Word: syria
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...Ayalon's theatrics struck a blow at a relationship as important to Israel as it has become fragile in recent months. Turkey, a NATO member that shares borders with such key Israeli adversaries as Syria and Iran, has long had a close relationship with the Jewish state, particularly at the level of military cooperation. Sources within Israel's Defense Ministry expressed concern that the Ayalon-Celikkol incident might imperil the visit to Turkey by Defense Minister Ehud Barak that is scheduled for Jan. 17. Barak plans to offer Turkey's military establishment an even tighter relationship with Israel. Already...
...Obama had already announced a number of changes to deal with these oversights, and he promised more on Tuesday. Security screening has been beefed up at both domestic and foreign airports, especially for the citizens of countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Sudan. More air marshals have been added. More names have been added to the no-fly list. "The State Department is now requiring embassies and consulates to include current visa information in their warning on individuals with terrorist or suspected terrorist connections," Obama said on Tuesday, citing a new effort that had been announced in the Situation...
...also the pesky issue of human rights. Sarkozy pledged to place human rights at the top of his list of requirements for diplomatic partners before he was elected but that quickly gave way to an embrace of leaders like Muammar Gaddafi from Libya and Bashar al-Assad from Syria, state trips to pal around with African dictators, and a congratulatory call to Vladimir Putin after his party's December 2007 success in legislative elections marred by accusations of corruption. "What a strange conception of international affairs when you'd criticize someone for his election victory, and the next...
Given the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian talks, the U.S. has various options. It could table its own comprehensive peace plan. It could change its focus to brokering a deal between Israel and Syria. Or it could vastly reinvigorate the effort to build up Palestinian institutions on the West Bank as part of a step-by-step progression toward peace. Working with special envoy Tony Blair and the private sector, the U.S. could again help build economic institutions, learning and job centers, industrial free-trade zones and youth programs. It would not require a lot of money; it could be done...
...Downside of Downsizing In general, Obama's bid to shrink the war on terrorism makes sense. Since the U.S. lacks the capacity to eliminate Hizballah, Hamas and the Taliban and since we are probably unable to overthrow the regimes in Syria and Iran, we need to rethink our goals. Many on the American right believe the lesson of the Reagan years is that the U.S. can bludgeon our enemies into submission if only we don't lose our will. But Ronald Reagan didn't bludgeon Mikhail Gorbachev into submission; he seduced him with intensive diplomatic engagement and arms-control agreements...