073108f - 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

H1 Washington Post New Premises in Iraq Prospects for Withdrawal Have to Be Viewed Through the Lens of Progress By Henry A. Kissinger

Gates Sees Terrorism Remaining Enemy No. 1 New Defense Strategy Shifts Focus From Conventional Warfare. New National Defense Strategy calls for military to master "irregular" warfare rather than focusing on conventional conflicts against other nations

The introduction to World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy by Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth.

Guardian Iran vows to stay on 'nuclear path' No mood for compromise in Tehran despite threat of sanctions, as UN deadline looms

Olmert resignation throws Israel's politics into turmoil Prime minister quits amid corruption allegations and pledges to prove his innocence

Ha’aretz – Olmert: I'll quit as PM when Kadima picks new leader PM tells public he won't run in primaries, but will continue to focus on peace as long as he is in power

ANALYSIS / Crushed and battered, Olmert finally broke If not for the Lebanon War, Olmert could have been remembered as one of Israel's more effective leaders

Report: Obama 'gets the feeling' Israel to strike Iran if sanctions fail

Salon Why Bush folded on Iran Reality, of the military and petroleum-based variety, forced the administration to change course. Now Bush sounds like Obama. By Juan Cole

Deal on a Security Agreement Is Close, Iraqis Say

Drilling in Afghanistan By: Thomas L. Friedman | The New York Times The truth is that Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Pakistan are just different fronts in the same war. The core problem is that the Arab-Muslim world in too many places has been failing at modernity, and were it not for $120-a-barrel oil, that failure would be even more obvious

Los Angeles Times Iraq parliament plans emergency session on local elections The move comes after lawmakers' summer term ends without passage of the measure to hold provincial balloting this year

• 'The Middle East: Evolution of a Broken Regional Order' by Paul Salem, Carnegie Endowment

Wall Street Journal Obama's Iraq Fumble By Karl Rove On national security, he's still flawed.

The End of Free Trade?
Doha's demise is a failure of economic leadership.

Why Obama Should Pick Hillary
By Lanny J. Davis

The numbers prove she can help him win. I know she can help him govern

MESH ‘Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy’

Categories of Islamism

Neocons Make Their War Aims in Iraq Clearer by Jim Lobe

Neocon Flap Highlights Jewish Divide

Foreign Policy Seven Questions: The Return of Cheap Oil?

Boston Globe Time running out for US in Iraq A TIMETABLE for the withdrawal of US troops has long been a priority for Iraqis - 70 percent want the United States out, according to the latest polls. This sentiment is also reflected in Parliament - the only directly elected branch of government. Two months ago, the political parties representing a majority sent a letter to Congress opposing any US-Iraq ... (By Bill Delahunt and Rosa DeLauro, Boston Globe)

The success of that surge

A CONVENTIONAL wisdom has emerged that, whatever one thinks about the war more broadly, the American troop "surge" in Iraq was an unequivocal success. John McCain is hotly challenging Barack Obama's claim to good judgment, citing the Illinois senator's earlier opposition to the surge and his continuing refusal to admit he was wrong. (By Andy Zelleke and Robert Dujarric, Boston Globe)

US's 'surge' in Iraq has its limits Petraeus has once again trumpeted the success of the troop "surge" in Iraq, saying violence is declining to almost "normal" levels. Factors other than the "surge", such as Iran's change of tactics, have helped stabilize Iraq. And blind belief in it sets a bad example for when the US decides to turn its full attention to the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. - Brian M Downing

Is Ukraine on the Brink of an Energy Crisis? By: Roman Kupchinsky | Eurasia Daily Monitor Come January 2009 Ukraine will, in all likelihood, begin paying Russia’s Gazprom in the range of $400 per 1,000 cubic meters for natural gas or $22 billion per year. Presently the country pays $179 per 1,000 cubic meters, or $9.9 billion per year. Will it be able to survive the new price?

Tom Barnett The Pentagon`s New Map

IHT Philip Bowring: Self-inflicted trade wounds The developing world has been ill-served by the three big countries - India, Brazil and China - which in effect represented them in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round negotiations

Financial Times Iraqi oil output rises as security improves

Iraqi oil production has risen to its highest level since the 2003 invasion on the back of improved security across the country, according to a US government report

Multilateralism not dead as a Doha The round is over and the world’s new leaders should collectively seize the chance to take the World Trade Organisation in a direction where it can regain momentum

What If Iraq Works? - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics

Obama Has the Better Plan in Iraq - Bob Kerrey, Denver Post

Betting on Iraq in the Gulf
Council on Foreign Relations

Obama is trying to adopt Afghanistan as his war
GulfNews - By Amir Taheri

Oil Clot: There’s Oil in Iraq–But Politics, Too Wall Street Journal Blogs

H2 WSJ Finally, a Turkish Delight The AKP wins a stay of execution but must still watch its step

FT Turkey’s AKP survives court fight The ruling party survived an attempt to oust it from power in a landmark court judgment, pulling the country back from a battle over Islam and its secular constitution

Court gives Turkey respite

The Times Leader By a Whisker

The decision not to ban Turkey's ruling party is a triumph for democracy and common sense

Turkey steps back from the brink of chaos

Guardian Leader Close shave

Editorial: Events in and around a courtroom have had a seismic effect on

A victory for democracySimon Tisdall: The decision not to ban the ruling AKP in Turkey represents a score-draw between the secular and religious forces

Turkey's governing party survives vote Political tensions ease as AKP narrowly avoids shut down for allegedly plotting an Islamic state

Turkey

Independent Turkey steps back from brink as court rules against ruling party ban

Patrick Cockburn: One battle has endedbut the war will go on

CFR Turkey's Crisis Over, For Now

Turkey's energy options - UPI.com

BBC Narrow escape Court decision on Turkey's ruling party splits opinion

NYT Turkey’s Governing Party Avoids Ban

Washington Post Turkey's Rulers Survive Secularist Challenge High Court Lets Islamic-Rooted Party Continue, but With a 'Serious Warning'

Daily Telegraph Turkish ruling party beats ban Move will do much to ease tensions in the strategically vital state. Turkey steps back from brink

LA Times Turkish court decides against ban on ruling AKP party

WSJ Turkey's Ruling Party to Stay in Power

Time Turkey Showdown Averted, For Now

Stratfor Geopolitical Diary: Turbulence and Importance in Turkey and Israel Domestic political developments within Turkey and Israel are crucial in determining the Middle Eastern geopolitical landscape

Turkey: A High Court Win for the Ruling Party

Turkey, a Phoenix Rising from Ideological Battles Past By: Fadi Hakura | The Boston Globe Turkey is trapped in the unending cycle of the deja vu: the perennial, passionate debate over the place of Islam in society.

EurasiaNet Turkey: The Truth is "Missing" in Media Coverage of Domestic Politics BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER An increasingly bitter political battle in Turkey is playing out in the country’s media outlets -- mostly owned by a handful of large corporate groups. Pro-government newspapers and television stations are facing off against pro-secularist media outlets. Each side is accusing the other of slanting the news in a way that seems to benefit their position

Tepedeki çekişme medyayı da böldü

Turkish Court Warns Ruling Party but Keeps It Open

Turkish Ruling Party Narrowly Avoids Ban

Analysis - AKP saved from extinction - inthenews.co.uk

Der Spiegel Turkish Verdict: Top Court Rejects Ban of Ruling AKP - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

Dünya basını: İktidar partisi kapatılmaktan kurtuldu

ABD: 'Türk Demokrasisine Güveniyoruz'

Reform süreci canlandırılmalı

Kapatma radikalizm sebebi

Pıerre Rousselın

[Yorum - Pierre Rousselin] Gerilim altındaki Türkiye

Why are American neocons attacking Turkey Avni DOĞRU

Turkish Democracy in the Dock ISA

Experts ponder domestic, international links to bombings

Kemalistler sıfır noktasına dönmeyi pek seviyor

MUHAMMED NUREDDİN

Bu dinciler bizi Ortaçağ’a götürecek! AC Graylıng

Devreye ordu yerine hukukun girmesi iyi

ABC News: What Are the Chinese Doing in Turkey?

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

Soli Özel Güngören-Kerkük

Hasan Cemal Washington, Tahran’dan iki gün içinde yanıt bekliyor!

Hasan Celal Güzel Dikkat! Kerkük arada kaynamasın

Iraqi Parliament Deadlocks Over Kirkuk

MP: Kurds Reject Power Sharing in Kirkuk

Turkey, Iran moving closer to tackling issues

Semih İdiz Türkiye ve Irak’ta provokasyon kol geziyor

'Kerkük'te tek yanlı çözüm olamaz'

Motive of attack’s timing in Kirkuk tension raises questions

Sami Kohen Terör ve demokrasi

Hasan Kanbolat Considering Turkey in Afghanistan and Iraq after the US

Iraq's Kurds have to Choose They can have a secure co-existence or control of Kirkuk, but not likely both

ABD’li uzman: Parası biten PKK uyuşturucuya yöneldi

Cevdet Aşkın

APA - Iranian President refusing to visit Atatürk mausoleum demands to change format of the visit to Turkey

American Jewish Committee (AJC), in a letter to Turkish PM Erdogan ...

Al Maliki orders to intensify security in Kirkuk

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum set to supply Kurdistan gas

Al Hayat A Thousand and One Kirkuks Ghassan Charbel - The Arab cannot sleep in peace if the security of the troubled city is handed to a Kurdish police chief. He fears for his security and cannot trust the measures and the investigations. The Kurd does not sleep peacefully in that city if the police chief is Arab.

DTP: Bizim davada da aynı kararı versinler

PUK Representative in Turkey Issues Clarification on ITF Headquarters Incident in Kirkuk

Iraq Declares Diyala Curfew; Turkomans Deny Kirkuk Attack Charges ...

Suriye-İsrail: Türkiye'nin arabuluculuğunda 4'üncü tur

Şırnak'ta 5 PKK'lı silahlarıyla birlikte sağ ele geçirildi

Kurdish Nationalism: After Sectarianism, Ethnocentrism

Hundreds of Kurds Protest in Northern Iraq

Erbil backs Kirkuk in massive demonstration

Amnesty: Iran Must End Abuse of Kurdish Minority

Irak ve ABD hava kuvveti..

What happened in Kirkuk?
Kurdish Globe

An interview with Kurdo Baksi
Kurdish Globe

The finger points at PKK
GulfNews

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

Avrupa Birliği rahat nefes aldı

Lagendjik: Karar rahatlatıcı, AK Parti doğru sonuçları çıkarsın

UN: Cyprus peace talks offer ‘best chance’ of deal

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

2. Küçükçekmece'de 14 ceset!

7. Hemşin'de Ermeni isyanı

Kalp krizi geçiren Mete yoğun bakımda

Bir numara da 1 numara!
PERİHAN MAĞDEN

H3 AK Parti'ye sarı kart çıktı

AKP’ye ‘ciddi ihtar’

Kabine ve yönetimde revizyon gündemde

Kapatmaya ret

Türkiye ‘Oh’ dedi

Cumhuriyetin temel niteliklerine sahip çıkmaya devam edeceğiz

AKP’de buruk sevinç

AKP’yi ‘velev ki’ yaktı

AKP rahatladı, ileriye bakacak

Yorum beklemeyin

Ergenekon davası için 2 mahkeme heyeti çalışacak

Yargı süreci bitmedi

Hukukçular: En canlı, kesin ihtar kararı

Gözler Atasagun’da

‘Hizbullah’ta ordu silahı çıktı, devamı sorulmadı!

Perinçek: Görüşmeler hiç olmadı

Kanlı Danıştay baskını ‘haki ajanda’dan çıktı

Karar hakkında en çarpıcı yorum

Bu da Kanadoğlu değerlendirmesi

O Tümgeneral suikasti kaza gösterdi

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman

Cengiz Çandar İki gün önceden kapatılmama haberi

Ahmet Taşgetiren İpten döndü, ama...

Ruşen - Çakır Mahkeme Erdoğan’ın önünü açtı, o Türkiye’nin önünü açacak mı?

Taha Akyol Mahkeme ne dedi?

Fikret Bila Karardan çıkarılacak dersler

Hasan Cemal Washington, Tahran’dan iki gün içinde yanıt bekliyor!

Murat Yetkin Anayasa Mahkemesi tarihi karar verdi

İsmet Berkan Şimdi bana kaybolan aylarımı verseler...

Fehmi Koru Kararın anlamı

Taha Kıvanç

Hüseyin Gülerce Masonluk, Ergenekon'un neresinde?

Şamil Tayyar

Eyüp Can Haşim Bey haklı çıktınız

Bilal Çetin AKP’ye çok ağır uyarı...

Ali Bayramoğlu Kaostan çıkış: AK Parti'yle devam

Yasemin Çongar

Ertuğrul Özkök Kararı unutup geleceği kurtarmak

Ahmet Hakan Çok iyi oldu

M Ali Birand

Cüneyt Ülsever Demokratsız demokrasi (II)

Şükrü Küçükşahin Erdoğan’ın, Danıştay saldırısı sonrası iması

Sabahattin Önkibar Neden kapatmadılar?

Mehmet Altan ‘Kapatma ama hırpala..’

Enis Berberoğlu

Oktay Ekşi Suçlu çok

Özdemir İnce

Mehmet Y Yılmaz DTP daha açık olmak zorunda

MUHARREM SARIKAYA

ERDAL ŞAFAK Herkes kazandı

ENGİN ARDIÇ Uçalım uçuralım

ERGUN BABAHAN Söz konusu demokrasi ise gerisi teferruattır

EMRE AKÖZ Vesayet rejimi aynen devam ediyor

Umur Talu Balans ayarı

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK Karar dengeli

Şahin Alpay Türkiye gerçek gündemine dönüyor

Ekrem Dumanlı Hukuk da kazandı demokrasi de...

Mustafa Ünal Şimdi normalleşme zamanı

Mümtazer Türköne Karar mı, seçim mi?

MEHMET BARLAS Türkiye bugün daha güçlü, daha istikrarlı bir ülke...

MAHMUT ÖVÜR AK Parti'nin ikinci 22 Temmuz'u

YAVUZ DONAT Karar verildi ve 'söz bitti'

[Haber Analiz - Ali Akkuş] Yeni bir sayfa açıldı

TAMER KORKMAZ

Türkiye'yi ferahlatan karar

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

Artık geri dönüş yok!

YASİN DOĞAN

Makule yaklaşmak...

Yavuz Baydar ‘Knife’s edge’ verdict keeps Turkey anchored to democracy, with warning

Hüseyin Gülerce How does Freemasonry fit into Ergenekon?

Kerim Balcı I want to see a flying military chief of staff

Andrew Finkel The morning after

Süheyl Batum

Başsavcı’nın bir görevi var

Güngör Mengi Suçlu ama...

Okay Gönensin Birinci ders: Türbanı unut

Mehmet Tezkan En mütedeyyin bilinen üye bile ‘AKP laiklik karşıtı’ dedi

Mustafa Mutlu

Ekonomi

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Pozitif ayrışma petrolle başladı, kararla devam!

Ercan Kumcu Türkiye ayrışıyor mu

Erdal Sağlam

Seyfettin Gürsel Merkez Bankası'nın yanılma lüksü yok

Hurşit Güneş Petrol için kartlar yeniden mi dağıtılıyor?

Güngör Uras ‘Düzen değişmesin’ diyenlerin direnci sürdükçe, ‘cari açık’ sorunu çözülemez

İçerisi ve dışarısı
MAHFİ EĞİLMEZ

Eurozone tehlikeleri: Büyüme
KORKMAZ İLKORUR

Cari açık FATİH ÖZATAY

Obama Camp Sees Potential in G.O.P. Discontent

Drilling in Afghanistan By: Thomas L. Friedman The truth is that Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Pakistan are just different fronts in the same war. The core problem is that the Arab-Muslim world in too many places has been failing at modernity, and were it not for $120-a-barrel oil, that failure would be even more obvious

H5 Washington Post New Premises in Iraq Prospects for Withdrawal Have to Be Viewed Through the Lens of Progress By Henry A. Kissinger,

Gates Sees Terrorism Remaining Enemy No. 1 New Defense Strategy Shifts Focus From Conventional Warfare

Olmert Declares Intent to Step Down

Israeli Premier, Facing Criminal Probe, Says He Will Not Contest Party Primary

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader May Be in Afghanistan

McCain's True Voice By David Ignatius McCain should again embody the person described in the pages of his life story

Power Barometer: Pakistan's Tinderbox

As Aides Map Aggressive Race, McCain Often Steers Off Course

NW Pakistan Clashes Intensify; Peace Deals at Risk, Taliban Says

Editorial One Billion Lives A global initiative aims to keep tobacco from ravaging the developing world.

Bush's Olympic Hurdle By Dan Froomkin

IOC Allows China To Limit Reporters' Access to Internet

Censorship Reverses Pledge by Beijing

N. Korean Food Crisis Spurs U.N. to Act World Body Aims to Feed Millions, Says Hunger Is Worst There in a Decade

Karadzic to Appear Before Tribunal Today on War Crimes Charges

H6 Guardian Iran vows to stay on 'nuclear path' No mood for compromise in Tehran despite threat of sanctions, as UN deadline looms

Olmert resignation throws Israel's politics into turmoil Prime minister quits amid corruption allegations and pledges to prove his innocence

Iran jumps to top of in-tray for new PM

The end of Olmert Richard Silverstein: The Israeli prime minister's decision to step down throws his peace initiatives into doubt and his party into disarray

Battle for power: The candidates who could succeed Ehud Olmert as Israel's prime minister Who is in the frame to be Israel's new prime minister?

A bad deal all round Timothy Wise and Kevin Gallagher: It was US intransigence that killed the WTO talks. Developing countries were right to walk away

Politics beats economics, again

Jack Thurston: Whoever's to blame for the collapse of the Doha round, one thing's for sure – we'll all have to live with the consequences

Muted woe at WTORaj Patel: After the collapse of the Doha round, disappointment is turning to recrimination. But what did poor countries have to gain anyway?

Road to nowhere Jul 29 2008:

AC Grayling: From Turkey to Germany to the States, religious people are intent on taking us back to the middle ages

Karadzic to face war crimes judge

Former Bosnian Serb leader faces charges of genocide, extermination and murder at The Hague

India accuses US of sacrificing poor Bitter atmosphere at trade talks underlines fears that Doha round could take years to revive

McCain mocks 'celeb' Obama

Democrat portrayed as better prepared to walk a red carpet than sit in the Oval Office

Yemen terrorism: Soft approach to jihadists starts to backfire as poverty fuels extremism

H7 Time running out for US in Iraq A TIMETABLE for the withdrawal of US troops has long been a priority for Iraqis - 70 percent want the United States out, according to the latest polls. This sentiment is also reflected in Parliament - the only directly elected branch of government. Two months ago, the political parties representing a majority sent a letter to Congress opposing any US-Iraq ... (By Bill Delahunt and Rosa DeLauro, Boston Globe)

The success of that surge

A CONVENTIONAL wisdom has emerged that, whatever one thinks about the war more broadly, the American troop "surge" in Iraq was an unequivocal success. John McCain is hotly challenging Barack Obama's claim to good judgment, citing the Illinois senator's earlier opposition to the surge and his continuing refusal to admit he was wrong. (By Andy Zelleke and Robert Dujarric, Boston Globe)

US's 'surge' in Iraq has its limits General David Petraeus, commander of United States forces in Iraq, has once again trumpeted the success of the troop "surge" in Iraq, saying violence is declining to almost "normal" levels. Factors other than the "surge", such as Iran's change of tactics, have helped stabilize Iraq. And blind belief in it sets a bad example for when the US decides to turn its full attention to the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. - Brian M Downing

Iran seeks entry to the lion's den The United Nations Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has dismissed as "worthless papers". Now Tehran has launched a campaign for inclusion as a non-permanent member of the council, with Ahmadinejad reaching out first to the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran might not get the seat it wants, but in the process it could unblock the nuclear stalemate. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

The Iranian daily "Kayhan" says that if former President Mohammad Khatami runs for president next year, the Guardians Council would reject his candidacy. The commentary made major headlines in Iran and Radio Farda discussed the impact with analysts

Daily Star Diplomatic censure from Robert Pelletreau By Rami G. Khouri

For Iran and the Gulf states, a pretty good deal By Sadegh Zibakalam

Vigilantism and the flawed nuclear non-proliferation treaty By Bennett Ramberg

The US can help tackle Syrian corruption By Andrew J. Tabler

Obama Will Shake Things Up By: Huda al Husseini | Asharq Alawsat Europe is clearly caught up in the Obama-mania and the same applies to the Arabs living in Europe who are equally enthusiastic about him -- but what about the Arabs in Egypt, Palestine or Lebanon? How can they expect any change in Obama’s term?

The Seeds of Today's Wars By: H.D.S. Greenway | The Boston Globe Americans believe they are in a struggle with Islamic extremism, but for the countries in which they fight, it's more about power and identity than religion

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

Iraqis squeeze rebel stronghold
Iraqi forces backed by US troops press ahead with a major offensive in Diyala province north of Baghdad.

Iraqi Parliament Deadlocks Over Kirkuk

Iraq's Rebuilding Planned at Nearly $120 Billion

Deal on a Security Agreement Is Close, Iraqis Say

Lethal intent The rise of the female Iraqi suicide bomber

Iran’s Eighth Majles Faces Its First Real Test

H9 Ha’aretz – Olmert: I'll quit as PM when Kadima picks new leader PM tells public he won't run in primaries, but will continue to focus on peace as long as he is in power

ANALYSIS / Crushed and battered, Olmert finally broke If not for the Lebanon War, Olmert could have been remembered as one of Israel's more effective leaders

Poll Shows Netanyahu as Israelis' Preferred Choice for Next PM

Report: Obama 'gets the feeling' Israel to strike Iran if sanctions fail

Eldar Olmert's crimes At the top of the indictment that history will submit against Olmert will stand his criminal neglect of the Arab Peace Initiative

Peace talks to continue despite Olmert declaration, say PA and U.S.

The Shin Bet - guardian of democracy?

Police: Olmert quitting because he knows we have him

Jerusalem Post Analysis: The way he wants us to remember him

By HERB KEINON Olmert's list of "achievements" is largely at odds with the mood of the country.

Abbas may halt peace negotiations PA president will consider calling off talks if no deal reached by end of 2008, top aide tells Post.

Yedioth Ahronoth What happens now? Though PM pledged smooth transition of power to successor, road ahead may prove bumpy

Capitulation isn't an option/ Eldad

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

Neocon Flap Highlights Jewish Divide

Scenarios for Israel After Olmert Resigns

Israeli PM to quit within months

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says he will quit within months, pointing to the pressure on his family from a corruption inquiry.

Olmert finally bows to pressure

Olmert quits: Reaction in quotes

H10 Christian Science Monitor Olmert to resign as Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert's announcement on Wednesday night to cede leadership in September could spur a party shake-up and a shakier peace process

Will Karadzic's genocide trial redeem The Hague? The Bosnian Serb leader's arrival at the UN war crimes court offers it a second chance after the inconclusive trial of Slobodan Milosevic

Bush OKs $48 billion for AIDS as famine looms Critics decry slashing of agricultural aid as US tries to balance competing foreign relief priorities.

Tide of illegal immigrants now being reversed Border crackdown and tough economic times in the US are seen as reasons.

ASIA

Press Briefing By Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, Dennis Wilder, on President's Trip to Asia

We Should Welcome China's Growth, Not Fear It

NATO Blames Pakistan Peace Talks for Afghan Unrest

The Muslim Factor in India's Foreign Policy By: P.R. Kumaraswamy | The Japan Times
India's leaders have long avoided discussing the effect of the country's large Muslim population on foreign policy, but the recent debate on the U.S.-Indo nuclear deal has brought their voice close to center stage

Rivalry to Taliban 'Not Welcome' By: Nicholas Kralev | The Washington Times The Bush administration's senior official for South Asia said Tuesday that a reported buildup of the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance's forces in Afghanistan to counter the Taliban's expanding influence is "not welcome" and that "ethnic politics" should not impede the central government's efforts to unite the country.

H11 IHT Philip Bowring: Self-inflicted trade wounds The developing world has been ill-served by the three big countries - India, Brazil and China - which in effect represented them in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round negotiations

The wrong way to fight AIDS

By LAURIE GARRETT AIDS treatment is a stop-gap measure to tide humanity over until we can collectively reach what ought to be our real goal: - stopping HIV's spread, entirely.

Radovan Karadzic arrives in The Hague for trial at UN war crimes tribunal

Russia further cuts its oil deliveries to Czech Republic The Russian oil pipeline monopoly denies that the cutback has anything to do with the Czech agreement to deploy part of a U.S. antimissile shield.

EUROPE European press review

Mediterranean mirage: Europe’s sunken politics, Fred Halliday

Kosovo issues its first passports
Kosovo has issued its first passport, five months after declaring independence from Serbia.

In the Hague, Preparing for Karadzic By: Frida Ghitis | World Politics Review These are busy times for Dutch residents who toil in the trenches of international justice. Preparations are moving feverishly in the city of The Hague, home of the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The presumably soon-to-begin trial of Radovan Karadzic will give the U.N. Tribunal a chance to redeem itself after an unimpressive and ultimately failed effort to conclude the trial of former Yugoslav President Milosevic

Radovan Karadzic Falls Victim to Soft Power By: Gwynne Dyer | The Japan Times Radovan Karadzic's disguise was elaborate, but he didn't spend the past 13 years hiding from the Serbian authorities. They knew where he was all along.

France and other States Experiment with Direct Democracy
Spiegel Online

'Serious Concern' about Xenophobia: Council of Europe Lambasts Italy for 'Xenophobic' Environment

H12 RFE/RL

Russia’s New Foreign Policy Concept Delivered to NATO By: Vladimir Solovyov | Kommersant
Yesterday Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s Ambassador to NATO delivered a new foreign policy concept of his country at the Russia-NATO Council session. Presenting the keynote document, he suggested that the western bloc should give up competing with Moscow and focus on the reconfiguration of the European security system together with Russia

Is Ukraine on the Brink of an Energy Crisis? By: Roman Kupchinsky | Eurasia Daily Monitor Come January 2009 Ukraine will, in all likelihood, begin paying Russia’s Gazprom in the range of $400 per 1,000 cubic meters for natural gas or $22 billion per year. Presently the country pays $179 per 1,000 cubic meters, or $9.9 billion per year. Will it be able to survive the new price?

The New Arms Bazaar: From Russia, With No Love

Google News Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan: Energy-Rich, Healthcare-Poor Azerbaijan may have the mega-energy revenues needed to build roads and to refashion its military, but when it comes to regional healthcare, the country’s attention appears to be focused elsewhere

EDM RUSSIAN OFFICIALS AND MEDIA HAIL DEAL CEDING ISLANDS TO CHINA

- FORMER YUSHCHENKO ALLY CALLS PRESIDENT’S POISONING CLAIMS A MYTH

- RUSSIAN CORRUPTION: AN EVIL TO ERADICATE OR A NECESSARY “LUBRICANT”?

Pulling Back from the Brink in Abkhazia By: David Phillips | Financial Times War between Russia and Georgia is not inevitable if the west stands together in support of Georgia and Georgia’s leaders take steps to defuse the current crisis and lay the ground for future negotiations.

Dance of the Mad Swans By: Alexander Golts | The Moscow Times If you were to believe what is written in the Russian-language media, you would think that this country is on the verge of war -- not with tiny Georgia, but with the big United States.

H13 The Times Peace process in turmoil as Olmert announces exit Hopes of progress had hinged on close personal bond between Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas

Olympic Games show China through a glass, darkly

As the opening approaches, preparations reflect a disturbing side of the communist regime

Jonathan Fenby

The Milibandwagon The Foreign Secretary has made clear his wish to be Prime Minister. But there is still a huge gulf between his ambition and reality

China blocks 'sensitive' websites for Olympics Olympic organisers 'regret' agreement to restrictions but China claims censorship will not affect reporting of Beijing 2008

Karadzic finally faces genocide charges Radovan Karadzic is not expected to enter a plea to the 11 counts he faces at the war crimes tribunal when he appears today

Wall Street Journal Obama's Iraq Fumble
By Karl Rove On national security, he's still flawed.

The End of Free Trade?
Doha's demise is a failure of economic leadership.

Why Obama Should Pick Hillary
By Lanny J. Davis

The numbers prove she can help him win. I know she can help him govern

Berlin ♥ Iran
Germany's not ready to end this relationship yet

Bush Readies Intelligence Overhaul The White House is expected to roll out the largest rewrite of intelligence power in a generation, bolstering the power of the director of national intelligence and spelling out the responsibilities of each intelligence agency.

Where's the Outrage? Really.

By Arthur C. Brooks
Surveys show Americans are actually less upset than they were a dozen years ago.

Greasing the World Economy Without Doha By: Daniel Ikenson | The Wall Street Journal The Doha trade round died a thousand deaths long before this week. But outside the bureaucracies in Geneva, Brussels and Washington, few are grieving because the world economy has moved on

H14 Financial Times Iraqi oil output rises as security improves

Iraqi oil production has risen to its highest level since the 2003 invasion on the back of improved security across the country, according to a US government report

Multilateralism not dead as a Doha

The round is over and the world’s new leaders should collectively seize the chance to take the World Trade Organisation in a direction where it can regain momentum

Dirty air and the Beijing Olympics

While wind may temporarily disguise the dense smog crisis in Beijing and Hong Kong, it is not a permanent solution to one of China’s most pressing environmental challenges

Reforms that would help euro punch its weight No one knows who speaks for the eurozone

Republican angst over McCain’s strategy Wednesday’s advertisement was the latest direct attack on Barack Obama that has fed into a growing angst among Republicans that John McCain’s campaign for the US presidency lacks a broader strategy

Olmert to leave office in two months

Israel’s prime minister finally succumbed to the string of corruption investigations that have tarnished his tenure, announcing that he would step down within the next two months

Contenders to replace Olmert

Dynamics that led to Olmert’s downfall Since he took office as Israel’s prime minister in January 2006, Ehud Olmert has proved himself a master of political survival. Yet even he could not defy the laws of political gravity forever

New Labour 1994-2008 RIP

The end of the WTO? Clive Crook’s blog: The dispiriting thing about the latest Doha failure is that the costs of compromise were indeed so low

Beijing’s chance for a public relations coup Geoff Dyer on the merits of not roughing up protesters

How the banks can win back confidence This is not an attempt at self-regulation or an alternative to regulation. Rather, it is an exercise in industry self-discipline, writes Josef Ackermann

Putin attacked over market fall

An adviser to Dmitry Medvedev lashed out at the prime minister for his criticism of a US-listed steel and coal group that wiped nearly $60bn off the Russian stock exchange

Corporate culture shock is a big deal

Many mergers fail and those between companies from different nations, with different legal systems, customers, investors and cultures, are notoriously risky. But what seem like national tensions are often corporate ones in disguise, writes John Gapper

Analysis: Bashir’s ‘brutal pragmatism’ binds fragmented Sudan

The president has used familiar tactics to turn an indictment for genocide to his short-term advantage but ultimately his regime will struggle to contain the tensions it has unleashed

H15 Los Angeles Times Iraq parliament plans emergency session on local elections The move comes after lawmakers' summer term ends without passage of the measure to hold provincial balloting this year

Ehud Olmert to resign as Israel's prime minister In a nationally televised statement, Olmert announces he will step down in September. His 2 1/2 years in office have been marked by corruption allegations

Residents wary as Iraq police blanket Baqubah On the second day of a campaign to clear militants from Diyala province, the mostly Sunni city isn't sure it can trust the Shiite force. So far, though, the officers are all business

Obama and McCain turn
to . . . Obama A McCain ad likening the Democrat to pop-culture stars illustrates the rivals' contest to define Barack Obama.

Why not invade Darfur?

What's to stop the U.S. from military action in Darfur, Myanmar or other troubled areas?

Bush in the dock? Don't count on it By ROSA BROOKS

H16 American Politics

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

Obama’s Small Contributions Surged in June, but McCain’s Party-Based Strategy Gave the GOP Side a Combined Cash Advantage on June 30
Source: Campaign Finance Institute

From Salon, is time to hold conservative Blue Dogs accountable, or should Democrats wait till George Bush is history, and then decide?

H17 Daily Telegraph We'll pay a price for free-trade failure

Rich and poor countries alike would have benefited greatly from the Doha deal on the table in Geneva, says Peter Mandelson

Labour at war: Brown aides denounce Miliband

Barack Obama faces backlash in US media The first signs of a backlash against Senator Barack Obama have emerged in the American media.

Ehud Olmert to step down as Israeli PM The Israeli prime minister will put an end to a 19-month reign dogged by allegations of fraud and mismanagement.

Who will become Israel's next prime minister?

CIA confronts Pakistan over spies' terror links The CIA has confronted senior Pakistani officials with evidence that members of country's secret service have deepened their ties with militant groups responsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan

H18 Independent Olmert bows to pressure and announces resignation

Ehud Olmert finally bowed to the steadily mounting pressure arising from corruption and fraud allegations against him last night by announcing his resignation after his party chooses a new leader in just over six weeks.

Forces may have to rent helicopters

British forces are so short of helicopters in Afghanistan and Iraq that they are considering renting them from other countries, or even from the controversial US security contractor Blackwater.

Minister attacks 'too timid' Brown

A Government minister has warned Gordon Brown that he must stop being timid and show stronger leadership if he is to revive his faltering premiership

How Miliband started the race for No 10

Steve Richards: Miliband may well have sealed Brown's fate

Anne Penketh: Do diplomats think he's up to the job?

Leading article: If there is to be a challenge, let it be in the open

Hamish McRae: Our main task now is to hold the line against the forces of protectionism

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Salon When war goes corporate Grave threats to our national security may now include the mass privatization of U.S. intelligence and military operations.By Chalmers Johnson

Tom Barnett The Pentagon`s New Map

Bush signs order rewriting rules, roles of U.S. spy agencies

SWJ Magazine is now available here.

Conversation with Admiral William Fallon by SWJ Editors

Will Extra Cash Improve Readiness?

AFRICOM: Rationales, Roles, and Progress on the Eve of Operations
Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs AFRICOM: Rationales, Roles, and Progress on the Eve of Operations – Part 2

H20 Slate

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

Speculation and Energy Prices: Legislative Responses
Source: Congressional Research Service (via OpenCRS)

H21 If you could spend $10 billion over the next four years to make a better world, how would you use the money? Bjørn Lomborg with some advice... more»

While Evelyn Waugh was chatting up the aristocracy, his contemporary, George Orwell, was down there with coal miners and tramps... more»

Google News Slate Today's Papers SWJ Blog Media Roundup CFR Daily Brief CFR Daily Opinion Roundup memeorandum antiwar.com book forum FBIS University Channel DocuTicker Arts & Letters Daily PolicyPointers cursor raw story fora.tv

realclearpolitics Drudge Report

Current News Early Bird OpinionSource truthout Dayan Current Contents Blogometer Wikipedia technorati Slate's Today's Blogs ABC’s The Note eurointelligence The Page First Read

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

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