose it, writes Christopher Caldwell

Why stagflation will be different this time Britain is far from how it was in the 1970s, says Chris Giles

Cut oil subsidies China’s move will encourage conservation of fuel and make it easy for producers to invest in new supply. It is a first step in the right direction

A terminal case Despite its location and dismal facilities, there is no option but to expand Heathrow. London is a world-class city: it deserves world-class air links

H15 Los Angeles Times Israel's peace efforts widen

Talks with Syria and Hezbollah are a shift from a U.S.-backed isolation strategy. Some accuse Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of trying to divert attention from his domestic troubles

Iran is offered conditional nuclear talks

A European incentive proposal includes an offer for a six-week period for preliminary talks to resolve the nuclear standoff if Tehran refrains from increasing its enrichment capacity.

Iraq crackdown in Amarah continues; harassment alleged

At least 45 are arrested. Muqtada Sadr's followers accuse security forces of random shootings and beatings

McClellan testifies he was wary of Libby's leak denial but went along

McCain and Obama camps are open to Gates

What secrets is he keeping?

By Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

Pakistan denies that any 'foreigner' has access to its nuclear blueprints

Editorial

H16 American Politics

US lawmakers pass wiretaps bill

US lawmakers pass a bill shielding telephone companies who helped in the White House's controversial warrantless wiretap programme.

Q&A: US surveillance row

It's the economy Can John McCain turn this key issue to his advantage?

realclearpolitics memeorandum ABC’s The Note – US News Political Bulletin Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

McClellan: Cheney should testify about CIA leak

Bloomberg Criticizes ‘Whisper Campaign’ Around Obama

Clinton ends May $22.5 million in debt; Obama raises near same

Born again? John McCain woos uneasy evangelical Christians

H17 Daily TelegraphThe Conservative's Big Idea will be a hard sell Just as Margaret Thatcher in 1979 identified the broken economy as Britain's biggest problem, David Cameron is correct to focus on our broken society, says Charles Moore

US floods threaten global food prices

Cornbelt disaster will be felt worldwide, warn US farmers.

Brown plans to resign after election

Prime Minister has told close allies next election would be his last as Labour leader

Clinton to join Obama campaign

Senator Hillary Clinton is to join Barack Obama on the campaign trail to present a strong image of party unity.

Israel rehearses air assault on Iran

Israel has carried out a full rehearsal of an air assault on Iran's nuclear sites involving scores of aircraft, US officials have said

H18 Independent Israel's dry run 'attack on Iran' with 100 jet fighters

Israel has mounted a major long-range military air exercise – involving more than 100 F15 and F16 fighters – as a rehearsal for a potential strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, American officials have indicated.

Anne Penketh: Iranians don't believe that military strikes are coming

Fury as Mandelson is made scapegoat for Irish 'no' vote The EU's attempt to present a united front over Ireland's rejection of its treaty of Lisbon was scuppered by an explosive row between Nicolas Sarkozy and the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson

Europe warms to GM crops as possible solution to food crisis

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Reconsidering the Rules for Space Security (PDF; 964 KB)
Source: American Academy of Arts and Sciences From press release — Global Security Scholars, in Talk at AAAS, Say Many Nations Resent U.S. Bid to Control Space (American Academy for the Advancement of Science)

"If the Detainee Dies, You're Doing It Wrong" By: Brian Beutler | The American Prospect We have known for a long time that Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of 15 torture techniques in 2002, but a new congressional hearing exposes the depth of opposition he faced from the military.

Information Security Oversight Office Releases FY 2007 Annual Report to the President Source: Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO)

Caucasians recruited by al-Qaida in Europe, officials say

Dogs of War: CACI -- Some publicity is bad

Symposium: Al-Qaeda's Central Leadership
FrontPage

H20 Slate

Are low food prices pro-poor ? net food buyers and sellers in low-income countries Source: World Bank Policy Research Working Papers

New Report Available on Ecosystems and Climate Change Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

International Migration of Scientists and Engineers (PDF; 129 KB) Source: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (UK)

H21 The Times Archive since 1785

Secret code in Sistine Chapel A new book claims Michelangelo insulted the pope in code.

FT MAGAZINE: But Was This The Beautiful Game's Ugliest Moment?

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