Word: primed
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he was delighted by the "decisive" vote. "Today we have done the right thing for our own future and the future of our children," he said. Cowen's relief was echoed across the whole of the E.U., where leaders had been watching the result as closely as the Irish. (The Union operates by consensus, meaning major policy questions have to be approved by all 27 member states.) "I am really glad with the result," said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. "The Irish people have spoken. They have said a resounding yes to Europe...
...meantime, work will begin on filling the new posts created by Lisbon. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the front-runner to become the E.U.'s first full-time president, and could be named within weeks. Other positions include a stronger foreign policy chief, known as the High Representative for Foreign Affairs. The E.U. will also work on creating an E.U. diplomatic corps, or European External Action Service...
...surprisingly, the pressure on Israeli politicians to rescue Shalit has been intense. Before he left office in March, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attempted a last-minute push to gain Shalit's freedom by offering to release Palestinian prisoners in return for the soldier, but negotiations between the two sides failed. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came into power, he appointed a new chief negotiator and brought in German mediators to help the Egyptians already on the case...
...When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki parted ways with his Shi'a allies in the ruling Iraqi National Alliance, everyone expected the wily politician, who has led Iraq since April 2006, to come up with a political bloc of his own. On Thursday, Maliki took the stage in the ballroom of Baghdad's upper-crusty Al-Rasheed hotel, before a crowd of more than 500 guests - including American, European and Asian diplomants - and, one by one, 55 leaders of his new "State of Law" coalition came up to join him. It appeared to be a veritable national unity slate, composed...
...coming months, Iraq's contending coalitions will expand and contract. Many smaller parties and candidates will decide whether one of the coalitions is right for them. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqyia list, for example, has been holding talks with the INA but is undecided. Most importantly, the Kurdistan Alliance will be carefully courted as potential kingmaker when the votes are cast and a new government is formed. Iraq's Kurds put forward a mostly united front in their rocky relations with the central government in Baghdad over autonomy, oil sharing, and disputed territories, issues that pit it against...