Wednesday-Night

US drops plan to put diplomats in Iran
(IHT/AP) WASHINGTON: The Bush administration has shelved plans to set up a diplomatic outpost in Iran in part over fears it could affect the U.S. presidential race or be interpreted as political meddling, The Associated Press has learned.
The proposal to send U.S. diplomats to Tehran for the first […]

 
Wednesday-night.com on Russia
Georgia-Russia conflict (BBC)
Russia & Georgia another viewpoint
The Crisis in Georgia, Strategic Datalink, Canadian International Council (with thanks to Frank Kruzich)
13 September
Russian troops have withdrawn from the Georgian port of Poti on the country’s Black Sea coast.
Trucks and armoured vehicles had left the town and other bases in western Georgia and were seen […]

Whither Egypt?
With most of its people struggling, and reform blocked, Egypt faces an uncertain and possibly dangerous future
(The Economist) Today, a blinkered visitor might choose to see nothing of Egypt but posh beach resorts and gleaming factories, and hear of little but strong economic growth and a stable, secular government committed to reform. In the […]

Excellent selection of readings suggested by one of our favorite sources
Petrodollar bonanza offers economic key
(FT) At today’s prices, the value of oil in the ground exceeds the combined value of all the world’s equity and debt markets.
Oil-importing nations are paying oil-exporting nations roughly $1,500bn per annum for oil – about 2.5 […]

See also Afghanistan news on Wednesday-night.com and
CBC Background on Afghanistan 2008
Robert Galbraith
August 20
(NYT Editorial) The more territory the Taliban controls, the more money it can raise from narcotics and black-market activities to mount an even fiercer challenge against the foundering civilian governments in Kabul and Islamabad. And the more territory the Taliban controls, the more […]

See photos and more
Starting this Wednesday Night on a different note (!), our very special diva, Susanna Eyton-Jones, and Shem Guibbory will give a brief performance as a warm-up to their in-studio recording the following week. They will present a 13-minute chamber piece for violin and soprano entitled ‘Iglesia Abandonado’, by […]

Two and a Half Cheers for the Mediterranean Union
by Chris Patten
(Project Syndicate) Maybe it is time to be a bit more generous to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and look at the outcome of what he does rather than the way that he does it.
The original launch of the Mediterranean Union almost […]

See also Iraq 5 years later
July 15
Now for the Hard Part: From Iraq to Afghanistan
(Stratfor) The Bush administration let it be known last week that it is prepared to start reducing the number of troops in Iraq, indicating that three brigades out of 15 might be withdrawn before Inauguration Day in 2009. There […]

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Kurds claim responsibility for oil line blast
(FT) Kurdish separatists claimed responsibility on Thursday for an explosion that has halted the flow of oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, helping to push […]

Photos and more on Wednesday-night.com
It was a brilliant evening in every respect - and there was not even mention of the G8 meeting. There is no way that a summary can reproduce the articulation and clarity of analysis of the two distinguished guests, nor the many excellent interventions from the other informed and focused participants. […]