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H1 Downsized U.S. Goals and Presence in Iraq Source: The Century Foundation Full Paper (PDF; 291 KB) by former National Intelligence Council vice-chair Ellen Laipson - Where does Iraq fit in America's strategic interests and agenda?" The US needs to end the exceptional nature of its role in Iraq and conceive of a more 'normal' relationship.

From the Archive NSPD-1: Organization of the National Security Council System

Rand Analytic Support to Intelligence in Counterinsurgencies

Bush administration says it may not get Iraq deal this year

Atlantic Monthly What Rumsfeld Got Right - How Donald Rumsfeld remade the U.S. military for a more uncertain world by Robert D. Kaplan

Washington Post Iraqis Condemn American Demands Negotiations over the future role of U.S. military in Iraq turn into a bitter debate as Iraqi politicians denounce what they say are U.S. demands to maintain nearly 60 bases in their country indefinitely. Top Iraqi officials call for a reduction, confinement of U.S. military's role after U.N. mandate authorizing its presence expires in December

Bush, E.U. Threaten New Sanctions Against Iran

Editorial Saving Doha Why an obscure Frenchman may be the last hope for global free trade. YOU HAVE probably never heard of Pascal Lamy, but he might be able to save the world.

New York Times The End of Intervention By MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT Is the international system a collection of legal nuts and bolts cobbled together by governments to protect governments, or is it a framework intended to make the world a more humane place?

THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Obama on the Nile It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Democrats’ nomination of Barack Obama as their candidate for president has improved America’s image abroad.

Foreign Policy Mismarriage of Convenience Iran and Israel are stuck in a dysfunctional relationship that neither party can escape on its own. Here’s how to break up their fight

The Times Exclusive: Bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war In an exclusive interview with The Times, President Bush admits he is troubled about how his country has been misunderstood

Scandal as Iranian old guard accused of corruption Unprecedented allegations are seen as a daring challenge to Iran’s ruling establishment by the intensely ambitious president

Analysis: the solution or part of the problem? President Karzai is facing unprecedented public and private criticism from politicians, soldiers and officials in the West

BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions A BBC investigation estimates that about $23bn may have been lost, stolen or not properly accounted for in Iraq.

Gallup Daily: Obama's Lead Stabilizing

Slate Listening to Dissent How should a president handle uncertainties or disputes on intelligence? Fred Kaplan

The Johnson Test Will Obama show us the instruction manual for his new kind of politics? John Dickerson

What Is the Bilderberg Group? And Why Doesn't the Press Cover It?

Los Angeles Times Re-upping in Iraq By Max Boot We need a pact that protects our troops, and Baghdad isn't cooperating

IHT A muted last hurrah By WILLIAM DROZDIAK The hope that the next U.S. president will infuse new life into the Atlantic partnership is generating palpable excitement among leadership circles across the continent

Financial Times Sustaining growth is the century’s big challenge Jeffrey Sachs has produced an analysis that manages to be both pessimistic and optimistic at the same time. One might not be quite as optimistic about the solutions. But one must recognise the salience of the challenges, writes Martin Wolf

Rhetoric will never feed the world’s hungry We make the poor better off not by holding back technical and economic progress, but by accelerating it, writes John Kay

Let the markets solve the energy crisis High prices say we need more investment: in efficiency and new production, technology and energy sources, writes Tony Hayward

Irish PM makes final push for Lisbon treaty Irish voters were warned by Brian Cowen not to think they could extract a better deal from their EU partners by rejecting the Lisbon treaty

West warns of tighter Iran bank curbs The US and European Union are threatening to impose tighter sanctions on Iranian banks unless Tehran suspends its uranium enrichment programme

WORLD NEWS: Bush adopts multilateralist tone

Merkel emerges as Germany’s anchor The chancellor has proved Europe’s foremost political leader, defying pessimists. The test now is whether she can turn that authority into a platform for a second term in office

China’s Thirst for Oil,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines China’s need for energy and assesses the impact of Beijing’s energy policies on the resolution of conflict by looking at Sudan and Iran as case studies

Independent An ominous warning that the rise in oil prices has only begun The chief executive of the world's largest energy company has issued a dire prediction that oil will hit $250 per barrel "in the foreseeable future".

Guardian Oil to hit $250 a barrel, says Gazprom chief Chairman predicts prices will spiral despite Opec's assured stance

Why talk to al-Qaida? Raffaello Pantucci: Negotiation worked in Northern Ireland, but with al-Qaida we must address the causes of radicalisation

Former NSC Iran hand Gary Sick contextualizes sweeping new corruption accusations in Iran being levelled by Ahmadinejad and allies

EurasiaNet Iran: Conservatives Trying to Get President Ahmadinejad to Moderate Behavior BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN As Bush lobbies European Union leaders for tighter economic sanction against Iran, conservative elements in Tehran are taking steps to moderate the behavior of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Sadr's Special Groups By: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Bill Roggio | The Weekly Standard
In the past month, Iraqi and coalition forces have succeeded in their fight against the Mahdi Army's "special groups." On May 3, the U.S. military destroyed a special groups command center in Sadr City, killing a wanted leader in the attack.

Christian Science Monitor

As Bush launches farewell tour, Europe warms up The US-German relationship is perhaps the clearest example of improving ties since the Iraq war began

Syrian Economy Requires a Peace Deal with Israel - Sami Moubayed (Gulf News-Dubai)

Aggressive OPEC: In an editorial, the paper says OPEC should undertake a far more aggressive effort to explain the realities of the oil market and its effects on the global economy

France's Strategic Posture: NATO Reingtergration and European Defense By: Juda Gunstein | World Politics Review Since Gen. De Gaulle, France's posture towards the United States can be summed up in the familiar expression, "Friend, ally, non-aligned." A source of French pride and American distrust, the formula has haunted France's stormy relationship with NATO, and served as the geopolitical expression of l'exception française, France's cultural identity of exceptionalism

Bush, European allies threaten tougher sanctions against Iran

Distance Does Matter Rising freight and oil prices might boost the trend of making products closer to the market

Who is Making Tehran’s Iraq Policy? Farideh Farhi

Next 'Weapon' Against Iran May Be Gasoline by Eli Lake

Israel and Hizballah: 2006 and 2008, The Washington Institute

Lebanon fault lines, MESH

Time Playing the Veepstakes

Roubini Global Stagflation Ahead? The Interplay of Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply Shocks

McClatchy U.S. security talks with Iraq in trouble in Baghdad and D.C. A proposed U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that would set the conditions for a defense alliance and long-term U.S. troop presence appears increasingly in trouble, facing growing resistance from the Iraqi government, bipartisan opposition in Congress and strong questioning from Barack Obama.

Taliban’s Sanctuary Bases in Pakistan Must Be Eliminated
Source: RAND Corporation

As China's power grows, the diaspora starts to flex its worldwide muscle

Martin Jacques: Poverty once drove their mass emigration, but the overseas Chinese now revel in the status and wealth of their homeland

Russia to Punish Azerbaijan for Pro-Western Policy - Expert

Ha’aretz – No good reason for Gaza op Calm should be tried and its success judged with the passage of time, rather than trying war and judging its outcome after hundreds of casualties

Top Syrian plays down chances of direct talks with Israel

Carnegie Arab Reform Bulletin: June 2008

Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia

The Atlantic Cover Story

The Sky Is Falling by Gregg Easterbrook The odds that a potentially devastating space rock will hit Earth this century may be as high as one in 10. So why isn't NASA trying harder to prevent catastrophe

Cato The Future of Copyright

We-Think: the power of mass creativity

Mr. Murdoch Goes to War

Rupert Murdoch wants his Wall Street Journal to displace The New York Times as the world’s paper of record. His ambitions could be good news for the newspaper industry— or another nail in the coffin of serious journalism. [Web only: Video: "Rupert Murdoch: The Last Hope for Journalism"]

by Mark Bowden

The 11 1/2 Biggest Ideas of the Year A thumbnail intellectual history of the year

H 2 Henri Barkey Where Have Old Friends Gone? U.S.-Turkish Relations Since the Iraq War ) Video link to the annual Campagna-Kerven lecture at Boston University.

Morton Abromowitz ABD'de konuşulan Türkiye-3

IHT Fighting for Turkey's soul By Zeyno Baran Ideologues are pulling Turkey apart, and the West makes matters worse.

ABD Seçimleri (ppt) – Şanlı Bahadır Koç

Cobban – “Joost Hiltermann has just published what has to be the very best assessment in the English language of the situation of Iraq's Kurdish minority” (repeat)

Guardian Turkish PM fights for survival Erdogan looks to end feud that threatens to split the country, close his party and oust him from office

Not the first ban, not the last Explainer: Turkey has a long history of shutting down political parties. Twenty-four parties have been closed since 1962, when rules were tightened up following a military coup

Turkish PM says court must explain scarf ruling

‘Türkiye artık ABD’nin güvenilir müttefiki değil’

Türkiye güzel ama yalnız değil VIncent Boland

Minister Babacan meets with Obama aides in Washington

Soner Çağaptay Turkey's Changing Landscape Jane's Islamic Affairs Click here to download a PDF of this article.

ABD’de ‘laiklik’ şikâyeti

Ermenilere söz verme

Turkey should join European Union, Bush says

Fransa: Türkiye'ye Refeandum Şartı Kalkıyor

Turkey’s attack helicopter saga may come to an end

Delivery of spy planes delayed to Turkey

Scarves unveil Turkey's turmoil
Chicago Tribune