APS Diplomat Recorder articles from November 2007

APS Diplomat Recorder archives from November 2007

ARAB AFFAIRS - Oct 31 - Iraq To Reinforce Turkey Border.
November 3, 2007... Iraq's FM Hoshyar Zebari says his country will reinforce its border with Turkey to prevent Kurdish rebels from receiving supplies, in one of the first concrete proposals made by Baghdad aimed at forestalling a Turkish military incursion....

ARAB AFFAIRS - Oct 31 - Iran Urged To Join Gulf Nuclear Deal.
November 3, 2007... Saudi Arabia is calling on Iran to respond to an Arab proposal for a joint uranium enrichment plant outside the Middle East, the first regional attempt to defuse Tehran's nuclear crisis. The FM of Saudi Arabia Prince Saud al-Faisal, revealed...

ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Oct 29 - UK Rejects Saudi Terror Criticisms.
November 3, 2007... A visit to the UK by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah begins awkwardly, as Britain rejected criticism that it had ignored Saudi intelligence that might have prevented the 2005 terrorist attacks on London. Before his arrival for the first state...

ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Oct 30 - Russian FM Says Unilateral Sanctions Won't Solve Iran Issue.
November 3, 2007... FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia says on a trip to Iran that unilateral sanctions, such as those recently imposed by the US, would not help solve the Iranian nuclear problem. On a surprise visit to Tehran, Lavrov met with the Iranian president,...

ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Oct 28 - Israel Cuts Fuel Supplies To Gaza Strip.
November 3, 2007... Israeli officials says that Israel had begun reducing fuel supplies to Gaza and had closed down one of the two crossings through which food, medicines and other supplies pass into the strip, in line with a recent government decision to respond...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov 1 - US 'Pressuring' Israel To Evacuate Outposts.
November 3, 2007... The US has renewed pressure on Israel to evacuate illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank and has asked it to broaden efforts to help West Bank Palestinians in the run-up to the Annapolis peace summit next month. According to the sources,...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Oct 31 - US To Offer Turkey Help On PKK.
November 3, 2007... The US is to offer Turkey a package of measures to dissuade Ankara from mounting a large-scale military incursion into Iraq to attack PKK Kurdish guerrillas, who have killed scores of Turkish soldiers in recent weeks. Ahead of a meeting in...

AFGHANISTAN - Oct 29 - Foreign Fighters Of Violent Bent Bolster Taliban.
November 3, 2007... Afghan police officers working a highway checkpoint near here noticed something odd recently about a passenger in a red pickup truck. Though covered head to toe in a burqa, the traditional veil worn by Afghan women, she was unusually tall. When...

AFGHANISTAN - Oct 31 - 50 Taliban Are Killed As Afghanistan Fighting Surges.
November 3, 2007... Afghan and NATO-led troops have killed about 50 Taliban fighters surrounded in a district close to the main southern city of Kandahar. Fighting has surged across Afghanistan in the past week as Taliban insurgents and Afghan government and...

EGYPT - Oct 29 - Egypt Announces Nuclear Energy Plans.
November 3, 2007... The Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, says Egypt will build several civilian nuclear plants, reaffirming the North African state's atomic ambitions. Egypt is one of a number of Middle East countries, including Algeria, Libya, Jordan and the six...

IRAN - Oct 30 - Iran Warns US Of Quagmire If Attacked.(Brief article)
November 3, 2007... Iran warns the US it will find itself in a "quagmire deeper than Iraq" if it attacked the Islamic state, and Russia stepped up efforts for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear row with the West. The warning by the head of Iran's elite...

IRAQ - Oct 29 - Iraq Suicide Bomber Attacks Police Base.
November 3, 2007... A suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 30 Iraqi policemen doing their morning exercises at a base north of Baghdad, in one of the deadliest strikes on security forces in months. The attack was a reminder that despite a US-led crackdown that has...

ISRAEL - Oct 28 - Lieberman Sets Terms For Backing Olmert.(Avigdor Lieberman on Ehud Olmert )
November 3, 2007... Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, who is also chairman of the right-wing Israeli Beiteinu party, set his red lines in an official document presented to PM Ehud Olmert ahead of a US-sponsored Mideast peace conference...

KUWAIT - Oct 28 - Nine Ministers Changed In Kuwait Reshuffle.
November 3, 2007... In the second cabinet reshuffle in seven months, the Kuwaiti PM replaced his oil, finance and interior ministers. Shaikh Nasser Muhammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah changed nine of his 15 ministers in a move MPs says is doomed to fail. Finance Minister...

LEBANON - Oct 30 - Hariri Says Assassination Plot By Syria Uncovered.
November 3, 2007... Saad Al Hariri, the leader of Lebanon's anti-Syrian coalition says he had information about a plot to kill him and PM Fouad Siniora, which he said was planned by a senior Syrian official. Saad, son of slain former PM Rafik Al Hariri, said after...

SYRIA - Oct 30 - Syria Asks Sa'ad To Show Evidence Of Plot To Kill Him.(Sa'ad Hariri)
November 3, 2007... Syria demands that the leader of Lebanon's coalition should produce evidence of a Syrian plot to kill him, saying the allegation was a fabrication. Sa'ad Hariri said in Cairo that he had information about an alleged plan by Assef Shawkat,...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 5 - Political Leaders Talk Up Mideast Peace Hopes.
November 10, 2007... Political leaders from Israel, the Palestinian territories and the US seek to inject fresh urgency into the latest round of Middle East peace talks, predicting a deal was possible before the end of George W. Bush's presidency late next year....

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 9 - Israel Urges Egypt To Act Against Hamas.
November 10, 2007... Israel says Egypt is doing far too little to stop the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, from smuggling weapons, militants and cash into the area from Egypt, and is appealing to Cairo to do more. At the same time,...

ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 4 - Israel's Security Seen As Key To Deal For Palestinian State.
November 10, 2007... The Israeli FM Tzipi Livni, told Condoleezza Rice that any deal Washington hoped to broker for a Palestinian state will not be implemented until Israel's security was assured. Rice is on her third visit to the region in six weeks. She is trying...

ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 5 - Israel Plans More Palestinian Release.
November 10, 2007... PM Ehud Olmert plans to release more Palestinian prisoners in support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Palestinians have requested to free as many as 2,000 of the 12,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel but Olmert has not decided how many...

ARAB ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 8 - Palestinian Officials Ease Their Demands.
November 10, 2007... Encouraged by a conciliatory speech by Israel's PM, Palestinian negotiators have eased their demands that an upcoming US-hosted peace conference lay out a plan for statehood, fuelling new optimism among the summit's participants. Palestinian...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov 6 - US To Free Nine Iranians Held In Iraq.
November 10, 2007... The US military says that it will release nine Iranians being held in Iraq, including two of the so-called "Arbil five" arrested in January on suspicion of supporting armed militia in the country. "It is our intent to release nine Iranians...

AFGHANISTAN - Nov 6 - Suicide Attack Strikes Once Peaceful Northern Afghanistan.
November 10, 2007... A senior Afghan opposition politician was among scores of people killed by a suicide bomb attack in a previously peaceful northern province of Afghanistan. Reports of the number of people killed or injured varied from as low as 13 to as many as...

IRAQ - Nov 8 - Iraq Plans To Confront Security Firms On Guns.
November 10, 2007... The Iraqi interior minister says that he will authorise raids by his security forces on Western security firms to ensure that they were complying with tightened licensing requirements on guns and other weaponry, setting up the possibility of...

LEBANON - Nov 4 - Fadlallah Slams US For 'Insane' Attempt To Thwart Consensus On Presidency.(Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah )(Brief article)
November 10, 2007... Lebanon's top Shi'ite Muslim theologian Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah lashed out at the US accusing it of attempting to sabotage all efforts aimed at reaching an agreement to end the country's crisis. Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah made...

LIBYA - Nov 6 - Libyan Group Boosts Al-Qaeda In Africa.
November 10, 2007... Al-Qaeda has taken a further step to consolidate its presence in north Africa with the announcement that leaders of a radical Libyan organisation have pledged allegiance to it. Western officials have been closely watching al-Qaeda's expansion...

SAUDI ARABIA - Nov 8 - King Urges Iran To Avoid Escalating Nuke Tension.
November 10, 2007... Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah calls on Iran to avoid escalating its standoff with the West over its nuclear program and called for a solution that will allow Tehran to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes. "It is our strong...

TURKEY - Nov 5 - Turkey Has Kurdish Operation Plan.
November 10, 2007... Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan has said that an army operation is still planned against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, but diplomats suggested that any action will now be limited in scope. Erdogan held talks with US President George W. Bush to...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 14 - GCC Ministers Propose 11-Point Program To Cut Foreign Manpower.
November 17, 2007... Labor Ministers of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have approved 11 recommendations to be discussed by Gulf leaders next month in Doha. The primary focus of the recommendations is the recruitment of indigenous GCC manpower along...

ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Nov 12 - Brown Turns Sanctions Screw On Iran.
November 17, 2007... UK PM Gordon Brown, raises the threat of tougher sanctions on Iran, targeting the country's oil, gas and financial services sectors, if Tehran refused to bow to international pressure over its nuclear programme. Brown cited the threat as...

ARABS-ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 13 - Israeli President Addresses Turkish Parliament.
November 17, 2007... Shimon Peres addresses the Turkish Parliament and expressed optimism that the coming peace conference in the US would help thaw decades of conflict with the Palestinians. With his address, Peres became the first Israeli president to speak...

ARABS-ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 14 - Israel 'Is Ready To Return Golan Heights'.
November 17, 2007... PM Ehud Olmert has renewed his secret peace overtures to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, telling him Israel is willing to return the captured Golan Heights if Damascus severs its ties with Iran and militant groups. Olmert hinted in a briefing...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov 14 - US Says Number Of Roadside Bomb Attacks In Iraq Has Declined.
November 17, 2007... The American military reports a sharp fall in the number of roadside bombs and other homemade bombs in Iraq, saying that Iran appeared to be abiding by a reported commitment to halt the flow of such weapons into Iraq. Major General James...

IRAN - Nov 12 - Ahmadi-Nejad Labels Nuclear Critics 'Traitors'.(Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad)
November 17, 2007... Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad labels domestic critics of his nuclear policies as "traitors", in comments which reflect an escalation of political infighting at the top level of leadership of the Islamic regime. "If local agents [of the...

IRAN - Nov 13 - Ayatollah Urged To Rein In President.(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)
November 17, 2007... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is coming under increasing pressure to rein in Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the president, over the radical stance he has taken on the country's nuclear programme. The pressure is coming from Iran's reformists and conservative...

IRAN - Nov 14 - Ahmadi-Nejad Sees Allies In Key Posts.(Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad)
November 17, 2007... Iran's conservative-dominated parliament confirms new ministers of oil and industries endorsing a cabinet reshuffle which will help the president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, consolidate his grip on key financial departments. Gholam-Hossein Nozari won...

IRAN - Nov 15 - Iran Fails To Resolve Nuclear Questions.
November 17, 2007... Iran has answered important questions about its nuclear programme, but has yet to resolve the fundamental issue of whether it sought nuclear weapons. In a mixed report - seized upon by the US as proof that more UN sanctions are needed to...

IRAQ - Nov 11 - Iraqi Minister Tells US To Hand Over Saddam-Era Detainees.(Nuri Kamal al-Maliki)
November 17, 2007... The PM of Iraq accuses the US military of thwarting attempts to execute former members of Saddam Hussain's government and demanded that they be handed over to the Iraqi government so their sentences could be carried out. A court in September...

IRAQ - Nov 13 - Militants Killed After Attack On Patrols Near Baghdad.
November 17, 2007... US and Iraqi forces kill an estimated 15 gunmen linked to Al Qaeda during a fierce battle south of Baghdad after the militants attacked neighbourhood patrols. The military said as many as 45 Qaeda fighters had undertaken a mortar attack and...

IRAQ - Nov 13 - Iraq's Kurdistan denies strikes by Turkey.
November 17, 2007... The Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq denies media reports that Turkish military helicopters seeking Kurdish rebels had bombed empty villages in the area. Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional...

PALESTINE - Nov 11 - Abbas Urges Support Of Peace Talks.
November 17, 2007... The president of the PA Mahmoud Abbas, seizes on a demonstration marking the third anniversary of Yassir Arafat's death to urge support for the latest round of Middle East peace talks and turn up the heat on Hamas, his Islamist rivals. Abbas...

PALESTINE - Nov 12 - Six Die As Gunfire Disrupts Fatah Rally.
November 17, 2007... At least six Palestinians are killed and dozens injured in the Gaza Strip after Fatah supporters, marking the third anniversary of Yassir Arafat's death, clashed with rivals from the Islamist Hamas group. The fighting erupted after more than...

PALESTINE - Nov 15 - Abbas calls for Hamas leaders to be ousted.(Mahmoud Abbas)
November 17, 2007... Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the Gaza Strip's Hamas Islamist rulers must be brought down, issuing his strongest call yet for their removal. "We have to bring down this gang that forcibly took over the Gaza Strip", Abbas said in a...

PALESTINE - Nov 15 - Hamas Feels Pressure After Deadly Rally In Gaza.(casualties in the pro-Fatah rally)
November 17, 2007... Three days after the Hamas police killed at least seven civilians at a mass pro-Fatah rally in Gaza, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and head of Fatah, calls for the ouster of the rival Islamic group that rules there. Meanwhile, the...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 22 - Mideast Conference Faces Battle To Bridge Rift.
November 24, 2007... Egypt is to host a mini-summit of Arab leaders in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh as pressure mounts to try to ensure a positive outcome for next week's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis. President Hosni Mubarak said he...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 22 - King, Blair View Peace Conference.(Conference news)
November 24, 2007... Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah hold talks with Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair with the talks centering on the Middle East peace conference to be held in Annapolis, Maryland on Nov. 27. Both hoped the conference would lead...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 22 - Arab Leaders Optimistic About Peace Conference.
November 24, 2007... Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian leaders say they are optimistic about the outcome of a US-sponsored peace conference as Arab FMs mulled whether to join the conference. In Sharm Al Shaikh, the three leaders agreed that "this meeting opens...

ARAB AFFAIRS - Nov 23 - Arab Nations To Attend Mideast Talks.
November 24, 2007... Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations reach a general agreement to attend the US-sponsored Middle East peace conference in Annapolis next week. The attendance of Saudi Arabia, which has been reasserting itself diplomatically and is buoyed by the...

ARAB EUROPEAN RELATIONS - Nov 18 - UK Sees New Momentum For Mideast Talks.
November 24, 2007... David Miliband, Britain's foreign secretary, says he hoped Israel and the PA can make full use of their meeting in the US later this month to get the Middle East peace process back on track in 2008. On his first visit to Israel and the West...

ARABS-ISRAELI RELATIONS - Nov 19 - Olmert And Abbas Close To Joint Statement.(Ehud Olmert, Mahmoud Abbas)
November 24, 2007... Israeli and Palestinian leaders make some progress at a meeting to discuss a joint statement to be presented at next week's international peace gathering, Israeli officials said. The Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president,...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov 20 - Turkish Generals Discuss Rebels With US.
November 24, 2007... Two of the most senior US generals meet their Turkish counterparts in Ankara amid signs of enhanced co-operation between the two countries aimed at preventing a conflict on Turkey's border with Iraq. It was the first meeting since George...

ARAB-US RELATIONS - Nov 21 - US Will Try To Close Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal In The Next Year.
November 24, 2007... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the US will try to close a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President George W. Bush's term ends in January 2009, but she cautioned there is no guarantee of success. Rice said...

AFGHANISTAN - Nov 23 - Taliban Militants Behead 7 Police In Southern Afghanistan.
November 24, 2007... Taliban militants behead seven policemen after overrunning their checkpoints in southern Afghanistan. An Australian soldier and three civilians were also killed in a separate clash. Six other police officers were missing after the Taliban...

IRAQ - Nov 19 - Iraq's Kurdistan Bans Media From PKK Bases.
November 24, 2007... Iraq's northern Kurdistan region has banned journalists from travelling to rebel bases of the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK). "We will not allow journalists or the media to send any reporter... to where the PKK are, whether on the border or the...

IRAQ - Nov 21 - At Least Seven Killed As Car Bomb Explodes In Ramadi.
November 24, 2007... A suicide car bomb explodes near a courthouse in central Ramadi, killing at least seven people and wounding eight in the largest attack to strike the capital of Anbar Province in months. Local government officials said the car managed to pass...

ISRAEL - Nov 19 - Israel Approves Release Of 441 Prisoners.
November 24, 2007... The Israeli Cabinet approves the release of 441 Palestinian prisoners in a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but stopped short of US demands to halt West Bank settlement construction before a crucial Mideast conference. With the...

JORDAN - Nov 21 - Allies Of King Abdullah Ii Of Jordan Defeat Islamists In Vote.
November 24, 2007... Supporters of Jordan's King Abdullah II, a close US ally, handily defeats the country's Islamist opposition in parliamentary elections, dropping their number of seats in parliament by nearly two-thirds. Meanwhile, it was widely expected that...

LEBANON - Nov 20 - Lebanon Pushes Presidential Election To Brink.
November 24, 2007... Lebanon's squabbling politicians push the election of a new president back to the last day of the current incumbent's term on Nov 23. Parliament had been expected to meet on Nov 21 but sharp disagreements led to a fourth postponement, amid...