BULLETIN No.127

MERIA What does the Future Hold for Syria?
Syrian streets scared or not concerned? By Ghassan Al MaflahElaph, 6/8/2006 The author writes, "The Syrian regime has launched a campaign of unjust arrests that reached many intellectuals and political activists in Syria, the pretext [of which] was the Beirut-Damascus Declaration." He adds, "What is of interest to me here is the Syrian streets that are still far from [emitting a] positive silence that condemns these as well as other arrests--even if by silence! It appears the Syrian street is still not concerned with what is going on in battles where an active segment of intellectuals and opponents are always falling victim." He concludes, "The Syrian streets are sleeping on all these cultures [of repression] that result in inwardness and fear." Link to full text in primary source.
Syria and its opposition inside and outside of it By Al Quds Al Arabi 6/8/2006 The daily writes, "Currently, the Syrian dossier is not at the top of the list of American priorities, and as long as Lebanon�s southern border and the Golan front are peaceful and as long as there is a minimum level of cooperation by the Syrian security in controlling the border and the infiltration of the combatants into Iraq, calm is required even if it is temporary." Al Quds Al Arabi adds, "What is worth noting is the fact that the Syrian opposition on the outside is trying, maybe out of personal conviction or for international insinuations, to fill the current media void." Nevertheless, "The American administration has not yet found a Syrian Chalabi or a Syrian Allawi. All those who have applied for this position so far have lacked the right qualifications, the political cunning skills, and the roots on the inside."Link to full text in primary source.
Iran plans a project to export oil to Europe through Syria
Syria seeking to buy weapons from Iran?
NYT As U.N. Inquiry Drags on, Syrians Ask if They Should Relax
Iran, Syria Sign Defense Agreement
Ha’aretz –Beirut to complain to UN about 'Israeli' hand in assassinations As-Safir newspaper: Mossad, Israeli naval commandos involved in attempted assassinations in Lebanon

Newsweek Palestinian Chaos Spreads Killers are on the loose in the Palestinian territories—and they're not just targeting Israeli enemies. Fears of 'all-out chaos' are growing.
Olmert must reach out to America's Orthodox
A fair exchange for Israel and Palestine In recent years, a proposal for an exchange of territories has come up frequently. The outgoing head of the National Security Council, Giora Eiland, referred to the idea as "a new paradigm."
The rise and fall of the Jewish people
KR Palestinian leaders struggle to end feud
BBC Hamas criticises EU aid proposals Yedioth Ahronoth Did IDF kill Gaza family?
Interesting Times: The Palestinian Gorbachev
New Republic The lessons of the Ashkenazim Is the gene for intelligence--if such a thing even exists--really more prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews? A careful examination of various hypotheses about an incendiary subject. by Steven Pinker
The time is right to use 1559 against Israel Daily Star
The Hamas truce has ended; now is everybody happy? By Khader Khader
Ha’aretz – Schiff The IDF on a tightrope
The Economist Israel and Palestine Hamas in a bind
BBC West Bank turmoil Normally tranquil Ramallah succumbs to Palestinian civil strife
UPI Analysis: Israeli-Palestinian clashes wane
Jerusalem Post Analysis: Fatah's change of focus They are no longer hiding their desire to topple the Hamas gov't and return to power.
Yedioth Ahronoth Peretz: PA has two heads
Bilateral ceasefire
Fatah, Hamas reach agreement on division of security forces
Boston Globe The struggle within
(By Anne Barnard) What is it that Palestinians really want -- and what is it that really divides them?
Plan poses challenge to Hamas
Yedioth Ahronoth PA factions close to deal?
KR Palestinian leaders struggle to end feud
DATELINE JERUSALEM: Unintended Outcomes, or How Unilateral Becomes BilateralBy gershom gorenbergMiddle East politics follows just one law — the Law of Unintended Consequences.

MERIA Iraq's Future: A Concept Paper Patrick Clawson (repeat)
New York Times The State of Iraq: An Update By NINA KAMP, MICHAEL O'HANLON and AMY UNIKEWICZ Over all, it is increasingly hard to describe Iraq as a glass half-full.
Guardian The battle for Cairo is as vital as the one for Baghdad If the US were serious about democracy in the Middle East, it would be slashing its funding for the Mubarak dictatorship, writes Jonathan Steele.
MEMRI Jun 16 IA# 281 - The New Iraqi Government—Central Themes and Key Figures
'Beginning of the end' for Zarqawi group Death yields trove of data on local insurgency · Militants 'aimed to foment war between US and Iran'
Newsweek Gaming Bush - Michael Hirsh, The administration is seen as weak, distracted and drained over Iraq—and foreign leaders from Libya to China to Iran are taking advantage of it.
UPI Analysis: Iraq's new war
UPI 'Beginning of the end' for Iraq al-Qaeda
Newsweek Is U.S. Ready for Wave of Iraq Vets? The yearly cost of unemployment benefits for disabled military personnel has ballooned to $3 billion. Is the U.S. prepared for the oncoming wave of Iraq war vets?
Analysis: Iraq's new war
Analysis: Zarqawi's death may alter nature of insurgency
Outside View: Reining in Baghdad's militias
Zarqawi sought US-Iran War...

Iran: Three Alternative Futures Kenneth M. Pollack (repeat)
EDM IRAN'S NUCLEAR DEMANDS: TOWARD A NEW ERA OF CONTAINMENT?
Washington Institute Facing Iran’s Challenge: Safeguarding Oil Exports from the Persian Gulf
BBC Iran welcomes nuclear proposals Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls incentives offered over its nuclear programme "a step forward".
Daily Telegraph Iran rejects nuclear deal The supreme leader of Iran has given the sternest rejection to date of the international package of incentives designed to coax Teheran into abandoning its nuclear ambitions

The Economist America's war for hearts and minds Mind your language
Inequality in America The rich, the poor and the growing gap between them