BULLETIN No.139

Rice praises Turkey -- complying with US demands on Syria Cengiz Candar
French sources admits the political profits Syria gained through befriending Iran Paris now knows the internal and foreign difficulties facing Lebanon and wasting achievements done since Al-hariri's assassination and the withdrawal of Syrian forces, French well informed sources said.
Syrian officials: Golan Heights offensive possible Enraged by Israeli aerial flight over presidential palace last week, Syrian officials threaten future provocations will not go unanswered; warn of cells willing to carry out 'liberation war' against Israel
Ahmadinejad: Enemies of Islam oppose expansion of ties between Iran, Syria, Iraq Arab-parast president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the enemies of Islam do not want to witness the expansion of brotherly relations between Iran, Syria and Iraq.
ChamPress
Syria Ready for Relations with Iraq
Abbas orders envoys to Syria over Gaza crisis
Syria Coment
"Democracy in the Arab World" in The Economist
Sami Moubayed
The Winning Flag
A man who loved life, and Lebanon

Israel's Failed-State Strategy by Juan Cole
Jerusalem PostThe Region: Palestinian suicide strategyBy BARRY RUBIN Alienate your friends, lie to yourself, celebrate defeat and taunt the world's only superpower.
Israel Vows to Fight Until Soldier's Release, and Palestinians Mourn Their Dead
Ha’aretz – IDF: Operation in the Gaza Strip to intensify, likely to continue for at least two more months
Hamas leaders: Meshal backs broad-based deal with Israel Talks on prisoner swap pick up as PLO men meet Meshal; Al Hayat: Hamas would accept 130 prisoners freed
Eldar Between cease-fire and flame-fanning Israel has pushed itself into a corner where the only choice remaining is between a unity government with Haniyeh and Abbas, and a Hamas movement led by Meshal-Ahmadinejad
Hamas is here to stay
Jerusalem Post Likud may OK 'demilitarized Palestinian entity'
Debka A Shadow War is also Fought against Hamas by Israeli Undercover Troops in Gaza and West Bank Print
Newsweek Israel: What Would Sharon Have Done? As the crisis builds, Israelis are asking what the legendary general would have done. Can Olmert lead on his own?
New Republic The future of Hamas Will Hamas moderate? The movement's history gives no reason to believe it will. by Benny Morris
Gaza Operation So Far Unsuccessful: Israel DM
Daily Star A swamp - not in Gaza, but in Israel's mindset By Rami G. Khouri
Palestinian Prime Minister Calls for a Truce With Israel and New Talks
Christian Science Monitor
Israel sends mixed messages about Gaza Prime Minister Olmert rejected a cease- fire offer, but some Israeli officials are taking a softer line on talks.
Olmert: 'long war' in Gaza Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert has insisted that a military operation in Gaza to free a captive soldier and end Palestinian rocket attacks could go on indefinitely.
IHT Another round in Gaza After the smoke of the latest battles begins to clear, the best things that the Israelis and Palestinians could do would be to sit down and get back to negotiating.
PostGlobal: How would you mediate the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis?
Viewpont: Seeking a long term solution in Gaza By Alon Ben-Meir
Ha’aretz – IDF advances to within 500 meters of Gaza City
Ha’aretz Eldar Between cease-fire and flame-fanning Israel has pushed itself into a corner where the only choice remaining is between a unity government with Haniyeh and Abbas, and a Hamas movement led by Meshal-Ahmadinejad
Orwellian language expresses an upside-down world As in the Lebanon War, so in the Gaza war, the aims change on a daily basis. That is what happens when the war has no clear political aim in the first place.
BBC Israel expands offensive in Gaza
Israeli troops clash with Palestinian gunmen in a new area of the Gaza Strip, as part of an ongoing incursion
Jerusalem Post Diplomacy: Dressed for action? By HERB KEINON This is the first large-scale military operation in decades to be led by a civilian trio.
Column One: How Olmert justifies failure Olmert's message is clear: Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last summer was a national security disaster.
Interesting Times: Hamasism or unilateralism
Israel ‘might free Palestinians’ in return for soldier
Washington Institute Jordan Looks Inward: The Hashemite Kingdom in the Wake of Zarqawi and the Hamas-Israel Clash

Gallup: Two-Thirds Want Iraq Pullout
PEW Muslims in Europe: Economic Worries Top Concerns About Religious and Cultural Identity Click here to read the whole report.
Iraqi 'dreams and desires are shrinking' Daily intelligence brief paints grim picture; 'Baghdad looks so exhausted.'
Independent American attacks on Mehdi Army cause uproar among Shia
Washington Post Iraqi Troops Clash With Shiite Militia 'Very Significant Criminal' Captured in Raid; 30-40 Insurgents Dead or Wounded
Few good options in Iraq By Robert Kuttner
The Alleged Destabizling Iranian Role in Iraq
Washington Times Statecraft in Iraq THE END OF IRAQ: HOW AMERICAN INCOMPETENCE CREATED A WAR WITHOUT END By Peter W. Galbraith REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Daily Star Only Iraqis can keep sectarian violence from ruining their country
NYT Magazine QUESTIONS FOR PETER W. GALBRAITH The Breakup Why Iraq needs to be divided into three states, the fascism of Saddam Hussein and the legacy of his father, the economist John Kenneth Galbraith.

Voices of Iranian Reform, Silenced By Fotini Christia