Turkey still ready to seek Mideast peace: Erdogan
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
February 3, 2009 - 1:00am


Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday his government remains committed to mediating a peace deal between Israel and Palestinians despite an angry public exchange last week with Israel's president. Erdogan also said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon had phoned him Monday to ask him to continue Turkey's role as a Middle East mediator.


A long and bumpy road
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Economist
January 30, 2009 - 1:00am


AS AN array of diplomats intensify their efforts to consolidate the ceasefire that took hold in the Gaza Strip after January 18th, the battered territory’s 1.5m people were still gasping for desperately-needed help. Gazans are terrified that violence might return, as tit-for-tat attacks resumed at a relatively low but still dangerous level. Most Gazans now rely on food handouts to survive.


Israeli completes Gaza troop pullout
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Amy Teibel - January 21, 2009 - 1:00am


The last Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, as Israel dispatched its foreign minister to Europe in a bid to rally international support to end arms smuggling into the Hamas-ruled territory. The timing of the pullout reflected Israeli hopes to defuse the crisis in Gaza before President Barack Obama entered the White House. The military said troops remain massed on the Israeli side of the border and are poised to take action if militants violate a fragile three-day cease-fire.


Security First
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by J.D. Crouch II, Montgomery Meigs, Walter B. Slocombe - (Opinion) January 12, 2009 - 1:00am


When the dust settles in Gaza, the Obama administration will take up the mantle of moving the two sides toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace. American efforts must focus on strengthening the capabilities of the Palestinian party upon whom hope for peace can rest, the Palestinian Authority, and ensuring the stability of the West Bank.


Transcript: Stephen Hadley
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by John D. McKinnon - (Interview) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am


The Journal's John McKinnon sat down with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley at his office in the West Wing. They talked about the situation in Gaza, the U.S. relationship with Russia, Iraq and more in an interview previewing a valedictory speech Mr. Hadley plans to deliver Wednesday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview. * * * The Wall Street Journal: Talk a little about the challenges, as well as the opportunities, that the next administration is going to face.


Middle East needs Obama’s touch
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Richard N. Haass, Martin Indyk - (Opinion) December 17, 2008 - 1:00am


President Barack Obama will face a series of challenges in the Middle East demanding urgent attention: an Iraq that could still unravel, an Iran approaching the nuclear threshold, a faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and weak governments in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories challenged by strong militant Islamist groups. He will also discover that time is working against him. But with changes in policy, the incoming president can capitalise on new opportunities rather than be overwhelmed by old realities in this critical and troubled region.


Obama and the Israel-Palestine Conflict
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Counterpunch
by Jeff Halper - (Opinion) December 17, 2008 - 1:00am


Writing recently in The Washington Post ("Middle East Priorities," Nov. 21), Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, two former US National Security Advisors, a Republican and a Democrat, declared: "We believe that the Arab-Israeli peace process is one issue that requires priority attention [from the incoming Obama Administration]."


Middle East Priorities For Jan. 21
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft - (Opinion) November 23, 2008 - 8:00pm


The election of Barack Obama to be the 44th president is profoundly historic. We have at long last been able to come together in a way that has eluded us in the long history of our great country. We should celebrate this triumph of the true spirit of America. Election Day celebrations were replicated in time zones around the world, something we have not seen in a long time. While euphoria is ephemeral, we must endeavor to use its energy to bring us all together as Americans to cope with the urgent problems that beset us.


The 2008 Democratic Party Platform and the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy In Focus
by Stephen Zunes - September 4, 2008 - 8:00pm


The excitement over the nomination of Barack Obama as the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party has been tempered by some key foreign policy planks in the 2008 platform, particularly those relating to the greater Middle East region. These positions appear to run counter to Obama's pledge early in the primary race to end the mindset that led to the Iraq War.


Rice Set For Another Mideast Visit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Jeffrey Heller - August 18, 2008 - 12:00am


U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit the Middle East next week in another attempt to achieve progress towards an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, officials said on Monday. The United States has said it hopes to conclude a framework peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians before President George W. Bush leaves office in January. But the talks have stumbled over disputes over Israeli settlement building and the future of Jerusalem.



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