020508f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses for informed debate’ Compiled by Şanlı Ba

020508f - 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 - FPR Table - Subscribe to FPR

H1 New York Times 24-State Battle for Votes, Delegates and Momentum There will be plenty of trends to track in Tuesday’s free-for-all, as 43 contests in 24 states allocate 3,156 delegates on what could be the most significant night of the race to date

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008

Washington Post Two Races, One Big Day

Why Tuesday Won't Be So Super

The New Yorker A Strike in the Dark By: Seymour M. Hersh |What did Israel bomb in Syria?

McClatchy Super Tuesday, state by state Democrat Barack Obama heads into Super Tuesday's voting with apparent momentum in several big states where Hillary Clinton's been the longtime leader. Republican John McCain, meanwhile, maintains solid leads in the Northeast, but faces scattered threats from Mitt Romney in the South, Midwest and particularly in California.

Is Leaving the Middle East a Viable Option? JSOU This 46-page US paper argues the case for a continued presence in the Middle East

American Prospect The Next Middle East Policy President Bush's Middle East policy has been a return to the Cold War misconception that ignores local rivalries. His successor has to do better. Gershom Gorenberg

CFR Negroponte Says China Mostly ‘In Sync’ With US on Iran

USIP Rethinking Democracy Promotion in the Middle East

Iraq's Mystery Men: Insurgents, Tribes and Sadrists

Intelligence and the Prevention of Conflict: The NIE Process and Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

Financial Times US optimism can benefit all Leading technology companies are focusing on climate change and disease eradication. They are setting an example for the US government – by demonstrating how US technological prowess can be harnessed for non-commercial purposes, says Gideon Rachman

Reaching out: Can Obama avoid being the ‘black candidate’Super Tuesday’s votes will determine whether race remains a factor among Democrats

Los Angeles Times The politics of resentment By Ian Buruma

Attacking elites for appeasing Islam has become a right-wing staple.

Feuding between Iraqi army and police slows security turnover

In the Middle East, seeking a balance between might and diplomacy in the next U.S. president In a region of crises, Israelis and Arabs anxiously await the new U.S. leader who can mitigate some Bush policies

Daily Star Iraq's clerics are stepping up to save their country from sectarian conflict

Looking at process in the Arab-Israeli negotiations By Daniel Kurtzer

Avert a new failed Mediterranean scheme By Riad al-Khouri

WP Fear of Looking Weak

From Political Science Quarterly, Jeffrey M. Cavanaugh (Miss. State): From the ‘‘Red Juggernaut’’ to Iraqi WMD: Threat Inflation and How It Succeeds in the United States

Pew: Interest in the Iraq war fell to an all-time low last week with 23% of Americans following news about Iraq very closely. Only 6% of the public listed the situation in Iraq as the story they were following most closely making it the fifth most closely followed story of the week.

Asia Times Iran tries to make up lost ground Iran, in reaching out to its neighbors, such as Oman, while lambasting France over its proposed military base in the United Arab Emirates, is trying to assert itself in the face of the United States' long-term presence in its region. This US incursion far outweighs the gains Tehran made from the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the demise of the Ba'athists in Iraq. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Ha’aretz – ANALYSIS: Israel has a 300km problem along border with Egypt Monday's terror attack sends clear message: Southern Negev has become a target, serious security problem

Time Arming Iraq's Future Street Gangs?

Washington Times Cairo 'exploring' ties with Tehran Diplomats yesterday cautioned against excessive alarm over a series of visits to Cairo by senior Iranian officials, saying Tehran's bid to end three decades of estrangement is unlikely to yield an early restoration of formal relations

Budget of the United States Government, FY09

USA Today Opposing view: Both nations would benefit U.S.-Iraq agreement would provide stability, allow flexibility to adapt. By Brett McGurk

Libyans Advance in Al Qaeda Network By: Sebastian Rotella | Los Angeles Times
The death of Abu Laith al Libi, a Libyan Al Qaeda chief, has cast a spotlight on the rise of Libyan militants in a network dominated by Egyptians and Saudis, Western anti-terrorism investigators say

The Emotion Behind Obama's Appeal - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post

The Interior Diaspora By: Ben White | The Guardian
A just settlement of the Middle East conflict will have to consider the voices of Palestinians living inside Israel.

The war that can bring neither peace nor freedom Seumas Milne: The crisis of the Afghan occupation is a reminder of its fraudulent claims, growing cost in blood, and certainty of failure

The Iraq Project By: Paul Rogers | Open Democracy
The United States' military and political ambition in Iraq is enormous and undiminished, but a true examination of what's happening on the ground is still needed.

Ahmadinejad Battles on the Home Front By: Khody Akhavi | Asia Times A coalition of moderate Iranian parties headed by former president Mohammad Khatami is putting the squeeze on President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's hopes for a hardline victory in March elections. The president, while championing Iran's cause on the international stage, is drawing domestic heat for slowing the pace of privatization, mismanaging the budget and appointing incompetent bureaucrats.

Washington's December NIE: A View From Tehran By: Ali Asghar Kazemi | The Daily Star

WSJ Kosovo Domino Theory Barring another delay, Kosovo will later this month be the sixth state born from the ruins of Yugoslavia. The challenge for the region's Western overseers is to ensure that it is the last.

Pressure Grows on Iraq's Sadr to End Truce

French Envoy: Accept Iran's Regional Role

Pressure Grows on Iraq's Sadr to End Truce

Sunni vs. Shi'ite: The Real Bloody Battle for Baghdad

Civilian Deaths in US Military Strike Bring Worries of Sunni Backlash

The Neocons: An Illustrated Progression - washingtonpost.com

YaleGlobal 12 Million Shadows: America’s Immigration Dilemma

2008: The Demise of Neoliberal Globalization

Seeking a Path in Democracy’s Dead End

EurasiaNet Azerbaijan: SOCAR’s Westward Expansion Could Hamper Russia’s Caspian Plans SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company, is aiming to become an influential regional player in the Caspian Basin’s already crowded field. The company’s emergence may bolster Azerbaijan’s ability to resist potential bullying by Russia, which currently enjoys a dominating advantage in the regional game over energy development and exports.

Trans-Black Sea Pipeline: Another Chance for Georgia and Europe By: Vladimir Socor | Eurasia Daily Monitor Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has proposed that the European Union and Ukraine join a project for a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan via the Caspian Sea, South Caucasus, and Black Sea to Ukraine and EU territory

Pop Music as key Tool in Armenian Elections By: Matthew Collin | The Moscow Times
As the race for Armenia's presidency heats up, with candidates hurling abuse at each other and gunshots fired outside campaign offices, pop music has emerged as a propaganda tool in this increasingly fierce struggle for power

The Times Belgrade and Brussels Europe should move swiftly to bolster the Serbian President's victory

No retreat from the War on Terror

If the West backs out of Afghanistan the consequences would be plainly catastrophic

David Aaronovitch

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Japan: Moving Together to Reshape the Eurasian Community
Brookings Institution Organization’s anti-U.S. tendencies are overstated, and Japan has an opportunity to work as an intermediary between the group and the West

The 'Manchurian Mullah' By Amir Taheri

H2 World Policy Journal Deciphering Turkey's Elections: The Making of a Revolution By Barkey, Henri J Congar, Yasemin

WSJ The Kurdish Front By DAVID L. PHILLIPS Instead of giving a green light to further Turkish military actions, the Bush administration should intensify its diplomacy to achieve a nonmilitary solution to the PKK problem.

Post-PKK Operations: Will Turkey Change Its Attitude toward Iran and Syria?. Washington Institute for Near East Policy By H. Akin Unver

NYT Turkish Planes Strike Iraqi Kurdistan

Washington Post Turkey Bombs Villages In N. Iraq

New ESI report: A referendum on the unknown Turk? Anatomy of an Austrian debate

BBC 'Deep state plot'
Coup rumours about rogue security officials set Turkey abuzz

Turkey's secular angst Open Democracy

Turkey; The EU’s Safety Belt For “Clash Of Civilizations"
cafebabel.com

Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish rebel sites in Iraq Turkish planes hit 70 targets that were "detected and verified by intelligence sources," the Turkish military said Monday.

EDM TURKISH FM REINFORCES DOUBTS ABOUT AKP’S UNDERSTANDING OF EU ACCESSION PROCESS

Turkey Split Over a Piece of Cloth
Arab News

The impact of the higher education 'turban' ban policy on part-time unveilers
Fatma Nevra SEGGIE

TURKEY: Headscarves Decide National Identity IPS

Turkey ventures back into war-threatened waters
EnergyCurrent

Washington Times What's in store after '08? (By Tulin Daloglu)

Turkish Warplanes Bomb Kurdish Rebel Hideouts in Northern Iraq

Türban riski hâkimiyet için Mu

HAMMED HARRUB

Islamist Turkish Website: “The Jewish Agent Lions Enemies Of Headscarf”

Sibel Edmonds Must Be Heard
by Philip Giraldi

Google News Fırat News Agency KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring