APS Diplomat News Service articles from December 2007

APS Diplomat News Service archives from December 2007

Annapolis Opens All World Fronts: Diplomacy Vs Violence; Moderates Vs Radicals, Etc.
December 3, 2007... *** Musharraf Was On Nov. 29 Sworn In As A Civilian President Of Pakistan; He Promised To Lift The State Of Emergency Within Weeks; His Successor As Army Chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, On Nov. 28 Faced His 1st Test As Al-Qaeda And The Taliban...

The Annapolis Pledge.
December 3, 2007... Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Nov. 27 committed themselves to negotiate a peace treaty by end-2008, setting themselves a deadline for ending a conflict which has endured for six...

Olmert Warns On Israelis Survival.(Ehud Olmert )
December 3, 2007... In an interview published on Nov. 29 by Ha'aretz, Olmert gave a blunt warning that failure to reach a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians based on a two-state solution will lead to a "South African-style struggle" and may spell...

The Syria-Jordan Deal; Potential Break With Iran?
December 3, 2007... Syria is part of the Iran-led axis. But in Amman, as well as in Riyadh and Cairo, strategists regard the alliance between Assad and the Iranian theocracy as mere "a thawaj bil-mut'a", as one leading Arab diplomat on Dec. 1 put it to APS - i.e.,...

The Saudi View.
December 3, 2007... In one sign of the event's extraordinary nature on Nov. 27, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Sa'ud al-Faisal took notes during Olmert's remarks, his head slightly bowed. When the Israeli PM finished, he politely clapped his hands. In a statement...

Hamas Rally.
December 3, 2007... Up to 100,000 Palestinians joined an anti-Annapolis rally in Hamas-run Gaza on Nov. 27, chanting "Death to Israel, death to America" and calling Abbas a traitor for attending the peace talks. Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said: "Let them go to a...

Violence In Lebanon & Aoun's Threat.(Michel Aoun)
December 3, 2007... An armed battle broke out in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Nov. 27 between the Neo-Salafi Islamic Tawheed movement, a creation of the Syrian intelligence and ally of Hizbullah, and the pro-Hariri Tripoli Battalions. The son of the...

Back To Greater Syria Thoughts.
December 3, 2007... The following are extracts from an article by prominent columnist H. D. S. Greenway published on Nov. 27 by The Boston Globe (with underlining by APS): "... What if the US had been landed with the responsibility of ruling Palestine after the...

GCC Announces Start Of Common Market From Jan. 1, 2008; The Iranian Guest Was Warned.(Gulf Cooperation Council)(January 1, 2008)(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)
December 10, 2007... *** Doha's Decision To Invite The Iranian Pres. To The Summit Was Inspired By The Sultan Of Oman, Qaboos, Who - In A Closed Meeting With King Abdullah Of Saudi Arabia Before The Guest Was To Speak - Said It Was Best For The GCC To Forge...

The GCC Summit Decisions.(Gulf Cooperation Council)
December 10, 2007... GCC Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah on Dec. 4 called the decision to create the common market "a historic declaration". He told reporters: "We want to have equal opportunities for all GCC citizens". The communique said these included...

Israel On Iran.
December 10, 2007... Some Israeli officials and commentators during the week hinted the Jewish state could stage a military operation against Iran which, GCC officials warned, could eventually drag the US into a wider confrontation. At a White House news...

Gates In Iraq Sees Dramatic Improvement.(Robert Gates)
December 10, 2007... Defence Secretary Gates on Dec. 5-6 was in Iraq and had meetings with US commanders and Iraqi leaders about the improving security situation, having unexpectedly flown from Kabul to Mosul. In a Baghdad news conference, Gates said: "In recent...

Neo-Salafis Are Forced To Move To Northern Iraq.
December 10, 2007... Col. Tony Thomas, a senior US commander in northern Iraq, says Neo-Salafi insurgents are conducting more attacks in the north-eastern province of Diyala - including a recent attack by a woman suicide bomber - Mosul and Samarra'. He says he...

Iran-US Tensions Will Rule The Middle East For Years; Tribal Awakening Groups Spread.
December 17, 2007... *** Al-Qaeda's Two Suicide Attacks, Which On Dec. 11 Shook Algiers & Killed 70, Was Meant To Send A Message That Its Targets Now Were Int'l And Not Local, As The Bombers Hit UN Offices; It Was Like Its August 2003 Bombing Of The UN's Baghdad...

The US Surrounds Iran.(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Tehran's nuclear programme is regarded as a strategic necessity, given that Iran is surrounded by hostile powers. Iran, the biggest country in what it calls the Persian Gulf area, wants its regional leadership role to be recognised. But the US,...

How Can Iran Further US Interests?
December 17, 2007... In an article published on Dec. 12, US-based Iranian analyst Kaveh L Afrasiabi concluded that the Shi'ite theocracy of Iran could unwittingly further US interests in the region. He noted that a heated debate in Iran on the government's foreign...

Mottaki In Moscow.(Manouchehr Mottaki)
December 17, 2007... Although Russia has resisted drives to impose sanctions on Iran, it has repeatedly urged Tehran to co-operate with the IAEA to resolve concerns over its nuclear programme. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Dec. 13 underlined that...

Khatami Hits President.(Mohammad Khatami)(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)
December 17, 2007... Ahmadi-Nejad's moves were on Dec. 11 attacked at Tehran University in an unusual speech by his moderate/reformist predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, who warned that political suppression, questionable economic policies and defiance on the nuclear...

UK Spy Chiefs Say Iran Duped CIA.(central intelligence agency)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... British spy chiefs have grave doubts that Iran has mothballed its nuclear weapons programme and believe the CIA has been hookwinked by Tehran. The Sunday Telegraph on Dec. 9 said the timing of the NIE report had provoked fury in the British...

CIA 'Engineered Nuke Brain Drain'.(Central Intelligence Agency)(key officials in Iran's nuclear program to defect to US)
December 17, 2007... The Washington Post on Dec. 9 reported that the CIA had launched a secret programme in 2005 designed to degrade Iran's nuclear weapons work by persuading key officials to defect, an effort which prompted a "handful" of significant departures....

Ahmadi-Nejad's Blog.
December 17, 2007... The New York Times on Dec. 11 focused on Ahmadi-Nejad's own web blog, which it said was surprisingly mild. In it, the president condemns Washington's policies, but writes infrequently and more ponderously than in his famously confrontational...

The Middle East Perspective - A Year Of Great Changes Is Coming.
December 24, 2007... *** Bush Is To Visit Israel And Ramallah In January To Give A Further Boost To His Peace Process, Now That The PNA Has Got $7.4 Bn In Dev. & Budget Aid Over 3 Years *** Hamas Says The Dec. 17 Paris Conference Of International Donors Was A...

Lebanon Is 'Part Of Greater Syria', Damascus Insists.
December 24, 2007... High-ranking mediators from France and other EU states have been perplexed by the way the 'Alawite/Ba'thist regime of Bashar al-Assad keeps responding negatively to their demands, as well as the requests by top officials from Arab states which...

Saudi Papers Flay Syrian VP.(Saudi Arabia, Farouq al-Shara)
December 24, 2007... Saudi-owned newspapers on Dec. 17 lashed out at Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara' over recent remarks he made on the Lebanese presidential election, particularly his claim that Syria's influence in Lebanon was "as strong as ever" and that...

Assad Under Internal Pressure.(Bashar al-Assad )
December 24, 2007... The number of Syrian dissidents against Assad's regime has been increasing steadily since 2003, encouraged by Bush's campaign for democratisation in the Greater Middle East (GME). The regime often arrests such dissidents, who include liberal...

War Within Iran.
December 24, 2007... The 192-member UN General Assembly on Dec. 18 voted its "deep concern" over atrocities in Iran, such as stoning, repression of female dissidents and persecution of human rights defenders. The government's campaign against its people has...

Saudi/Egypt-Iran Rapprochement.
December 24, 2007... President Ahmadi-Nejad's presence at this year's hajj in Mecca on Dec. 18-19 at the personal invitation of King Abdullah has the potential to restore mutual trust between two of the Islamic world's most important players. Iran and Egypt are...