APS Diplomat News Service articles from December 2004

APS Diplomat News Service archives from December 2004

Afghan Offensive Is Set To Follow Karzai's Inauguration; More US Troops Move To Iraq.
December 6, 2004... *** Damascus Has Promised The US It Will Have Withdrawn From Lebanon By The Spring Of 2005; But Assad Is Not Interested In Sharon Terms To Resume Talks On Golan Peace *** Iran's Nuclear Suspension Is Only For A Few Months, Says Hassan...

The War Is Changing In Character.(Iraq)
December 6, 2004... Retired US Army Col. Ralph Hallenbeck, who worked in Iraq last year, was on Dec. 2 quoted by The New York Times (NYT) as saying: "I fear that [the new move] signals a re-Americanization...of our strategy in Iraq". Adding troops at this point is...

Turkey's Leaders Begin Wondering If Joining The EU Is Worth The Price They Must Pay.
December 13, 2004... ANKARA - As Turkey and the European Union continue talks on the possibility of EU accession, the number of Turkish leaders having doubts about the advisability of their country becoming a member of this union. Ankara should also re-examine...

TURKEY - The Economic Dangers.
December 13, 2004... Foreign money has been pouring into Turkey rapidly, fuelling an economic expansion that has investors and analysts praising the country's policies. But those who remember a similar excitement about Argentina in the early 1990s, which was...

National Action Party & Many Others Against Joining The EU.(Milliyetci Hareket Partisi)
December 13, 2004... The hardline Kemalist movement, Nationalist Action Party (MHP) which is opposed to concessions being made for Turkey's entry into the union, has been outraged by demands from some EU member that Ankara negotiate peace with Kurdish separatists....

GCC Summit To Focus On Terrorism, Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process & Economics.(Arab Gulf Co-operation Council)
December 20, 2004... *** US Trade Rep. Bob Zoellick Watches As Egypt And Israel Sign A Landmark Deal To Establish (QIZs) Qualified Industrial Zones Enabling $500M/Y Of Egyptian Goods To Enter USA Tariff-Free In Return For Use Of Israeli Materials; This Is A 1st...

Bin Laden Tape Urges Attacks On Gulf Oil Installations.
December 20, 2004... A recording said to be by Osama Bin Laden has called for the overthrow of Saudi Arabia's royal family and urged militant jihadists to attack oil installations in Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Parts of the recording were broadcast on Dec. 16 on...

Democratisation Moves.(middle east)
December 20, 2004... There were two pro-democracy fora in the past week, one co-chaired by the US in Morocco and one in Dubai sponsored by the emirate's strongman Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. There will be three elections in the next two months, one on...

The Dubai Forum.
December 20, 2004... Some 1,500 politicians, business and media leaders met in Dubai on Dec. 13-15 and all the speakers called for democracy in the Arab world. The high-profile event is the brainchild of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and...

$6-8 Bn To Palestinians If They Make Peace With Israel.
December 20, 2004... The Bush administration has opened discussions with European and Arab states on a four-year aid package of $6-8 bn for the PA that would be contingent on steps by Israel and the Palestinians to improve security and freedom of movement in Gaza...

Sharon Says '05 Could Bring Historic Breakthrough.
December 20, 2004... Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon on Dec. 16 told delegates to the annual Herzliya conference on policy and strategy next year could bring a "historic breakthrough" in Israel's relations with the Palestinians, insisting that his plan to pull out of...

Hariri - Palestine & Iraq Are Keys To ME Future.(Brief Article)(Transcript)
December 20, 2004... The following are extracts from former PM Hariri's address to the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai: "...It is timely that the main theme of the forum is to ask if economic reform would be possible in the absence of political reform? Could economics...

US Churches Are At War Over The Israel Lobby's Bullying Power.
December 27, 2004... CHICAGO - An alliance is developing between the 2.5m-strong Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Peace and Justice Network (PJN) - the three combining into a new mainline Protestant movement - to stand up to the Israel...

Majority In US Believe Iraq War A Mistake.
December 27, 2004... President George W. Bush, who campaigned on national security issues to win re-election, is set to enter his second term amid growing public disillusionment over the handling of the Iraq war. Two new polls showed that, for the first time, a...

Majority Favours Rumsfeld's Exit.(Donald H. Rumsfeld)
December 27, 2004... With a majority saying the war was a mistake and most people believing that Defence Secretary Rumsfeld should lose his job, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll during the week showed a slight majority favoured Rumsfeld's exit and believed the...

On ME Peace Process.(Middle East)
December 27, 2004... David Brooks, in his column in The New York Times of Dec. 22, asked: "How did we get to this sudden moment of cautious optimism in the Middle East? How did we get to this moment when Egypt is signing free trade agreements with Israel, when...