BULLETIN No.136

UPI Analysis: Syria's role seen as key in newest Mideast crisis
Ha’aretz The Syrian thorn
Congressional Research Service"Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues" (pdf), June 22, 2006.
Daily Star Syria and Iran revive an old ghostBy Bilal Y. Saab
Daily Star Editorial Disarming Hizbullah requires a regional solution By Nicholas Blanford
UPI Pro and anti-Syria partisans clash Partisans of rival political parties belonging to the Druze community clashed east of Beirut Tuesday reflecting tensions among Lebanese over support for Syria.
Ankara’nın gözü kulağı Ortadoğu’da
Davutoğlu'ndan Şam'a: Krizi tırmandırmayın
'Beşar Esad üzerine düşeni yapmaya hazır'

Der Spiegel Crisis Pushes Israelis, Palestinians to Brink The kidnapping of an Israeli soldier shows that radicals within Hamas want to harm the pragmatists around Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Now Israel is trying to destroy the Islamists' infrastructure -- in the face of massive international criticism.
Le Monde diplomatique, the current crisis in the West Bank and Gaza shows that Israel, the United States, and elements within Fatah mean to provoke the collapse of the Hamas government.
Ha’aretz - ANALYSIS: Launching a rocket at Ashkelon is an invitation to war
Yedioth Ahronoth IDF: Hamas' gloves are off
Jerusalem Post Editorial No vindication for terror groups The Palestinian leaders must learn that guerrilla attacks and terrorism won't achieve anything for them
What comes after Hamas?
OpenDemocracy Gaza: what Israel is doing The seizure of Gilad Shalit was a pretext for Israel's pre-planned assault, says Thomas R Asher
Israel is pushing Palestinians toward a third intifada By Mahdi Abdul Hadi In the past week, two different episodes occurred in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that showed an evolution in Palestinian society. The first episode occurred in Gaza on June 25 near the Kerem Abu Salem-Shalom area. There, a group of young, angry and frustrated Palestinians, members of the Popular Resistance Committees.
Ha’aretz – Editorial Between talks and an ultimatum If Israel and the Palestinians reach a deal releasing hundreds of jailed militants, it must include a complete cease-fire.
Palestinian militants say 'discussion closed' on fate of kidnapped soldier after ultimatum expires
Ramon: Nothing changed from Israel's standpoint Al-Hayat: Israel still negotiating with militants; Gov't source: Olmert rejected ultimatum because it was unclear
Marcus Beware of the traps of the past Israel's resoluteness was called for, but for all that the PA is run by morons and fanatics - a fatal combination in itself - the punishment should be meted out carefully.
Arens The Gaza syndrome Recent events have shown that those who kept claiming we have no reason to be in Gaza were wrong. Only force will bring about the Israel's required results.
Oren Time is against Israel Even if Corporal Gilad Shalit were to return from captivity unscathed, the current crisis would not disappear: Israel is being bombarded by Qassams and its citizens threatened with kidnapping.
Jerusalem Post The Region: Gaza - the play-by-play By Barry Rubin
Yedioth Ahronoth 'We won't kill soldier' 'Islamic principles stipulate that prisoners should be respected'
BBC Gaza militants' deadline expires A deadline set by Palestinian militants holding an Israeli soldier in Gaza passes with no word on his condition.
KR Israel rejects ultimatum from soldier's captors
Hamas Point-Blank Kommersant
Guardian Instead of two states side by side, why not one superimposed on the other? Mathias Mossberg: We need to look at new solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict which embody the globalised, not the territorial, state.
Ha’aretz – Editorial Between talks and an ultimatum If Israel and the Palestinians reach a deal releasing hundreds of jailed militants, it must include a complete cease-fire.
Debka Washington on the Sidelines: No Finger Lifted to Slow the Middle East Countdown to War Escalation Print
As Gaza's Plight Worsens, Palestinian Businesses Leave
Olmert Rejects Ultimatum on Soldier by Palestinians

Al Hayat The Iraq Debate: To Stay or to Go? By Patrick Seale
MEMRI Jul 04 IA# 285 - Iraq: A New Plan for National Reconciliation
What to Do in Iraq - Diamond, Dobbins, Gelb & Biddle, Foreign Affairs
Christian Science Monitor Report: Al Qaeda using Iraq as a training ground for terrorists
British lawmakers say Al Qaeda also sees Iraq as propaganda tool.
Asia Times Same old bloody ball game for IraqLike nearly everyone else in the world, Iraqis just wanted to watch the soccer World Cup this weekend. But some had other ideas, and scores of people were blown to bits in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite Sadr City. It was a sign that Osama bin Laden, who reportedly had been critical of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's bloody anti-Shi'ite campaign and was expected to call a halt to the sectarian killings, was going to play by the same old rules. - Sami Moubayed
"Iraq: Recent Developments in Reconstruction Assistance" (pdf), updated June 15, 2006.
The future of coalition in IraqGulf News By Amir Taheri
Geopolitical Diary: Iraq and the Making of Regional TensionsStratfor

Armed Forces Journal Blood borders Redrawing the Middle East Map How a better Middle East would look (June 2006) International borders are never completely just. But the degree of injustice they inflict upon those whom frontiers force together or separate makes an enormous difference — often the... By Ralph Peters