Latest Iran, Middle East News & Beyond *******************************
The Washington Post Russia and China veto U.N. resolution condemning violent Syria crackdown - -
The Russian and Chinese stance came as a blow to U.S. and European efforts to rally behind an Arab League plan that would require Assad to step down, making way for a democratically elected unity government with a leader who commanded the support of both the government and the opposition By Colum Lynch
The Guardian Global protests: Where does the revolution go from here - -
2011's anti-capitalist protests and Arab spring made everything seem possible. But will 2012 bring real change? The key is turning rebellion into coherent political vision By Paul Mason
The New York Post Kuwaitis vote for democracy - -
The emir should understand the new political landscape and help reflect it in the decision-making process. For its part, the United States, conscious of its strategic interests in Kuwait, should use its influence to encourage the reforms needed
By Amir Taheri
The Guardian Washington's wishful thinking about Taliban talks - -
A negotiated peace in Afghanistan with the Taliban is becoming conventional wisdom in DC. But the plan is fraught with difficulty By Michael Boyle
The New York Times Can Egypt avoid Pakistan's fate ? - -
As the military concentrates power in its own hands, Egypt is starting to look disturbingly like Pakistan By Michele Dunne & Shuja Nawaz
The Christian Science Monitor Israel defense minister implies a strike on Iran nuclear program is near - -
The current standoff with Iran is similar to the 'fateful' period before the 1967 Arab-Israel war, when Israel launched a preemptive strike, said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak By Joshua Mitnick
The Daily Telegraph Hezbollah's secret war on Syrian rebels - -
“Hezbollah received information that the Iranians who were captured in Homs had been taken to north Syria,” he told me. “So Hezbollah started bombing us there with Katyushas By Michael Weiss
The New York Times Trading threats with Iran - -
Tehran's nuclear ambitions are real and dangerous, but a military attack would backfire. Tough sanctions and a united diplomatic front are best By Editorial
The Washington Post Syria's outcome has high stakes for the entire Mideast - -
For Russia and the United States, Syria means not a display of Security Council clout but a potentially devastating exhibition of weakness — one that could greatly diminish the standing of both in the region By Jackson Diehl
The Washington Post The importance of U.S. military might shouldn't be underestimated - -
Some of these adjustments could be made through diplomacy, as they were sometimes in the past. Other adjustments might be made through war or the threat of war, as also happened in the past.
The biggest illusion is to imagine that as American power declines, the world stays the same
By Robert Kagan
The Fox News Iran reports launch of small satellite into orbite - -
Iran successfully launched a new small satellite into orbit early Friday, state media reported, the latest in the country's ambitious space program that has raised concerns because if its possible military applications
By
The Washington Post Syria: It's not just about freedom - -
A chance for U.S. to weaken Iran By Charles Krauthammer
The Washington Post The administration's muddle message on Afghanistan - -
What must the Taliban make of the administration's muddled messages? By Editorial
The Foreignpolicy - - The Futility of predicting Iran's future - -
A nuclear Iran could look more like Pakistan, a country that, after its 1998 nuclear tests, was feeling more confident on the regional and international stage and was arguably taking more risks in its policies toward its historical rival, India By Bilal Y. Saab
The Los Angeles Times Israel: Iran creating missile to hit U.S.; East Coast in reach - -
An Israeli government minister said Thursday that Iran is developing a missile that could strike targets more than 6,000 miles away and thus would be capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States By Edmund Sanders
The Guardian BBC Persian staff face Iranian intimidation - -
Relatives of BBC staff in London detained and threatened by intelligence agents and one employee interrogated online By Ian Black & Saeed Kamali Dehghan
The Daily Telegraph Israel will not pull out of the next Middle East war until Hizbollah is annihilated - -
The tension on the Lebanese border is palpable as sworn enemies flex their military muscle By Con Coughlin
The Christian Science Monitor Israel's public campaign against Iran has West on edge - -
Israel's steady stream of warnings against Iran troubles Western leaders, who worry that Israel will act unilaterally By Arthur Bright
The New York Times How to fight the man - -
The viral phenomenon of "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus" and the debate that it prompted have a fogy offering advice on how to beat the fogies By David Brooks
The Daily Telegraph Kuwait: Hardline Islamists seize control of parliament - -
Kuwait's Islamist-led opposition has won a landslide majority in Kuwait's snap polls, with women and liberals the big losers By
The Christian Science Monitor Iran's top ayatollah: We are trumping the West, but beware infighting at home - -
In a State of the Union-like speech before March elections, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to press on with Iran nuclear program, but warned of internal divisions between conservatives By Scott Peterson
The New York Times Closing the student sweatshop - -
The State Department took a modest step to protect foreign university students who take part in a summer guest-worker program, but the reforms need to go much further By Editorial
The Washington Post Israeli leaders: Iran must be stopped soon - -
Israeli leaders on Thursday delivered one of the bluntest warnings to date of possible airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites, adding to the anxiety in Western capitals that a surprise attack by Israel could spark a broader military conflict in the Middle East By Joel Greenberg & Joby Warrick
The Washington Post Is Israel preparing to attack Iran ? - -
Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June — before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” By David Ignatius
The Yahoo News Cardboard cut out of Ayatollah Khomaeini " inspects " Iranian military - -
The Atlantic reports that the Iranian military created three individual cardboard cut outs of Khomeini for the ceremony By Eric Pheiffer
The CNBC Biggest holders of U.S. government debt - -
As the U.S. government spends an unprecedented amount of money to fix the economy, there is an equally great need to raise the cash to pay for it. This is accomplished through borrowing, whereby Uncle Sam sells Treasury securities of varying maturity By Paul Toscano
The Washington Post The world has changed Mr. Romney - -
That might appeal to Republican primary voters, but chest-thumping triumphalism won’t help you secure America’s interests or ideals in a world populated by powerful new players By Fareed Zakaria
The National Review Are sanctions working ? - -
If the purpose is to penalize Iran’s rulers for their crimes and discourage civilized people from buying blood oil, yes By Clifford D. May
The Los Angeles Times U.N. chief tells Palestinians their state is long overdue - -
At a news conference with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the U.N. chief urged the Palestinians and Israelis to return to direct negotiations, stressing that “the two-state solution can be achieved only through negotiations.” By Maher Abukhater
The Christian Science Monitor Africa asks itself: Where is the aid money ?
African nations pledged five months ago to do more to help each other when famine and disaster strike. But so far, they haven't come up with the promised cash By Mike Pflanz
The Christian Science Monitor Iran - U.S tensions: 5 ways Americans & Iranians are actually similar - -
Despite escalating US-Iran tensions, remarkable similarities between their peoples have prompted some to suggest that the two nations could one day be powerful ‘natural’ allies By Scott Peterson
The New York Times Path is found for the spread of Alzheimer's - -
The discovery in studies of mice solves a mystery surrounding the disease's grim march and has immediate implications for developing treatments, researchers said By
The Washington Post Panetta: U.S., Nato will seek to end Afghan combat mission next year - -
The United States and NATO will seek to end combat operations in Afghanistan next year and shift to a role of providing support and training to Afghan security forces By Craig Whitlock
The National Review Unwed and impertubed - -
Having a child together is no longer seen as a reason to marry By Mona Charen
The Washington Post Endgame in Syria - -
Transition plan is rushing along.... By David Ignatius
The Foreignpolicy The Georgian Paradox - -
As Georgia's recent experience demonstrates, fighting corruption and building democracy are two different things By Christian Caryl
The Christian Science Monitor Will the EU really turn to growth ? - -
It is considered progress that European Union leaders are discussing growth after two years of focusing almost exclusively on austerity, but actual growth strategies are still in short supply By Robert Marquand
The Daily Telegraph India ' most dangerous place in world to be born a girl - -
India is the most dangerous place in the world to be born a girl, with females almost twice as likely to die before reaching the age of five, according to new UN figures By Dean Nelson
The Christian Science Monitor Graphic images flood out of Syria, why no world uproar ? - -
Grainy videos depict the violence that has killed at least 6,000 Syrians, but the prospects for international intervention appear dim. Is the world inured to the ubiquitous images? By Dan Murphy
The New York Times The politics of dignity - -
From Cairo to Moscow, humiliation has been the most underestimated force in politics By Thomas L. Friedman
The Washington Post Iran, perceiving threat from west, willing to attack on U.S. soil, U.S. intellegence report finds - -
,” Clapper said in the testimony, which was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee in advance of a threat assessment hearing Tuesday. “We are also concerned about Iranian plotting against U.S. or allied interests overseas.” By Greg Miller
The National Review Two kinds of fanaticism - -
They have Islamist fanatics, we have secularist fanatics By Dennis Prager
The Guardian Iran launches Spanish TV channel - -
Hispan TV will deal blow to 'dominance seekers', says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad By
The New York Times Tunisia faces a balancing act of democracy & religion - -
A blasphemy trial in Tunis symbolizes an emotional struggle, with implications for the Arab world, playing out with the rise of Islamists after the end of a secular dictatorship By Anthony shadid
The New York Times Surveying a global power shift - -
‘Strategic Vision,’ by Zbigniew Brzezinski By Michiko Kakutani
Washington Times Canadian Muslim family convicted of ' honor killings " - -
A Montreal couple and their son were all convicted Sunday of first-degree murder in the deaths of four family members in a case the judge called "despicable,' "heinous," and stemming from "a completely twisted concept of honour." By CBC News
The National Review The state of education - -
Can schools rekindle the American work ethic? By Chester E. Finn Jr.
The Christian Science Monitor In India, the challenge of building 50,000 colleges - -
To become an economic powerhouse, India needs to educate as many as 100 million young people over the next 10 years – something never done before By Ben Arnoldy
The Christian Science Monitor Freedom may be messy, but it beats despotism - -
The Arab Spring toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Yemen and Syria may be next. Though trials remain, we are witnessing an extraordinary fight for freedom. What emerges may not be the kind of democracy Westerners want, but it beats tyranny By John Hughes
