BULLETIN No. 184

PINR "Intelligence Brief: Syria's Regional Position Strengthens" Full text of report
Editorial The Real Fumble in Damascus
The Bush administration has far more appetite for scoring political points than figuring out whether talking to Syria might help contain the bloodletting in Iraq or revive efforts to negotiate peace.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Syria finds the world suddenly visiting, with carrot and stick
Newsweek Syria: Businessman's Backdoor Peacemaking
The Pelosi Flap
By JOE KLEIN What is the real scandal here: that Pelosi spoke with Assad or that the Bush Administration won't?
Pelosi AbroadThe new speaker stumbles in Syria.by Fred Barnes
Sudden love-in with Syria After being ostracised by the west and even by his Arab friends for the past two years, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is enjoying a sudden bout of popularity. Syria finds the world suddenly visiting, with carrot and stick
Heritage Speaker Pelosi's Unauthorized Diplomacy in Syria
Pelosi: Syria Trip Strengthened Ties...
What Pelosi Stands For Arab News,
Was it really Pelosi in Damascus? Pelosi's visit to Syria has seemingly raised the ire of Bush. Yet Bush needs a back channel to Damascus to help stabilize Lebanon and Palestine - and, more important, Iraq. Who better to do it than Pelosi, while saving Bush some face? That Damascus has to be engaged is evident by the role it played in securing the release of British sailors and marines from Iran. - Sami Moubayed
Time Springtime in Syria
By Andrew Lee Butters New money and new confidence are signs that U.S. attempts to isolate Syria are failing, and not just because Nancy Pelosi showed up in town earlier in the week. Turns out there are plenty of people who want to do business in Syria.
Al Hayat Pelosi's Visit to Damascus, a Chapter Within the Jewish Lobby Strategy Raghida Dergham - Nancy Pelosi's actions contradict and effectively block peace efforts exerted by the moderate Arab forces that gave Israel a clear and firm message indicating readiness for a collective and comprehensive peace with it in exchange for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict first.

In Beirut, a Crisis Settles Into a Routine
Nasrallah: Hezbollah will stay armed to offset Israel
'Cut Fatah ties to Hizbullah'

Washington Post Politics Collide With Iraq Realities Politicians appear headed toward endgame on war, but situation on ground is entirely different. Commanders Seek Longer-Term Focus
NYT Patterns of War Shift Amid U.S. Force Buildup There is little sign that the security push in Baghdad is accomplishing its main purpose: creating an island of stability for Iraqis.
Radical Shiite Cleric Calls on Iraqi Forces to Unite Against the U.S. Military
McClatchy Al-Sadr attempts to re-position himself as a leader of all Iraqis
Newsweek Inside Iraq’s Invisible Exodus
From Strategic Insights, a special issue on The Iraq Study Group Report: The way forward or backward?
Sunday Telegraph Five more years in Iraq, say chiefs Confidential report tells of operations in the Gulf until 2012.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq: Resurging or Splintering?

Guardian US offered military action to free 15
Al Awsat Ahmadinejad and the "Half-Pregnant" Khomeinists : Amir Taheri
Washington Times Detente with Tehran? By By Ilan Berman Perils of a 'grand bargain'
A difficult choice Ian Bremmer Tehran is not Pyongyang. In all likelihood the decision for the west is this: military action or a nuclear Iran
Stopping the Showdown With Iran By: Noam Chomsky The Nation The most effective barrier to a White House decision to launch a war is the kind of organized popular opposition that frightened the political-military leadership enough in 1968 that they were reluctant to send more troops to Vietnam -- fearing, we learned from the Pentagon Papers, that they might need them for civil-disorder control.
Iran takes the wind out of US sails Iran's unconditional release of the 15 British sailors and marines it had been holding for two weeks has shown the West that engaging Tehran with respect and as an equal is more likely to pay off than threats and confrontation. At the same time the episode has demonstrated Iran's ability to play a dangerous tit-for-tat game with its enemies. It just got a lot harder for the US to justify a military attack on the country. - Jim Lobe
Bar’el Who's the boss in Tehran?