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H1 Financial Times Reproach for the west on its role in Georgia Georgia will not get its separatist provinces back and the west should not make rash promises are lessons from the South Ossetia conflict, writes Anatol Lieven Guardian Surrender or else, Russia tells Georgia Kremlin calls halt to offensive and dictates humiliating terms Analysis: Putin's redrawing of the geo-political map Stratfor The Russo-Georgian War and the Balance of Power The Russian invasion of Georgia has not changed the balance of power in Eurasia. It simply announced that the balance of power had already shifted. Guardian Bush rebuking Russia? Putin must be splitting his sides Simon Jenkins: Moscow has to take some of the blame. But it is the west's policy of liberal interventionism that has fuelled war in Georgia Helena Cobban On US over-stretch RFE/RL News Analysis: Russian Stop Leaves Crucial Questions Ha’aretz – U.S. rebuffs Israeli request for arms geared toward Iran strike U.S. viewed Israeli request for advanced military supplies as sign that a strike on Iran was imminent Editorial Painful historic miss Olmert's proposal is commendable as a basis for negotiations, even if the details are unacceptable to the Palestinians, who seek a much smaller land swap. The problem is that like Barak, Olmert has reached the critical moment too late in his term. Military strike on Iran won't derail nuclear program, U.S. experts say Washington-based think tank says attack on Iran won't destroy centrifuge program for enriching uranium Jerusalem Post Fundamentally Freund: From Tbilisi to Teheran [ MICHAEL FREUND Conflict Offers Glimpse at New World Order - Gerald Seib, Wall St. Journal Russia is Back as a Grand Adversary - Robert Kaplan, The Atlantic The Times Russia: pause for thought The Kremlin has achieved its short-term goal of ending Georgian influence in South Ossetia. This does not mean it can proceed to rebuild its old empire in the Caucasus James Pethokoukis / US News: Two Cheers for Russia's Invasion of Georgia McClatchy Russian military stronger, but still far from Cold War peak Independent Leading article: A conflict that has cost Georgia's democracy dear Russia flexed its muscles and proved its mastery of the region Heritage Foundation Saving Georgia by Ariel Cohen Future U.S. Security Relationships with Iraq and Afghanistan: U.S. Air Force Roles Source: RAND Corporation EDM THE GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN CONFLICT THROUGH THE EYES OF BAKU Christian Science Monitor U.S. limited in Georgia crisis American effort to spread democracy wanes in post-Iraq era. Cyberspace: new frontier in conflicts Internet attacks on Georgia expose a key flaw for more than 100 nations Russian military triumph leaves pro-West Georgia uncertain Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's failed attempt to retake South Ossetia may cost him dearly in Georgia, one of the strongest US allies in Russia's backyard. The Russian Empire Strikes Back - Robert Baer, Time A Premeditated, Unprovoked Attack - Ralph Peters, New York Post The West Shares Blame for Georgia Invasion - Michael Hirsh, Newsweek Some Georgians Blame Saakashvili for Russian Raids Q&A: Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili on Russia Fight Washington Post Moscow Agrees To Georgia Truce Russian Attacks Continue After Statement Who Poked the Bear? By Dan Froomkin In Apparent Truce, U.S. Sees Russian Fear of Global Reproof Another Hard Landing for Russia? By Eugene Rumer, It will take skill and patience to get Russia to a soft landing from its present high. Erasing The Race Factor Obama's Best Hope Is To Face the Issue Directly By Peter Beinart The Great Energy Confusion By Robert J. Samuelson, Although the projections could change, dependence on foreign oil is unavoidable. Los Angeles Times Georgia agrees to Russia's truce proposal Under the cease-fire terms, Georgia essentially would give up claims to the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Pandora's box of sovereignty Supporting only some independence movements can have disastrous consequences for the world. By Thomas Meaney and Harris Mylonas • Conflict intrudes on U.S. politics Georgia crisis exposes Europe's diplomatic limits Though the EU responded quickly and aggressively, it has a weak foreign policy and little leverage in dealing with Russia, analysts say. Stand up to Russia By Max Boot The U.S. must do more to help Georgia than issue strongly worded statements. As Many US Contractors as Troops in Iraq South Ossetia: the avoidable tragedy, Thomas de Waal The war for Georgia: Russia, the west, the future , Ghia Nodia Russia debates the war, Boris Dolgin Asia Times SPENGLER Putin for US president - more than ever Putin's swift and decisive action in Georgia reflects precisely the sort of decisiveness that America requires. However, the United States, apart from a bad case of cream pie in the face,  has lost nothing in this flare-up - Georgia never should have been an ally anyway The end of the post-Cold War era The United States is carefully cultivating an opinion in Western capitals that Russia is "bullying" Georgia. This will strengthen Washington's case for inducting Georgia into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which will in turn facilitate the deployment of the US missile defense system onto Russia's border. If Moscow remains passive, the Caucasus could become its "bleeding wound". - M K Bhadrakumar Russia marks its red lines The Georgian attack on South Ossetia and the Russian response is the first battle in a new proxy war between United States and Israeli interests against Russia. But Georgia and ally Washington appear to have miscalculated very badly. Russia has made it clear it has no intention of ceding its support for South Ossetia or allowing a missile defense system into a neighboring country. - F William Engdahl FT The dramatic effect of a firm nudge Too often governments resort to coercion when trying to make policies work. Gentler approaches, which preserve freedom of choice, are at least as effective, write Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler Policy is a matter for the world, not just a rich club The justification for keeping the Group of Seven as a separate structure – that it is the appropriate forum for macro-financial matters – is now gone. A frank policy dialogue between emerging and developed countries requires an appropriate venue, writes Jean Pisani-Ferry Living with the Russian bear Vladimir Putin, re-emerging as Russia’s real leader, has achieved nearly all of Moscow’s war aims, in the face of a feeble western response Comment: Russia’s response to Georgia was right Moscow has been entirely proportionate in its military response to Georgia’s attack on Russian citizens, writes Sergei Lavrov Bush is spectator as policy unravels The crisis in South Ossetia has dealt a setback to US efforts to draw Georgia and other former Soviet states into the western sphere of influence and plunged an already-fraught US-Russian relationship into deeper disarray The Analogists' Ball By: Leon Wieseltier | The New Republic The American discussion of the Russian war on Georgia seems to consist mainly in remembering, or misremembering. The most pressing question of all is not how to stop Putin's vicious attack on an independent democratic state with a dream of the West, but whether or not we are witnessing a repetition of the Cold War. Frederick W. Kagan / understandingwar.org: BACKGROUNDERS: SITUATION REPORT, RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT MESH Debacle in the Caucasus WSJ Wall Street Journal Bush and Georgia What would Harry Truman do? Welcome Back to the Great Game By Melik Kaylan Failing to stand up to Russia would jeopardize every international gain since the Cold War. First Yukos, Then Georgia By Holman W. Jenkins Jr. Business World It's time for a reality-based view of Russia. Drubbing of Georgia Deals Blow to U.S. Foreign Policy Moscow said it would withdraw most troops after battering Georgia and succeeding in its military goals. Russia's offensive is presenting new and unexpected challenges for America's next president and it's prompting U.S. strategists to ponder the onset of a new Cold War.  Impeaching Musharraf Will it help the civilian government fight the war on terror? Washington Times - Marriage of power and policy America overreaches in Georgia. Tony Blankley Putin the Terrible - Alvaro Vargas Llosa, RealClearPolitics How the West Botched Georgia - Ronald Asmus, The New Republic The Times Strutting Russia is heading for a fall Opinion is hardening against the Kremlin. For all its bluster, it is weak and vulnerable Richard Beeston Oil in Troubled Mountains By: Robert M. Cutler | Asia Times The Caucasus conflict underlines the exposed position of oil pipelines from the Caspian Sea that avoid Russia by threading their way through Georgia. Moscow's military moves, supposedly over South Ossetia, indicate its intention to maintain control of these energy links to the West. ABCNEWS: Alleged Mata Hari of Al Qaeda Could Provide ‘Treasure Trove’ of Intelligence RFERL 'Many Georgians Expected West To Intervene' Iraqi forces move en masse against insurgent hotbed More than 600 arrests of high-level and not-so-high-level al Qaida in Iraq suspects have been made here in the last two weeks. There've been some major rough spots — insurgents have mounted at least three lethal attacks against Iraqi security forces, and they tried to kill the provincial governor Tuesday — but it seems that Operation Glad Tidings, which brought more than 30,000 Iraqi troops and policemen into Baqouba and the surrounding countryside of Diyala province, is moving from the clear-and-hold phase to the public relations phase NPR What's Next For Saakashvili? Russia, Georgia, and Iran by Noah Pollak Der Spiegel Ceasefire in Georgia: Putin Outmaneuvers the West SPIEGEL Interview with IAE Head Nobuo Tanaka: 'We Live in an Era of High Energy Prices' New York Times Russia, in Accord With Georgians, Sets Withdrawal The Georgian and Russian presidents agreed early Wednesday to a framework that could end the war, but antagonisms still seethed. Mixed Messages and Unheeded Warnings From the U.S. Before the Gunfire, Cyberattacks Weeks before physical bombs fell on Georgia, a security researcher was watching an attack against the country in cyberspace. U.S. Analyst Depicts Al Qaeda as Secure in Pakistan and More Potent Than Last Year Russian Offensive Imperils U.S. Aims on Iran, Energy By: Janine Zacharia | Bloomberg News Russia's widening military campaign in Georgia may end up threatening the U.S. strategic aims of preventing Iran from building a nuclear bomb and securing Central Asian energy supplies for Europe Back in the USSR HENRY Kissinger used to say that while it can be dangerous to be an enemy of the United States, to be a friend is fatal. The people of South Vietnam learned that bitter lesson when the United States abandoned them in 1975. The Poles learned it after Yalta, the Hungarian freedom fighters learned it in 1956, the Cubans learned it ... (By Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe) Slate Al-Qaida at 20 Is Osama Bin Laden's movement destined to fail? Daniel Byman Playing With Fire in the Caucasus by Doug Bandow Foreign Policy The Kremlin’s Virtual Army Roubini The Perfect Storm of a Global Recession Situation Report, Russo-Georgian Conflict Source: Institute for the Study of War SyriaComment News Round Up (12 Aug. 2008)

H2 Arato: The Decision of the Turkish Constitutional Court: the Way Ahead Le Monde Diplomatique Turkey’s coup that never happened, by Andrew Finkel Washington Post Russia's Strike Shows The Power Of the Pipeline Analiz: Ahmedinejad'ın ziyaretini nasıl okumalıyız? Turkey Walks Tightrope Over Iran Ties ANALYSIS-"Fire in neighbour's house" has Turkey on edge No breakthrough expected in Ahmadinejad visit Ahmedinejad’a 4 kritik mesaj 'ABD teröre karşı desteğini çekebilir' A Land Apart Walrus Magazine Can Turkey fulfill its promise as a bridge between East and West when its own peoples stand divided? EDM MOUNTING PKK DEATH TOLL INCREASES PRESSURE ON THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT Washington Institute Kirkuk Derails Iraq's Election Law Ahmadinejad welcomes Kurdish premier Ahmadinejad praised Iraqi and Iranian solidarity during a meeting with Kurdish Premier Nechirvan Barzani in Iran's capital, Tehran. PostGlobal Ozel: Re-Emergent Russia a Reality Krizin perde arkası Prof. Mark Almond, BBC Türkçe'ye Rusya-Gürcistan krizini değerlendirdi Türkiye'ye savaş tuzağı Caucasus Conflict May Erode Turkey's Energy, EU Ambitions What Are Georgia's Neighbors Saying? Petrol Boru Hattına Yönelik Kaygılar Artıyor   Hükümetten Güneydoğu açılımı Traditional allies ‘burn bridges’ in Turkey - The National Newspaper Yağmur Atsız Kafkasya’ya KKTC modeli Jews, Ottomans and Turks Diplomat says Russia pleased over Ankara’s ‘balanced stance’ Jordan to buy Kirkuk crude at higher discount Metin Münir Mayına karşı korumalı zırhlı araç var ama yok Güngör Uras Gürcistan’da aşağı tükürsek sakal, yukarı tükürsek bıyık Kafkasya faturası Türkiye’ye çıkar mı Kafkasya'ya komşuluğundan ötürü Türkiye’nin AB üyeliği aleyhinde koz olabileceği öne sürülüyor. Kerkük petrol kurbanı MUHAMMED EL SEMMAK Gen: Too soon for Iraqi control of Kirkuk (UPI) -- It is untimely for Iraqi forces to take control in four northern provinces as the row over the status of Kirkuk threatens to turn violent, a U.S. official said Iraq and Turkey: Regional cooperation will change the region Hussain SINJARI Türkiye’yi savaşa çekme oyunu mu? Ahmedinecad yarın Türkiye’de 'Erdoğan bizi himaye eder' Israpundit » Blog Archive » Turkey’s abandonment of the West Erdoğan adeta Putin’i taklit ediyor CAROLINE GLICK