111808f - 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 Helena Cobban “The the text of the agreement the US and Iraqi governments reached agreement on over the weekend, as published by Al-Sabah in Baghdad. Raed Jarrar sends us to this English-language translation of the whole Sabah text, which I've also uploaded here.)”

New York Times Iraqi and American Critics of Security Pact Speak Up

Financial Times Is Obama a Middle East ‘splitter’? Would-be Middle East peacemakers can be categorised as ‘lumpers’ seeking a ‘comprehensive peace settlement’ that links together all the problems in the region, or ‘splitters’ who want to deal with all the problems separately, writes Gideon Rachman

Rand Lessons from Six Decades of Research on Deterrence, From Cold War to Long War

FT US and Iraq sign troop withdrawal pact The US and Iraq signed a landmark security pact that paves the way for Barack Obama, the president-elect, to follow through on his campaign promise to end the Iraq war

Stratfor Geopolitical Diary: SOFA and Iranian Options Public praise from the head of Iran's judiciary for the U.S.-Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement leads to questions about the current state of U.S.-Iranian relations

Cobban Some Iranian support for the US-Iraq SOFA: Why? (0)

• 'Military Operations Against Iran: The Iranian Perspective' by Ephraim Kam, Institute for National Security Studies, Israel

Guardian Clinton to accept Obama's job offer President-elect reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration

In praise of... Cem Ozdemir

Editorial: Obama's election has triggered much soul-searching about whether a minority ethnic candidate could ever win in Europe

Soft power is on the up. But it can always be outmuscled Paul Kennedy: Despite the breath of fresh air Obama brings, the reality remains: great nations rely on economic and military might

Can the centre hold? Robert Fox: With a timetable now set for a US pullout, everything rides on whether the Iraqi military can keep control. The stakes are high

CBS News: Obama On Economic Crisis, Transition

Report Faults All Parties in War in Georgia

• 'Fix This Middle Eastern Mess' by Glenn Kessler, The Washington Quarterly

• 'Did Iran Offer a 'Grand Bargain' in 2003?' by Steven J. Rosen, American Thinker

Wall Street Journal Iraq 'Fails' Upward

A Way Out in the Caucasus

STATE OF THE UNION
By Alexander Cooley and Borut Grgic An international trusteeship for Abkhazia could solve the Russo-Georgian conflict.

Mr. Obama, Give That Man a Medal By William McGurn
Stephen Hadley offered the option of victory in Iraq.

Pentagon Wary of Fast Iraq Withdrawal Obama is facing an early confrontation with the Pentagon over the hot-button issue of how fast to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.

Russia Out of Rehab

Europe puts Russia's invasion of Georgia behind it.

The Global Grand Bargain - Foreign Policy For U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, there is only one way to address the many problems that await him: Go large.

Obama Dips Into Think Tank For Talent - Yochi Dreazen, Wall Street Journal

Le Monde Irak : cinq ans après

Asia Times US again misfires on Iranian arms
For more than 18 months, the United States has scrambled to link Iran to covert arms assistance to Iraq's Shi'ite militias. But a US military task force has now found that Iranian-made weapons are less than 1% of the total weapons found in Shi'ite caches, suggesting that weapons are arriving from local and international arms markets rather than an Iran-sponsored smuggling network. - Gareth Porter

Newsweek China: The World's Most Stressful Society

Ha’aretz – Top Obama Aide Denies Report on Backing Arab Peace Plan

MI Chief: U.S. can halt Iran nukes via dialogueYadlin: Talks between U.S., Iran not appeasement; unlikely that war will be launched against Israel this year

Time When Will Obama Give Up the Bin Laden Ghost Hunt?

Rumored National Security Adviser, General Jones, harshly critical of Israel by Steven J. Rosen

H2

Laura Rozen From Kurdistan to K Street: Inside Washington's covert foreign policy apparatus, middlemen like Shlomi Michaels are key -

GMFUS "Committed to Change, or Changing Commitments" written by Soli Ozel

Bu maddeye dikkat!

Sınırötesinde artık muhatap Talabani

Turkey's diplomatic offensive: no time for second thoughts
Daily Star

Turkey to ask permission of Baghdad for possible air operations

Turkey frets over untimely US pullout

Obama, Cumhurbaşkanı Gül'ü aradı

Kozumuz İncirlik

Güzergâh Türkiye mi

Irak-ABD anlaşması Türkiye’yi nasıl etkiler?

Iran says won't hinder Turkish mediation with US

Turkey, Exxon to sign Black Sea oil deal Weds-TPAO

Iran Open to Turkish Mediation With Obama

Guardian In praise of... Cem Ozdemir Editorial: Obama's election has triggered much soul-searching about whether a minority ethnic candidate could ever win in Europe

ERDOGAN VISITS THE UNITED STATES: ECONOMY AND RELATIONS WITH OBAMA ... Eurasia Daily Monitor

Turkish Joblessness Rises, Consumer Optimism Falls

A 'grand bargain' might unlock Kirkuk
Daily Star

Milli Savunma’ya 2009’da 14 milyar 532 milyonluk bütçe

Maliki Erdoğan'a mesaj gönderiyor

İnsansız uçaklar Türkiye 24 saat havada kalabilen insansız hava araçlarını artık kendisi imal edecek.

Türkiye ile İran arasında doğalgaz anlaşması

Indian ambassador: Turkey sits at center of regional energy routes

Dipçiksiz JANDARMA -

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

Looking through Iraq glass darkly

Güzergâh Türkiye mi

MELİHA OKUR
Ekonomik kriz Barzani'yi zora soktu!

Sami Kohen Irak’tan çıkış yolu (nihayet) göründü

'Erdoğan arabulucu olsun'

Erhan Başyurt Kürtler “dört duvar” arasında

İhsan Dağı Abant ruhu çözer...

Independent The man who heals deadly Kurdish feuds

Tahran’dan yeşil ışık

PKK sivil itaatsizlik eylemleri yaptırıyor

Cevdet Aşkın

Öcalan, komisyonu ortadan ikiye böldü

Kurdish Azarbaijan

Input Paper #2: Turkey

KURDISH WAR: The Arrangement

Uzmanlar ABD-Irak anlaşması uyarısı yaptı

DTP'de 'çok eşliler' aday olamayacak

DTP, yüzde 40 'cinsiyet kotası' istedi

Savaş Süzal Obama acaba Kürt mü?

İBRAHİM KARAGÜL

Korsanlara karşı Türk askeri mi gidecek!

Apo'dan akıl almaz tuzak

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

Hasan Ünal AB ‘Kusura bakmayın olmuyor’ demez

Nalbandyan 24 Kasım'da İstanbul'da

Gemilere müdahale NATO'nun işi değil

Halit Kakınç
Makarios’un Gölgesi

KÜRŞAT BUMİN

Cem Özdemir 'Yeşillerin Obama'sı' mı?

AB, Türkiye’den korkuyor çünkü büyük ve güçlü

Zülfü Livaneli Başkan Cem Özdemir

Türk-Ermeni açılımının '24 Nisan' testi

Eniştenin Obama rozeti Türkiye için iyi haber

Washington'da Türk eseri

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

Found: An Ancient Monument to the Soul

Gönül: Sırtta taşınan hava aracı üreteceğiz

Fikret Ertan İsrail'in DRONE'ları...

Mustafa Kemal'in yanındaki ‘Mehdi’

"Tanık Koruma"nın başına Uzuner getirildi

H3

Gazetelerde Bugün

Doğan'a rafineri izni çıktı

AKP’nin milliyetçiliği Çiller’den tehlikeli

POAR'a Ceyhan için rafineri sinyali

Yeşil'e otopsiyi ben yaptım

ASAM Başkanvekili istifa etti

AKP’den Ertürk’e: Ya sev, ya terk et

207 bin işsiz daha

‘İhmal edilmişlerdi, bize güç katacaklar’

İşte Hizbullahçı Dışişleri şoförü

Ne SHP ne CHP, Ankaralı Murat'ım ben

Hizbullah, Levent Ersöz'ün görev yerini 'saadet bölgesi' ilan etmi

Muzaffer Tekin, çapraz sorguya alınacak

CHP’den CEO başkan adayı

Dipçiksiz JANDARMA -

Dışişleri'nde bir Hizbullahçı!

Seçimden seçime

Kilit isim çapraz sorguda

Alevi taleplerine yakınız

Son dalga rektör aldı

Biz mutaassıp aileyiz Bu fotoğrafa kızdılar

Mehmet Gürhan'ın basın kartı iptal edildi

Ergenekoncular birbirine girdi

Silivri Cezaevi’nin mecburi komşuları

Şişli'deki mahkemeden tuhaf Ergenekon yorumu

'Okyanus'ta üçüncü dalga: Rektör ihale çetesini yönetmekle suçlanıyor

Yıldırım’la hiç tanışmadı

Glock'la yakalanan zanlılar: JİTEM'ciyiz

Solda ittifak yok, CHP Karayalçın'ı absorbe etti

İki general ‘laf olsun’ diye ziyaret edildi

CHP'li Özyürek: Suç işleyen, rütbesi ne olursa olsun cezalandırılmalı

Soylu, yönetimdeki muhalifleri tasfiye etti

Ne yemekmiş

Ratingde görünmez el gece listeyi belirliyor

Uzmanlar: 2-B hazırlığı örtülü af olur

Engin Çeber’in ölümünde 60 kişi şüpheli

Başbakan’ı değil, artık gizli tanıkları koruyacak

Aleviler tehlikenin farkında mı?

Victoria ödülü Doğan'a Doğal Holding Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Aydın Doğan'a Altın Victoria Ödülü verildi.

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 'Taraf'lı, 'Taraf'sız

Ahmet Taşgetiren Nükleer tavır yanlış mı? Değiştirilmezlik tabusu

Ruşen - Çakır

Taha Akyol Türban CHP’ye de girdi!

Fikret Bila Baykal: Örtülü kadınlar zincirlerini kırıyorlar

Hasan Cemal Kriz derinleşirken ekonomik gerçekler, siyasal gerçeğin önüne geçmeli!

Murat Yetkin Ülker, ASAM’dan desteğini çekti, faaliyet durdu

MUHARREM SARIKAYA Kriz "düşünceyi" de vurdu...

İsmet Berkan Yüzde 50 + 20

Fehmi Koru CHP ve çarşaflı kadınlar

Taha Kıvanç Bir roman kahramanı

Şamil Tayyar

Ali Bayramoğlu

Yasemin Çongar

Sabahattin Önkibar Başı örtülüye CHP rozetini takan Deniz Baykal'ı alkışlayalım!

Şahin Alpay AKP iktidarı sonun başlangıcında mı?

Mümtazer Türköne Sandık görününce

Ertuğrul Özkök O gün Kayseri'de ne demişti

Hasan Ünal AB ‘Kusura bakmayın olmuyor’ demez

Berat Özipek Statükoya oynamak kazandırmayacak

Bilal Çetin IMF ve uçak hikayesi

Ahmet Hakan Haddim olmayarak meydan okuyorum

M Ali Birand TRT para kazanacak diye dev bir proje batıyor

Cüneyt Ülsever Şuradan buradan

Enis Berberoğlu Yeni kulvara girdik

Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu Accreditation practices threaten basic rights

Sami Selçuk Vicdani kanı yargısını oluşturma tekeli, duruşma yargıcınındır

Mahir Kaynak Üçüncü hamle

Oktay Ekşi İsterseniz sevinin

Özdemir İnce Neoliberalizm ve özgürlük eşitlik, kardeşlik

Mehmet Y Yılmaz Dedikodu dolaylı yoldan doğrulandı

[Yorum - Bejan Matur] Aleviler ve provokasyon

[Yorum - Dr. Salih Yücel] Gülen Konferansı'ndan notlar

Oray Eğin Romantik bir Taraf kavgası

Can Dündar Şişedeki cinler

Derya Sazak Danıştay soruları

Serdar Turgut Krizle mücadele

ERDAL ŞAFAK Bisiklet yarışçısı

Selçuk Gültaşlı Vecdi Gönül and the faint-hearted republic

‘Cinsiyet uçurumu’ raporu

NURAY MERT

Medyanın laf cımbızlama merakı

HASAN CELAL GÜZEL

‘Devletçi dil’ ve Adalet Bakanı...

ORAL ÇALIŞLAR

Memhmet Altan İtalya’nın Vecdi Gönül’ü

Mustafa Karaalioğlu Hangisini çözebildik ki bunu çözelim!

ENGİN ARDIÇ

ERGUN BABAHAN Adalet Bakanı ve yine 301

EMRE AKÖZ 'Eskiden yaptık yine yaparız'

Umur Talu Esasta küstahlık!

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK

Okay Gönensin Seçenek yokluğu

Bülent Korucu Ergenekon sulanmadı, katılaştıralım!

MEHMET BARLAS Dünyada yönetilmesi en zor ülke Türkiye mi?

MAHMUT ÖVÜR CHP'de yerel seçim paradoksu

YAVUZ DONAT

Nuray Başaran Delilden sanığa dönemi

HAKAN ALBAYRAK

Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa elbisesi "Ergenekon"a bol gelir

Ekonomi

Çanlar Türkiye ekonomisi için çalıyor

İşten çıkarmalar başladı, arkası çorap söküğü gibi gelebilir!

Korkutan rakamlar

Asaf Savaş AKAT IMF ile anlaşma

Ali Ağaoğlu “Finansal Birleşmiş Milletlere” doğru!

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu IMF ile anlaşacaksak

Erdal Sağlam IMF, bu bütçeye imza atmaz

Seyfettin Gürsel İşsizlik patlıyor

Güven Sak G-20 Zirvesi'nin açtığı fırsat alanı kullanılmalıdır

Ergin Yıldızoğlu|Dünya Ekonomisine Bakış

Haluk Bürümcekçi Özel sektör geçmiş krizlerde başardı neden tekrarlanmasın

Yiğit Bulut IMF kapısında “el açanlar” yeni olamazlar!

Turkish Joblessness Rises, Consumer Optimism Falls

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ

“Sen kimsin?”

Güngör Uras Bankalardaki yabancı payları ucuzladı

Eyüp Can S&P Türkiye'yi neden öptü?

Yaman Törüner ‘İkinci Dünya Buhranı’

Melih Aşık IMF kapısında!

Serpil Yılmaz Türk Telekom’da işte üç ortak! Hariri, Doany ve Yıldırım

Alay eder gibi

MAHFİ EĞİLMEZ

Krize karşı paket...

KORKMAZ İLKORUR

Report Faults All Parties in War in Georgia

H5 Washington Post Secretary of State Clinton? Planet War | If the rumors are true, is Hillary the best choice for the job? We say no. What's your view?

Editorial Welcome to Town The Obamas talk sense on the transition, an auto bailout -- and becoming part of their new neighborhood.

Richard Cohen -- FDR as a Model for Obama Barack Obama's model to emulate should be more Franklin D. Roosevelt, less Abraham Lincoln.

Eugene Robinson - After Guantanamo The election and economy make it easy to forget about the torture that defined the Bush presidency.

E.J. Dionne Jr. -- Which GOP Will Obama Face? Ideological conservatives would make life hard for Obama. The new moderates pose a threat longer term.

Barometer: New World and Financial Orders

'Change' Candidate Obama Enlists Hill Veterans for West Wing

'Change' Candidate Nods to Experience

In Transition The West Wing

Washington Broker The Evolution of Hank Paulson A Conversion in 'This Storm'

Bush Speaks With Libya's Gaddafi in Historic Phone Call

Taliban Rejects Afghan President's Offer of Peace Talks

Report on Threat From Nuclear Bombs Cites Urgent Need for Global Security Yearly Study Offers Agenda for New Administration

A Full Mall for Inauguration?

Officials are preparing for as many as 4 million people when Barack Obama takes oath of office.

Potential Obama Appointees Face Extensive Vetting

Americans, Europeans Share Immigration Worries

Martin Feldstein - Why Detroit Needs Chapter 11 The Big Three would burn through bailout money and soon be back for more.

Obama and McCain Vow to Work Together for Reform In Show of Bipartisanship, Pair Focus on Areas of Accord

Calling the Empire With a tough election looming, Hugo Chávez grabs for Barack Obama's coattails.

Administration Protects Bush Appointees by Converting Positions to Career Civil Service Jobs

Political Positions Shifted To Career Civil Service Jobs

Israel's Olmert Vows to Set Free 250 Palestinian Prisoners

Ponnuru: Economic Woes for the GOP

H6 Guardian Clinton to accept Obama's job offer President-elect reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration

In praise of... Cem Ozdemir

Editorial: Obama's election has triggered much soul-searching about whether a minority ethnic candidate could ever win in Europe

Soft power is on the up. But it can always be outmuscled Paul Kennedy: Despite the breath of fresh air Obama brings, the reality remains: great nations rely on economic and military might

Can the centre hold? Robert Fox: With a timetable now set for a US pullout, everything rides on whether the Iraqi military can keep control. The stakes are high

Obama interview: Where do I start?

Top judge: US and UK acted as 'vigilantes' in Iraq Former senior law lord condemns 'serious violation of international law'

Keynes is innocent: the toxic spawn of Bretton Woods was no plan of his George Monbiot: The economist's dream was blocked for an IMF serving the rich. Reforms proposed by G20 leaders are too little, too late

A borrowing binge David Cameron: Brown clearly doesn't read his own speeches. Unfunded tax cuts would be reckless and wrong

Politkovskaya trial begins in Russia

Shock ruling paves the way for details of the much-criticised investigation to be made public

Miliband tries to coax Syria in from the cold UK hopes to encourage signs that Barack Obama will reverse era of boycotting and sanctioning the Assad regime

Somalia, state of anarchy

Simon Tisdall: The country is in dire straits, and outsiders seem more concerned with chasing pirates than saving starving children

Confusion in Kosovo Ian Bancroft: The planned EU mission to ease tensions between Serbia and Kosovo is still weighed down by disputes and political obstacles

Somali pirates seize $100m tanker

Capture of Saudi ship demonstrates that gangs are able to disrupt one of world's busiest shipping lanes

Sarkozy labour reforms trigger strikes President's reformist government faces outpouring of anger as French unions lead a series of strikes

Free trade in the eye of the beholder

Rodrigo Orihuela: The same EU that opposed free markets at the G20 summit is too capitalist for some South American countries

Champagne falls flat Editorial: Three consecutive presidential defeats, a deep recession and strikes are not enough to get the French Socialists to unite

Baghdad proposes $3bn metro plan

Rail plan to connect Shia-dominated east and Sunni western suburbs seen as sign of new confidence

Chávez air s wiretaps of political rivals President Hugo Chávez releases tapped conversations of political foes in run-up to regional elections

Suspected Eta military chief arrested in France Garikoitz Aspiazu believed to be part of hardline faction that pushed for end to peace talks with Spanish government

H7 Iran's green light in Iraq

While the Bush administration is spinning a new agreement with the Iraqi cabinet as the sign of a successful policy, approval of the new pact shows how much sway Iran has in Baghdad. (Boston Globe)

Team 'Chimerica' By: Niall Ferguson | The Washington Post
Future historians, I suspect, will look back on Saturday's anticlimactic G-20 gathering in Washington less as Bretton Woods 2.0 and more as a rerun of the London Economic Conference of 1933.

Stratfor

On G-20 and GM: Economics, Politics and Social Stability

If America Fades, Who Will Lead the World? By: Ann Florini | The Japan Times
If there is to be real progress toward more effective global governance, we must figure out how to make sense of the enormous diversity of ways of saving the world.

The G 20 and the GCC Agenda By: Abdulaziz Sager | Asharq Alawsat
When the world's powers gather together during the month of November in the United States to begin a series of meetings to discuss the global financial crisis, the Gulf Cooperation Council states (GCC -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) will be an important component of the discussion.

Obama's 'New' America and Iran By: Arshin Adib-Moghaddam | The Daily Star
A new grammar is being presented in which the United States is reinvented as a particularly inclusive and exceptional place where "everything is possible."

Hijacked oil tanker nears Somalia

A giant Saudi oil tanker seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean is nearing the coast of Somalia, the US Navy says.

At G-20, Bush Shows Obama the Way - Lawrence Kudlow, Washington Times

What Iraq Needs from the Obama Administration: Recommendations from Iraqis Resident in the U.S.

Carnegie Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence, and the Poverty of Nations

Rand Four Countries in the Middle East Face the Human Capital Challenges of the 21st Century

Did G-20 Make Things Worse? - Simon Johnson, Forbes

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

US: 2011 Iraq Pact 'Deadline' Not Firm

Iraqi and American Critics of Security Pact Speak Up

Iran Upgrades Naval Base on Gulf

Sadr Fails to Block Reading of US-Iraq Pact in Parliament

Mullen: 2011 US Iraq Withdrawal Depends on Conditions

UK minister set for Syria talks British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrives in Syria for a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

Iraqi voices Views on the recently struck deal on US troops

Opposition mounts to U.S.-Iraqi pact

Iraq Quietly Dismisses Its Anticorruption Officials

H9 Ha’aretz – Top Obama Aide Denies Report on Backing Arab Peace Plan

MI Chief: U.S. can halt Iran nukes via dialogueYadlin: Talks between U.S., Iran not appeasement; unlikely that war will be launched against Israel this year

Editorial: Ministers' slogans could drag us into reckless Gaza action

Fayyad: Settlement building will destroy the peace process

Did the IAEA Find a Smoking Gun in Syria? - Yossi Melman

Only 19% of Americans Think "Making Peace between Israel and the Palestinians" Should Be Among Obama's Top Priorities -

Yoel Marcus: IDF generals have repeatedly proven to be lousy politicians

Report: Suspected Lebanon spy made frequent visits to Israel

Abbas said to ask Olmert to free Barghouti as goodwill gesture

Jerusalem PostYadlin: Low probability of war in '09

MI chief says world waiting to see how new US administration deals with Iranian threat.

'Iran will have nukes within two years'

Ya'alon tells US Jewish leaders that West lacks unification and determination to face down Teheran

Radical regimes rethink Obama [ BARRY RUBIN,

Yedioth Ahronoth 'Assad ready for peace'
IDF Intelligence chief outlines army's analysis of threats facing Israel in 2009, says probability of war seen as low, chance for historic change with Palestinian moderates high. Election of Obama 'an opportunity to pressure Iran'

No wonder we’re losing/ FishmanWhen will our legal advisors realize we are at war with Hamas?

Phased solution in Gaza Notion of IDF taking over Gaza and then handing it over seems more reasonable today

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

The Case for Putting a Mideast Peace Agreement First By: Gershom Gorenberg | The American Prospect
Barack Obama should address the need for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement sooner rather than later.

Israeli Spy Chief Supports Direct Talks Between US, Iran

Former Israeli Army Chief: Military Option Against Iran Still Exists

Israeli General: Assad Ready for Peace

Analysis: Hamas, Israel Trying to Rewrite Truce - Associated Press

Israel allows aid into Gaza Strip

Israel has briefly reopened the border crossing with the Gaza Strip to allow in a convoy of humanitarian aid

Israel on Iran: 'All Options on the Table' - Ido Nehushtan, Der Spiegel

Is Hamas Committed to the Ceasefire? - Yoram Cohen (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Israel Urges "Greater Force" vs. Iran Nuclear Work

MESH ‘Hamas vs. Fatah’

H10 Christian Science Monitor

Where should bailout dollars go?

Demand for aid is rising but federal funds are limited.

Closing Guantánamo prison may force new rules for trying terrorists Obama will have to find a new balance between civil liberties and national security.

France captures top ETA leader

The arrest of the Basque separatist military leader is expected to furtherweaken the group. But some Spanish officials fear retaliatory attacks.

Bill could hasten Putin's return as president An amendment extending the president's term is set to pass in the Duma this week.

A new New Deal for America

Obama must act boldly to rescue the American people.

Obama signals he will tap his rivals Many presidents have vowed to end partisanship. Few succeed.

ASIA

McClatchy U.S.-Afghan rift builds around Karzai's overture to Taliban

Obama-Tied Think-Tank Calls for Pakistan Shift

Japan Falls Into Recession After Exports Plunge By: Leo Lewis | The London Times
The Japanese economy, the world’s second largest economy and a critical bellwether for corporate and consumer strength across the globe, has officially fallen into recession, its Government admitted this morning

What to Do About Karzai? - Daniel Markey, Int'l Herald Tribune

Newsweek China: The World's Most Stressful Society

Rand Talk to the Taliban? Not Now

China Hints at Aircraft carrier Project By: Mure Dickie and Martin Dickinson | Financial Times
The world should not be surprised if China builds an aircraft carrier but Beijing would use such a vessel only for offshore defence, a senior official of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence has told the Financial Times

A Missile Race in Southeast Asia? Asia Sentinel Russia's state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported that Malaysia and Singapore, among other countries, may be sniffing around Russia's Iskander tactical missiles systems, available from the state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport. although the Soviet arms dealer said it wasn't planning to export the missiles until Russia's own armed forces have been fully supplied with them

IMF-franked Pakistan returns to 'Friends'
Pakistan is turning to the "Friends of Pakistan" group of countries for more bailout cash in the hope that a US$7.6 billion rescue package with the International Monetary Fund will encourage a less cautious response than previously. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider

US's road to recovery runs through Beijing
America's economic model is broken and no recovery is possible unless households can save. To do this, Americans must sell goods and services to someone else, ideally China. Such a grand partnership will help China's great economic shift and may be the United States' only road to recovery. The two countries have far more to gain from cooperation than from conflict. - Francesco Sisci and David P Goldman

A CHANGE OF BALANCE, Part 2 The party's beginning
Emerging countries, particularly those in Asia, have a brighter chance of making government intervention work if only because of higher profit potential and the low level of debt relative to potential gross domestic product. This is the crux of the argument of turning the world around, not the well-worn ideas of propping up the leading industrialized countries. - Chan Akya (Nov 14,'08)
This concludes a two-part report.
Part 1: The party's over

Taliban Rejects Offer to Protect Leader for Talks

Pakistan Shuts NATO Supply Line –

Obama's Task in Afghanistan - Danielle Pletka, Forbes

Reassessing Afghanistan - John Metzler, China Post

Chinese president on Cuban visit President Hu Jintao of China arrives in Cuba for a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties between Beijing and Havana.

H11 IHT AFGHANISTAN I

Scarred forts and sandbagged pubs

By DON DUNCAN There's the Afghanistan at war - and then there's the Afghanistan at peace.

AFGHANISTAN II The Karzai question By DANIEL S. MARKEY

Should Obama bank on Karzai or has the Afghan president squandered his credibility?

What's good for GM is good for U.S. defense

By WESLEY K. CLARK Rescuing the American automobile industry is not only an economic imperative, but also a national security imperative

Is your president this cool? By ALEX BEAM For the first time in eight years, Americans have a president who is cool.

A senior ETA leader is arrested in France

French police have arrested one of the highest ranking leaders of the Basque militant group ETA, French and Spanish authorities said.

NATO affirms support for U.S. missile shield

NATO on Monday reaffirmed its backing for a planned U.S. missile shield in Europe after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it would bring no extra security on the continent.

Sarkozy and the political potshot In Europe, over the past months, Nicolas Sarkozy's modus operandi has met with a reticent reaction from France's neighbors.

EUROPE European press review

Obama and Brown: The U.S.-U.K. Agenda By: Douglas Davis | World Politics Review
All of Europe's leaders want a piece of Barack Obama, but British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has more reason than most to seek his favor

'Tollerance' Is Not the Lesson of Kristallnacht By: Bret Stephens | The Wall Street Journal
Sunday was the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. With some notable exceptions, Europe has opted to mark the occasion by missing its point.

CER What 'Obama effect' for transatlantic relations?

CEPS Democracy, Populism and Minority Rights

Kosovo Still Opposed to EU Police Mission, PM Says By: Elitsa Vucheva | EU Observer
The European law-enforcement team of some 2,000 police, judicial and customs officials was to be deployed throughout Kosovo by the end of this year, but it has already been delayed several times due in part to Serbian opposition

GMFUS Transatlantic Trends: Immigration

Europe Prejudice More Than Skin Deep - Mark Mazower, Financial Times

Estonian Spy Scandal Rocks NATO, EU - Holger Stark, Der Spiegel

France holds 'Eta military head' Spain hails a "severe blow" to Basque separatist group Eta after its suspected military chief is arrested in France.

The fading French connection

Spanish, Chinese, even Portuguese, never mind English, may be spoken more than French around the world, but France's effort to keep its beautiful language alive has a certain doomed nobility about it. (By H.D.S. Greenway, Boston Globe)

H12 RFE/RL

Putin's Constitutional Junta - Dmitry Oreshkin, Moscow Times

Medvedev Spoils the Party - Jeffrey Tayler, The Atlantic

Google News Azerbaijan

EU Partnership Talks with Russia Inevitably Begin Again By: Jason Vaughn | Eurasianet
The EU agreed last Monday, albeit not unanimously, to re-start talks over a partnership agreement with Russia that had been suspended following the conflict between Georgia and Russia earlier this year

Medvedev Learned His PR Skills From Chavez By: Vladimir Frolov | The Moscow Times
President Dmitry Medvedev's first state-of-the-nation address raised a lot eyebrows abroad both by its content and tone

Russia Sells Sudan Fighter Planes The Media Line
Moscow has sold Sudan 12 Mig-29 fighter planes, Sudanese Defense Minister ‘Abd A-Rahim Muhammad Hussein said. The minister confirmed the purchase during a press conference in Moscow on Friday

Now, at Last, We Know the Truth About Georgia
by Tara McCormack

Georgia's rearguard action in face of Amnesty report

A Conversation with Dmitry Medvedev (Audio)

Georgia and Russia: the aftermath , Donald Rayfield

H13 The Times Car Trouble

The new administration should resist demands to rescue US car manufacturers; aid risks diverting scarce resources and provoking trade retaliation

Somalia and the War on Terror

The Bush Administration's intervention has given al-Qaeda a valuable foothold in the Horn of AfricaMartin Fletcher

Pirates hijack oil tanker with Britons on board Pirates seize biggest booty ever taken on the high seas, capturing fully laden Saudi oil supertanker and its multinational crew

Miliband goes on a mission for peace David Miliband tests the waters in Syria to see if the regime is ready to loosen its ties with Iran and break with the past

The time is right to seek a trade in allegiances David Miliband’s trip to Damascas was the public face of several years of quiet and growing contact

Obama says targeting bin Laden 'critical' President-elect uses first TV interview since election to emphasise importance of catching or killing al-Qaeda leader

Russia on Trial Justice for one murdered journalist would bring justice closer for an entire country

Obama's vetters study Clinton's foreign ties Bill Clinton's relations with foreign governments under scrutiny as way is cleared for his wife to become Secretary of State

Yahoo! chief Jerry Yang resigns

Jerry Yang' s leadership was called into question after the company was targeted by Microsoft in a hostile takeover bid

Wall Street Journal Iraq 'Fails' Upward

A Way Out in the Caucasus

STATE OF THE UNION
By Alexander Cooley and Borut Grgic An international trusteeship for Abkhazia could solve the Russo-Georgian conflict.

Mr. Obama, Give That Man a Medal By William McGurn
Stephen Hadley offered the option of victory in Iraq.

Pentagon Wary of Fast Iraq Withdrawal Obama is facing an early confrontation with the Pentagon over the hot-button issue of how fast to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.

Russia Out of Rehab

Europe puts Russia's invasion of Georgia behind it.

How to Help People Whose Home Values Are Underwater

By Martin Feldstein The economic spiral will get worse unless we do something about negative equity.

Shaking Things Up in China

By Bruce Gilley An earthquake's political aftershocks.

GOP Choices for an Obama Cabinet The right kinds of Republicans can serve as a human bridge across the partisan divide.

Bret Stephens: 'No Excuses' for Liberals

H14 Financial Times Is Obama a Middle East ‘splitter’? Would-be Middle East peacemakers can be categorised as ‘lumpers’ seeking a ‘comprehensive peace settlement’ that links together all the problems in the region, or ‘splitters’ who want to deal with all the problems separately, writes Gideon Rachman

US and Iraq sign troop withdrawal pact The US and Iraq signed a landmark security pact that paves the way for Barack Obama, the president-elect, to follow through on his campaign promise to end the Iraq war

Survey exposes depth of US woe

Economists believe the US has been in recession since April and will remain there until the middle of 2009, according to a survey published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Stop calling us, or them, Anglo-Saxons

Terrorism still high on the list of dangers

Spend, lend, bend The latest FT guide to the guardians of Europe’s public purses puts finance ministers through their paces

Gideon Rachman’s blogIraq - the end in sight?

Economists’ Forum The case for forward-looking protectionism in the US: Obama should use protection to facilitate trade adjustment and to ease the phasing-out of redundant industries through orderly liquidation

Shifting away from export-led growth Policymakers have to encourage people to go shopping. Now is not the time to raise taxes on consumption and trim healthcare and pension benefits

Careless talk? The UK’s Conservative party is right on sterling but its policy prescriptions have not matched the scale of the problems facing the country

Sarkozy needs a real opposition

More intense political competition within France would certainly help sharpen the president’s good initiatives and puncture his bad ideas

Serbia asks EU to step up ties amid crisis Serbia’s pro-European government fears a hardline nationalist backlash as the global economic downturn begins to bite in the politically troubled Balkan country

Pirates raise stakes with oil tanker hijack Captured Sirius Star fully laden with about 2m barrels of oil

Obama and McCain unite to ‘fix country’ Rivals will work together on crisis, energy and security

Saving, not spending, is the key to salvation Sir Martin Jacomb warns Britain against borrowing

Europe needs a concerted fiscal stimulus Heed the G20’s advice, say Bruegel scholars

Every fool knows it’s a job for government Michael Skapinker on curbing corporate excess

Berlin set to give Opel €1bn guarantee Berlin appears ready to give the carmaker a big credit guarantee after the German arm of General Motors said it could run out of cash. A final decision will be made next month

Russia to cut oil export duty by third

Moscow’s move offers much-needed relief to companies that have been suffering a loss on their crude exports – leading to warnings that they were being forced to cut their sales, intensifying the country’s financial crisis

Russia to raise import duties

Russia said it would push ahead with sharp rises in import duties soon despite signing the Group of 20 communiqué that promised not to introduce protectionist measures for a year

H15 Los Angeles Times A guide to the US security agreement with Iraq

Georgia's shameful attack on South Ossetia Recent reports raise doubts about the Georgian president's...

Editorial

Iraq Cabinet agrees to U.S. troop exit by end of 2011 The long-negotiated security pact is expected to face opposition in parliament by lawmakers who see it as a sellout. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr has threatened a renewed uprising.

The ugly side of 'beyond race'

Gregory Rodriguez The romantic narrative that all minorities are locked arm and arm in a collective struggle against oppression simply isn't true.

Holocaust's unholy hold

By Avraham Burg The deeper we are stuck in our Auschwitz past, the more difficult it becomes to be free of it.

H16 American Politics

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Drama Club — How Obama handles people

Bill vetting could cost Hillary her Cabinet post

EXCLUSIVE: Cantor says GOP is no longer ‘relevant’ —

Gingrich says Palin will not be the future GOP leader

realclearpolitics memeorandum

Daily Beast Cheat Sheet

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

PoliticsHome fivethirtyeight US News Political Bulletin

H17 Daily Telegraph

H18 Independent McCain: I will help Obama fix America

President-elect Barack Obama and John McCain pledged yesterday to launch "a new era of reform".

Rupert Cornwell: Returning to the past is way forward for Obama

The man who heals deadly Kurdish feuds

Georgia's rearguard action in face of Amnesty report

Mary Dejevsky: We won't improve society by penalising stable relationships

Pirates seize giant oil tanker

Somali pirates pulled off their most audacious hijack to date yesterday, venturing outside their usual waters to seize a Saudi Arabian supertanker laden with two million barrels of crude, in an attack that sent oil prices higher. The vessel – three times the size of a US aircraft carrier – was taken 450 miles off the coast of Kenya and well beyond the Gulf of Aden where the pirates have been stalking international shipping. Its seizure marked a "fundamental change" in tactics, the US Navy said

Iraq war legal advice flawed, says ex-law lord

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Interview With General George Casey

Rand Lessons from Six Decades of Research on Deterrence, From Cold War to Long War

Should Obama chase Osama?

Fears over covert DNA database

Valuable intelligence on thousands of suspected terrorists risks being lost because of backlogs at a little-known US federal government database that processes DNA samples gathered in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere

The Dark Art of Cyberwar - Foreign Policy

“More tea leaves suggest John Brennan for DCI?”

Co-opting Intellectual Aggressors The "Progressive" Face of the CIA

H20 Slate

Global Warming: What Do We Know and What Should We Do? (PEI series Pt 2)

H21 Darwinian dating. We are all animals: manhood is alpha-style toughness and cool promiscuity. Woman are just as manipulative, calculating, and driven by self-interest... more»

"The New York Times' Lonely War." In Vanity Fair's December issue, Seth Mnookin looks at one of the few U.S. media outlets to maintain a presence in Iraq -- the Times' Baghdad bureau.

Franz Kafka was sufferer and victim, the tormented subject of nightmares. But also a master of nightmares, even a connoisseur of them... more»

Nonbelievers Organize Their Nonreligion

Nonbelievers have begun a very public campaign to win broad acceptance in mainstream America.

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