103108f - 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 Intelligence Chief Warns of Risks The next U.S. president will govern in an era of increasing international instability, official says

McCain for President, Part II

By Charles Krauthammer, He is the quintessential center-right candidate for a center-right country.

Washington Institute Kirkuk: The Land the Surge Forgot Though it remains a political flashpoint, the Iraqi province of Kirkuk suffers from a largely overlooked security crisis that has improved little since the start of the U.S. military "surge." Michael Knights writes

Stratfor Iraq, US: The Latest on the Status of Forces Agreement

The Economist The presidential election It's time

America should take a chance and make Barack Obama the next leader of the free world

Time How They Would Lead (

No matter who wins, the 44th U.S. President will inherit a nation in a world of hurt. A look at how each man would face an epic challenge

The Candidates on the Issues (

Much has been written about the differences between McCain and Obama, but the race remains a contest of issues. Here are side-by-side comparisons of both candidates on seven key issue, in their own words

A Tale of Two Wars: Iraq Reduced violence has paved the way for a U.S. pullback. But the battles for power--and for the country's future--are still being fought

A Tale of Two Wars: Afghanistan Corruption, drugs and a weak central government have the country in a 'downward spiral.' Is talking to the Taliban the answer?

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Exclusive: Petraeus Wants to Go to Syria; Bush Administration Says No

Resilience of American Power - Fouad Ajami, US News & World Report

Wall Street Journal Obama and the Runaway Train By Peggy Noonan Declarations: The race, the case, a hope for grace.

Iraq Wants Guarantee of U.S. Departure Iraq wants to remove any possibility that U.S. troops could remain after 2011 from a proposed security agreement now under negotiation

Pierre Thomas / ABCNEWS:

Exclusive: U.S. Expects Bin Laden Message Near Election — Analysts: OBL Could Speak Out in an Effort to Prove His Relevance — Multiple senior government officials tell ABC News the intelligence community is anticipating a message from Osama bin Laden before or just after the presidential election.

Guardian Back to the future in the Caspian corridor Simon Tisdall: Russia's attempts to re-establish its Soviet-era spheres of influence seem to have caught the US on the hop

An abuse of power James Denselow: The American raid into Syria has damaged its relationship with the Iraqi government

The Bush gang's parting gift: a final, frantic looting of public wealth Naomi Klein: The US bail-out amounts to a strings-free, public-funded windfall for big business. Welcome to no-risk capitalism

The moment for McCain Reihan Salam: He might not have had a great campaign, but still the Republican is the best man to unite America

McCain team claims Obama's lead is narrowing Republican team 'still fighting' as presidential hopefuls embark on final multi-state campaign blitz

DAVID BROOKS A National Mobility Project A mobility project would dovetail with the energy initiatives both presidential candidates have offered. And it could, in the long term, rebalance this economy

National Interest Russian Roulette by Dimitri K. Simes
The current conversations of the American political class are frighteningly similar to past black-and-white misinterpretations of fundamental foreign-policy decisions. The reaction to the Russia-Georgia crisis is just the most recent example of the lack of rational foreign-policy discussion

Iranian Resurrection by Robert Baer Iran is becoming a superpower. Funding proxy armies, controlling vital energy hubs and winning the heart of the Arab street, Tehran has created a sphere of influence on an imperial scale. If we don’t do something—and soon—Iran, not China or Russia, will be the West’s global nemesis

Oil Dependence As Virtue

by Daniel W. Drezner
Imagine a world free of oil—one with diversified Arab economies divorced from the dollar, African nations devoid of the resource curse, and China and India ascendant. As it turns out, a world without oil dependence is a world that doesn’t need an American superpower

Cross-Border Attack on Syria Raises Iranian Eyebrows - Council on Foreign Relations

Time Joe Klein Priorities for the New President His challenge from the start will be getting two big issues--one foreign, one domestic--right

Time Will More US Troops Really Help in Afghanistan?

Q&A: Top Obama Strategist David Axelrod

NYRB The Co-President at Work The shallowest charge against Dick Cheney is that he somehow inserted himself into the vice-presidency by heading the team that examined other candidates for the job. He used the position deviously, so the story goes, to sell himself to the susceptible younger Bush. The truth is both simpler and more strange

Jerusalem Post 'Iran weighing secret nuclear work' Intelligence provided by IAEA state shows Teheran tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium.

Middle East Challenges for Next President –

Conference on Arab-US Relations & Presidential Transition

Expanding War, Contracting Meaning by Andrew J. Bacevich and Tom Engelhardt

Analysis: Bush Foreign-Policy Goals Largely Unmet

MESH U.S. strikes Al Qaeda in Syria.

Facing 21st Century Global Threats: Collective Security at a Crossroads

Bush's Booby Traps for Obama By: Rosa Brooks | Los Angeles Times Ever since Joe Biden suggested that the world would "test" Barack Obama if he becomes president, the McCain campaign has been hoping to make political hay out of the remark. "We don't want a president who invites testing from the world," John McCain warned voters.

McClatchy Economists say Obama, McCain can't do much to close wealth gap The gap between rich and poor in America has grown bigger in recent years than any time since the 1920s, and there are no easy ways for the presidential candidates to close it

Globalization and the New Nationalism Collide

The Times US isn't about to become liberal heaven Yes, Americans will be voting for Obama and change. But they don't want radicalism Gerard Baker

Religion remains fundamental to US politics A passion for conservative values has united diverse Christian groups, giving them influence way beyond their numbers Susan Jacoby

Financial Times Blame the party, not the campaign The idiotic neocons, culture warriors and talk-radio crowd must share responsibility. And do not forget the silly free-marketers now lining up to apologise for failed economic policy. But it was the Republican icons who created John McCain’s predicament, writes James Carville

Amid the turmoil, do not forget the poor Rich nations must not use the crisis as a pretext for abandoning developing nations, write Kofi Annan, Michel Camdessus and Robert Rubin

Questions for nations left out of magic circle Concerns were raised over moves by the Federal Reserve and International Monetary Fund to make dollars available quickly and without conditions to a select group of emerging markets

Crisis-hit Russia must scale down its ambition The idea that Moscow can use its energy resources to boost its world power without regard to anyone else has been destroyed, writes Robert Skidelsky. It is an emerging nation

Demise of Reaganomics poses grave intellectual challenge to Republicans

Winner will face Washington conundrum Given the many examples of presidents coming to Washington promising a new broom only to find the existing one more useful, both John McCain and Barack Obama face strong scepticism about whether they will follow through

Ha’aretz – Poll: Absentee voters in Israel back McCain over Obama by 3-1

UN watchdog: Iran holding secret tests to advance nuclear program Iran recently tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium from waste reactor fuel, says IAEA member

Official: Olmert intends to resume indirect talks with Syria Danish FM: Assad willing to conduct direct negotiations if Israel accepts Syrian preconditions

Report: Syria cuts diplomatic ties with Iraq over U.S. raid Syria has also decided to reduce its troops on the border with Iraq, Syrian TV reports

Yedioth Ahronoth No compromise with Iran

Israel must take stand against evil instead of counting on America or UN, Robert Onley says

US will continue to lead/ Ofir Haivry Despite financial crisis, no state currently able to match American dominance

Asia Times Iraq stands firm against US threat The threat by the George W Bush administration to withdraw all economic and military support from the Iraqi government if it does not ratify a pact to regulate the US presence in the country has fallen on deaf ears. Certainly, the financial loss will hurt, but more than anything politicians - acutely aware of the country's history - know what their fate will be if they are perceived as "agents for the Americans". - Gareth Porter

IAEA misses the mark on Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency's demand that Iran should prove "the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities" is the biggest hurdle on the path of normalization of its nuclear file, even though this demand exceeds the agency's inspection and verification agreement with Tehran. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Bernanke's last reel
Whatever happens from the latest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, it certainly means the approach of the effective end of the Ben Bernanke Story. The Fed chairman has, at the very most, two more 50 basis point cuts in him. Come the new year, he will have to watch others take the initiative. - Julian Delasantellis

America and Syria: a political raid, Paul Rogers

That Wealth Spreader
Connect the dots in our cultural history and it all becomes clear: Barack Obama is a communist!

H2 Artık müttefik değiliz

Şanlı Bahadır Koç – ABD Başkanlık Seçimleri ve Türk-Amerikan İlişkilerine Muhtemel Etkileri PDF

Türkiye artık bir Amerikan müttefiki değil

Akan kan dursun

“Türkiye artık Amerika’nın müttefiki değil”

Türkiye süper güç

Şimşek’ten IMF’ye yeşil ışık

Terörle mücadeleye yeni strateji önerileri

USAK’s report suggests controversial solutions to solve terrorism ...

Destruction of Turkish Outpost by PKK Leads to Counterterrorism Reforms Emrullah Uslu

CAN THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT’S PLANS FOR SOLVING THE KURDISH QUESTION WORK?

Brifing haberine yalanlama

Barzani wants to visit Turkey to discuss PKK

PM communicates concerns over border violation

Barzani sends good wishes to Turkey

Sami Kohen Farklı bir Barzani

Ferai Tınç Amerikan seçimleri ve dış politika

Fransa da şikâyetçi: Daha fazla fasıl açmak istiyoruz; ama engelliyorlar

Rejoice! Rejoice! Obama is coming! MUSTAFA AKYOL

İHA'lar kasım sonunda geliyor

Turkey Aims For Iraq Gas

Washington Times Turkey keeps wary eye on US-Iraq peace talks

FT Sabanci prepares for weak Turkish growth

NATO'ya kafa tutan Somalili korsanlar Türk gemisini kaçırdı

Turkish Ship Hijacked Off Somalia; 6 Others Escape

İsrail’den Ankara’ya Ahmedinecad tepkisi

[Haber Yorum - Fehmi Hüveydi] Türkler bizim boşluğumuzu dolduruyor

Dava komik, ‘Ergenekon’ gerçek GrenvIlle Byford

"Türkiye- Irak ilişkileri iyi bir seviyeye ulaştı"

Babacan says government program for EU reforms almost finalized

"Türkiye ile diyalogda sonuç önemli"

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

Gülay Göktürk Özerklik ya da federasyon

Kürt sorunu ile mücadele: Yöntem ne olmalı? İSMET BERKAN

DTP:Federalizm yada etnisiteye dayalı özerkliği savunmuyoruz

Adem Yavuz Arslan Koordinatörlük fare mi doğuracak?

Mehmet Yılmaz 'Barzani ile temas olumlu ama...'

Bülent Korucu DTP'yi halk kapatsın

First Armenian, then Pontian, and now Kurdish genocide? by CENAP ÇAKMAK*

Full implementation of Article 140 may take two more years

DTP'den ‘Öcalan’ mesajı

Terör örgütü PKK'nın amacı DTP'yi kapattırmak

DTP to consider pulling out of Parliament if party is closed

Çatışmalar ne DTP'ye yarar ne AKP'ye

Israel to deliver two UAVs to Turkey in late November

DTP to consider pulling out of Parliament if party is closed

USAK’s report suggests controversial solutions to solve terrorism ...

DTP'den Evren'li Atatürk'lü savunma

Cevdet Aşkın Çatışmalar ne DTP'ye yarar ne AKP'ye

'Terör listesine almak sorunu çözmüyor'

Meclis’in tüm Kürt vekilleri birleşiniz

Diyarbakır MHP’yi gerdi

YASİN DOĞAN

Açık toplumun düşmanları…

Heronlar mükemmel

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

Yüz yıl sonra ilk uyanış: Türkiye kimleri korkuttu?

SALİH TUNA

Kürt sorununu çözmezseniz olmaz mı?

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

Alman şantajı

EurasiaNet ARMENIA: CONTEMPLATING LIFE AS A REGIONAL ELECTRICITY EXPORTER Armenia may have no energy sources of its own, but the country stands potentially poised to become a major exporter of electricity in the South Caucasus and beyond, analysts say.

Turkish-Armenian feud a factor in race

Schröder: AB, Türkiye'nin önemini anladı

EU progress report, the headscarf and press accreditation

Türkiye sosyal, ekonomik siyasi dönüşüm geçirmeli

Verheugen sure Turkey's high growth rate will continue

President Gül encourages ‘new climate’ in Caucasus

Kutlay Erk: AKEL bağnaz bir sol parti

Cyprus minister in Turkey

Övgüden sonra ilk ziyaret

Fransa'dan 29 Ekim jesti

Korsanlar Türk Gemisini Kaçırdı

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

Smyrna -- The Forgotten City

Can Dündar ‘Napolyon’u taklit etmeli’

Searching for the ghosts of İstanbul past

Kemal persuaded to accept award

History of Byzantium at Royal Academy

İş Bankası Kapital'i basıyor, Yapı kredi Hegel konferansı yapıyor

Bizi kimse kullanmasın bazı sırlar olduğu gibi kalsın

H3 Gazetelerde bugün

Perinçek Erdoğan'ı öldürtmek istedi, 1 numara onu engelledi

Peki ’o el’ kime ait

Başbakanlık, Başbuğ'un açılımını doğrulamadı

Ergenekon sanığı, İmralı'da Öcalan'la görüşmüş

Ağar Ağar yalanladı

Emekli İstihbaratçı susurluk çetesinin infaz timini anlattı

Kılıçdaroğlu’nun hedefi yeni

Unakıtan kendini mi affediyor!

Gül'den yeni ABD başkanına mesaj

İşkenceyi önleme toplantısı!

Selanikli olduğuma seviniyorum

İşkencede artış endişe verici

Savcı küfürleri okudu duruşma karıştı!

CHP'den Ergenekon davasına ilk destek: Faili meçhul cinayetler ortaya çıkıyor

CHP Unakıtan’ın peşini bırakmıyor

Ergenekon duruşmasında herkes ayrı telden çalıyor

'Hayal'lerin davaları birleştirildi

CHP'de Önder Sav'ın yetkilerine tırpan

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman GH Türkiye

Birinci Sayfalar Akşam Birgün Bugün Cumhuriyet Dünya Hürriyet Milli Gazete Milliyet Posta Radikal Referans Sabah Star Taraf Tercüman Türkiye Vakit Vatan Yeni Şafak Zaman Arşiv

Video NTV CNNTürk Milliyet

Cengiz Çandar 'Beyaz Kale'nin siyah gururu

Ahmet Taşgetiren Mustafa

Ruşen - Çakır Mutabakat iyi ama...

Taha Akyol Karşı devrim!

Fikret Bila Gül: Hepimiz aynı kazanda kaynamışız

Hasan Cemal Zart zurtçu, 'ümük'çü, milliyetçi havayla seçim kazanılıyor ama...

Murat Yetkin Japon Büyükelçisi: Türkiye IMF ile anlaşmalı, Vaşington son şans

İsmet Berkan Kürt sorunu ile mücadele: Yöntem ne olmalı?

Fehmi Koru Bu ayıpla uzun yola gidilmez

Taha Kıvanç Demek bunu da yapacaklardı...

Şamil Tayyar Savcı Öz’e dokunabilirler mi?

Ali Bayramoğlu Askeri Cumhuriyet…

Yasemin Çongar

Ertuğrul Özkök Azar ekonomisi

Hasan Ünal

Ahmet Hakan Başbuğ’dan açık rica

Hüseyin Gülerce CHP, Ergenekon durağında iktidar bekliyor...

M Ali Birand İstanbul coşkulu, Ankara heyecansızdı

Cüneyt Ülsever

Enis Berberoğlu

Mustafa Ünal MHP'nin Diyarbakır sürprizi

Mümtazer Türköne Başbuğ'un sivil vizyonu

Eser Karakaş Bir brifingin ardından

Mehmet Altan Pestisist

Rıza Türmen Cumhuriyeti seviyorum

TAMER KORKMAZ

'Ağar' Roman

Oktay Ekşi Biz de destekleyelim

Özdemir İnce Liselinin psikolojisi ilahiyatçıya emanet

Mehmet Y Yılmaz İşin sırrını en sonunda çözdüm!

Tufan Türenç Ümüğünü sıktırmamak şimdi mi aklına geldi

Yalçın Doğan Adli tıp fena çuvallıyor

Serdar Akinan
“Düzen” değişirken...

İsmail Küçükkaya
Smokinin Çankaya Köşkü’ne dönüşü

MUHARREM SARIKAYA "Siyasetçinin inandırıcılığı"

ERDAL ŞAFAK IMF ile dans...

ENGİN ARDIÇ Ekşi ekşi saçmalıyor

ERGUN BABAHAN Bıçak kemiğe dayanmış

EMRE AKÖZ Atatürk cahilleri

Umur Talu

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK Ankara, Gökçek ve Karayalçın

MEHMET BARLAS Her Türk "Mustafa"da kendinden bir şeyler buluyordur...

[Yorum - Yard. Doc. Dr. Cemal Fedayi] Ergenekon neden yüzyılın davası?

[Haber Yorum - İhsan Dağı] Her okulda bir cumhuriyet mitingi

MAHMUT ÖVÜR Sağlık Bakanlığı'nda '4x4 tırtıl' kıyaklı ihale

YAVUZ DONAT Deniz Baykal "törenlerde" neden yoktu?

Bitmeyen belalı günler
TÜRKER ALKAN

Hüseyin Üzmez ve Adana Valisi
ORAL ÇALIŞLAR

SP ve ANAP kongreleri
HASAN CELAL GÜZEL

Klinik bir vak’a
HALUK ŞAHİN

Muhatap aramak
MEHMET ALİ KIŞLALI

Sabahattin Önkibar Turkcell'in Atatürk hassasiyeti Yaşar Büyükanıt'ta niye yok?

Ekonomi

Deniz Gökçe
Battı mı yalan dünya?

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu Elini veren kolunu kurtaramıyor

Hurşit Güneş Kriz neoliberalizmi yüzleşmeye sürükledi

Erdal Sağlam

Güngör Uras Başbakan “IMF’ye hayır”, Bakan’ı “Evet” diyor

Mevduata güvence yetkisi hükümete geçti

‘Merkezden’ uzaklaşıyoruz
UĞUR GÜRSES

Ercan İnan Mevduata tam güvence için ilk adımı dün attılar

Dünya Ekonomik Forumu’nun ilk gününden ’durgunluk’ mesajı çıktı

WEF in Turkey tries to diagnose global crisis

IMF anlaşması ne zaman?

Mevduata güvence artıyor

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ

Amerika'nın yeni istila planı

Metin Münir Kriz Türkiye’yi, Türkiye dünyayı teğet geçiyor

Güven Sak ABD Merkez Bankası neden bizi seviyor

Haluk Bürümcekçi Piyasaların başkaldırısı

Onur Kumbaracı IMF ile olmak ya da olmamak?

Aydın Ayaydın KOBİ kredilerine çözüm aranıyor

Coca-Cola CEO: Turkey has a strong tradition of trading and entrepreneurial spirit

Iraqi Ministry Adopts Political Neutrality

H5 Washington Post Intelligence Chief Warns of Risks The next U.S. president will govern in an era of increasing international instability, official says

McCain for President, Part II

By Charles Krauthammer, He is the quintessential center-right candidate for a center-right country.

The Debates Made the Difference

ANALYSIS | They might not have produced much drama, but the debates helped propel Obama.

Robert G. Kaiser

Predicting the Votes of the Undecided Is Unusually Hard This Year

Mufson: A Turn in Energy Fortunes in Russia

Editorial An 'Idiot Wind' John McCain's latest attempt to link Barack Obama to extremism

Referendum on Trickle-Down

By E. J. Dionne Jr., The campaign is concluding on a remarkably substantive argument

Hank Paulson's $125B Mistake

COLUMN | Sprinkling money around the banking system is akin to shoveling sand against the tide

In Tightfisted Turn, Economy Contracts Drop in Spending Is Drag on Growth

Obama Has Lead Among Hispanics

Economic Concerns Boost Democrat

What's the Opposite of 'Mainstream'?

Misreading the Verdict By Michael Gerson, A Democratic victory won't be an embrace of liberalism or a rejection of Palin.

Northern Star Rising By Eugene Robinson I predict we'll have Sarah Palin to kick around for a long, long time

The Final Hours By Kathleen Parker,

What can undecided voters possibly be waiting for at this point?

White House Makes a Last Push to Deregulate Wide array of federal regulations to be enacted before President Bush leaves office would weaken environmental and consumer protections.

Medvedev Replaces Disliked Governor Putin Ally Unable To Quell Insurgency In Southern Region

Islamic Banking: Steady in Shaky Times Principles Based on Religious Law Insulate Industry From Worst of Financial Crisis

H6 Guardian Back to the future in the Caspian corridor Simon Tisdall: Russia's attempts to re-establish its Soviet-era spheres of influence seem to have caught the US on the hop

An abuse of power James Denselow: The American raid into Syria has damaged its relationship with the Iraqi government

The Bush gang's parting gift: a final, frantic looting of public wealth Naomi Klein: The US bail-out amounts to a strings-free, public-funded windfall for big business. Welcome to no-risk capitalism

The moment for McCain Reihan Salam: He might not have had a great campaign, but still the Republican is the best man to unite America

McCain team claims Obama's lead is narrowing Republican team 'still fighting' as presidential hopefuls embark on final multi-state campaign blitz

All this inner racist demon stuff is wildly overblown Martin Kettle: Despite Europe's condescension, this isn't at core a vote about colour

Smith orders MI5 and CIA inquiry

Exclusive: Attorney general could investigate treatment of British resident in Guantanamo Bay

McCain's last stand in Defiance

Republican chooses Ohio to launch his final offensive - with Joe the Plumber strangely absent

Tomasky talk: Sarah Palin's future

The various interpretations of Sarah Palin's 'I'm not doing this for naught' comment

Suicide bomber attacks key ministry in Kabul Foreign advisers targeted in assault on high-security site only yards from presidential palace

Suffering without end Editorial: The 17,000-strong UN force, known as Monuc, has patently failed to protect civilian lives

Greenspan should go Phillip Inman: The former chief of the Federal Reserve is now making money from his own mistakes

Paying the price for cheap oil

Robert Bryce: Falling oil prices may seem good to anyone suffering from the economic crisis. But it will actually hurt our long-term interests

McCain's true believers Jay Mukoro: Meet the rural Ohioans who are sure John McCain is the right man to be president. But are there enough of them to win?

It is wrong to sound alarms about a 'Bosnian powder keg' Response: Defending the existence of Republika Srpska is not an extreme nationalist position, says Gordan Milosevic

H7 Middle East Challenges for Next President –

The Tao of the Arab Center

by Paul R. Pillar
The Bush administration may have gotten a lot wrong, but there is still hope for America’s policy in the Middle East. Three books shed some light on how the United States can get over Iraq, focus on the Arab center and bring a revitalized strategy of reform to a beleaguered region.

Expanding War, Contracting Meaning by Andrew J. Bacevich and Tom Engelhardt

Analysis: Bush Foreign-Policy Goals Largely Unmet

Bush's Booby Traps for Obama By: Rosa Brooks | Los Angeles Times Ever since Joe Biden suggested that the world would "test" Barack Obama if he becomes president, the McCain campaign has been hoping to make political hay out of the remark. "We don't want a president who invites testing from the world," John McCain warned voters.

The American Leader That the International Community Needs By: Chris Patten | The Daily Star
America's soft power, and a lesson in democracy from the world's only superpower.

Lebanon's Enemy Within - Michael J. Totten (Commentary)

US Needs to Update Nuclear Arsenal - Robert Gates, Carnegie Endowment

Can Condi Rice Emancipate Herself? - Marc Hujer, Der Spiegel

Syria and Bush's Last Gasp Abroad - Michael Jansen, Jordan Times

Who Rules Iran? By: Akbar Ganji | Foreign Affairs
The real decision-maker in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei not President Ahmedinejad. Blaming Iran's problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran's problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.

Iraq Stands Firm Against U.S. Threat By: Gareth Porter | Asia Times The threat by the George W Bush administration to withdraw all economic and military support from the Iraqi government if it does not ratify a pact to regulate the US presence in the country has fallen on deaf ears.

The Test This Time By: Donald Lambro | The Washington Times
Joe Biden uttered a rare bit of campaign candor the other day when he told us what we should expect in the first six months of Barack Obama's presidency: an international crisis.

Fork in the Road By: Clifford D. May | National Review
The West is engaged in a conflict as consequential as those that were fought against Nazism and Communism.

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

UN Intel Claims Iran Plans Secret Nuclear Experiments

Syrian Leader Makes Strategic Decision to Turn the Other Cheek –

US: Iraqi Politics Stalling Security Pact

Iraq Opposes Any Clause Letting US Stay After 2011

Iran Leader Signals Not Time for Thaw in U.S. Ties

W. House Dismisses Doubts as Iraq Talks Falter

Syrians stage mass anti-US rally Thousands of people hold a peaceful protest in Damascus against an alleged US raid that Syria says killed eight.

Army: Syria to Deploy More Troops at Lebanese Border

Iran Building Naval Bases Up to Strait of Hormuz

H9 Ha’aretz – Poll: Absentee voters in Israel back McCain over Obama by 3-1

UN watchdog: Iran holding secret tests to advance nuclear program Iran recently tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium from waste reactor fuel, says IAEA member

Official: Olmert intends to resume indirect talks with Syria Danish FM: Assad willing to conduct direct negotiations if Israel accepts Syrian preconditions

Report: Syria cuts diplomatic ties with Iraq over U.S. raid Syria has also decided to reduce its troops on the border with Iraq, Syrian TV reports

Jerusalem Post 'Iran weighing secret nuclear work' Intelligence provided by IAEA state shows Teheran tested ways of recovering highly enriched uranium.

Syrian haven for killers, then and now US response to Syria's shelter policy - of Nazis or Qaida - is ambivalent.

Ironies of Israeli-Palestinian relations [ LOUIS RENÉ BERES,

Was Bush wrong about everything?

[ JONATHAN TOBIN

Obama Will Keep Israel Safe and Strong - Stuart Eizenstat, Jerusalem Post

Yedioth Ahronoth No compromise with Iran

Israel must take stand against evil instead of counting on America or UN, Robert Onley says

US will continue to lead/ Ofir Haivry Despite financial crisis, no state currently able to match American dominance

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

“Anti-Semitism has no fixed pattern. It’s like a virus that changes,” says Bernard-Henri Lévy. It is forever trying to tie itself to more acceptable beliefs... more»

Rice plans late visit to Mid-East
Condoleezza Rice announces plans to visit the Middle East in a bid to advance peace talks before US President Bush leaves office.

The Economist Israel Into the electoral maze

Elections in Israel

Tzipi or Bibi?

Syria A puzzling raid

H10 Christian Science MonitorFinancial crisis, Part 2

Developing countries need urgent help. The IMF is acting quickly, but it needs help, too

China acts to stem the tide of officials fleeing with cash As many as 10,000 corrupt government officials have fled China with $100 billion.

The duty of American Muslims this election Forget self-pity. Make your voice a constructive one.

Insurgents increasingly employing complex attacks in Afghanistan

Thursday's strike on an Afghan ministry was carried out by a team using multiple attack methods.

Quake aid for Pakistan's neglected

The government's disaster relief in Balochistan comes amid ongoing efforts to reach out to the troubled province.

ASIA

India and the Next US President - Siddharth Varadarajan, The Hindu

Elections Stirs Yearnings, Warnings in China By: Chris O'Brien | The Washington Times
The history-making U.S. presidential campaign is sparking an unusual debate in China about the relative merits of democracy versus one-party rule.

Double Standard on Global Crisis By: Ramzy Baroud | The Japan Times Like China's capitalism operating under communist symbols, the U.S., Britain and others are becoming increasingly socialist under capitalist symbols. Of course, it's not socialism for the downtrodden, but corporate welfare in its most stark manifestations

More Shocks for Shattered Pakistan By: Syed Saleem Shahzad | Asia Times Pakistan, reeling from a devastating earthquake, has just days to secure loans to save its economy. At the same time, United States General David Petraeus, on the very day he takes over at the helm at Central Command on Friday, will press Islamabad to step up its fight on militancy

New tack with the Taliban

The meeting this week between Afghan, Pakistan, and Taliban political and tribal leaders may be a good sign that relationships are thawing along the world's most conflict-ridden border. (Boston Globe)

Afghan Insurgents Employing Complex Attacks

Think Tank: Afghan Famine Greater Risk Than Taliban

H11 IHT James Carroll: Our future with Russia What the world needs now is an unprecedented strategic partnership between Moscow and Washington, bridging Europe and Asia, north and south, as the ground of political and economic renewal.

The paradox of an unattractive Russia By SLAWOMIR DEBSKI

Russia's problem is that it can't attract anyone by peaceful means because it has little to offer.

Politics and peace By YOSSI ALPHER Israelis traditionally punish prime ministers who are not on good terms with Washington

Car bomb in Spain injures at least 17

By DALE FUCHS The bomb exploded in a parking lot at the University of Navarra at 11 a.m., according to the Interior Ministry in Madrid.

Sarkozy boldly attacks financial crisis, but Europe wants results

Initially praised for his leadership and quick response to the crisis, the French president is facing increasing pressure as the European recession gathers pace.

New worries grip Russian economy

Russian cash reserves have fallen to $484 billion, from a peak of just under $600 billion, putting the success of the economy in doubt.

EUROPE European press review

A review of books on EU-rope’s constitutionalization

The Economist Germany's foreign policy The Berlin stonewall

Charlemagne Europe's baleful bail-outs

Italy Helped 'Save' Gaddafi by Warning of US Air Raid

Prominent German Politician Questions EU’s Ties with Moscow
In an October 30 interview with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Eckart von Klaeden, the foreign policy spokesman of Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), criticized the European Union’s policy toward Russia as too weak and based on "wishful thinking and illusions."

Xenophobia on the Continent

by Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike
Anti-Semitism is on the march in Europe. But the European’s new turn toward isolationism goes even further than that. With negative views of Jews rooted in a rising tide of xenophobia based on a growing dislike for globalization, immigration and Muslims, this is a problem not to be ignored.

H12 RFE/RL

Georgia: What Motivated President Saakashvili to Rotate Prime Ministers?
BY GIORGI LOMSADZE
Two days after the surprise announcement of a new Georgian prime minister, local analysts are still having trouble explaining the change. Meanwhile, the opposition, headlined by ex-Parliamentary Secretary Nino Burjanadze, says the appointment will do little to foster stability

Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili has been a key player on issues ranging from Tbilisi's NATO bid to its conflict with Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL correspondent Brian Whitmore, Tkeshelashvili discusses her country's future after the war with Russia, and how Georgia plans to get Abkhazia and South Ossetia back

EDM GEORGIAN OFFICIALS ADMIT THEY MISREAD RUSSIAN INTENTIONS

- RUSSIA, CHINA ESTABLISH STRONGER ECONOMIC TIES

"Who's Who in the Azerbaijani Opposition"

Google News Azerbaijan

The Kashagan Field: A Test Case for Kazakhstan's Governance of its Oil and Gas Sectors IFRI A 51-page French study focusing on the factors behind Kazakhstan's decision to renegotiate the terms of the existing production-sharing agreements with international oil companies

Paradox of an Unattractive Russia - Slawomir Debski, Int'l Herald Tribune

Peeved But Not Protesting By: Boris Kagarlitsky | The Moscow Times
When there is a financial crisis in any country, it is usually bad for the ruling party but good for the opposition. In this regard, Russia's crisis promises to become an economic disaster on a grand scale. True, it hasn't peaked yet, but we don't have long to wait.

The Looming Depression By: Alexei Bayer | The Moscow Times
The Kremlin still frowns on the use of the word "crisis" to describe Russia's financial markets. But no such taboo exists in the United States. As the election campaign enters its final days, Democratic front-runner Barack Obama appears to understand the seriousness of the situation

Ukraine Reaches for IMF Rescue Loan By: Sabrina Tavernise | The New York Times Ukraine’s Parliament put aside weeks of political infighting on Wednesday to give initial approval for legislation that would secure an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to help ease the country’s ailing finances.

Russia Pushes an 'OPEC' for Natural Gas Nations By: Fred Weir | The Christian Science Monitor
The nations with the world's three biggest reserves of natural gas – Russia, Iran, and Qatar – are quietly moving ahead to form a "gas OPEC," an organization modeled after the oil cartel

Leader of Troubled Southern Russian Republic Quits

H13 The Times US isn't about to become liberal heaven Yes, Americans will be voting for Obama and change. But they don't want radicalism Gerard Baker

Religion remains fundamental to US politics A passion for conservative values has united diverse Christian groups, giving them influence way beyond their numbers Susan Jacoby

The Impact of Energy The collapse in oil prices since the summer is a mixed gain for the global economy

Swinging polls raise doubt over Democrat lead McCain still insists election is too close to call, as Obama campaign deploys battery of firepower in key states

US Presidents ranked - and look who's not even made the top 10

Obama lays plans to deaden expectation after win One senior adviser told The Times the message was needed to prevent a swing 'from exhilaration to despair'

Wall Street Journal Obama and the Runaway Train By Peggy Noonan Declarations: The race, the case, a hope for grace.

Iraq Wants Guarantee of U.S. Departure Iraq wants to remove any possibility that U.S. troops could remain after 2011 from a proposed security agreement now under negotiation

Frederick W. Kagan: Security Should Be the Deciding Issue

Don't Just Do Something. Stand There. By Russell Roberts
Policy makers are bound to get hasty economic decisions wrong

IMF Creates $100 Million Fund to Aid Crisis Fight By: Bob David, Marcus Walker and John Lyons | The Wall Street Journal
The International Monetary Fund will offer as much as $100 billion in a new kind of loan to countries that are battered by the financial crisis, making available new cash to help ease the world credit crisis.

McCain Pins Hopes on Party Faithful in Ohio With McCain trailing in the polls in Ohio, Republicans are pinning their hopes on a vigorous get-out-the-vote effort in the final days before the election.

Geopolitical Diary: Third Quarter GDP in Geopolitical Perspective

From Eureka Street, an article on Joseph Stiglitz, the chuckling economist (and more).

H14 Financial Times Blame the party, not the campaign The idiotic neocons, culture warriors and talk-radio crowd must share responsibility. And do not forget the silly free-marketers now lining up to apologise for failed economic policy. But it was the Republican icons who created John McCain’s predicament, writes James Carville

Amid the turmoil, do not forget the poor Rich nations must not use the crisis as a pretext for abandoning developing nations, write Kofi Annan, Michel Camdessus and Robert Rubin

Questions for nations left out of magic circle Concerns were raised over moves by the Federal Reserve and International Monetary Fund to make dollars available quickly and without conditions to a select group of emerging markets

Crisis-hit Russia must scale down its ambition The idea that Moscow can use its energy resources to boost its world power without regard to anyone else has been destroyed, writes Robert Skidelsky. It is an emerging nation

Demise of Reaganomics poses grave intellectual challenge to Republicans

Winner will face Washington conundrum Given the many examples of presidents coming to Washington promising a new broom only to find the existing one more useful, both John McCain and Barack Obama face strong scepticism about whether they will follow through

Consumer data raise recession fears in US Fears the US has moved into recession gathered pace as data showed that a sharp cutback in consumer spending in the third quarter drove the economy to shrink at an annualised rate of 0.3 per cent, its weakest performance in seven years

Obama sticks to economic message

Buoyed by a half-hour, prime time advertisement and an endorsement from Bill Clinton that “Obama is the man”, Barack Obama embarked on the final stretch of the campaign with appearances scheduled in eight key states

Why Detroit is not Wall Street

Creating a welfare system that is fair and sustainable for all involved would provide far better value for money than bailing out the car industry

Persuading banks to lend again

The government should leave drastic plans on the shelf for now and remind banks that, should persuasion fail, public outrage will ensure that those plans gather no dust

Crisis saps European confidence

Economic confidence in the European Union saw its biggest fall to date this month and the global bank crisis has generated the bleakest outlook since the early 1990s, according to a closely-watched survey

US closes Syria embassy for a day

The US closed its embassy in Syria for a day, to avoid trouble during an anti-US demonstration amid increased tensions between Washington and Damascus after a US raid on its territory

Only certainty is that something will go wrong With thousands of different ballots for contests ranging from the county level to the presidential race, mishaps, uncounted votes and electoral irregularities are inevitable

Bank of Japan cuts interest rates

The Bank of Japan cut interest rates for the first time in seven years, lowering its key rate to 0.30% from 0.50% amid rising concerns about Japan’s growth outlook

German unemployment falls below 3m Unemployment in Germany fell under the 3m mark this month, the first time it has done so in 16 years, though the government’s labour market experts warned it would begin to rise again by the middle of next year as the economy slows

H15 Los Angeles Times What's up with still-undecided voters?

In Florida and Ohio, those who haven't made up their minds could tip the election. Interviews indicate they're earnest and deliberative about the monumental decision ahead.

Obama's remarks on China are rhetoric, some say His letter to a textiles group raises a few eyebrows among analysts, but they note that China has been largely ignored in the election thus far

IRAN: No Afghan peace without Tehran, former Reagan administration ...

U.S. airstrike killed key Al Qaeda figure in Pakistan, officials say

U.S. anti-terrorism forces appear to be targeting second-tier leaders who run the network's day-to-day operations

Economic data point to the start of a recession

U.S. airstrike killed key Al Qaeda figure in Pakistan, official says

Editorial

Somalia's pirate problem grows more rampant For many Somalis on the coast, piracy is the only way to earn a living in a country without a functioning government and faced with soaring inflation, civil war and rising malnutrition

H16 American Politics

WaPo-ABC Tracking: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do — Sen. John McCain has made no evident headway in separating himself from President Bush in the final days of the campaign, and that connection continues to be a drag on his candidacy

Obama Will Keep Israel Safe and Strong - Stuart Eizenstat, Jerusalem Post

Growing Doubts on Palin Take a Toll, Poll Finds — A growing number of voters have concluded that Senator John McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, is not qualified to be vice president, weighing down the Republican ticket in the last days of the campaign, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The Economist Age and America's election Age shall not wither them

The youth vote Their poster boy

Lexington Two cheers for American democracy

Win or Lose, Republicans Will Revisit the Party’s Image

Infomercial for Obama Is Big Success in Ratings

Reflections from the Right

by Jacob Heilbrunn The conservative movement is cracking up—just look at three memoirs of former administration officials. These new books may engage in justification and self-aggrandizement, but they do prescribe salves for fixing the conservative experiment.

realclearpolitics memeorandum Politico ABC’s The Note – MSNBC FirstRead – Time ThePage Politico Playbook

PoliticsHome fivethirtyeight US News Political Bulletin Early Bird GovExec

Qaeda wants Republicans, Bush “humiliated”: Web video

McCain could still win — if everything broke his way

Rahm Emanuel: Obama's chief of staff?

Poll finds 23% of Texans think Obama is Muslim

Martin Kramer / Sandbox:
Khalidi of the PLO — Was Rashid Khalidi a PLO “spokesman” …

Michael Barone / US News:
Election Prediction: Democrats Won't Get a Filibuster-Proof Senate

Matthew Yglesias reviews The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule by Thomas Frank.

Is the Southern Strategy dead? Harold Meyerson investigates

A Fateful Election: What's at Stake by Russell Baker, David Bromwich, Mark Danner, Andrew Delbanco, Joan Didion, Ronald Dworkin, Frances Fitzgerald, Timothy Garton Ash, Paul Krugman, Joseph Lelyveld, Darryl Pinckney, Thomas Powers, Michael Tomasky, and Garry Wills

H17 Daily Telegraph Britain needs a plan for Afghanistan

John Hutton, the new Defence Secretary, is right to concentrate on defeating the Taliban insurgency, says Con Coughlin.

Credit crunch slashes Conservative poll lead The Tory poll lead over Labour has fallen from 24 points to single figures in five months, a poll for The Daily Telegraph shows

H18 Independent

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Populace-Centric Engagement
A Positive Change of Strategic Perspective for Winning the Long War
by Colonel Robert C. Jones, Small Wars Journal Populace-Centric Engagement (Full PDF Article)

Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 2000-2007

CRS An 80-page (annual) rport on arms sales to developing countries by the US and other nations

Intelligence Head Says Next President Faces Volatile Era

CIA Officers Could Face Trial in Britain Over Torture Allegations

H20 Slate John Dickerson / Slate:

The McCain campaign is unusually upbeat. Does it have reason to be?

H21 Love and hate: the same brain circuitry is used in both extreme emotions – except that hate retains at least a semblance of rationality... more»

Frankenstein. A late Faust myth, or an early mad scientist story? Proletariat running amok, or the id on the rampage? Maybe the perils a man trying to have a baby without a woman... more»

Hollywood’s own judgments on its movies have been self-regarding and boneheaded, as those of academics have been faddish. Then there is David Thompson... more»

Trapped in the New 'You're on Your Own' World By Robert M. Solow
When the Bush-Cheney administration proposed to replace Social Security with a system of individually accumulated, individually owned, and individually invested accounts, my first thought was that its goal was to take the Social out of Social Security. It took a few minutes longer to realize that it also intended to take the Security out of Social Security.

The Lessons of the Master
By Ian Buruma
On The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French.

'As Good as Great Poetry Gets' By Daniel Mendelsohn
"Outside his poems Cavafy does not exist." Seventy-five years after the death of "the Alexandrian" (as he is known in Greece), the early verdict of his fellow poet George Seferis—which must have seemed rather harsh in 1946, when the Constantine Cavafy who had existed in flesh and blood was still a living memory for many people—seems only to gain in validity.

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