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By STEPHEN BIDDLE, MICHAEL E. O’HANLON and KENNETH M. POLLACK

Much important work remains to be done in Iraq, yet it cannot be completed without the longer presence of a significant number of American combat troops.

DAVID BROOKS Where’s the Landslide? Barack Obama’s ability to stand apart means that people on almost all sides of any issue can see parts of themselves reflected in his eyes. But it does make him hard to place

Islamist Parties and Democracy

Tamara Cofman Wittes, Journal of Democracy Download

Daily Star What is the sustainable value of the US dollar? By Martin Feldstein

Guardian How to deal with Iran's nuclear programme Andrew Grotto: Since Iran has refused to freeze its nuclear programme, the US should push for both sanctions and broader diplomacy

Top Assad aide assassinated in Syria Killing of right-hand man to president triggers intense speculation about a crisis inside Damascus regime

US eyes up Pakistan's lawless lands Simon Tisdall: The prospect of direct US military intervention against al-Qaida in Pakistan is increasing, but

they may regret taking action

End of financial triumphalism?

Kenneth Rogoff: The latest crisis has left little doubt that the entire system for global financial regulation is in serious need of an update.

Wall Street Journal Radical Iraq Cleric in Retreat Muqtada al-Sadr plans to disarm his once-feared Mahdi Army militia and remake it into a social-services organization. The repositioning reflects an effort by the anti-American Shiite cleric to regain grass-roots support and weed out some extremists

Asia Times SPENGLER
Israeli pre-emption better than cure The critical mass of three Islamist states - Iran, Turkey and Pakistan - threatens to create an upheaval that can be contained only by wars of attrition. The outlook is grim, not least because the US State Department is repeating in Turkey the errors that helped bring Islamist governments to power in Iran and Pakistan. Israel is the only player with the perspicacity and power to stop the slide to regional war.

Asia Times Iran heartened by India's nuclear vote The United States-India nuclear agreement, which has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, represents a timely diplomatic boon for Iran, which can now point at the US's flexible application of its nuclear policies with regard to Delhi as a reference point in Tehran's nuclear negotiations. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Lobe US Gets No Traction in the Middle East

In his new book, Ron Suskind writes that the White House once ordered the CIA to forge a letter showing a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda

Independent Leading article: Two nations that hold the key to Middle East peace

Patrick Cockburn: Iraq better? With three wars going on?

Robert Fisk: Syrian leader gets top billing in Middle East by doing nothing

Ha’aretz – Israel concerned over U.S. idea to open interests section in Iran Opening U.S. interests section will have major influence on Israel's freedom of military movement vis a vis Iran

Israel denies involvement in Syrian general's assassination

Jerusalem Post Assad's Visit to Tehran Shows Syria-Iran Ties Strong

'Murdered Syrian officer knew too much' Speculation abounds over reported assassination of close Assad aide; Syrian press yet to comment.

Ending the Silent Russian-European War By: Igor Yurgens | The Japan Times Europe's demand for energy makes diversification of Russia's economy seem a distant prospect -- especially in view of how Russia's bureaucracy repels foreign business.

A world split apart, Alexander Solzhenitsyn

CSIS Sadr and the Mahdi Army: Evolution, Capabilities, and a New Direction 08/04/2008

The Times Iran delays nuclear discussion Iran has achieved, yet again, what it wants: paralysis of the international wrangling over its nuclear programme

Exclusive: Secret deal kept British Army out of Basra battle US and Iraqi forces were left to fight the al-Mahdi forces alone despite the 4,000 British troops stationed in the area

Top Syrian military official assassinated The death of General Mohammed Suleiman, right hand man to the Syrian president, prompts speculation of a rift within the Damascus regime

Turkic people at odds with China

The mainly Muslim Uighurs live in Xinjiang region have enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy over the past century

Financial Times Oil falls as fears for growth intensify Crude oil prices fell below $120 a barrel for the first time in three months amid mounting worries about slowing economic growth and signs of rising supplies from Opec, the oil exporting countries cartel

Repel the calls to contain competitive markets The economic edifice that fostered the surge in global trade is being pilloried for the pause and partial retrenchment. The cause of economic despair is humanity’s propensity to sway from fear to euphoria and back, writes Alan Greenspan

The Big Freeze part 2: future of banking Investment banks with weakened balance sheets may find their most profitable activities curbed

McCain and Obama trade blows on energy Candidates step up tetchy exchange over petrol prices, with Barack Obama accusing his rival of being in the ‘pocket of big oil’ and John McCain accusing his opponent of hypocrisy

Editorial comment: A constant critic Putin awarded Solzhenitsyn a state prize for his humanitarian work in 2007. It was a belated recognition. The dissident writer would probably have disapproved

WSJ While Diplomats Dither, Iran Builds Nukes By John R. Bolton With each passing day the military option becomes less viable.

Europe's Caucasian Moment By Borut Grgic And Alexandros Petersen Achieving peace in Abkhazia is not impossible.

Rand Future US Security Relationships with Iraq and Afghanistan: US Air Force Roles

CSIS A Strategic Approach To The Global Food Crisis REPORT | TASK FORCE | EVENT | LISTEN | Watch

Sarkozy, France and NATO Cicero Foundation This 21-page paper examines whether President Sarkozy's rapprochement to NATO is sustainable

So globalization, by making nations richer, will make them democratic? Not if we enrich entrenched, anti-democratic powers... more»

Bribery, corruption, extortion are the Afghan way, from the top of society to its very bottom. But that’s just the start, as Sarah Chayes explains... more»

Is America in Decline? Becker --- Is America in Decline? Posner's Comment

BBC Iran faces new sanctions warning Iran faces new sanctions if it does not respond positively to incentives to rein in its nuclear activities, the US and UK say.

Iran Paper Analyses Syrian President Visit (View Article)

The Times Has China got a terrorist problem? The Uighur attack in the northwest was shocking but not a precursor to a bigger outrage Rosemary Righter

Delicate China With only four days to the start of the Olympics, China is growing nervous about political challenges from within the country

IHT Beijing's Catch-22

By VICTOR D. CHA China will be a different country after the Games - whether the Chinese Communist Party likes it or not.

Top of the Agenda: China Border Attack - Council on Foreign Relations

Moscow's Triangular Diplomacy By: Alexander Veytsman | The Moscow Times The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Over three decades ago Richard Nixon pioneered a ""triangular diplomacy"" by forming two separate alliances with China and the Soviet Union, which had adversarial relations with each other in the early 1970s.

Daily Telegraph McCain level with Obama after strategy shift

John McCain's change to more open attacks on his rival seems to be paying off dramatically as the latest poll showed he had managed to draw level with Barack Obama.

Al Hayat Why Do Iran and Its Allies Bet on Barack Obama?

Raghida Dergham - Russia embarks on a diplomatic and political confrontation with the US because it feels that American politics is so shaky and unfocused that it offers Moscow the opportunity to impose bilateral and international equations; equations that would help it retrieve its special position in the balance of powers and strengthen its leadership in oil alliances as well as in new strategic alliances

Barron’s Interview and Video with Roubini: “Yes, That’s $2 Trillion of Debt-Related Losses”

Geopolitical Diary: Asia and the $120 Oil Mark Stratfor

• 'An NRO Symposium on Peter W. Rodman' [incl. Rumsfeld, Feith], National Review Online

Uigher Terrorism’s Rapid Rise

Newsweek The Tradeoffs of Going Green

YaleGlobal Wave Goodbye to the Invisible Hand

A Look at Nuclear Programs in Iran, North Korea, India

H 2 Guardian Turkey gets anti-Islamist army chief Uncompromising message of support for country's secular system sent out by supreme military council

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