BULLETIN No.41

'Beirut Spring' Put Syria on Right Track - Austin Bay, San Antonio Express-News
'Israel killed Arafat' The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has caused outrage by accusing Israel of murdering Yasser Arafat.
Syria Today COURT IN THE MIDDLE Islamic laws applied in Syria too often do little or nothing to protect the rights of women. As Dalia Haidar reports, activists are now calling for widescale reforms.
Syria Comment Who Killed Hariri? The "Pushed Against the Wall" Thesis" as elaborated by Nasrallah and Asad
Syria decries Hariri probe 'bias'
Swiss Bank UBS Halts Iran, Syria Business
ZURICH, Switzerland -- Swiss banking giant UBS AG said Sunday it has stopped doing business with Iran because of the company's economic and risk......
Assad Indicates Rejection of U.N. Request
By ALBERT AJI
DAMASCUS, Syria -- President Bashar Assad indicated Saturday he was rejecting a second request by U.N. investigators to interview him about the......
Christian Science Monitor Syria supports Iran in standoff with West Show of solidarity comes as US asks for a quick referral of Iran to UN Security Council.
RFE/RL Iran-Syria Increasingly Isolated Leaders Seek Mutual Support
Washington Times A dangerous escalation The whirlwind of events in recent days involving Iran, Syria and Israel is ominous, suggesting that the rogue regimes in Tehran and Damascus may have made a strategic decision to escalate the level of conflict with the Jewish state -- and perhaps with Washington and the European Union as well.
Gaza hopes--- Palestinians in Gaza look to the election to cure many ills
USIP Khalil Shikaki Willing to Compromise Palestinian Public Opinion and the Peace Process
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Palestinians May Boost Hamas By KARBY LEGGETT
The Economist Palestine's election Hamas ahoy!
Extremists who pose a new threat - at the ballot box Hamas, the deadliest Palestinian militant movement, is poised to make a serious electoral impact
Report: Hamas hires PR man to improve movement's image
Leader Confronting the spectre of Hamas
In a Stronghold, Fatah Fights to Beat Back a Rising Hamas Fatah, the mainstay of the Palestinian Authority, is in trouble in Nablus, one of the West Bank's largest and toughest cities.
U.S. Spent $1.9 Million to Aid Fatah in Elections
U.S. Enters Fray in Palestinian Elections
The Bush administration is spending roughly $2 million to support the Palestinian Authority against the radical Islamic group Hamas.
Leader Between zeal and pragmatism Bombs and bullets have historically played a far larger role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than ballots - as Steven Spielberg's new film about the Munich massacre and its vengeful aftermath reminds us. But that is about to change. Barring surprises, the Islamist movement Hamas will win a third or more of the vote in Wednesday's elections to the Palestinian parliament, the first time it has taken part in a democratic contest.
Analysis: PA's Dahlan and Hamas locked in personal vendetta
Jerusalem Post Israel gears up for possible Hamas victoryFM: World distinguishes between terrorists in parliament and in government; fears that Europe would see Hamas as political organization.
Independent Guns or politics? Now Hamas must choose With 48 hours to go before the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in a decade, the likely success of Hamas poses a dilemma for the West
Editorial Palestinians' Risky Elections
UPI Walker's World; Israel's new dependence Israel, a country that has learned the hard way never to rely on anyone's decisions but its own, now finds itself in the uncomfortable position of dependence on the choices of others. Having always, in diplomatic as in military affairs, preferred to seize the initiative, it must now wait on the actions of others to shape the new security environment in which Israel must operate.
Newsweek - Time to Face Reality on Iran By Fareed Zakaria - At best, a military strike would set back Iran's program a few years, inflame public opinion there and unify the nation in its bid to go nuclear
Carnegie Endowment - No Military Options on Iran By Joseph Cirincione
Washington Post We Should Strike Iran, but Not With Bombs By Ivo Daalder and Philip Gordon
The World: Why Not a Strike on Iran? If diplomacy fails, does America have a military option when it comes to slowing, much less stopping, Iran's presumed ambitions to get the Bomb?
Editorial Next Steps on Iran
If Russia and China are the champions of multilateral nuclear diplomacy they have long claimed to be, now is the time to show it.
COMMENT & ANALYSIS: Talking to Iran is a better idea than more sanctions Norman Lamont
JERUSALEM -- Legislative elections in the Palestinian territories on Wednesday are expected to usher the militant group Hamas into the political process for the first time
Israel v Iran Family feud
Legislative elections in Palestine are expected to usher the militant group Hamas into the political process for the first time -- possibly upending relations with Israel and posing thorny problems for the U.S.
BESA - The Imperative to Use Force Against Iranian Nuclearization by Efraim Inbar
Iran presents dicey challenge for U.S.
Iran’s Next Steps: Final Tests and the Construction of a Uranium Enrichment Plant David Albright and Corey Hinderstein Institute for Science and International Security
Iran & the Bomb 1: How Close Is Iran? --- Iran & the Bomb 2: Iran's Missiles (Arms Control Wonk)
In Iran, Power Written in Stone
By Karl Vick
PERSEPOLIS, Iran -- Wearing a stocking cap and an air of indignation, Mohammad Ahmadi pointed to the wall in front of him. It bore a splendid......