APS Diplomat News Service articles from April 2008

APS Diplomat News Service archives from April 2008

Turkey - An Islamic Democracy Vs Kamalism; A Judicial Coup May Not Be The End-Game.
April 7, 2008... *** Until He Leaves Office In Early 2009, Bush Will Do All He Can To Prevent The Fall Of The US-Led Political Process In Iraq, The Fall Of The Siniora Govt. In Lebanon And The Fall Of The Palestinian Authority In Ramallah *** The Maximum...

The Economic Implications For Turkey.
April 7, 2008... With the issue having strengthened those in the EU who are opposed to Turkey's entry into the union, the prospect of months of domestic tensions have knocked Turkish markets, already suffering from global financial problems. By March 30, the...

Kamalism Vs French Laicite.
April 7, 2008... "With public opinion polls indicating that the AKP's draft constitution, prepared by an academic committee, would be accepted through normal democratic procedures, the chief prosecutor acted to uphold the type of secularism enshrined in the...

Ankara's Fresh Look At Prophet Muhammad.
April 7, 2008... Turkey's religious authorities are close to completing a three-year project to reinterpret the hadith - reports and commentary on the words, deeds and opinions of the Prophet Muhammad. Its aim is to edit out those hadiths which are used as...

Russia & Saudis Send Powerful Signals For Global Peace.
April 14, 2008... *** Israel's Apr6-10 War Games, The Largest In Its History, Meant The Jewish State Went Back To 'Worst-Case' Scenario Planning For A Fortress Encircled By Enemies - Thanks To The Iran-Led Axis Whose Main Partners Still Await A US Deal ***...

Putin-Bush Summit.(Vladimir Putin, George W. Bush)
April 14, 2008... The last summit between Presidents Putin and Bush was held in Sochi on April 6. In a joint news conference at Putin's villa in Bocharov Ruchei after their talks, both said they were interested in a joint defence system with Europe against...

NATO & Russia Accord On Transit To Afghanistan.(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)(Brief article)
April 14, 2008... NATO and Russia on April 4 reached an agreement to allow the transport of equipment by land across Russian territory to supply the Western alliance's peace-keeping operations in Afghanistan. The supplies to be permitted by the deal would range...

What May Follow The Bucharest & Sochi Arrangements.
April 14, 2008... On the one hand, the Bush administration wants to create a legacy by transforming NATO as the dominating political-military force in Europe under US leadership. On the other hand, it wants this achieved without a breach with either its allies...

The Answer In Afghanistan?
April 14, 2008... Unnoticed by the security officers around the palatial venue of the NATO summit in Bucharest was a visitor who lingered in the shadows and watched the proceedings - the Taliban, while Afghan President Hamid Karzai was rubbing shoulders with the...

Iran Steps Up Uranium Enrichment.
April 14, 2008... President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad on April 8 said Iran had begun installing an additional 6,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges at its main nuclear facility. This would enable Iran to triple its current capacity to enrich uranium to produce nuclear...

Lebanon Now Carries All World Conflicts - A Lab Awaiting Election Of New US President.
April 21, 2008... *** The Syrian Media Anticipate An Israeli Attack Against Hizbullah Around Late May *** For Its Part, Hizbullah Is Reported To Be Getting Shi'ite, Sunni, Christian & Druze Recruits To Be Trained In Iran For A War It Believes Will Take The...

Hizbullah Preparing For War?
April 21, 2008... In south Lebanon, where most of the 34-day war in July/August 2006 was played out between Hizbullah and Israel, villages are abuzz with talk of another devastating conflict between the two foes. Over the past few weeks, military activity on...

Honesty Helps UAE Turn Into 'Model Arab State'.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... In a speech at the National Identity Conference which began on April 15 at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh 'Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan said an open foreign policy and tolerance in internal matters had...

Peres Blames 'Weak' Palestinian Leadership.
April 21, 2008... The FT on April 15 quoted Israeli President Shimon Peres as questioning whether Israeli and Palestinian leaders could meet their goal of a comprehensive peace agreement by end-2008. The US-sponsored talks, launched last year, are the first...

Iranians Give US Democrats Their Vote.
April 21, 2008... Iranians hope for an end to policies which saw them labelled part of an "axis of evil". The FT on April 18 quoted a Tehran bazaar fabric merchant called "Mehdi" as saying: "In the US they have real democracy, not like here. So I'm very...

EU Presses Iran to abandon N-Plans.
April 21, 2008... The European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner on April 15 warned the EU would be forced to take measures against Iran if it pursued nuclear programmes in defiance of UNSC resolutions and...

Ebadi Gets Death Threats.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... In a statement, Iranian Nobel peace laureate and leading rights activist Shirin Ebadi on April 14 said she had received death threats pinned to the door of her office building, warning her to "watch your tongue", adding: "At the entry to the...

Shiraz Mosque Blast Kills Many.(Brief article)
April 21, 2008... The Iranian authorities last week continued probing the cause of a explosion which on April 12 killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 200 others at a mosque. Several officials have insisted the blast in Shiraz was an accident and not a...

Egypt Is Facing 'Turko-Persian' Imperialism, As A Global War For Resources Is Seen.
April 28, 2008... *** Machiavellianism Is The Ideology Of All Those Who Use God As A Vehicle To Take Power - Control Is Their Real Religion And The Sword They Use Can Be Anything From Energy To Food, Famine, And So Forth *** To Them, Honesty Is An Obtuse...

UK Ex-Jihadis For Tolerance.(Quilliam Foundation )
April 28, 2008... Young, middle-class and angry jihadis, including HuT members who as the vanguard of disaffected Muslims gave rise to the July 7, 2005, transportation bombers, on April 22 launched a movement to fight the same ideology they once worked to...

The Global Economy.
April 28, 2008... With paper WTI on April 22 having risen to almost $120/b, oil prices were among the main topics at the 11th International Energy Forum in Rome on April 20-23. The debate touched on such controversial issues as rapidly rising production of...

Resource Nationalism.
April 28, 2008... Consumer states and IOCs keen to gain greater access to the world's energy resources walked away from the Rome event empty-handed from talks with producer states. Record high oil prices had helped to drive up the profits of majors IOCs, but...

The Iran View.
April 28, 2008... Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said US pressure on IOCs to shun Tehran will backfire by hindering efforts to add new supply to meet rising global demand. He said: "Those who are engaged in doing the [US and UNSC] sanctions and...

What's The Ceiling For Paper WTI.(West Texas Intermediate)
April 28, 2008... When on April 22, paper WTI reached almost $120/b, traders at NYMEX wondered when the $130 level would be reached. In a comment posted to a BusinessWeek.com opinion piece arguing there was no actual shortage of gasoline, "Ward" on April 17...

Bush Urged To Have Energy Price-Fixing Task Force.(George W. Bush)(Brief article)
April 28, 2008... In a letter to President Bush and Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Sen Maria Cantwell and Representative Jay Inslee, both Washington Democrats, said the US Justice Department should start a task force to investigate oil and natural gas price...

White House Rejects Linking Arms Deals With OPEC Output.
April 28, 2008... White House spokeswoman Dana Perino on April 24 said Senate Democrats were "barking up the wrong tree" by threatening to hold up arms deals with Saudi Arabia and other OPEC states unless they agreed to increase crude oil production. "The last...