APS Diplomat Recorder articles from May 2007

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from May 2007

ARAB AFFAIRS - May 1 - A Passport To GCC Unity.
May 5, 2007... The agreement signed between the UAE and Saudi Arabia to enable their citizens to use identity cards to travel freely via land, sea and airports between the two countries is indeed good news for all Gulf people. It is aimed to ease the travel...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - April 29 - US Warns Turkey Over Kurdish Rebels.
May 5, 2007... Turkey ponders a military incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebel bases just beyond its border, the US has begun warning Ankara to learn a lesson from what some officials in Washington are starting to call Israel's "strategic...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 4 - Iran Skips High-Level Meeting With US.
May 5, 2007... US and Iranian officials had low-level contacts at a meeting intended to stabilise Iraq, after the Islamic republic's foreign minister walked away from an opportunity to speak to Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, over dinner, ostensibly...

AFGHANISTAN - Apr 30 - 130 Taliban Fighters Killed.(Brief article)
May 5, 2007... US-led coalition troops kill more than 130 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan over the past several days, but thousands of Afghans staged a protest saying the victims were civilians. Backed by air support, the Taliban were killed in two separate...

IRAN - Apr 30 - Critic Of Nuclear Stance Held.(Hossein Mousavian)(Brief article)
May 5, 2007... Hossein Mousavian, a former security official who played a leading role in Iran's negotiations with the EU over its nuclear programme, has been arrested. Muhammad Atrianfar, a prominent journalist close to Mousavian, confirmed he had been taken...

IRAQ - May 1 - Leader Of Al Qaeda Group In Iraq Is Reported Killed.
May 5, 2007... The Iraqi government says that it is investigating reports from "reliable sources" that Abu Ayyub al-Masri, leader of the radical Islamist insurgent group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, had been killed in an ambush by a rival insurgent faction. Iraqi...

ISRAEL - Apr 30 - Israeli War Report To Criticise Olmert.(Ehud Olmert)
May 5, 2007... According to leaked findings of a government commission of inquiry, PM Ehud Olmert, rushes into last year's war in Lebanon, relies unquestioningly on advice from the military and fails to define an exit strategy. Ignoring calls for his...

ISRAEL - May 4 - Olmert Defies Calls For Him To Quit.
May 5, 2007... Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, remains defiant and vows to stay in office in spite of a rally of 100,000 protesters urging him to quit because of his mishandling of last year's Lebanon war. Israelis from across the political spectrum gathered in Tel...

LEBANON - May 4 - Siniora Calls On All Lebanese To Rally Behind State.(Fouad Siniora )
May 5, 2007... PM Fouad Siniora urges all Lebanese political groups to rally behind the state, saying it is the only entity capable of achieving security, stability and economic growth. "There is no work and hope amid disturbances, crisis and fragmentation...

SAUDI ARABIA - Apr 29 - The Gulf Is Targeted: Abdullah.(King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia)(Brief article)
May 5, 2007... Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah receives GCC Shoura Council members at his palace in Riyadh and urges them to work for strengthening the unity of the GCC. "Our Gulf is now a target. I myself and other Gulf leaders are aware of...

TURKEY - Apr 30 - Appeal For Calm Amid Crisis.
May 5, 2007... Turkey's PM appeals for calm and national unity amid a political crisis sparked by the country's most serious clash between the military and an elected government for a decade. Financial markets tumbled and calls for an early general election...

TURKEY - May 2 - Turkey's PM Calls For Early Elections.
May 5, 2007... PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey asks Parliament to approve early national elections, and his party begins to press for several constitutional changes that will bring it advantages in the campaign. Elections had been scheduled for Nov. 4, but...

ARAB AFFAIRS: May 10 - Arab Team To Discuss Peace In Israel.
May 12, 2007... Pres Hosni Mubarak meets with Israel's FM, Tzipi Livni, and agrees that a team of Arab officials will soon visit Israel to discuss a peace proposal initiated by Saudi Arabia and endorsed by all members of the Arab League. Livni's meetings in...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 9 - Cheney Presses Maliki On Reforms.
May 12, 2007... US Vice-Pres Dick Cheney, pays an unexpected visit to Iraq in an apparent move to press PM Nouri al-Maliki, to push legislation aimed at overcoming sectarian differences through a reluctant parliament. US officials have said that progress on...

AFGHANISTAN - May 9 - Coalition Airstrikes Kill 21 Civilians.
May 12, 2007... Airstrikes call in by US Special Forces fighting insurgents in southern Afghanistan kill at least 21 civilians. One coalition soldier was also killed. The upper house of Parliament passed a bill May 8 calling for a halt to all international...

ALGERIA - May 10 - Algerian-Based Islamists Threaten More Suicide Attacks.
May 12, 2007... An Algerian-based Islamist group with links to al-Qaeda threatens to carry out more suicide attacks in the region in a video message that is likely to heighten concerns about threats from militants in north Africa. In the video, which was...

IRAN - May 8 - Prominent US Scholar Detained In Iran.(Haleh Esfandiari detained at Tehran's Evin prison)(Brief article)
May 12, 2007... Iranian authorities arrest Haleh Esfandiari, a prominent Iranian-American academic who headed the Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East programme in Washington. Lee Hamilton, a former Congressman, told reporters Ms Esfandiari called her...

IRAN - May 9 - Bail For Jailed Iranian Negotiator.(Hussain Mousavian)
May 12, 2007... The former Iranian nuclear negotiator Hussain Mousavian, was released on bail in Tehran on Wednesday, in what is seen as a victory for critics of the government of president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. Mousavian was arrested nine days ago on...

IRAQ - May 6 - 8 US Troops And 95 Iraqis Dead In Nationwide Violence.
May 12, 2007... Roadside bombs kill 8 American soldiers and a European journalist in Iraq, and a car bomb claims 30 more lives in a wholesale food market in a part of Baghdad where sectarian tensions are on the rise. In all, at least 95 Iraqis were killed or...

ISRAEL - May 10 - Olmert Disappointed By Israeli Army's Performance.(Ehud Olmert)
May 12, 2007... PM Ehud Olmert of Israel tells the committee investigating the war against Hizbullah last summer that he was disappointed with the performance of the army, which was also disappointed with its own performance, according to testimony that is...

PALESTINE - May 6 - Hamas Denounces US Plan For Middle East Accord.
May 12, 2007... Hamas, which leads the government of the PA and dominates its legislature, has poured scorn on American proposals to increase Palestinian movement and Israeli security. A day after the proposals, including removing some West Bank checkpoints,...

PALESTINE - May 6 - Israel Tortures Palestinian Inmates Despite Court Ruling.
May 12, 2007... Israel's Shin Bet security service tortures Palestinian prisoners during interrogations in defiance of a 1999 court ruling outlawing such practices, two Israeli human rights groups reports. Interrogators beat suspects, shackle them in painful,...

SYRIA - May 7 - Assad Says US-Syria Talks Were Not A 'Breakthrough'.(Bashar Assad)
May 12, 2007... Syrian Pres Bashar Assad says last week's talks between his country's FM and US State Sec Condoleezza Rice are not a "breakthrough", instead accusing the Bush administration of making Damascus a scapegoat for the failures in Iraq. May 3 talks...

TURKEY - May 6 - Turkey's Gul Withdraws Candidacy.
May 12, 2007... Turkey's FM Abdullah Gul, withdraws his nomination for the post of President after failing to win parliamentary backing. The withdrawal came as centrist political parties began regrouping in a bid to present a united front against the...

YEMEN - May 6 - Yemenis Jailed For Abduction Of Tourists.
May 12, 2007... Two Yemeni men are sentenced to 12 years in prison for kidnapping French tourists last year in Shabwah, east of the country. Judge Najeeb Al Qaderi at State Security Court handed down 12-year prison term to Ahmad Haidrah Salfoh and Rajjeh...

ARAB AFFAIRS - May 13 - Iran's Leader Starts Historic UAE Visit.
May 19, 2007... Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad hold talks in Abu Dhabi, in the first visit to the UAE by an Iranian president since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The trip comes on the heels of US Vice-president Dick Cheney's stop in Abu Dhabi, as both the US and...

ARAB AFFAIRS - May 15 - Palestinians Urged To End Fighting.
May 19, 2007... Leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states call on Palestinian groups to abide by their agreement signed in Makkah and demand that those responsible for the renewed clashes be held accountable. Fourteen people were killed in...

ARAB AFFAIRS - May 18 - Kingdom, Morocco Reject Foreign Interference.
May 19, 2007... Saudi Arabia and Morocco rejects foreign interference in Arab affairs, according to a joint statement carried by Saudi Press Agency following summit talks here between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and King Muhammad. "The two...

ARABS-ISRAEL - May 17 - Air Strikes Continue Against Hamas.
May 19, 2007... Israel launches a second day of air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, killing at least five militants, according to Palestinian reports. Mahmoud Abbas, the PA's Fatah president, appealed to the US to halt what he called an...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 14 - Jordan Seeks Peaceful End To Iran Standoff.
May 19, 2007... US Vice Pres Dick Cheney hold talks at Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba with King Abdullah, who urges a "peaceful solution" to the standoff between Western powers and Iran over its nuclear program. "Regarding the crisis over Iran's nuclear file,...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 14 - US Detains 11 In Search For Missing Soldiers.
May 19, 2007... As thousands of troops continue an intensive search for three missing US soldiers, the military disclose more details on the seven American soldiers who are involved in a deadly ambush south of Baghdad. The three missing soldiers are presumed...

AFGHANISTAN - May 12 - High-Ranking Taliban Commander Killed.(Mullah Dadullah)
May 19, 2007... The Taliban's foremost operational commander, Mullah Dadullah, has been killed in southern Afghanistan, and his body is put on display for journalists by Afghan officials in this southern city. "The insurgency has received a serious blow", the...

IRAQ - May 17 - Chemical Ali Denies Role In Gas Attacks On Kurds.
May 19, 2007... For the man Iraqis know as Chemical Ali, the trial that heard its last testimony in Baghdad last week was always likely to be the prelude to an end on the gallows. But Ali Hassan al-Majid, once the most feared man in Iraq after Saddam Hussain,...

LEBANON - May 14 - Siniora officially asks UN to form Hariri tribunal.
May 19, 2007... In an official letter to the UN, PM Fouad Siniora requested help with the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri "as a matter of urgency". "We called on the UN Security...

PALESTINE - May 14 - Palestinian Interior Minister Quits.
May 19, 2007... The Palestinian interior minister quit in the midst of a sharply deteriorating security situation in the Gaza Strip, prompting officials in the territory to predict worse internal chaos ahead. Hani Qawasmi attacked both sides in the Hamas-Fatah...

TURKEY - May 13 - Turks Hold Mass Protest Ahead Of Elections.
May 19, 2007... Around a million people demonstrate on the seafront of Turkey's third largest city in a massive show of opposition strength that heralded a bitter general election campaign. Official campaigning for the July 22 election has not yet begun. But...

ARABS-ISRAEL - May 20 - Israel Vows To Increase Gaza Raids On Hamas.
May 26, 2007... The Israeli government announces that it will intensify its military operations in Gaza in an effort to halt Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire reached on May 19 appeared to take hold in Gaza, after a week of...

ARABS-ISRAEL - May 22 - If Rockets Don't Stop We Will Not Stop, Says Israel.
May 26, 2007... In a radio interview Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh says Israel could kill Palestinian PM Esmail Haniya of Hamas as part of a military campaign to halt rocket salvoes by the ruling Islamist group in the Gaza Strip. Asked if Haniya was on...

ARABS-ISRAEL - May 25 - Palestinian Pm 'Was Not Air Strike Target'.
May 26, 2007... Israel carries out an air strike near the Gaza residence of Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas but insists he is not the target. "Haniyeh's home definitely was not the target", an Israeli army spokeswoman said. The overnight attack was part...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 21 - Bush Seeks More NATO Effort In Afghanistan.
May 26, 2007... Facing a resilient Taliban and fury in Afghanistan over civilian casualties, Pres George W. Bush presses NATO to remain present and relevant there, while the visiting NATO secretary general said he would do his best to maintain alliance unity....

ARAB-US RELATIONS - May 23 - Bush Says Iraq Withdrawal Would Fuel Risk Of Al Qaeda Attack On US.
May 26, 2007... Having stared down congressional Democrats as they try to set a date for withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, Pres Bush presses his argument that the premature departure of coalition forces will make Al Qaeda an even greater threat to the...

AFGHANISTAN - May 20 - Suicide Blast Kills 10 In Afghanistan.
May 26, 2007... At least 10 people are killed and 32 wounded when a suicide attacker on foot blows himself up in a crowded market in the south-eastern province of Paktia, the provincial police chief said. News agencies, quoting doctors at the local hospital,...

IRAN - May 21 - Tehran Charges Iranian-American Academic With Conspiracy.(Haleh Esfandiari)
May 26, 2007... Iran charges Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American academic, with seeking to topple the ruling Islamic establishment, state-run television reported. Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars in...

IRAQ - May 24 - Iraqi Pm Fills Six Cabinet Posts.(Brief article)
May 26, 2007... PM Nouri al-Maliki announced on Thursday that he had chosen six ministers to fill cabinet posts vacated last month by politicians loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The appointments are an indication that Maliki has temporarily...

ISRAEL - May 24 - Netanyahu Calls For Broadening Of Peace Talks.
May 26, 2007... Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party and favourite to be Israel's PM after the next elections, argues that "some kind of federation or confederation between Jordan and the Palestinians" will enhance the prospects for Middle East peace....

ISRAEL - May 24 - Hamas Leaders Detained.
May 26, 2007... In a continued crackdown on Hamas, Israeli forces arrest 33 senior leaders of the group in the West Bank. They included the Palestinian education minister, three Parliament members and several mayors. Aside from Education Minister Nasseruddin...

LEBANON - May 20 - Lebanon Clashes With Islamic Militants.
May 26, 2007... The Lebanese army battles an Islamic militant group in the northern city of Tripoli in clashes that killed at least 48 people, including 23 soldiers. It was the worst fighting in northern Lebanon since the civil war ended in 1990 and will...

LEBANON - May 21 - Lebanese Army Pounds Refugee Camp.
May 26, 2007... A bomb rocks Beirut for the second consecutive evening as the Lebanese army pounds a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon with tank and artillery fire in pursuit of Islamic militants. The army has been engaged in battles with members of...

SAUDI ARABIA - May 22 - No Foreign Help in Catching Terror Suspects, Says Naif.
May 26, 2007... Interior Minister Prince Naif denies that Saudi Arabia seek the assistance of any foreign country when it rounded up 172 suspects involving seven terrorist cells in recent months. "The operations were 100 percent Saudi efforts", Prince Naif...

YEMEN - May 24 - Yemen Accuses Iran Of Backing Northern Rebels.
May 26, 2007... Yemen accuses Iranian religious institutions of giving financial support to Shi'ite rebels who have been fighting government forces in northern Yemen. The rebels oppose Yemen's close alliance with the US. Yemeni officials say the group wants to...