UPI International Intelligence articles from December 2007

UPI International Intelligence archives from December 2007

Walker's World: Putin's paper tiger.
December 3, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The decisive but predictable victory of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party in Russia's parliamentary elections Sunday was based on a new ideology of Russian nationalism and...

Analysis: Unexpected fruit from Annapolis.
December 3, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- President Bush most likely never imagined that the Annapolis Middle East peace conference he convened last week on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay would yield the results it did. He hoped...

Analysis: Egypt's new anti-terrorism law.
December 3, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Egyptian government is drafting a new anti-terrorism law that will replace the country's 26-year-old state of emergency. In the process, it is going to have to redefine its...

Analysis: Behind the Kitty Hawk spat.
December 3, 2007... Byline: ANDREI CHANG HONG KONG, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Ever since former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui put forward his two-state theory in 1996 -- implying that Taiwan and China were separate states -- the U.S. aircraft carrier battle group has...

Feature: Cooperation helps pacify Hit.
December 3, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS HIT, Iraq, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Along the banks of the Euphrates River and just 30 miles from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi sits a success story in U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq. The place is named...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 3, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Kurdish Al Ahali newspaper carried an editorial Monday with the headline "Are U.S. military bases in Iraq going to replace those in the region?" The paper said with the fast-approaching...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 1.
December 4, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The publication Monday of the key judgments from the U.S. intelligence assessment of Iran's nuclear program has reignited the debate about how the United States should seek to deal with...

Commentary: Time for smart power.
December 4, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Why did President Bush raise the specter of World War III on Oct. 3 when he had known for at least six months what the gist of the National Intelligence Estimate would say? The key...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 4, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Kitabat newspaper carried an editorial Tuesday with the headline "Annapolis is a fall for Arabs, a spring for Israel and a disaster for Iran." It said the Annapolis conference took place as...

U.S. energy chief: Energy bill concerns.
December 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Congress is poised to pass an energy bill largely backed by environmental groups, but the U.S. energy secretary warns of going too far. "Congress has the opportunity right now to pass meaningful legislation,"...

Analysis: Global cyber-crime case cracked.
December 4, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The investigation of a relatively minor computer crash at the University of Pennsylvania last year led law enforcement agencies from three countries to a multimillion-dollar cyber-crime...

Walker's World: Iran's new Gulf friends.
December 5, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A curious event took place in the Gulf as the new National Intelligence Estimate appeared in Washington, undermining the Bush administration's threats and angry rhetoric by...

Analysis: Indian rebels target courts.
December 5, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The court bombings last month in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh by Islamist militants marks a shift in their strategy, moving from civilian targets to the judiciary, experts say. ...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 5, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The Saudi-based Al Baser newspaper carried an editorial Wednesday with the headline "Resisting the occupation doesn't come through negotiations." "If people are not sure the occupation and...

Outside View: Lebanon crisis not over yet.
December 6, 2007... Byline: MARIA APPAKOVA MOSCOW, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- After two months of intense debate, Lebanon's Christian community has finally made a fence-straddling presidential nomination. It is too early, however, to expect an end to the current...

Sino Gas plans new natural gas plants.
December 6, 2007... HONG KONG, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Hong Kong-based Sino Gas Group Ltd. plans to build compressed natural gas stations. The group's affiliate, Sino Gas Jiangxi, will build CNG stations in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi, in cooperation...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 6, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Al Basaer newspaper carried an editorial Thursday that said Iraqis won't recognize any agreement carried out under the occupation that "touches" Iraq's sovereignty. The paper referred to a...

Outside View: Serbs must let go in Kosovo.
December 7, 2007... Byline: BENNETT RAMBERG LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- As if Washington did not have enough tumult on its foreign policy plate, another crisis now looms in Kosovo. Occupied by NATO in 1999 to stem ethnic cleansing of the province's...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 7, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Al Itijah Al Akhar newspaper carried an editorial Friday titled "Rice's distance from Iraq: The reasons." The editorial said while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been...

Analysis: Pakistan border plan -- Part 1.
December 7, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. plan to arm Pakistani tribal forces on the border with Afghanistan to help in the fight against Islamic extremists is fraught with difficulty and freighted by history, but some...

Walker's World: Iran, nukes and sanctions.
December 10, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The rhetoric of U.S. and Arab officials over their divergent policies toward Iran has become curiously more heated since the release last week of the National Intelligence...

Analysis: Iran is still a threat for U.S.
December 10, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The Iranian government's rejoicing over the recent report by U.S. intelligence services that the Islamic republic had ceased being a nuclear threat was short-lived. Addressing a...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 10, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The independent Kitabat newspaper in an editorial Monday titled "Did Al Maliki fall into the U.S. trap?" said the United States considered Iran the only danger in the world that threatens its...

Analysis: Kosovo closer to independence.
December 10, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- All but one of the European Union's 27 member states are ready to accept Kosovo's independence without a U.N. Security Council resolution, it surfaced Monday after talks in Brussels. The move...

Outside View: North Korea talks break down.
December 11, 2007... Byline: IVAN ZAKHARCHENKO MOSCOW, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The recent furor about the U.S. assessment of Iran's nuclear program has overshadowed developments in North Korea, where the six-party talks on its nuclear disarmament are dragging on and...

Analysis: Racism on the rise in EU.
December 11, 2007... Byline: LEANDER SCHAERLAECKENS BRUSSELS, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Racism and Islamophobia are on the rise in the European Union, a new report has shown. In its recently released Shadow Report 2006, the European Network Against Racism observed,...

Analysis: More than Putin's puppet?
December 11, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev to become the next Russian president means continuity for the current system. It also paves the way for Vladimir Putin, the current president, to retain at...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 11, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The independent Shabab Al Iraq newspaper said Tuesday in an editorial titled "Bush will be in the region soon" that President Bush was visiting the Middle East early next year. "Israeli...

Analysis: U.S. labs under cyberattack.
December 11, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A computer security breach at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in which hackers stole a database of visitors' personal information, was a highly sophisticated cyberattack and part of a...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 3.
December 11, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Preparing for a strike against Iran involves far more than just military preparations; it also requires making a case to try and gain public support. And that is likely to be much harder...

Analysis: India intel fails to halt terror.
December 12, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- India says its state intelligence departments are not equipped to take on terrorism following failures that have put their efficiency in doubt. "The repeated intelligence failures of...

Walker's World: Russia's modern czar.
December 12, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Russia's next president, Dmitri Medvedev, known to his friends as Dima, is a fan of the rock groups Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. He swims a mile every day, and he is...

Analysis: Turkish worries over Iraq.
December 13, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Turkey remains deeply concerned by ongoing developments in neighboring Iraq and opposes any division of the country, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul told a security symposium...

Feature: Looking for IEDs.
December 13, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS AL ASAD, Iraq, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- IED, the acronym for improvised explosive device, is shorthand for terror in Iraq and with good cause. Since the capture of Baghdad in 2003 and the start of the insurgency, the...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 13, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Al Sabah newspaper Wednesday carried an editorial titled "Iraq's displaced from the U.S. perspective." Discussing a report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 13, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Hezbollah's Al Bayyna newspaper carried an editorial Thursday with the headline "An advice to President Bush: Overthrow Saudi government, terrorism will vanish." It said neither...

Analysis: Student visa concern highlighted.
December 13, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The arrest on firearms charges of a Moroccan student at the University of South Florida has highlighted what critics say are continuing security loopholes in the way U.S. visas are issued...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 2.
December 14, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Despite Monday's announcement that U.S. intelligence agencies now believe Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, officials continue to insist that "all options are on the...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 4.
December 14, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- What assets and weapons systems would the U.S. military likely use in any strike against Iran's nuclear program, and what targets would it seek to use them against? Historically, the...

Feature: Iraq tribal alliances pay off.
December 14, 2007... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS ZUWAYYAH, Iraq, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Nearly five years into the occupation of Iraq the United States is learning what the British, the Turks and even Saddam Hussein knew and practiced before them: Forming alliances with...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 14, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Al Sabah Al Jadeed newspaper carried an editorial Friday titled "The illusions of exporting democracy." It said the word "democracy" is constantly heard through White House statements...

Analysis: Pakistan border plan -- Part 2.
December 14, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. plan to use development aid to combat Islamic extremism in the Pakistani tribal areas on the remote Afghan border is not too little, but is much too late, say experts. "It's...

Commentary: Dubai: Iran's Hong Kong.
December 17, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate that said Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons quest four years ago was greeted in the Persian Gulf Emirates with a...

Walker's World: The bill for Europe.
December 17, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER FRANKFURT, Germany, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Court of Auditors of the European Union has announced, for the 13th year in a row, that it will not sign off on the accounts of the EU's $190 billion budget, since it is again...

Analysis: Not all Islamists are equal.
December 17, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI SAN DIEGO, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- When the Bush administration decided to make promoting democracy in the greater Middle East a major component of its post-Sept. 11 foreign policy, it soon discovered that it can be a...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 17, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Shabab Al Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Monday titled "Bush's allies withdraw from Iraq entanglement." "The disagreement between the U.S. and British governments over the occupation...

Analysis: Swiss oust nationalist leader.
December 17, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A Swiss right-wing party that campaigned on xenophobic ideas withdrew from the ruling coalition after its key figure was ousted from the Cabinet, a move that changes Swiss politics in the way...

Analysis: Zawahiri pledges online chat.
December 17, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Ayman al-Zawahiri, the deputy leader of al-Qaida and one of the most hunted men on Earth, plans to stage an online interview session in which he will answer questions submitted to Jihadi...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 18, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Basaer newspaper said Tuesday it is important to analyze the declaration of intent between the United States and Iraq, which it called a declaration of...

Analysis: India fights ultras differently.
December 19, 2007... Byline: KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- India has decided to fight growing Maoist rebellion with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking report cards from the insurgency-hit states, which would be placed before the conference of the...

Walker's World: Is Europe doing better?
December 19, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The euro is riding high and the dollar is weak. European car sales boom while Detroit suffers. European growth rates are recovering and the United States is slipping toward recession. ...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 5.
December 19, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- By definition all military campaigns plan for the worst case. Because any U.S. attack against Iran would likely provoke an Iranian military response, the U.S. plan must include taking out...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 19, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Kurdish Al Ittihad Newspaper published an editorial titled "Iraqis' consensus" that said Iraqi political parties usually disagree on principle, to show they have the power to say no to...

Analysis: Inside the Kosovo negotiations.
December 20, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The European Union's representative to the Kosovo Troika says Russia -- not the United States -- carries the main responsibility for the failure of the Kosovo negotiations. Wolfgang...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 20, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Al Ittihad newspaper ran an editorial with the headline "Terrorists warm nurseries." "What is written about terrorism in books and research, and many...

Analysis: Saudis aim to reform jihadis.
December 20, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The Saudi program of rehabilitation for violent Islamic extremists, under which more than 1,500 have been released from jail in the kingdom, is drawing praise from U.S. officials, but...

Commentary: CHIMEA no chimera.
December 21, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Below Washington's geopolitical radar screen, where Iraq and Iran tend to blur out the rest of the world, momentous events are in the making. Among the most...

Outside View: Will Paris cash help Gaza?
December 21, 2007... Byline: MARIA APPAKOVA MOSCOW, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- At an international conference of donor countries in Paris $7.4 billion was pledged -- more than the initially requested $5.6 billion -- to help the Palestinian government. Out of this...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 21, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Baser newspaper said in an editorial Friday that the conflict in Iraq pitted the occupation against the Iraqi resistance. The editorial, titled "Iraq...

Analysis: U.S. military & Iran -- Part 6.
December 21, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- What would be the consequences of a U.S. military attack against Iran's nuclear program? Likely one of the first would be another blow to the international credibility of the United...

Walker's World: The best Christmas present.
December 24, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER LONDON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The best Christmas present the creaking global economy could hope to receive would be sudden agreement on the Doha Round of the world trade talks. Fat chance. It looks further away than ever,...

Analysis: Allies recommit to Afghanistan.
December 24, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made unannounced visits to Afghanistan this weekend. They came to...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 24, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Al Mashriq newspaper said in an editorial Monday that the number of heroin addicts in Baghdad had increased to 7,000 from 4,000 in 2004. The editorial, titled "We have democracy and...

Analysis: Al-Qaida in 2007 -- Part 1.
December 26, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- It has been a mixed year for al-Qaida -- its franchise in Iraq looks increasingly isolated, and some U.S. observers are talking openly about it having been defeated; but in Pakistan and...

Atlantic Eye: Voting, thuggery and fraud.
December 26, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN BUDAPEST, Hungary, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried," a disgruntled Winston Churchill said in the House of Commons in...

Walker's World: As grim as 1929?
December 26, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER LONDON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Despite surprisingly strong consumer spending on Christmas shopping, the British economy -- like the British government -- is facing the coming new year with trepidation. The pound has...

Commentary: Dr. Coue's geopolitical myths.
December 27, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- To corral some 40 nations to attend the Annapolis, Md., summit last Nov. 27 on midwifing a Palestinian state, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice relied on the...

Analysis: Al-Qaida in 2007 -- Part 2.
December 27, 2007... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- It has been a mixed year for al-Qaida. Its franchise in Iraq looks increasingly isolated, and some U.S. observers are talking openly about it having been defeated; but in Pakistan and...

Analysis: Pakistan hurt by Bhutto killing.
December 27, 2007... Byline: KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The reported killing of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shows the continued strength of Islamists and paralyzes Pakistan's political system, at least in the short term....

Analysis: Ghost of outsourcing yet to come.
December 27, 2007... Byline: DAVID ISENBERG WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- It is that time of year again, when we both look back at what happened and what will be. Just as Ebenezer Scrooge did, aided by the Ghosts of Christmas Past and the Ghost of Christmas Yet...

Commentary: Murder Inc.
December 27, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- (Editor's note: The following piece was published Oct. 25, soon after Benazir Bhutto returned home to Pakistan and escaped an assassination attempt against her. Prior to traveling...

Analysis: Optimism for Annapolis process.
December 27, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Annapolis process may very well be the biggest chance for peace in the Middle East since the signing of the Oslo Accords in Norway some 15 years ago, according to a Western diplomat. ...

Analysis: Who killed Bhutto?
December 27, 2007... Byline: KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Just before her return to Pakistan in October, Benazir Bhutto told UPI Editor at Large Arnaud de Borchgrave the names of men she believed were out to kill her. "I have been...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 27, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The independent Kitabat newspaper Wednesday carried an editorial with the headline: "Why does the U.S. oversize everyone in Iraq?" The paper said that people think the United States and...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 27, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Basaer newspaper said Thursday that foreign occupiers always take the "back road" in all their actions, which makes it easy for those not in the know to...

Commentary: Pakistani suspects galore.
December 27, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Suspects in the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto number in the tens of thousands. Some 800 Pakistanis have been killed by suicide bombers in the past year. Bhutto had a...

Analysis: Germany's busy 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Domestic security, the fight against terrorism and the leadership roles at the Group of Eight and the European Union marked Germany's high-profile 2007. German Chancellor Angela Merkel...

Outside View: Basra key to 2008 in Iraq.
December 28, 2007... Byline: MARIA APPAKOVA MOSCOW, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The fate of Basra will be a key determinant of how Iraq will fare during any U.S. troop drawdown next year. The British military handed responsibility for security in the province to...

Analysis: Europe's security record in 2007.
December 28, 2007... Byline: DANIEL KORSKI BRUSSELS, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Looking back over the European Union's record as security actor in 2007, two things stand out. The year will be remembered for the Lisbon Treaty, which, once ratified by the 27 member...

Commentary: Failing nuclear power.
December 28, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Pakistan is one of the world's eight nuclear powers and the first one to be categorized as a failing state. Not failed yet, but on its way, and the world's major powers are...

Analysis: Pakistan's grim year.
December 28, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- It has been a grim year for Pakistan. Since the start of 2007 the country has experienced 54 suicide terrorist attacks, including two Thursday, one of which killed Benazir Bhutto, a...

Analysis: Mixed legacy for Bhutto.
December 28, 2007... Byline: KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Benazir Bhutto embodied the best and worst of South Asian politics. She was a charismatic leader who inspired and gave hope to millions of her people, only to disappointment them with...

Iraq Press Roundup.
December 28, 2007... Byline: HIBA DAWOOD NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The independent Shebab Al Iraq newspaper said Friday in its editorial titled "The U.S. withdrawal: The results" that people think the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will bring more chaos, more...

Analysis: Avoiding martial law in Pakistan.
December 31, 2007... Byline: ANWAR IQBAL WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Soon after former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the Bush administration launched a concerted effort to ensure that Pakistan does not revert to yet another...