APS Diplomat Fate of the Arabian Peninsula articles from December 2007

APS Diplomat Fate of the Arabian Peninsula archives from December 2007

Pax Americana In Iraq Is Changing - Part 18 - US Limits Its Goals.
December 3, 2007... Having managed to lower the violence in much of Iraq, the Bush administration has lowered its expectation of achieving major steps towards unifying the country, including passage of a long-stymied law to share oil income and hold regional...

Long-Term US Presence.
December 3, 2007... President Bush and PM Nouri al-Maliki on Nov. 26 signed a declaration paving the way for a long-term US presence in Iraq from 2009, in addition to restoring full Iraqi sovereignty. US and Iraqi officials said both states would work towards...

1st US Troop Cutback Underway.
December 3, 2007... The first substantive reduction of US troops in Iraq has begun, as the first members of a brigade from Diyala Province have started to leave. Col. David Sutherland of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, whose soldiers have been...

Refugees Return.
December 3, 2007... Amid a media fanfare as the government sought to draw attention to an improving security situation, the process of state-sponsored convoys carrying Iraqis from Damascus back to Baghdad began on Nov. 27 as about 800 Iraqis returned. In recent...

US University In Kurdistan.
December 3, 2007... The fourth US university in the Arab world and the first in Iraq has opened in Suleymaniah, in eastern Kurdistan close to the Iranian border. Officials of the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) say this institution is eventually to...

Southern Mess & Iran Role.
December 3, 2007... Cordesman said: "Without political progress and a US military presence, the result could be a forced Shia takeover of the capital. The coalition security effort has virtually collapsed in the south. Southern Iraq is now under the control of...

Sunni-Shi'ite Meet In Najaf; Sistani For End To Sectarian Violence.(Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistaniligious )(Brief article)
December 3, 2007... Over 400 Sunni and Shi'ite religious men met in Najaf on Nov. 7 and on that occasion Grand Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani urged Iraqis to bring an immediate end to sectarian violence and Sunnis and Shi'ites to unite. The meeting was sponsored by the...

Neo-Salafis Brainwash Volunteers.
December 3, 2007... The Saudi media have focused on young Saudis who were brainwashed to fight in Iraq and escaped death in failed suicide attacks. They are calling on young Saudis not to follow in their footsteps and be wary of Neo-Salafi groups in Iraq, such as...