From the Archive The Comprehensive proposal for Kosovo Status Settlement (Ahtisaari Plan)

NYT Russia Warns It May Back Breakaway Republics in Georgia

CFR A Crucial Vote in Pakistan

The perils of a weak dollar

OVER THE last several months, the US economy has slowed, interest rates have been cut, and global demand for US bonds - setting those from the Treasury aside - has dried up. (By Brad Setser, Boston Globe)

Washington Post Evolution Of a U.S. General In Iraq Tenure of No. 2 Commander Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno reflects new understanding of counterinsurgency doctrine, transformed Tactics

New York Times Democrats Look for Way to Avoid Convention Rift Some senior Democrats plan to remain neutral for now in the presidential race in part to keep open the option to broker a peaceful resolution to a tight contest.

The Times No grandstanding on China, please We need a more mature approach to the whole issue of the Olympics and its host Mark Leonard

Ha’aretz – Top Jihad militant, seven others killed in Gaza blast 40 wounded in blast at home of Ayman Atallah Fayed; Islamic Jihad blames Israel but IDF denies involvement

Source: Syria detains suspects in Mughniyah assassination Lebanese security source: Suspects mostly Palestinians; Hezbollah appoints successor to terror chief

WINEP Pakistani Elections and the Middle East Washington faces troubling alternatives in Pakistan's February 18 parliamentary elections: another Musharraf-dominated government that lacks political legitimacy, or a political crisis that could freeze Islamabad's counterterrorism measures

USIP Working Paper: Pakistani Public Opinion

Asia Times The door to Iraq's oil opens wide Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani is a singular man. He's been a top nuclear scientist, a political fugitive and a stubborn dissident who endured 10 years of torture and imprisonment. Now, Shahristani holds holds the key to the seemingly magical realm of Iraqi oil, and has become one of the most important and most sought-after statesmen in the world.
- M K Bhadrakumar

Why Espionage Is Boring By: Michael Hirsh | Newsweek
Spying might have been the stuff of drama during the cold war (though even then its impact was exaggerated; the CIA and KGB essentially cloak-and-daggered each other into a standoff). But today's espionage mostly involves dull drones who seek to cull information from all sorts of places -- much of it from the public domain.

Eurasianet Armenia: Governing Party Members, Dashnaks Defect to Ter-Petrosian’s Campaign With just three full days of campaigning left, the battle lines are deepening in Armenia’s presidential race, as two members of the governing Republican Party of Armenia, one member of the party’s parliamentary faction, and five members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation have voiced support for former President Levon Ter-Petrosian.

Georgia and Azerbaijan: Partners in Pipelines, Antagonists in Energy Export Talks Though connected by two pipelines that convey Caspian Basin energy to Western markets, Georgia and Azerbaijan are having trouble working out a long-term gas-supply deal. Price appears to be a major sticking point.

CAP Awakening to New Dangers in Iraq: Sunni “Allies” Pose an Emerging Threat Read the full report (pdf)

Ha’aretz Neocons Search for 'Anti-Israel' Essays by Obama Advisers

Asia Times IRAN VOTES
Factions and frictionThe once formidable line between hardliners and centrists is thinning. At the same time, a split in the camp of Ahmadinejad's supporters is a salient feature of the elections. As a result, it is not certain the outcome will be a "rubber stamp" Parliament for the government. However, developments on the international front over Iran's nuclear program could change all this. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

IHT Toward a true dialogue By MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT

Peace requires new modes of thinking and the courage to make history.

On eve of Kosovar independence, Serbia cools toward West, but doesn't fight As Kosovo prepared to declare its independence Sunday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, vowed he would never recognize an independent Kosovo, indicating that Belgrade would downgrade, but not necessarily break, diplomatic relations with any government that recognized Pristina

Guardian Iraq envoy: Democrat plans won't work Ryan Crocker warns that security improvements could be jeopardised by setting a timetable for a pull-out

Weekly Standard Remember Those Benchmarks?
Unheralded political advances in Iraq.
by Fred Barnes

Death by Car Bomb in Damascus
A founding father of Islamic terrorism gets his just deserts.
by Thomas Joscelyn

Unintelligence on Iranian Nukes
by Michael Rubin Appalling gamesmanship at the CIA.

Did the NIE signal a secret deal with Iran?

MESH • COMMENT: Adam Garfinkle on religion, ideology, and the Salafi Jihad

• 'Iraq the Place vs. Iraq the Abstraction' by George Packer, World Affairs

• COMMENT: Andrew Exum on Mughniyah and transparency in Hezbollah

Christian Science Monitor

Security a top concern for Pakistani voters in northwest city

In Peshawar, where frustration is high over President Musharraf's inability to stop rising insecurity, law-and-order issues could shape the outcome of Feb. 18 election.

Wall Street Journal The Neocons and Iraq By Peter Berkowitz
Neocons faced up, like few others did, to the rising costs of containing Saddam.

FT Learning from the Greenspan legacy Ben Bernanke, Fed chairman, should take note. Using a new supply of monetary candy to cure indigestion might cause even sharper pains tomorrow

Rand Ungoverned Territories

Iran’s Parliamentary Elections Near: Can We See the Lists Please?

OpenDemocracy How to think about China, Jeffrey N Wasserstrom

Sniping Intensifies On Campaign Advisers New York Jewish Week Barack Obama is being influenced by “anti-Israel” advisers, and pointing to one in particular: former Clinton administration official Robert Malley.

In Baghdad, a Precarious Balance Between Sunni and Shiite Forces—With Americans in the Middle

H 2 CEPS The Social Dimension in Selected Candidate Countries in the Balkans: Country Report on Turkey

The Social Dimension in Selected Candidate Countries in the Balkans - Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey: Synthesis Report

Turkey, U.S.: Preparing for a Hot Spring Thaw | Stratfor

EurasiaNet Cyprus Vote: Big Ramifications for Turkey’s EU Bid and NATO's Operational Capacity
The future of Turkey’s European Union bid could hinge on the February 17 presidential election in Cyprus. The prospect of a new Greek Cypriot leadership may offer the last chance for uniting the divided island, analysts say. Permanent division, experts add, would create a lasting source of political tension that not only could prevent Turkey’s EU accession, but also hamper the EU’s and NATO’s strategic capabilities.