BULLETIN No.108

What motivates unilateralism? By EFRAIM INBAR Israel's neighbors cannot bring themselves to formally agree to its demands.
Olmert's paradoxWhoever seeks to unilaterally determine the borders of the country cannot guarantee security for its citizens.
Gulf News The bomb is ticking away in Palestine
The American administration should know better than to deprive the PNA employees of their salaries for no fault of theirs.
Dar Al-Hayat The Palestinian Split Abdullah Iskandar - Hamas imposed – due to its popular presence and electoral landslide – a balance which threatens, for the first time, the unity that had been led by Fatah. Hamas' battle with Fatah is not over authority for the sake of authority, but rather over changing the core of the Palestinian action and its relation with the occupation and the world.
Islamic Jihad isn't swayed by Hamas - Michael Matza
U.S. Softens Position on Palestinian Aid
U.S. may soften stance on Hamas-led government Daily Star The Quartet of Middle East peace brokers haggled on Tuesday over how to channel aid to the Palestinians, with signs that the United States might soften its stand to prevent the collapse of a Hamas-led government. The group of international mediators - the U.S., Russia, the EU and the UN - first heard gloomy scenarios from foreign.
Quartet agrees aid for Palestinians
Hamas signals suspicion over new Quartet aid plan
Plan Would Provide Aid To Palestinians Direct Pipeline Suggested to Avoid Hamas
US congressmen praise Turkish-Israeli ties New Anatolian
Arab League Boycott of Israel Congressional Research Service

Washington Times A logical imperative (Farid Ghadry) Emboldened by Iran, Damascus is thumbing its nose at the international community
Syria reasserts its influence in Lebanon Fouad Siniora, Lebanon’s prime minister, acknowledged that the campaign to oust pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud has hit a brick wall and Damascus’ allies were instead preparing to stage a show of force to undermine the government
Salloukh: Lebanon not seeking to overpower Syria
Cultural Challenges to Democratic Reform in Syria Media Monitors Network - Organizations.". Democracy is a demand advanced by many intellectuals and activists in Syria, but is still far from becoming a popular demand.

Iran's Nuclear Program: The Way Out - Hassan Rohani, Time
COMMENT: Iran is eager to defuse the nuclear squabble Iran wants recognition and readmission into international society. Iranians have no desire for international isolation By Abbas Maleki
Tehran searches for allies in Muslim world
Another move in an Iranian game of chess By Quentin Peel
BBC Beyond diplomacy Would a US attack on Iran's nuclear sites be an illegal act?
UPI Analysis: Ahmadinejad's letter
If this is Ahmadinejad's bluff, it is bluff worth calling Simon Jenkins: The only route to regime change and disarmament is engagement, so the US must respond to this week's letter from Tehran.
Commentary Magazine Three Reasons Not to Bomb Iran--Yet by Edward N. Luttwak The regime must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, but neither must we act immediately
Deterring Teheran By DANIEL PIPES
Dar Al-Hayat Ahmadinejad and the Matchstick! Jamil Ziabi - The current period in the region, known as post-Saddam Hussein, has not seen a ‘revolutionary’ leader afflicted with such ‘revolution hysterics’ as current Iranian President Ahmadinejad. What can the Iranians do to protect themselves and their country from Ahmadinejad’s slogans and surprises?
When Iran's Genocidal Mullahs Think the Unthinkable - Austin Bay
Gulf News Major powers fail to agree on Iran plan
Foreign ministers of major powers have failed to come up with a joint strategy for dealing with Iran's nuclear programme, officials said.
Iran May Receive Incentives
Country offered affordable energy and greater trade if Tehran gives up nuclear ambitions.
Critical mass with Iran
America's standoff with Iran gets tenser
Ahmadinejad's letter reveals just how far apart US, Tehran remain, experts say.
Iran's nuclear gambit - the basics
As UN foreign ministers craft a response to Iran, some basic questions answered.
The Times Iran to be offered nuclear deal There is continuing opposition from Russia and China to Britain's call for a UN resolution depriving Iran of the legal right to enrich uranium
WSJ Crazy Mahmoud Would you buy a "grand bargain" from this man?
Washington Times Engaging Iranians By Helle Dale What do the masses think?
Worldwide Don't underestimate the weakness of Iran's theocracy, says Simon Scott Plummer

CSIS - The Uncertain Cost of the Iraq War -Anthony Cordesman
National Review JOHN R. THOMSON & HUSSAIN HINDAWI: Iraq needs to be more like Switzerland. “Fragmentation”
The Big Question: is Iraq slipping into civil war? By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli
Washington Post It's Only $300 Billion If We Can Fund the War in Iraq, Why Can't We Fund the Kyoto Protocol? By Cass R. Sunstein, For the United States, the cost of the Iraq war will soon exceed the anticipated cost of the Kyoto Protocol
Is US finally ready to pull troops from Iraq? Though Iraqi forces 'very badly equipped' and gov't still forming, US may be able to start withdrawal.
Dar Al-Hayat Resistance in Basra?! Abdel Wahab Badrakhan - Gunning down a British helicopter in Basra may be a sign that resistance against British occupation forces in the city has started. Tony Blair, who has deservedly been referred to as the 'butcher' by the London press following the recent cabinet reshuffle, received a strong blow with the British death toll in Basra.
Independence no longer an impossible dream By Qubad Talabani
Ankara has difficulty accepting Kurdish reality Ilnur Cevik
KurdishMedia The Kurdish political elite - By Hishyar Barzani There are important similarities between the Kurdish political elite and its Middle Eastern counterpart.

IHT For many, EU 'is big enough' Many Europeans complain that the EU is expanding too far, too fast.
Globalization's grave challenges for the West By ROBERT A. LEVINE Reactions to globalization both wealthy sides of the Atlantic have taken different forms, raising different problems.
Orbis - Countering Aggressive Rising Powers A Clash of Strategic Cultures By Thomas Donnely
An interview with Colin Powell by People's Daily.
From NPQ, an interview with Madeline Albright.
Paul Krugman on the truth about conspiracy theories
An interview with Noam Chomsky on subordinate and non-subordinate states.

Brookings Turkey: Bridge Between East and West Second Annual Sakıp Sabancı Lecture, Center on the U.S. and Europe (May 23, 2006) Featured Speaker: Paul Wolfowitz