Diesel europeu duplica de valor e ameaça afetar todos os preços

[Keyser Soze]

2 apresentações em Flash bastante interessantes:


How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries?

http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html


Who has controlled the Middle East over the course of history?

http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/imperial-history.html

[Keyser Soze]

Aguardo ansiosamente as próximas Presidencias norte americanas a 4 de Novembro 2008...este tipo vai ficar na história como um dos piores Presidentes de sempre

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/ ... 9119.shtml

Transcript: Bush Interview
President Spoke to 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley At Camp David

PELLEY: Instability in Iraq threatens the entire region?

BUSH: If the government falls apart and there is sectarian enclaves and violence, it’ll invite Iran into the Shia neighborhoods, Sunni extremists into the Sunni neighborhoods, Kurdish separatist movements. All of which would threaten moderate people, moderate governments, and all of which will end up creating conditions that could lead to attacks here in America.

PELLEY: But wasn’t it your administration that created the instability in Iraq?

BUSH: Well, our administration took care of a source of instability in Iraq. Envision a world in which Saddam Hussein was rushing for a nuclear weapon to compete against Iran. My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the correct decision in my judgment. We didn’t find the weapons we thought we would find or the weapons everybody thought he had. But he was a significant source of instability.

PELLEY: It’s much more unstable now, Mr. President.

BUSH: Well, no question decisions have made things unstable. But the question is can we succeed. And I believe we can.

[Keyser Soze]

Relatório proõe diálogo com Síria e Irão
Grupo de Estudos sobre o Iraque propõe retirada da maioria das tropas americanas até 2008

O Grupo de Estudos sobre o Iraque, liderado pelo ex-secretário de Estado norte-americano James Baker, propôs à Administração Bush a retirada da maioria das tropas até 2008, o desenvolvimento de uma nova iniciativa de paz para o conflito israelo-palestiniano e o diálogo directo com a Síria e com o Irão.

O relatório do grupo de peritos, que vai ser apresentado hoje oficialmente, já foi entregue ao Presidente George W. Bush, que prometeu estudá-lo "de forma muito séria".

De acordo com a CNN, o grupo evitou fixar um calendário para a retirada de tropas, mas propõe que a maioria dos soldados saia do Iraque até ao início de 2008.

"A missão primordial das forças norte-americanas no Iraque deveria evoluir para uma missão de apoio ao Exército iraquiano", lê-se no documento, que descreve a situação como "grave e perigosa".

"É claro que o Governo iraquiano vai precisar da ajuda dos Estados Unidos durante um tempo", admitem os peritos. No entanto, o grupo de estudos sublinha que os EUA nunca se comprometam a manter um elevado número de efectivos no Iraque.

EUA devem dialogar com Irão e Síria

Os autores do documento aconselham também a Administração Bush a desenvolver uma nova iniciativa diplomática para resolver o conflito israelo-palestiniano. O relatório avança que os EUA só poderão alcançar os seus objectivos no Médio Oriente se encetarem "um compromisso renovado e sustentado com um plano de paz em todas as frentes".

É igualmente sugerido que os Estados Unidos encetem conversações directas com a Síria e com o Irão, algo a que Administração Bush tem resistido. "Os vizinhos do Iraque e os países-chave dentro e fora da região deveriam formar um grupo de apoio" para ajudar à reconciliação política no Iraque, lê-se no documento.

"O que recomendamos requer uma quantidade enorme de vontade política e cooperação entre os braços executivo e legislativo do Governo norte-americano", advertem os conselheiros. E concluem: "A política externa está condenada ao fracasso — bem como qualquer acção no Iraque — se não for apoiada por consenso".

[Valete]

Penso que não será tão fácil os USA perderem o controlo do médio oriente, ainda tem aliados bem como "extensões" do seu território nessa zona.

Lembram-se das sanções ao Iraque e outros povos, fica aí a nova forma de conflito aberto
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/1 ... topstories

[Keyser Soze]

US Dominance Of Mideast Ends
by Claude Salhani
UPI International Editor
Washington (UPI) Nov 27, 2006

U.S. dominance in the Middle East has ended, giving way to a new era in the modern history of the region amid growing anti-American sentiment. This is the conclusion of a study by Richard N. Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations in an article titled "The New Middle East" published in the November/December 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs.

Expectations of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Middle East based on the European model "will not be realized," says Haas. "Much more likely is the emergence of a new Middle East that will cause great harm to itself, the United States, and the world."

Haas writes that the most significant factor contributing to the end of this era has been "the Bush administration's decision to attack Iraq in 2003 and its conduct of the operation and resulting occupation."

Among the casualties of the war in Iraq is the Sunni's domination, a factor "which was strong enough and motivated enough to balance Shiite Iran." This, explains Haas, has given rise to tensions between Sunnis and Shiites. Fighting between the two rival Muslim groups has reached new heights in Iraq with a car bomb claiming more that 160 lives in a single day last week. And in Lebanon tension between the Shiite Hezbollah and Sunnis has reached the point where it could easily tip into armed conflict.

Another casualty of the Iraq war has been the rise of terrorism. Terrorists have gained a base in Iraq where they developed a new set of techniques to export, says Haas. The war in Iraq, says Haas has "reduced U.S. leverage worldwide" by tying down a large number of U.S. troops in the area.

Haas considers this as one of history's ironies. "The first war in Iraq, a war of necessity, marked the beginning of the American era in the Middle East and the second Iraq war, a war of choice, has precipitated its end." The most significant factor contributing to the demise of the U.S. domination in the Middle East, according to Haas, has been the Bush administration's decision to attack Iraq in 2003. Haas also points out other relevant factors such as the "demise of the Middle East peace process" and the "failure of traditional Arab regimes to counter the appeal of radical Islamism."

In the Middle East's new era the United States will be challenged by China, Russia and the European Union. "Iran will be one of the two most powerful states in the region," says Haas. Iran "is the most powerful external influence in Iraq, and holds considerable sway over both Hamas and Hezbollah."

Haas calls the Islamic Republic of Iran "a classic imperial power." Iran has "ambitions to remake the region in its image and the potential to translate its objectives into reality."

Israel, the only country in the region with a nuclear arsenal, still "is in a weaker position today than it was before this summer's crisis in Lebanon."

Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other large oil producers will benefit from the rising price of oil, which Haas believes is "far more likely to exceed $100 (per barrel) than it is to fall below $40."

Haas further predicts "Iraq, traditionally a center of Arab power, will remain messy for years to come, with a weak central government, a divided society, and regular sectarian violence. At worst, it will become a failed state wracked by an all-out civil war that will draw in its neighbors."

The political landscape of the Middle East is changing. "With Arab nationalism and Arab socialism a thing of the past, democracy belongs in the distant future at best," and a number of Arab regimes are "likely to remain authoritarian." Arab unity is a slogan, not a reality, says Haas.

"Islam will continue to make great strides and will continue to fill the intellectual vacuum in the Arab world," he says, adding Islam will provide a foundation for the politics of a majority of the region's inhabitants.

Lack of imagination will continue to hurt Arab countries. Says Haas: "The Middle East's best-known organization, the Arab League, excludes the region's two most powerful states, Israel and Iran." Haas says the continuing war between Arab forces and Israel will "continue to preclude the participation of Israel in any sustained regional relationship." While the "tension between Iran and most Arab states will also frustrate the emergence of regionalism."

The author of the report cautions U.S. policymakers not to be over reliant on brute military force. He points to two instances where two superior powers -- the U.S. in Iraq and Israel in Lebanon -- were unable to achieve their objectives. Secondly, cautions Haas, it would be a mistake "to count on the emergence of democracy to pacify the region."

Creating mature democracies is no easy task, says Haas. If and when the experiment succeeds it takes decades. Among the dangers of the new Middle East is the possibility that "Syria might be more interested in working with Tehran than with Washington."

Washington's shunning of Damascus and Tehran as part of its foreign policy is in fact the absence of a coherent policy. "Diplomacy," writes Haas, "is the best option available to Washington."

Indeed, what seems to be emerging in the Middle East today is a new axis of power with Syria as its main cog and incorporating Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. And following the re-establishment of relations between Damascus and Baghdad could bring Iraq back into the anti-American fold.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_Domi ... s_999.html
( Comments may be sent to Claude@upi.com )