101708f - 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 Editorial Barack Obama for President The Washington Post endorses the Democratic senator from Illinois. Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.

Out of the Ashes The Financial Crisis Is Also an Opportunity To Create New Rules for Our Global Economy By Gordon Brown, The financial crisis is also an opportunity to create new rules for our global economy.

Gates, Rice Brief Lawmakers On Draft Accord With Iraq

PBS FRONTLINE: The Choice 2008:

The Economist The world economy Capitalism at bay What went wrong and, rather more importantly for the future, what did not

The Caucasus After the war An edgy neighbourhood has become both more dangerous and more important

The Times An American Choice Barack Obama has shown the character, intelligence and judgment to be president. He is the better candidate for the White House

Five years too late, Iraq faces the future It was supposed to happen at the end of the war. But at last Baghdad is controlling its own destiny Richard Beeston

Change is here, whatever voters want US is rejecting an incompetent government, but electing Obama marks a significant watershed

Gerard Baker

New York Times Oil Prices Slip Below $70 a Barrel Oil prices dropped below $70 a barrel for the first time in 16 months Thursday, prompting the OPEC cartel to call for an emergency meeting next week

DAVID BROOKS Thinking About Obama Through some deep, bottom-up process, Barack Obama has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he’s become a homeostasis machine

Buy American. I Am.

By WARREN E. BUFFETT

I’ve been buying American stocks. Why? A simple rule: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.

Senior U.S. Commanders to Assess Afghanistan Mission

The Fog: Translating Obama's Vague Foreign Policy Pronouncements By: Frederick W. Kagan | The Weekly Standard
Discerning Barack Obama's foreign policy in any detail is far from easy. The great majority of his statements on the subject consist of criticism of the Bush administration.

Is a Grand Bargain in Iran Feasible? - Meir Javedanfar, Middle East Analyst

Iran Readies Its End-Game Iraq Strategy by Robert Dreyfuss

Roubini Interviews with Charlie Rose and CNBC: Severe Recession and Financial Crisis

Economic Development in the Wider Black Sea Region wiiw

This 37-page Austrian research report deals with the economic development of the countries comprising the Black Sea region

Military Exercises Showcase Russian Power, and Its Limits By: Richard Weitz | World Politics Review The Russian government may not yet describe itself as a superpower, but its latest military exercise, "Stability 2008," clearly aims to affirm Russia's global military reach

RFE/RL Russia To Spend $50 Billion Buying Arms In 2009

Russia will spend nearly $50 billion in 2009 on buying weapons and hardware for its armed forces despite an economic crisis, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on October 16

Azerbaijan's Opposition Cries 'Foul' As President Reelected

White House Hopefuls Have No Russia Plan - Simon Tisdall, The Guardian Simon Tisdall: The next US president should take a more constructive approach to challenges from the east, if only out of enlightened self-interest

Independent 'We need 30,000 more soldiers to beat Taliban,' says general Exclusive: General Sir David Richards, who will today be named as the British Army's new head, appeals for a dramatic 'surge' in Afghanistan

Asia Times A Caspian energy superpower is born The immense scale of Turkmenistan's gas reserves, revealed after an independent audit, elevates the country to the top rank of gas producers. More, it renders Moscow's energy strategy obsolescent and rekindles United States and European hopes of loosening Russia's grip on Central Asian gas pipelines. Former invader China has its own trump cards to play. - M K Bhadrakumar

The Coming Military Spending Surge - Matthew Yglesias, American Prospect

US-Iraq Pact Faces Uphill Fight in Parliament

IHT European observer denounces Azeri presidential election In sharp language, a Council of Europe delegation said the country's presidential election this week was "a very good swimming exercise, but unfortunately, it's an empty pool."

Guardian West's financial disease strides globe

Western financial crisis turns global as capital-flows become destructive riptides in developing world

Iran's war on Sunni Muslims

Peter Tatchell: Tehran's leaders are intensifying their repression of the Sunni Baloch people, in a bid to create a Shia and Persian-dominated nation

Has the United States Poisoned Democracy? CEIP

An article examining whether the association of democracy promotion with US foreign policy has made democracy less popular in the Arab world

Iraq Inches Closer to Security Pact With U.S.

Ha’aretz – Colonial Zionism If Israeli society is unable to muster the courage necessary to put an end to the settlements, the settlements will put an end to the state of the Jews and will turn it into a binational state.

Financial Times Making it to the White House will be the easy part Fixing the economy – persuading voters to consume less and save more and redirecting spending into infrastructure – will demand enormous moral authority. What will voters say when Barack Obama, if he wins, says his health plan is unaffordable, asks Philip Stephens

US combat troops could exit Iraq by 2012 The US and Iraq have reached agreement on a draft security accord that would pave the way for US combat troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, officials said

Energy independence fires candidates When Barack Obama was given a list of economic challenges to rank in order of priority during the second presidential debate, he chose energy independence ahead of healthcare and social security reform

Grand claims but only tired ideas

It is important to plan for what will come after the crisis. That will require deep thought and prolonged preparation, not easy slogans

Diversity in unity The European Union needs bold pragmatic leadership by national leaders, but EU institutions must ensure there is unity, not division, in that diversity

Petraeus Mounts Strategy Review By: Ann Scott Tyson | The Washington Post
Gen. David H. Petraeus has launched a major reassessment of U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and the surrounding region, while warning that the lack of development and the spiraling violence in Afghanistan will probably make it "the longest campaign of the long war."

Sidestepping Politics in Iraq The Economist The launch of the country’s first post-war oil licensing round is evidence of a government increasingly determined to press on with economic development, against the political and bureaucratic odds.

Defining Moment in History By: Brahma Chellaney | The Japan Times
While 9/11 involved terrorist attacks on symbols of U.S. power, events since last month have assaulted the very underpinnings of America's global strategic heft.

The Economist Europe and the financial crisis The end of the beginning?

Does Temperament Matter? - Nancy Gibbs, Time

The $55 trillion question With a third presidential debate victory and a tottering American economy, conditions are in place for a Barack Obama landslide. But what will he win, exactly? Answer: A country $55 trillion in the hole (that's $480,000 per household), embroiled in unpopular wars and set to endure unemployment not seen since the 1930s. Perhaps conditions are also in place for Obama to ditch the "war on terror" - and launch a war on poverty. - Pepe Escobar

US blowback in
Iran's elections The key issues in next year's presidential elections in Iran will be the country's nuclear program, its economy and the winner in the race for the White House in the United States. Of these three, the identity of the new US president is likely to be the determining factor, and jockeying has already begun in Tehran. - Hossein Askari

Wall Street Journal Weak States and Scofflaws Have No Business on the Security Council

By Paul Kennedy It's time for the U.N. to take its most important body seriously.

A Liberal Supermajority

Get ready for 'change' we haven't seen since 1965, or 1933.

Washington Institute A Forum without a Future?

The Bush administration's Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative and annual Forum for the Future conferences have failed to meet its potential and may soon end. Yet the initiative could offer a unique platform to address the region's ills if the next administration makes better use of it.

Christian Science Monitor

US plan to help Pakistan fight insurgents The Pentagon wants to send more F-16 fighters. Critics say the jets could threaten India.

A new cop for global finance

The US must join Europe in revamping the rules of finance – for mutual prosperity

Los Angeles Times Thinking conservatives jump ship from the GOP Rosa Brooks

With more reasoned types such as Buckley and Hitchens endorsing Obama, paranoid, rage-driven, xenophobic nuts are left to control the Republican Party

U.S. policies may have contributed to Iran revolution, study says A report based on declassified documents suggests that the Nixon and Ford administrations, angry with the shah for his support for raising oil prices, worked to curb his ambitions

FT We need to guard against destructive creation Failure to think about the downside results from the ‘Wall Street-Treasury Complex’ – which shares optimistic scenarios, writes Jagdish Bhagwati Jagdish Bhagwati calls for closer scrutiny

Der Spiegel Russia's Strategy: 'What's Looming in Ukraine Is more Threatening than Georgia'

Salon Election by sound bite Obsessed by "lipstick on a pig," economic "free fall" and other "great stories," America has failed to see the real challenges it face

Drezner Is Pakistan the next geopolitical canary?

Foreign Policy Seven Questions: Jeffrey Sachs The global economy is in crisis, but the world’s poor may be better off than you think.

H2

CSM Turkey's Army loses luster over PKK attack Amid daily fighting, including an clash Thursday that killed 10, unprecedented public criticism is mounting over an Oct. 3 attack

The Economist Turkey and the Kurds Terror in the mountains Renewed violence raises new questions about Turkey’s treatment of its Kurds

Meclis rolünü oynasın, kasımda çatışmasızlık sürecine gireriz

INTERVIEW-Turkey, eyeing Security Council seat, cites Iran role

‘Turkey seeks US help in securing Kurdish cooperation against PKK’

PKK says it killed four Turkish soldiers, downed copter

Sami Kohen Kuzey Irak açılımı...

Al Ahram Backing down A spate of high casualty PKK attacks have forced Turkey to finally abandon its refusal to engage directly with the Iraqi Kurds, Gareth Jenkins reports

Cevdet Aşkın PKK'dan ateşkes sinyali

Der Spiegel SPIEGEL Interview with Orhan Pamuk: 'I'm for Europe, Democracy and Freedom of Opinion'

EDM TURKEY’S OVERHAULS ITS COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY

Guardian Creationist gets website blocked

Will Frankfurt open Turkey's censored books?

Nefesler tutuldu, gözler BM'deki oylamada

Election day in UN race, Ankara sets sights on win

Seeking a seat for Turkey at UN Security Council by MEHMET KALYONCU*

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

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

Hakkari'de 5 asker şehit, tugay komutanı dahil 15 asker yaralı

Teröre karşı dev adım

Özel tim dağa çıkacak

Komando bölüğüne bombalı pusu

2008'deki şehit sayımız

ABD Irak'tan 2011 sonunda çekilebilir

Dağda görevdeydi

Beril Dedeoğlu Barzani’yle görüşme

Mehmet Yılmaz 'Guzman modeli' ile PKK tasfiye edilebilir mi?

Iraqi premier urges coordination with Turkey on PKK terrorism

What is the PUK doing to itself and to the Kurdish issue?

No DNO oil export permit, Iraq region says

Kurds welcome British lawmakers to Erbil

TAMER KORKMAZ

Afiyetle yiyelim, ters köşeye yatalım…

SALİH TUNA

PKK şimdi nerde duruyor?

YASİN DOĞAN

Terör ve medya…

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

Cengiz Aktar İlerleme raporu öncesi faaliyetler

Gila Benmayor Türkiye, Akdeniz Birliği’nin neresinde

Economic Development in the Wider Black Sea Region wiiw

This 37-page Austrian research report deals with the economic development of the countries comprising the Black Sea region

Zeynel Lüle Avrupa'nın umudu yabancılar

German FM reiterates support for Turkey's EU bid

EU monitors see progress in Azeri poll

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

Nobel laureate denounces Turkey at Frankfurt Book Fair

Rıza Türmen İşkenceye karşı toplumsal tepki ne zaman?

Turkey - Access Blocked: A Disturbing Trend in Freedom of Speech

H3

Başbakan Erdoğan'a 'gariban' tepkisi

Erdoğan: Biz doğru yerdeyiz

Hakkâri’de çatışma: 5 ŞEHİT

Erdoğan’dan tam destek

Doğan'a 10.5 yıl hapis istenebilir

General ''doğru yerde'' durun, haddinizi aşmayın!

Orgeneral Özel Aktütün’de Özel Harekátçılar bölgede

‘Katliama devlet güvencesi verdi’

'İtirafçılar JİTEM'de çalışmaya devam ediyor'

VIP otobüs ihalesi Albayrak’ın damadına

Bize bir bildirim yok

Gen. Başbuğ snipes at others to avoid being called to account, say psychiatrists

‘Tehditkâr üslup kabul edilemez’

İlhan Selçuk’tan savcılara dava

Kılıçdaroğlu: İstanbul yolsuzlukların başkenti

'Biz haklıyız ve doğru yerde duruyoruz'

Öz'ün kuzeni gözaltına alındı

Kılıçdaroğlu, ağzındaki baklayı çıkardı

İlk vaadi, karşı çıktığı kömür yardımı oldu

Karayalçın ve Baykal'a hodri meydan: Seçimi kaybeden siyaseti bıraksın

MHP, yerel seçim için kampa giriyor

Başbuğ, toplumu hedef aldı; son derece sakıncalı

Karayalçın: SHP’nin kimliği devam edecek

ÜRKÜTEN TABLO

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman GH Türkiye

Video NTV CNNTürk Milliyet

Cengiz Çandar Irak Kürtleri ile ilişkiler

Ahmet Taşgetiren Sakın komisyona havale olmasın!

Ruşen - Çakır

Taha Akyol Kürtler ve ekonomi

Fikret Bila Org. Başbuğ neden bu üslupla konuştu?

Hasan Cemal Amerika, ilk siyah Başkanı'yla bir ‘devrim’e hazırlanıyor!

Murat Yetkin Hırsızın hiç mi suçu yok?

İsmet Berkan Kürt sorununu çözme iradesi var mı?

Fehmi Koru Herkes kendine yakışanı yapsın

Taha Kıvanç Başa ne işler açtım

Şamil Tayyar Paşam ya siz?

Ali Bayramoğlu

Yasemin Çongar

Ertuğrul Özkök Kokmuş tuz sezonu

Hasan Ünal

Ahmet Hakan Hazır ola geçmek yok

M Ali Birand Komutan yanlış yaptı

Mustafa Karaalioğlu Toz duman arasında bir durum tespiti

Cüneyt Ülsever

Enis Berberoğlu Ben ordumu kışlasında severim

Psikolojik savaş açmazı
HASAN CELAL GÜZEL

‘Sivile konuşmak yassahh!!!’
ORAL ÇALIŞLAR

DYÇ’de yeni boyutlar
MEHMET ALİ KIŞLALI

Mümtazer Türköne Askerin durduğu yer

Eser Karakaş Başbuğ’un konuşmasından aklıma takılanlar

Ferai Tınç Yasaklarla doğru yer bulunmaz

Mustafa Ünal Başbuğ'un öfkesi

Oktay Ekşi Dipsiz kuyu

Tufan Türenç Öfke dün de kötüydü bugün de kötü

Özdemir İnce Kasaplar ve koyunlar

Mehmet Y Yılmaz

Nasuhi Güngör Akaryakıt demokratları

Gülay Göktürk Taraf'ı korumak

MUHARREM SARIKAYA Org. Başbuğ'un projesi

Mehmet Altan Korkutmak

Fatih Altaylı Kimden taraf

ERDAL ŞAFAK Yeni yoldaşlar

ENGİN ARDIÇ

ERGUN BABAHAN İstanbul'a Sözen, İzmir'e Çakmur

EMRE AKÖZ İşyerinde bunalıp çocuğunu döven adamlar gibi...

Umur Talu Tek boyutlu değil

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK Asker susmalı, siyasetçi konuşmalıydı

MEHMET BARLAS Doğru yer ve doğru zaman çözümleri kolaylaştırır...

MAHMUT ÖVÜR CHP'nin hedefi: Yerelde 'tek adres' olmak

YAVUZ DONAT Muhalefet olmadan asla

Bülent Keneş The general’s fury and the country’s realities

Yavuz Baydar Beyond anger, confrontation

İhsan Dağı Ben korktum! Ya siz?

Ali Bulaç Torture and apology

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

Azgınların sonu, doların çöküşü, yükselen ülkeler

Ekonomi

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Erdal Sağlam

Hurşit Güneş Türkiye İzlanda olur mu? Ağzı olan konuşuyor

Güngör Uras Türk: Güven, övün MB: Sığlığa çare bul

FT The east is in the red According to the Institute of International Finance, total private capital and credit flows into "emerging Europe" (including Turkey) are likely to fall from a record $394bn last year to $322bn in 2008 and $262bn in 2009.

Hasan Ersel Çifte güvensizlik ve çözümü

Güven Sak Olayların önünden gitmeliyiz ama geride kalıyoruz

Ertuğ Yaşar Kriz yüzde 30 zayiat verir

Deniz Gökçe Neler oluyor?

‘Testi’ kırılmış, umurumuzda mı?
UĞUR GÜRSES

H4 New York Times Oil Prices Slip Below $70 a Barrel Oil prices dropped below $70 a barrel for the first time in 16 months Thursday, prompting the OPEC cartel to call for an emergency meeting next week

DAVID BROOKS Thinking About Obama Through some deep, bottom-up process, Barack Obama has developed strategies for equanimity, and now he’s become a homeostasis machine

Buy American. I Am.

By WARREN E. BUFFETT

I’ve been buying American stocks. Why? A simple rule: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.

Senior U.S. Commanders to Assess Afghanistan Mission

Editorial Three Rivals If Ukraine’s president wants to resolve his political struggle with rivals, the next election must be by and for his country, without meddling from Russia or the West.

PAUL KRUGMAN

Let’s Get Fiscal To get out of the economic slump, the next president should increased government spending and put the concerns about the budget deficit on hold

Debates Over, Candidates Begin Final Sprint

Judge Orders Investigation of Executions in Franco Era

Bulgarian Prime Minister Vows to Reject Tainted Donations

Vote Monitor Faults Election in Azerbaijan

Memo From New Delhi: With Economic Crisis, a Newly Flush India Exercises Caution

Afghan Officials Say Airstrike Killed Civilians

European Nations Seek to Revise Agreement on Emissions Cuts

Rivals’ Visions Differ on Unleashing Innovation The presidential candidates’ visions for sharpening the nation’s competitive edge are strikingly different

H5 Washington Post Editorial Barack Obama for President The Washington Post endorses the Democratic senator from Illinois. Mr. Obama's temperament is unlike anything we've seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.

Out of the Ashes The Financial Crisis Is Also an Opportunity To Create New Rules for Our Global Economy By Gordon Brown, The financial crisis is also an opportunity to create new rules for our global economy.

Gates, Rice Brief Lawmakers On Draft Accord With Iraq

The Energy Debate
From Abroad Steven Mufson | Five points in last night's debate that didn't sound right to the rest of the world

Obama's Assurance Policy

By David S. Broder, Obama has looked consistently self-assured, a valuable commodity in times like these

As Iraq's Oil Flows Freely, Profits Are Stuck in Bureaucracy Iraq's Oil Profits Are Stuck in Red Tape

Despite U.S. spending to train Iraqi officials on how to use the nation's surplus, the country's bureaucracy is bogged down while needed public services suffer.

McCain's Bare Cupboard By Eugene Robinson, McCain lost ground in the debates mainly because of his threadbare ideas and solutions

Who's Playing the Race Card?By Charles Krauthammer, The search for McCain's racial offenses is untiring and often unhinged.

McCain Forced to Fight for Virginia

Traditionally Red State Finds GOP Struggling to Match Obama Operation

MOMENTS OF TRUTH: OBAMA IN THE SENATE A Rising Political Star Adopts a Low-Key Strategy

As McCain's Road Gets Steeper, Obama Warns of Overconfidence

Russian Elite Look to Kremlin For Aid as Wealth Evaporates

The Man Who Stayed By Michael Gerson, Gen. David Petraeus has unique credibility precisely because he didn't leave Iraq to its fate.

Sarkozy Calls for Revamping of Capitalist System French Leader to Meet With Bush Tomorrow On Financial Summit

As Credit Tightens, Companies Curtail Spending, Expansion

Some Indebted Firms at Risk of Default

U.S. Missile Strike Targeting Taliban Leader Kills 6, Pakistan Says

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Figure Was a Swedish Citizen

H6 Guardian The world awaits

Editorial: It was John McCain's best performance of the three presidential debates

West's financial disease strides globe

Western financial crisis turns global as capital-flows become destructive riptides in developing world

Iran's war on Sunni Muslims

Peter Tatchell: Tehran's leaders are intensifying their repression of the Sunni Baloch people, in a bid to create a Shia and Persian-dominated nation

It's a bull market for humility, and shares in kindness are soaring

Simon Jenkins: My search for good news among the financial ruins is proving fruitful. In times of trouble Britons cling to a rare optimism

TV debates rarely swing it, but let voters test the timber Martin Kettle: The presidency is not won or lost by televised knockabout, but Obama has taken the opportunity to confirm his credentials

Post-bubble possibility Larry Elliott: Beyond the plummeting markets and whingeing banks is a ray of hope - for a Green New Deal

Cut petrol prices, Brown tells sellers

PM says Office of Fair Trading will monitor prices to ensure retailers are not profiteering

Obama's push into Republican states

Buoyed by success, Democrats to force cash-strapped McCain to defend safe areas

Foreign poll favours Democrat International survey says people worldwide pinning hopes on Obama in next month's presidential election

Act now to save Afghanistan

Matt Waldman: The lives and livelihoods of millions of Afghans are at stake. Concerted and effective action has become imperative

White House Hopefuls Have No Russia Plan - Simon Tisdall, The Guardian Simon Tisdall: The next US president should take a more constructive approach to challenges from the east, if only out of enlightened self-interest

Tomasky talk: 'It was a narrower win for Obama than the last two debates'

Once upon a time in Abkhazia

Malkhaz Akishbaia: The EU must insist that Russia withdraw its forces from Georgia – only then can we start rebuilding our lives in our homeland

From Plan A to Plan G Brad DeLong: The US has tried to stave off depression in half a dozen ways. Will partially nationalising America's banks do the trick?

The trail of torture Andy Worthington: That the White House authorised 'waterboarding' is disturbing. But that no one in mainstream US politics seems to care is worse

Community organisers stump McCain

Extraordinary Joe: McCain, Obama and the plumber

Full coverage of US elections 2008

Villagers say 18 civilians killed in Nato air strike in Afghanistan

MoD investigating reports that women and children among those killed in Helmand attack

Pakistani politicians divided over action on terrorExtremist violence and economic crisis push Pakistan to verge of collapse as political class split

What's the difference between Obama and an Arab? Khaled Diab: John McCain has furnished compelling proof that Barack Obama is not an Arab: the Democrat is a family man

H7 Has the United States Poisoned Democracy? CEIP

An article examining whether the association of democracy promotion with US foreign policy has made democracy less popular in the Arab world

Ahmadinejad and the Wrong End of the Stick : Amir Taheri

Washington Institute A Forum without a Future?

The Bush administration's Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative and annual Forum for the Future conferences have failed to meet its potential and may soon end. Yet the initiative could offer a unique platform to address the region's ills if the next administration makes better use of it.

Der Spiegel Iran's Presidential Election: Searching for the Antidote to Ahmadinejad

Petraeus Mounts Strategy Review
Gen. David H. Petraeus has launched a major reassessment of U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and the surrounding region, while warning that the lack of development and the spiraling violence in Afghanistan will probably make it "the longest campaign of the long war."

Sidestepping Politics in Iraq The Economist The launch of the country’s first post-war oil licensing round is evidence of a government increasingly determined to press on with economic development, against the political and bureaucratic odds.

Defining Moment in History By: Brahma Chellaney | The Japan Times
While 9/11 involved terrorist attacks on symbols of U.S. power, events since last month have assaulted the very underpinnings of America's global strategic heft.

Troubled Nations' Hobbesian World By: Arnold Beichman | The Washington Times
Somalia exemplifies Hobbes' dire warnings about life in a state of nature. Nobody without an armed bodyguard is safe in Somalia.

Why Iraq Hates Biden by Salameh Nematt

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

U.S. Bows to Iraqi Demands Over Troop Withdrawal By: Richard Beeston and Deborah Haynes | The London Times America appeared to bow to demands by Baghdad about the future status of its troops in Iraq yesterday, apparently agreeing that they must leave the country in three years’ time and could face prosecution in an Iraqi court if they broke the law

Hothouse of Tension in Lebanon - Robert F. Worth

Iran Sets Preconditions for Iran-U.S. Talks

Interview with Syrian Info Minister Mohsen Bilal

Oct 15 SD# 2083 - 'Al-Hayat' Damascus Bureau Chief Explains His Resignation: I Refuse to Take Part in Media and Political Campaign Against Syria

Iran's army air force begins military exercise

H9 Ha’aretz – Colonial Zionism If Israeli society is unable to muster the courage necessary to put an end to the settlements, the settlements will put an end to the state of the Jews and will turn it into a binational state.

Benn A cold winter ahead

Members of the tribes By Bradley Burston and J.J. Goldberg

Hamas likely to extend Gaza truce with Israel

U.S. rabbis: McCain attacks on Obama creeping toward 'hate speech' Rabbis for Obama also say Republican Jews 'falsely' label Democratic candidate as 'reckless on Israel

Jerusalem and Babylon / global financial crisis raises fears of rising anti-Semitic backlash

UN Chief urges Hezbollah and Israel to halt mutual threats

Jerusalem Post Officials: China blocks Iran sanctions

China apparently stalling conference call between senior diplomats following US arms sale to Taiwan

Iran claims it wants nuke-free world Teheran seeks Security Council seat; Friday's vote is 1st case of sanctioned country bidding for spot

McCain-Biden the Best Ticket for Israel - Charley Levine, Jerusalem Post

Syria and Lebanon: An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove - Jonathan Spyer

Yedioth Ahronoth Violence without ideology

Akko Riots featured two sides that have no idea what they want, writes musician Alma Zohar

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

Showdown Fatah gets ready to take on Hamas

Geysers of Resistance to the PA Are Bubbling in the West Bank - Leslie Susser (Jerusalem Report)

Egypt and Hamas: Ties That Bind By: Fawzi Barhoum | Asharq Alawsat
The nature of relations between Egypt and Hamas is governed and influenced by many factors. Hamas was born from the womb of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Internet and Terrorism IICC

A 5-page Israeli report providing details of a new website sponsored by Hamas

Report: Russia Suspected of Secretly Delivering Weapons to Hizbullah - Jean-Pierre Perrin (Liberation-France)

H10 Christian Science Monitor

US plan to help Pakistan fight insurgents The Pentagon wants to send more F-16 fighters. Critics say the jets could threaten India.

A new cop for global finance

The US must join Europe in revamping the rules of finance – for mutual prosperity

Obama, Joe the plumber, and the gospel of envy

A call to 'spread the wealth' around is an old – and dangerous – theme.

When settlers strike, Palestinians point and shoot video

Fallout of stock market's plunge: retirement woes

ASIA

RFE Bringing The Taliban Into The Political Mainstream

Critics say a failure to bring Taliban into Afghanistan's political mainstream is a major obstacle to stabilization efforts. Now, word of possible peace talks between government and Taliban representatives comes as Western commanders conclude that military action alone cannot bring an end to the violence.

Stratfor Geopolitical Diary: China's Silence on Land Reform

Four days after emerging from its high-profile policy conference, China's Communist Party has yet to publish its conclusions on the subject of land reform

China: Walking a Fine Line in Alliance With Pakistan

Beijing is growing increasingly concerned about the status of its trilateral relationship with Islamabad and Washington.

China to Pakistan's Rescue? - The Economist

Asia and the crisis Here we go again The world’s financial meltdown stirs uneasy memories across Asia

NATO Air Strike Kills 25 Afghan Civilians

Afghanistan A surge of pessimism

China Should Act Prudently on Iran - John Garver, Far East. Econ. Review

China Charging Up to Fast Lane - Takamitsu Sawa, Japan Times

Can China Shield Itself from Storm? - Frank Ching, China Post

A Bailout Beijing Would Cheer By: David Ignatius | The Washington Post
We are all Chinese now. That is, we have a nominally capitalist economy, but we don't trust the freewheeling private market when it comes to the crunch. So we turn to the government for protection and stability.

New Afghan Myths Bode Ill for Western Aims By: Rodric Braithwaite | Financial Times
Afghanistan is a place of myths. One myth tells us that the British were defeated in their wars against Afghanistan; or, as an American official remarked recently: “The British screwed up there for two hundred years.”

The Truth Behind the Asian Fairy Tale By: David Pilling | Financial Times
Are you sitting comfortably? Far, far away from the woeful mess engulfing the wicked countries of the west lies an upright land with fecund trade surpluses, near-bottomless pools of central bank reserves, well-capitalised banks and a healthy aversion to “money game” speculation

'Red capitalism'
unravels the party line
China's Vice President Xi Jingpin has subtly defused 30 years of thorny ideological debate by proclaiming that the Chinese Communist Party has matured from a "revolutionary party" into a "ruling party". This makes it easier to explain how a party for the proletariat can also develop a capitalist economy, but is it an "emancipation of minds" - or just semantics?

H11 IHT European observer denounces Azeri presidential election In sharp language, a Council of Europe delegation said the country's presidential election this week was "a very good swimming exercise, but unfortunately, it's an empty pool."

Spanish judge opens case into Franco's atrocities A Spanish judge opened a criminal investigation into atrocities committed during the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing right-wing dictatorship.

Bulgarian prime minister pledges reforms Sergey Stanishev said he would give any tainted campaign contributions to charity, after evidence emerged of donors linked to criminal networks.

Europeans split over goals to cut emissions By STEPHEN CASTLE

Facing a sharp economic slowdown, several EU countries threatened to veto climate-change reduction proposals unless they were made more affordable.

EUROPE European press review

Economic Development in the Wider Black Sea Region wiiw

This 37-page Austrian research report deals with the economic development of the countries comprising the Black Sea region

The Economist Europe and the financial crisis The end of the beginning?

Charlemagne Bad times ahead A deep recession would be a big challenge for the European Union

In Gold We Trust By: Christoph Peters | The New York Times
Germans are reacting to the spreading financial crisis with remarkable calm

The Russo-German Plan to Bust Up NATO

Republic of Kosovo Passports Recognized By 27 Countries

Greek islands become the EU's new front line on immigration

a review of Dictating development: how Europe shaped the global periphery by Jonathan Krieckhaus

Independent Leading article: A crisis that has vindicated the European Union

EU 10 week climate change deadline

Europe's credibility will be in tatters at next year's summit if leaders cannot reach a deal

H12 RFE/RL Russia To Spend $50 Billion Buying Arms In 2009

Russia will spend nearly $50 billion in 2009 on buying weapons and hardware for its armed forces despite an economic crisis, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on October 16

Azerbaijan's Opposition Cries 'Foul' As President Reelected

Azerbaijan: Aliyev Re-Elected, as Opposition Vows Protest Opposition leaders are attempting to cast doubt on President Ilham Aliyev’s landslide victory in Azerbaijan’s election on October 15. Meanwhile, international observers praised the balloting as "well prepared," while lamenting "a lack of genuine competition

The new head of Kazakhstan's state-owned oil and gas company is charting a course toward closer cooperation with Iran, and he has made it clear that the threat of sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not stand in his way

Military Exercises Showcase Russian Power, and Its Limits By: Richard Weitz | World Politics Review The Russian government may not yet describe itself as a superpower, but its latest military exercise, "Stability 2008," clearly aims to affirm Russia's global military reach

White House Hopefuls Have No Russia Plan - Simon Tisdall, The Guardian

The Economist Russia and Europe Too soon to kiss and make up

The European Union should not give Russia a new partnership deal until it genuinely withdraws from Georgia

Russia and the crisis Kremlinomics

US Welcomes 'Progress' in Azerbaijan Election

Google News Azerbaijan

Since a Western audit found unforeseen energy resources in Turkmenistan, all eyes are now turning to pipeline projects like White Stream. The only obstacle is Russia, which doesn't look kindly on being left out of the loop

Reviving Russian-Western Relations By: Samuel Charap and Andrew Kuchins | The Boston Globe
Russia President Dmitri Medvedev's recent speech in France has been portrayed as a broadside against the United States. However, Medvedev also made important gestures of cooperation

With a Collective Shrug, Azerbaijan Votes for Its Leader By: Sabrina Tavernise | The New York Times
In a part of the world where economic disasters have punched holes in people’s lives several times over the past 17 years, economic stability often has more allure than vague notions of democracy.

A neighborly option for dealing with Iran
By Vartan Oskanian

EDM RUSSIAN TACTICS DERAIL GENEVA TALKS ON ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA
- A RADICAL MILITARY REFORM PLAN

Russia: A Leaked Georgian 'Threat' An announcement that Georgian militants are planning attacks in Russian cities could be part of a Kremlin plan to increase pressure on Tbilisi

False start for Georgia-Russia talks
The first Russia-Georgia talks since the August conflict predictably ground to a halt on the first day, with both sides angrily accusing the other of derailing the process. The key stalling point has been tension over the presence of leaders from the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. At least another meeting has been planned

Russian Patriotism Unleashed by War - Fred Weir, Der Spiegel

Russia, Kazakhstan to Mull "Strategic" Cooperation Plan

Russians Overstay Their Welcome - Luke Harding, The Guardian

Blind Faith of Free-Market Cheerleaders By: Boris Kagarlitsky | The Moscow Times
Vasily Koltashov was relatively unknown among Moscow's economic analysts. That is, until the young journalist moved to Athens and began publishing his economic forecasts there -- each prediction was more dire than the last. Unfortunately, they all came true.

Change of Heart in Belarus? By: The Washington Times | Dale McFeatters
Russia's invasion of Georgia not only cost it mightily from foreign investors pulling out, but it may have cost it the support of its most slavish admirer, Alexander Lukashenko, generally termed "Europe's last dictator

Georgia's Wise Decisions - Richard Rahn, Washington Times

Russia's Lonely Stand on South Ossetia - Yulia Latynina, Moscow Times

The bigger you are, the harder you fall. But the longer-term effects of the current financial crisis are beginning to be felt in smaller countries as well. One such place is Ukraine, where the central bank this week took the controversial step of restricting lending and withdrawal limits

H13 The Times An American Choice Barack Obama has shown the character, intelligence and judgment to be president. He is the better candidate for the White House

Five years too late, Iraq faces the future It was supposed to happen at the end of the war. But at last Baghdad is controlling its own destiny Richard Beeston

Change is here, whatever voters want US is rejecting an incompetent government, but electing Obama marks a significant watershed

Gerard Baker

Return to the China Syndrome

Beijing is due to take a disappointing step back by retracting press freedoms

Wall Street Journal Weak States and Scofflaws Have No Business on the Security Council

By Paul Kennedy It's time for the U.N. to take its most important body seriously.

A Liberal Supermajority

Get ready for 'change' we haven't seen since 1965, or 1933.

The Axelrod Method

Door Open for Fed to Cut Rates Further Subscriber Content Read Preview

With U.S. consumer price inflation receding, the Fed has additional leeway to reduce interest rates further.

Hillary Made Obama a Better Candidate

We Don't Need Anyone to Run the World By John Stossel
Markets are amazing if you let them work.

White Guilt and John McCain

By James Taranto How racial taboos benefit Obama.

Palin's Failin' DECLARATIONS
By Peggy Noonan What is it she stands for? After seven weeks, we don't know.

What Obama Can't Change: Lives of Blacks By Jason L. Riley
History gives us no indication that Obama's political success will translate into black upward mobility.

The Economist A short history of modern finance Link by link

Banking on Basel: The Future of International Financial Regulation

Peterson Institute

A 3-page summary of a US book identifying the shortcomings of Basel II as a framework for international financial regulation

Reliving Japan's Economic Nightmare? - Joshua Kurlantzick, New Republic

ANALYSIS-Back in the spotlight, but is IMF up to the task?

H14 Financial Times Making it to the White House will be the easy part Fixing the economy – persuading voters to consume less and save more and redirecting spending into infrastructure – will demand enormous moral authority. What will voters say when Barack Obama, if he wins, says his health plan is unaffordable, asks Philip Stephens

US combat troops could exit Iraq by 2012 The US and Iraq have reached agreement on a draft security accord that would pave the way for US combat troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, officials said

Polls give Obama a clear lead

Polls and pollsters pointed towards a near-unassailable lead for Barack Obama, just 19 days ahead of election day on November 4

Energy independence fires candidates When Barack Obama was given a list of economic challenges to rank in order of priority during the second presidential debate, he chose energy independence ahead of healthcare and social security reform

Grand claims but only tired ideas

It is important to plan for what will come after the crisis. That will require deep thought and prolonged preparation, not easy slogans

Diversity in unity The European Union needs bold pragmatic leadership by national leaders, but EU institutions must ensure there is unity, not division, in that diversity

Last chance saloon The inexperienced Democratic candidate seems better trusted to cope with the next few difficult years. McCain has just two weeks to change that

A better way to revive credit markets

Robert Aliber offers a reverse auction plan

We need to guard against destructive creation Failure to think about the downside results from the ‘Wall Street-Treasury Complex’ – which shares optimistic scenarios, writes Jagdish Bhagwati Jagdish Bhagwati calls for closer scrutiny

Banking’s mission must be to serve its customers Reinstate basic risk management, urges Emilio Botín

A policy success amid the disaster

Fiscal burden is manageable, says Martin Wolf The costs of decisive action were vastly less than those of inaction. The fiscal burden should be manageable, writes Martin Wolf

Hizbollah basks in its authority

But is Lebanon’s militant opposition over-estimating its importance? The FT talks to Mohammed Fneish, a senior party official, and to Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister

The east is in the redAs crisis widens, the former Soviet bloc is finding banks, currencies and stock markets under pressure

IMF ready to help stabilise Ukraine

The credit crisis deepened as Hungary and Ukraine turned to international institutions in an effort to avoid following Iceland into financial turmoil and US industrial production suffered its largest monthly decline since 1974

EU leaders demand recession safeguards European Union leaders demanded swift measures to shield their manufacturers against the threat of a severe economic recession triggered by the global financial meltdown

Global markets slide on recession fears Growing evidence that the worldwide bank rescue plans have come too late to avert a deep global recession drove down stock markets in Europe, the US and prompted renewed selling in Asia

Global markets slide on recession fears Growing evidence that the worldwide bank rescue plans have come too late to avert a deep global recession drove down stock markets in Europe, the US and prompted renewed selling in Asia

Bush dodges decision on Guantánamo President George W. Bush will leave a decision to shut the Guantánamo Bay prison camp to his successor by not pressing Congress for legislation to help close it – even though the Pentagon drafted options to do so, according to former and current officials

Republicans' hopes rest on negative attacks

H15 Los Angeles Times Thinking conservatives jump ship from the GOP Rosa Brooks

With more reasoned types such as Buckley and Hitchens endorsing Obama, paranoid, rage-driven, xenophobic nuts are left to control the Republican Party

U.S. policies may have contributed to Iran revolution, study says A report based on declassified documents suggests that the Nixon and Ford administrations, angry with the shah for his support for raising oil prices, worked to curb his ambitions

Editorial McCain's debatable strategyWill his personal attacks on Obama sway voters or alienate...

H16 American Politics

LA Times Thinking conservatives jump ship from the GOP Rosa Brooks

With more reasoned types such as Buckley and Hitchens endorsing Obama, paranoid, rage-driven, xenophobic nuts are left to control the Republican Party

FiveThirtyEight.com:

Today's Polls, 10/16

Gallup Daily: Obama 49%, McCain 43%

Officials: FBI investigates ACORN for voter fraud

realclearpolitics memeorandum Politico ABC’s The Note – PoliticsHome fivethirtyeight US News Political Bulletin Early Bird GovExec

A review of Right is Wrong by Arianna Huffington and Why We're Liberals by Eric Alterman.

A review of The Political Mind by George Lakoff (and more on the mind and the Obama magic, and more and more).

Crisis election: how Obama and McCain stack up
By Joseph S. Nye

H17 Daily Telegraph Pakistan needs support

The case for propping up Pakistan's civilian government under Asif Ali Zardari is strong.

Banks banned from paying dividends for five years

Brown's bail-out plans could be under threat as it emerged banks are to be banned from paying dividends for five years

We don't need another Bretton Woods

We must learn from our mistakes rather than resort to variations of an outdated financial system, says George Cooper.

Seduction is easier than terror

Con Coughlin asks: Does North Korea's deal with the US mean that it has seen the error of its ways?

Democrats edgy despite Obama's lead

If it's all over bar the voting, why is no one acting like it? asks Anne Applebaum

H18 Independent 'We need 30,000 more soldiers to beat Taliban,' says general Exclusive: General Sir David Richards, who will today be named as the British Army's new head, appeals for a dramatic 'surge' in Afghanistan

Leading article: General wisdom

Robert Gates: To succeed in Afghanistan will require much more than just guns

European markets tumble as confidence collapses

Share prices in the UK plunged yet again yesterday, piling more misery on Britons saving for their pension

Opec calls emergency summit as oil price halves

Oil slumped below $70 per barrel yesterday, hitting a 14-month low – the price has halved in the last three months – and prompting the world's oil-producing countries to call an emergency meeting next week to discuss cutting back on production.

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

An excerpt from Enemies of Intelligence: Knowledge and Power in American National Security by Richard K. Betts.

The Future Face of Conflict By: The Editors | World Politics Review
In the midst of two wars and with an "era of persistent conflict" foreseen ahead, America and its military are confronting battlefield urgencies and operational complexities that challenge the very way in which we conceive of warfare.

US diplomacy tainted by 'militarization' A hollowing out of the United States' diplomatic services - particularly in comparison to the funds and resources lavished on the Pentagon - has accelerated the "militarization" of diplomacy and foreign policy, former senior foreign service officers warn in a new report. The foreign service needs 50% more civilian staff if the US's "vital interests" are to be preserved, they conclude. - Jim Lobe

New Book Provides Unique View Into Mind of Fanatical Jihadists

Analysts: Al-Qaeda Has Funds Despite Economic Woes

H20 Slate

Advance Summary — U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves — 2007 Annual Report (PDF; 1.1 MB)
Source: Energy Information Administration

Grim Outlook for World Food By: Shobha Shukla | Asia Sentinel
Global warming and the biofuel boom are threatening to push the number of hungry even higher in times to come. During 2007 alone, around 50 million were added to the ranks of the world's hungry due to rising prices, thus pushing the number of unfed to about 1 billion

Climate engineering will not be perfect, but who thought it would be?

H21

From TED, Steven Pinker on language and how it expresses what goes on in our minds; and Noah Feldman on how politics and religion are technologies

People are fat 'because they don't enjoy eating'

The mystery of why some people stay slim while others get fat may be partly explained by differences between the way individuals' brains measure the pleasure of eating

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