TurcoPundit

24 July 2008

July 24, 2008

072408f - 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 Financial Times Timing Iraq troop withdrawals Politicians are beginning to look at the world after Iraq. A timetable for US troop withdrawal has been the hottest issue in the US presidential campaign

Israel's Slap in the Face From America By: Aluf Benn | Haaretz The American "detente" with Iran has one obvious consequence: As long as the diplomatic game continues, there is not the slightest chance in the world of any aggressive action being taken against Iran's nuclear program

New York Times NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Tough Love for Israel? Barack Obama gave ritual affirmations of his support for Israeli policy, but what Israel needs from America isn’t more love, but tougher love

Washington Post Talking Into the Sunset By David Ignatius As Bush's influence fades, diplomatic intrigue in the Middle East rises.

Iraqi President Vows Veto of Election Bill Measure Passed After Kurdish Boycott; Balloting Is Now Unlikely Until 2009

U.S. Voters: Kinda Out of It?

Political scientists ponder whether citizens are ill-informed or only interested in certain issues

Ha’aretz – Bradley Burston: Ten Mideast traps for Obama to avoid

Obama tells Haaretz: Two states for two peoples Aides say candidate would rather advance existing U.S. peace initiatives than waste time forging new plan

CSIS A Diplomatic Path between the US and Iran (audio, video, text

• 'An Israeli Watershed: Strike on Syria' by Eyal Zisser, Middle East Quarterly

TNI Opportunity Knocked

by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett America has an opportunity to forge an historic deal with Iran, but the Bush administration seems determined to quash it. Why everything you know about Tehran is wrong.

Asia Times Al-Qaeda's got a brand new bag
United States Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama has got it right - Afghanistan, and not Iraq, is "the central front in the war on terror". Al-Qaeda couldn't agree more. That is exactly where they want the war to be fought, and then extended into Pakistan. - Pepe Escobar

Foreign Policy Seven Questions: When Nuri Met Barack

Guardian Weapons of mass distrust Khaled Diab: Will the conciliatory tones coming out of Washington and Tehran really be enough to bring Iran's nuclear

standoff to an end?

Power and morality Martin Jacques: Foreign policy is often dressed up in moral rhetoric, but ultimately might is stronger than right

Aggressive Azerbajan The Economist Having spent heavily on its military, Azerbaijan has raised the possibility of recovering Nagorno-Karabakh and its other occupied territories by force. Although the forthcoming presidential election is a factor, this more aggressive stance is not mere bluster.

Iraq: Local difficulty Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has at long last managed to push the local election law through parliament, but at the expense of alienating the Kurds.

Fareed Zakaria The Post American World (audio)

CFR Israel's View on the US Elections

NBC/WSJ Poll: Obama keeps lead over McCain — Voters see Democrat as riskier pick, but rival has negatives of his own — WASHINGTON - A majority of Americans think Barack Obama is a riskier choice for the presidency, but he maintains a six-point lead over Republican John McCain

• 'Saber Rattling and Demonstrations of Missile Power' by Yiftah Shapir, Institute for National Security Studies, Israel

Juan Cole / Salon: Obama is saying the wrong things about Afghanistan

Christian Science Monitor Military revisits Afghanistan plan

A key component is likely to be more troops, but the strategy must go beyond that, experts say

Rising costs of financial turmoil

The multibillion-dollar cost of government bailouts is just the start

Obama tries to balance solidarity and neutrality The latest stops in his Mideast tour included the rocket-besieged Israeli town of Sderot and the West Bank town of Ramallah

Jerusalem Post Obama to Post: I'll do all I can to foil Iranian nuke race

If Teheran fails to respond to "tough diplomacy," Democratic frontrunner says in interview, its excuses will have been "stripped away."

Ashkenazi in Washington for Iran talks IDF Chief of Staff: Sanctions are preferable, but both sides agree that every option must be prepared for

Time McCain's Foreign Policy Frustration

Daily Telegraph Disarming strategy In 2002, George W. Bush declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be an "axis of evil". Since then, he has invaded the second and agreed to talk to the other two

Asia Times Wary of China, Russians look West Medvedev made all the right noises during his recent visit to China. But for many Russians back home, China, with its vast potentially expansionist population, is viewed with fear, and they see their natural allies in Europe. - Dmitry Shlapentokh

Is the Party Over in China? By: Sam Baker | Asia Sentinel China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) reported today that unsold inventories of cars rose 50 percent from the beginning of the year to a four-year high; this suggests that macro challenges in China have finally reached a crisis point. The future may have finally caught up with China.

A Tale of Two Flip-Floppers - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal

Keeping Promises Among Partners - Condoleezza Rice, RealClearPolitics

Nathan Gardels / The Huffington Post: Abizaid: Iran Is Not a Suicide State; Deterrence Will Work.

Baker Institute Policy Report 37: The Global Energy Market: Comprehensive Strategies to Meet Geopolitical and Financial Risks - The G8, Energy Security, and Global Climate Issues

CSIS EU Sanctions on Bulgaria

US Strategy in the Arctic

CEPS Are Skyrocketing Oil Prices justified by Fundamentals?

H 2 CSM Turkey's dangerous message to the Muslim world A court ban on the most pro-Western party would be a big mistake By Alex Taurel and Shadi Hamid

Guardian Last chance for peace in Cyprus Costas Pitas Outside interference isn't helping in the quest for a solution to the island's north-south divide

Turkey bombs Kurdish targets in northern Iraq

EDM TURKEY PONDERS RUSSIAN MISSILE OFFER

Ahmedinejad, ağustosta Ankara'ya geliyor

Turkey Detains 20 In Coup Plan Investigation: Agency

Los Angeles Times Iraq Presidency Council vetoes provincial election bill President Talabani objects to a provision delaying voting in Kirkuk, the northern city that Kurds seek to incorporate in their semiautonomous Kurdish region

Uncertainty, chaos and anger waiting in the wings over AK Party closure

Ahmedinecad ağustosta Türkiye’de

Yahudi kuruluşu yöneticilerinin Ankara ziyareti

Necati Doğru 4 milyar dolara savaş gemisini niçin alıyoruz?

Babacan 121 elçiyi topladı

Gladio historian: Europe still does not know the full story behind Gladio

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

Iraqi president rejects election law

Cevdet Aşkın

İbrahim Kalın ‘United States of Iran’!

Danıştay davasında 'yok sayılan' belgeler

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL Bu cümleleri kimler, ne amaçla yazdırdı?

Sedat Sertoğlu Gündem İran

Ahmedinecad Ankara’ya geliyor

Holon teens electrocuted at 'foam party' at Turkey hotel

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

Karaciç davası
ASAM'dan Erhan Türbedar: Lahey'in çok seçeneği yok

Rauf Denktaş ABD gibi olalım (mı)?

Sami Kohen Aceleye gerek yok!

Kuraklığın vurduğu KKTC'de ekonomi çıkmazda

Semih İdiz Erivan için düşündürücü bir tören

Ahmedinejad, ağustosta Ankara'ya geliyor

Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte on Cyprus

Melih Aşık Kırmızı telefon

Sarkisyan'ın Gül'e maç daveti Ermenistan'ı böldü

Ermeni diplomat Türkevi’nde

Babacan seeks to lure UN envoys to support Turkey

Babacan BM ile Kıbrıs ve Irak'ı konuştu

Babacan Ban Ki-Moon ile görüştü

Turkey hopeful for a non-permanent seat at UN Security Council

Gül'den, kapalı sınırın sıfır noktasından Ermenistan'a 'toprak bütünlüğü' mesajı

Deniz Gökçe Obama başkan olursa?

Greek Cyprus water shipment suffers more setbacks

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

Serdar Turgut Ekonomik krizler salgın hastalık gibidir

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu ‘Social project costs less than a tank’

Orhan Pamuk'un en büyük dil bilgisi kusuru Nobelli yazar noktalama işareti fakiri çıktı...

3 Bakan 'şehir suyu şebekeleri'yle ilgili bilgi verecek

Books | Two Ottoman Crime novels by Jenny White

H3 Başbakan Erdoğan, Ertuğrul Özkök ile bir araya geldi

Üyelerin fikirleri netleşti; en geç ikinci gün karar çıkar

5 soruda AK Parti davası ve sonrası

AKP’ye kapatma kararı çıkarsa ne olacak?

Siyasi yasağa 6 oy yeter

TSK Bilgi Notu / 66

13 kişiye özel mektup

Dosyadaki üç esrarengiz isim

Cezaevinden Radikal'e mektup var

Akyürek’e rapor şoku!

ErgeneKonya

Ulusalcıların utanç fotoğrafları

Ergenekon'da Mesut Yılmaz'a ağır suçlama Yılmaz'ı fişlediler mi yoksa şantaj mı yaptılar?

Ergenekon çökme noktasında

Danıştay davasında 'yok sayılan' belgeler

Ergenekon çıktıları savcıda

Erdoğan yasaklanırsa o başbakan olabilir Reuters kapatma davasında “rol oynayan” kilit isimleri teker teker inceledi

Küçük'ün Hizbullah itirafı

Konya'da Ergenekon izi

Tuhaf dalga

Beni de dahil etme gayreti boşuna çaba

Dinlemeye takılmadım kendim ayrıldım

İhbar Saadet Partisi’nden mi?

Ermeni tezi Halaçoğlu'nu yerinden etti

HER KADEMEDE İHMAL VAR

Jandarmayı kaymakam denetlesin

Konya Ergenekon’u

Altan'dan Hürriyet'e: '10 trilyonluk yalan'

Saadet Partisi'ne derin operasyon İşte son derin operasyonun çok ilginç ayrıntıları.

Rejimin istikrarını olumsuz etkilemez

Gül: YÖK’ün gerekçesine bakacağım

‘Şener’in politik intiharı mı, Türkiye’nin geleceği mi?’

Tek başıma ses getirdim

Jandarma önce silahın türünü 'yakalamış'!

DSP'de 'mektup' klasiğine devam

‘Önce gül kokladılar sonra saldırdılar’

Bakan Şimşek: CIA tercümanlığı yapmadım

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman

Cengiz Çandar

Ahmet Taşgetiren Saldırı mı kışkırtma mı?

Ruşen - Çakır Dava bitince Kriz bitecek mi?

Hüseyin Gülerce Ertuğrul Özkök'e açık mektup

Taha Akyol Lozan zafer mi, hezimet mi?

Fikret Bila AKP veya yeni partiye düşen sorumluluk

Hasan Cemal İstikrar ve yumuşamanın ilk adımını Mahkeme atacak mı?

Murat Yetkin Büyükanıt konuşacak mı?

İsmet Berkan Kuralları uygulanmazsa ‘adalet’ olur mu?

Fehmi Koru Makulü yanlış yerde aramak

Taha Kıvanç Olmaz demeyin, olur

Şamil Tayyar

Serdar Turgut Ergenekon üzerine

Sabahattin Önkibar Kapatma davası, Ergenekon ve YAŞ'ın aynı tarihe denk gelmesinin gerçek sebebi!

Ali Bayramoğlu Kriz ve Hilmi Özkök…

Yasemin Çongar Kötülüğe karşı sıradan bir duruşun önemi

Ertuğrul Özkök 13 kişiye özel mektup

Ahmet Hakan Ergenekon’un neresindeyim

M Ali Birand Laikliği korumanın en iyi yolu kapatma mı?

Cüneyt Ülsever Yeni bir Türkiye kuruluyor (mu?)

Mustafa Karaalioğlu Papatya falı

Aydın Ayaydın

Cumhurbaşkanı Gül’ün rektör seçimi sınavı

Blood and belief: The AKP and the Islamic fight for democracy
Burak BEKDİL

Enis Berberoğlu

Serpil Yılmaz Çalık’ın kullandığı kredinin koşulları

Anayasa Mahkemesi üyelerine açık mektup
HASAN CELAL GÜZEL

‘Beni de Ergenekon’a dahil etmeye çalışıyorlar’

KKTC 1. Cumhurbaşkanı Rauf Denktaş, Türkiye’de yürütülen Ergenekon operasyonunu değerlendirdi

Ekonomi

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu Doğrudan yabancı sermaye yatırımları

Erdal Sağlam

Hurşit Güneş Bütçe zapturapt altında

Güngör Uras Yabancıların üretimdeki payı artmıyor

Türkiye işgücünde Avrupa sonuncusu

İşte en büyük 500 şirket

TCMB yalnız bırakılmamalı
KORKMAZ İLKORUR

Hangi faiz? FATİH ÖZATAY

MELİHA OKUR
Sanayileşemeden sanayici olmaktan vazgeçtik!

U.S.A.K. Blog:Oil: A Global Perspective and Turkey

H4 New York Times NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Tough Love for Israel? Barack Obama gave ritual affirmations of his support for Israeli policy, but what Israel needs from America isn’t more love, but tougher love.

ROGER COHEN Karadzic and War’s Lessons Justice is important for Bosnia and for amnesia-afflicted Serbia with its everyone-was-guilty evasiveness. But justice won’t change the faces brought back to me now across the years

TIMOTHY EGAN The Oil Man Cometh “Totally misleading” is the way T. Boone Pickens describes Republican attempts to convince the public that if we opened up more areas to oil drilling then gas prices would fall.

Plan Would Use Antiterror Aid on Pakistani Jets The Bush administration plans to shift nearly $230 million to upgrading Pakistan’s F-16s, which critics say are not used in counterterrorism efforts

An Investment Gets Trapped in Kremlin’s Vise The fall of one of Russia’s most prominent foreign investors points to the official corruption that afflicts the country.

House Passes Housing Bill After Bush Says He Will Sign It Citing the need to restore confidence in the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the president said he would set aside his objections to the legislation.

Check Point: Candidates Spar Over Troop Surge and Iraq Chronology

Obama Meets With Israeli and Palestinian Leaders

Editorial I’m Comfortable. How About You? Defense Secretary Robert Gates is right to demand a lot more accountability from the Air Force, in light of the recent revelations about comfort capsules.

At Trial, Former Serb Leader Seeks to Represent Himself

France to Let Companies Scrap 35-Hour Week

Iraqi Measure on Provincial Voting Is Vetoed

Bush Ex-Official Says Corrupt Afghans and a Hesitant Military Hinder Drug Fight

In First Meeting, Rice Presses North Korean on Nuclear Effort

H5 Washington Post Talking Into the Sunset By David Ignatius As Bush's influence fades, diplomatic intrigue in the Middle East rises.

Iraqi President Vows Veto of Election Bill Measure Passed After Kurdish Boycott; Balloting Is Now Unlikely Until 2009

U.S. Voters: Kinda Out of It?

Political scientists ponder whether citizens are ill-informed or only interested in certain issues

Obama's Tour de Force By David S. Broder, If its purpose is to make him look presidential, his current trip is a success.

Obama Working to Ensure Jewish Vote Meticulous Planning For Visit to Israel Indicates Importance

Obama Ends Mideast Swing With Vow to Back Israel, Peace Talks

The Face of Evil By: Richard Holbrooke My first and last meeting with Radovan Karadzic was 13 years ago. His capture this week is a great moment for international justice.

Karadzic Case Offers Court a Chance to Repair Its Image Hague Tribunal Stumbled In Prosecution of Milosevic

With Indian Politics, the Bad Gets Worse 'Shameful' Vote in Parliament Highlights Extent of Government Corruption

Interrogator Testifies About Hamdan's Work With Bin Laden

Huge Housing Bill Set to Become Law Bush Drops Veto Threat On Measure

$4 Gallon Gas: Burden or Emergency? Energy Wire | Neither side gives the other its due in the fight over tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

They Fight but Can't Vote

By Robert D. Novak, The Pentagon's latest scandal: Many soldiers are deprived of a right of citzenship.

Church, State and History

By Masha Lipman, Why is the Russian Orthodox Church just now calling for an official condemnation of the communist regime?

Defending Our Values By Jamie Barnett, The Pentagon's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy hurts our military and weakens our preparedness.

H6 Guardian Weapons of mass distrust Khaled Diab: Will the conciliatory tones coming out of Washington and Tehran really be enough to bring Iran's nuclear

standoff to an end?

Power and morality Martin Jacques: Foreign policy is often dressed up in moral rhetoric, but ultimately might is stronger than right

Obama commits to Israel's security

Senator also speaks of hope for Middle East peace agreement including a 'viable and peaceful' Palestine

American Jews predicted to vote Democrat Leaders foresee large turnout in favour of Obama despite scepticism over views on Israel

Congressional Democrats ride the Obama wave

Fudging the issue with cliches

Salam Al-Mahadin: Viewed from Jordan, Barack Obama's visit to the Middle East has been less than inspirational

The message that matters Editorial: When a presumptive US presidential candidate arrives in Jerusalem, he willingly dons a jacket designed by Israeli tailors

What Obama missed in the Middle East Ali Abunimah: Barack Obama's visit to Israel and Palestine this week seemed designed to appease pro-Israel groups in

the US

Neither tragedy nor farce Irina Filatova: Putin's nationalism has taken deep and poisonous root: Joseph Stalin is leading a TV competition to choose the nation's most popular Russian

France's opposition: toothless and self-absorbed? Lizzy Davies: The Socialists seem mired in indecisiveness and back-biting, failing to capitalise on Sarkozy's fading popularity

Feminise the face of Islam Helen Wilkinson: The king of Morocco knows women can lead the way in moderating the messages of Islam. Britain should adopt his approach

A new thaw in EU-Russia relations? Edward McMillan-Scott: The appointment of a new president could herald a new warmth, but Europe needs discipline to maintain leverage

Talked out Editorial: The gulf between economic theory and political reality is once again painfully apparent

In JFK's footstepsWilliam Kristol: To emulate Kennedy in Berlin, Obama must urge allies to take on terrorists and their supporters

Radovan Karadzic to defend himself at The Hague Genocide suspect in good mental and physical condition and will defend himself against charges

Serbia vows army chief will be next

The charges against Radovan Karadzic

'Some kind of relief but no place for euphoria'

Q&A: Radovan Karadzic

George Bush explains America's fiscal woes: Wall Street got drunk

The president airs his considered opinion of the financial crisis facing the nation he leads

Could you be president? Michael Tomasky: Take this quiz and find out if you're too old and senile or too inexperienced to be president

A reckoning for the women victims of the Bosnian war? Linda Grant: Now that Karadzic has been arrested, perhaps we will learn the truth about the use of rape as a weapon of war in the conflict

H 7

Relative Stability Brings Opportunities for Foreign Investors By: Wolfgang Reuter and Bernhard Zand | Der Spiegel Now that the security situation in Iraq has improved somewhat, the government there is pushing ahead with plans to rebuild the war-torn country. Plenty of money -- but a lack of expertise -- is paving the way for lucrative contracts, particularly for German firms

Military Strike Not an Option on Iran, EU Ministers Say By: Leigh Phillips | EU Observer "The position of the European Union is clear," said Mr Solana according to the AP. "We want to find a diplomatic solution to this, in particular to clarify to the fullest the nature of their nuclear programme."

Daily Star Walid Moallem, fear, and the prisoners
By Michael Young

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

Iraqi president rejects election law

Obama defends plan for Iran talks with 'big sticks and big carrots'

Iran vows no nuclear concessions Iran will not "retreat one iota" in its nuclear activities, its president says, defying fresh international pressure.

Iraqi forces aren't quite ready to take charge

US abruptly cancels planned meeting with Syrians

Talabani denounces election law
Iraq's president says he will not approve a draft provincial election law adopted by MPs despite a Kurdish walkout.

Iranian Press Menu 23 Jul 08

Iraqi army prepares assault in Diyala as election law vetoed Iraqi army troops headed Wednesday into Diyala, one of Iraq's last remaining restive provinces, in preparation for the next major government offensive, as Iraqi president Jalal Talabani vetoed a long-awaited elections bill, casting into doubt provincial elections widely viewed as critical for national reconciliation.

H9 Ha’aretz – Bradley Burston: Ten Mideast traps for Obama to avoid

Editorial An agenda for a friend of Israel To survive as a Jewish and democratic state, Israel needs an American leader who does not fear the reaction of American Jews and non-Jews who do not believe in dividing the land to reconcile its two peoples

Obama tells Haaretz: Two states for two peoples Aides say candidate would rather advance existing U.S. peace initiatives than waste time forging new plan

Akiva Eldar: For sake of the Jewish state, divide Jerusalem

ANALYSIS / Obama visit all about wooing Jewish American voters

Ashkenazi in Washington: We must block Iranian aggression IDF chief: Curbing Iran crucial to weakenening extremism in Mideast, maintaining balance of power

Shin Bet head Diskin: Gaza lull is lifeline to Hamas Diskin tells panel Hamas exploiting truce to present itself as 'victor in confrontation' against Israel

Israel reportedly planning to build new West Bank settlement

Gideon Levy Caterpillar fashion Israel might claim that it won't be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East, but it cannot say the same for the bulldozer.

Jerusalem Post Obama to Post: I'll do all I can to foil Iranian nuke race

If Teheran fails to respond to "tough diplomacy," Democratic frontrunner says in interview, its excuses will have been "stripped away."

Ashkenazi in Washington for Iran talks IDF Chief of Staff: Sanctions are preferable, but both sides agree that every option must be prepared for

How not to understand Ahmadinejad

[ ELLIOT JAGER

'Attack by al-Qaida westerners possible' New intel indicates global jihad recruiting Americans, Europeans who sympathize with radical Islam

Analysis: Salafism - the worrying process of self-radicalization

By JONATHAN SPYER In the W. Bank, removal of Hamas-linked imams in has opened the door for the rise of Salafi preachers.

Israel has no reason to fear Obama

He has gone as far as any candidate in history to highlight his commitment

Post-Olmert: A new era or more of the same? [ ISI LEIBLER

'Livni's past in Mossad not spectacular'

Yedioth Ahronoth

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

“Jew” has a double meaning, national and religious.

H1 0 Christian Science Monitor Military revisits Afghanistan plan

A key component is likely to be more troops, but the strategy must go beyond that, experts say

Rising costs of financial turmoil

The multibillion-dollar cost of government bailouts is just the start

Obama tries to balance solidarity and neutrality The latest stops in his Mideast tour included the rocket-besieged Israeli town of Sderot and the West Bank town of Ramallah

Cuba under Raúl: Creeping toward capitalism? Since Raúl Castro took the helm in February, he's rolled out a series economic changes, including allowing Cubans to buy cellphones and giving farmers profit-incentives.

After Bush: A new Cuba policy?

John McCain supports a tight US embargo. Barack Obama says he'll loosen it.

McCain camp cries foul Media coverage favors Obama, his campaign says.

Indian government's unstable win

In wake of confidence vote, it faces shaky political alliances and corruption claims.

ASIA

Asia Times Wary of China, Russians look West
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made all the right noises during his recent visit to China. But for many Russians back home, China, with its vast potentially expansionist population, is viewed with fear, and they see their natural allies in Europe. - Dmitry Shlapentokh

Reluctant gambler hits Indian jackpot Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, generally viewed as over-cautious and unassertive, has won the biggest political gamble of his life by squeaking through in a no-confidence vote in parliament that centered on Delhi's pending nuclear deal with the United States. But he and his government have not emerged unscathed and their days may still be numbered. - Sudha Ramachandran

Suspicion, terrain are foes for US in Afghan surge (AP)

East vs. West in Central Asia By: Adrian Pabst | The Moscow Times
In a little-noticed news story last week, U.S. lawmakers strongly condemned what they called China's brutal pre-Olympic crackdown in the far northwest Xinjiang region, which is populated by the Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim Turkic ethnic group

WSJ Rice's Asean 'Gardening'

By Douglas H. Paal
Tending to a region the U.S. has neglected for too long.

U.S. Gives Pyongyang No Deadline to Verify Nuke Deal By: Nicholas Kralev | The Washington Times
A U.S.-drafted document meant to be the basis for verifying North Korea's recently submitted nuclear declaration contains no timeline, meaning that the process could continue into the next administration, Washington's chief negotiator with Pyongyang acknowledged Tuesday

Chinese FM Discusses Regional Issues With Asian Counterparts at ASEAN

H11 IHT Roger Cohen: Karadzic and war's lessons Justice is important for Bosnia and for amnesia-afflicted Serbia. But justice won't change the fate of war's victims.

Czechs show how to avoid being dependent on Russia for energy

When the Prague government defied Moscow and signed an accord to accept a U.S. missile defense shield, it minimized the effect of a Russian oil cutoff with alternative energy sources

EU cuts back funding to Bulgaria

The European Commission on Wednesday froze hundreds of millions of euros in aid to Bulgaria, citing poor administration, corruption and organized crime, casting a cloud over the future expansion of the European Union

Britain plans pullout of most of its Iraq force British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told Parliament that Britain planned a "fundamental change of mission" at the turn of the year

Maliki appeals to Germany to increase investment in Iraq Eager to attract technological know-how and investment, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq urged German industry to put aside reservations about security and help modernize Iraq's energy infrastructure

Karadzic makes light of war crimes charges Radovan Karadzic said he would face prosecutors alone if handed over to the UN tribunal.

EUROPE European press review

General Sir Michael Rose: (The Daily Mail) - My drunken suppers with paranoid madman Radovan Karadzic

What the Next US President Means for Europe - Council on Foreign Relations

Der Spiegel Backtracking on Kosovo?: Serbia Ponders Returning Diplomats to EU Countries

Europe’s other legitimacy crisis, Ivan Krastev

Serbia's Arresting Development By: Laura Silber | Los Angeles Times
Sitting in the Hotel Panorama one night, Karadzic bragged that he had just issued his own currency and signed his name for me on a newly minted bill. The idea that his state, whose capitol was a ski chalet, would have its own currency seemed preposterous. From his face, however, I saw that this was no joke.

MPs scrap France's 35-hour week France's parliament passes a law which effectively ends the country's compulsory 35-hour working week.

Italy targets illegal immigrants
Illegal immigrants convicted of crime in Italy face longer jail sentences than those for Italians, under new laws.

H12 RFE/RL

Aggressive Azerbajan The Economist
Having spent heavily on its military, Azerbaijan has raised the possibility of recovering Nagorno-Karabakh and its other occupied territories by force. Although the forthcoming presidential election is a factor, this more aggressive stance is not mere bluster.

Google News Azerbaijan

Carnegie When and How Will Kazakhstan Become A Democracy?

Castro cryptic on Russian bomber report (AP)

The Greatest Russian? By: Cathy Young | The Boston Globe
The latest controversy over voting in Russia has nothing to do with rigged presidential or parliamentary elections. In fact, the only political figures involved in this dispute are long dead -- and yet they continue to haunt Russia's present.

EDM POST-MORTEMS ON THE GERMAN PLAN ON ABKHAZIA

- YUSHCHENKO, TYMOSHENKO LOCK HORNS OVER OIL PIPELINE

- ECONOMIC REFORM ICON AND OPPOSITION LEADER DEBATE THE 1990S

H13 The Times The Case Against al-Bashir The ICC is right to act in Darfur, but must bide its time

Top Taleban leader in Helmand arrested Claim of a major breakthrough after security forces capture commander in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta

Mladic heads most-wanted list

The net is closing in on the former military commander, who showed total disregard for the rules of war

Wealth of EU dims appetite for old Serbia The scale of the demonstration against Radovan Karadzic's arrest spoke volumes for the political sea change in Serbia

Wall Street Journal

A Tale of Two Flip-Floppers
By Karl Rove McCain has a record of courage to stand on when he changes his mind.

Obama's Experience Doesn't Match Up
By Richard V. Allen
Carter was the last Democratic candidate to be so green on foreign policy.

The Irish 'Non'
A word the EU should learn to respect. Review & Outlook

The Art of Global Public Relations
By Martha Bayles Bookshelf: How to raise America's standing in the world and enlist allies in the war on terror? Apply some lessons from the last war.

H14 Financial Times Timing Iraq troop withdrawals Politicians are beginning to look at the world after Iraq. A timetable for US troop withdrawal has been the hottest issue in the US presidential campaign

MIDDLE EAST FOCUS: It is time to resolve the dispute over Iraq's reserves

Obama warns on Iran nuclear threat

Barack Obama used his visit to Israel to send a clear signal that he shared the country’s deep concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme, and remained committed to the traditionally close ties between the US and the Jewish state

Arctic has 90bn barrels of crude

The Arctic holds as much as 90bn barrels of undiscovered oil and as much undiscovered gas as all the reserves known to exist in Russia, US government scientists say

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: McCain likely to be cautious in practice on Iran

EU attacks Bulgaria and Romania on graft The European Commission criticised Sofia and Bucharest for insufficient efforts to root out corruption but rejected views that it had admitted the two countries too soon

Visa threat for US diplomats visiting Europe Brussels warned it could impose the requirement if Washington fails to allow EU citizens permit-free entry to the US, as a long-running row over entry demands resurfaced

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Cold war offers few lessons for dealing with Tehran

Fannie and Freddie By doubling down on its enterprise gamble, the government will either get away scot-free or else be forced to hand taxpayers a bill amounting tohundreds of dollars per household

Free the Olympic spirit, detained in China It is still not too late, says Victor Mallet

A global agency is needed for the energy crisis The need for joint action to develop long-term solutions to our energy problems is now undeniable, writes Mohamed ElBaradei, International Atomic Energy Agency chief

Mohamed ElBaradei calls for joint action

Merkel warns of fall in economic growth Germany can no longer expect to avoid damage from global economic storms, with a ’significant fall’ in economic growth likely in 2009, the German chancellor warned

The company will always make a comeback No other organisations set prices as efficiently or pursue market experiments so single-mindedly, writes Jonathan Guthrie Give it a decade, says Jonathan Guthrie

Cherished myths fall victim to economic reality Paul De Grauwe on out-of-date models

The accidental endorsement The accidental endorsement: Despite the headline - “Obama for commander-in-chief” - I wasn’t consciously sitting down to write an endorsement column

H15 Los Angeles Times Iraq Presidency Council vetoes provincial election bill

President Talabani objects to a provision delaying voting in Kirkuk, the northern city that Kurds seek to incorporate in their semiautonomous Kurdish region

Obama works to rally Jewish support Lagging previous Democratic presidential nominees in that demographic, he visits two symbolically important sites in Israel and has been stressing his commitment to protecting the country

Sudan counters charges with diplomacy Khartoum reaches out to allies and rivals as it seeks to have the U.N. quash or delay a genocide indictment against President Bashir

Editorial

House votes to back Fannie, Freddie, stem foreclosures

Bush drops his veto threat and signals he will sign the measure as the GOP argues the plan is a government bailout.

Divided by war's scars in Srebrenica, Bosnia Muslim-Serb friendship is a thing of the past in the town where Radovan Karadzic's army massacred more than 7,000 men and boys

China to allow limited protests during Olympics

Responding to charges that it has stifled free speech, Beijing plans to allow demonstrations at three parks, at a distance from main Olympic venues. But organizers will need permission.

H16 American Politics

Poll: Economy top issue among Americans; Iraq fades

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

H17 Daily Telegraph Disarming strategy In 2002, George W. Bush declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be an "axis of evil". Since then, he has invaded the second and agreed to talk to the other two

Barack Obama vows to strengthen ties with Israel

Senator reassures Jewish voters that he will not undermine the close link between Israel and the US.

Obama's speech to Israel

H18 Independent Karadzic to defend himself 'with help of God'

Radovan Karadzic has decided to conduct his own defence against genocide charges at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague and is convinced he will win his case, his Serbian lawyer said yesterday.

The war criminal, his wife and the new girlfriend

Adrian Hamilton: Ultimately, this is as much about politics as justice

Security is paramount, Obama tells Israel Barack Obama repeatedly promised Israel's leaders yesterday that its security would remain "paramount" while he promoted efforts to resolve their conflict with the Palestinians early in his first term if elected.

Bush: 'Wall Street got drunk and now it's got a hangover'

EU suspends £400m in aid to Bulgaria over its failure to fight organised crime

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Bin Laden's driver was aware of terrorist attacks, witness says

Gitmo prosecutor says 9/11 Flight 93 was shot down

Israel fears al-Qaida Westerners
Jerusalem Post

Michael Barrett: Cybercrime - and what we will have to do if we want to get it under control
Source: Publius Project (Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University)