AL JAZEERA'S CHIEF: 'WE ARE NOT POLITICALLY-CORRECT' - LAWRENCE PINTAK (COMMON DREAMS, NOVEMBER 15): Al Jazeera International cannot be seen by most North American viewers. No U.S. cable company has agreed to carry the new channel (though AJI officials claim they are on the verge of a deal with a major carrier) and Canadian regulations effectively ban al-Jazeera there, so, for the moment, the only way North Americans without a satellite dish will see it is streamed on the web.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1115-30.htm

AL JAZEERA VS. THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS - ETHAN HEITNER (TOMPAINE.COM, NOVEMBER 16): It is highly important that Americans watch Al Jazeera. It represents for the first time a post-colonial literary shift in the world of cable news: instead of broadcasting a vision of the world based in New York, Washington D.C., or even London, the metropolitan centers of our empire, it is a view of the world from the "periphery."
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/1...vilizations.php

AL-JAZEERA LAUNCHES AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CHANNEL, BUT WILL WASHINGTON CARE? - EDWARD M. GOMEZ (WORLD VIEWS, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, NOVEMBER 16)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/det...&entry_id=11023

MIDWEST HOTEL CHAIN DROPS CNN OVER VIDEO - ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, ASSOCIATED PRESS (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, NOVEMBER 16): A Midwest hotel chain has pulled CNN from the TV channel lineup in its guest rooms, saying the cable network was aiding terrorism with the broadcast of a video showing Iraqi snipers shooting at U.S. troops. The video crossed the line from journalism to propaganda, said James Thompson, president of the Iowa-based Stoney Creek Hospitality Corp.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...&type=printable

STILL NOT THE NEWS: STATIONS OVERWHELMINGLY FAIL TO DISCLOSE VNRS [VIDEO NEWS RELEASES]: A FOLLOW-UP MULTIMEDIA REPORT ON TELEVISION NEWSROOMS' CONTINUING USE OF FAKE NEWS PROVIDED BY PR FIRMS - DIANE FARSETTA AND DANIEL PRICE (CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY, NOVEMBER 14)
http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews2/execsummary

LINCOLN GROUP: UNETHICAL WEAPON OF MASS DECEPTION: THE CONTROVERSIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS OUTFIT HAS BEEN AWARDED YET ANOTHER PENTAGON CONTRACT. THIS TIME, IT'S UP TO $20 MILLION FOR MONITORING THE MEDIA - BILL BERKOWITZ (FOLD/SPINDLE/MUTILATE 2.0, NOVEMBER 16)
http://freddevan.com/wordpress/2006/11/16/...mass-deception/

THE NEW MEDIA OFFENSIVE FOR THE IRAQ WAR - NORMAN SOLOMON (COMMON DREAMS, NOVEMBER 16): The American media establishment has launched a major offensive against the option of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1116-34.htm

SIX STEPS TO VICTORY: THE BOTTOM-UP PLAN TO DEFEAT THE INSURGENCY - ERIC EGLAND (WEEKLY STANDARD, NOVEMBER 16): Along with sharing more information with the American and Iraqi public, U.S. forces should also be empowered to share more information directly with locals in Iraq. The messages U.S. forces often share, however, are those that have been approved for nationwide dissemination by staffers in Baghdad and are therefore vague and generic.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Publ...12/930jbmte.asp

MILITARY MAY ASK $127B FOR WARS - RICHARD WOLF (USA TODAY, NOVEMBER 17): The Bush administration is preparing its largest spending request yet for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a proposal that could make the conflict the most expensive since World War II.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/20...raq-costs_x.htm

ANALYSIS: FEW MILITARY OPTIONS IN IRAQ - ANNE PLUMMER FLAHERTY ASSOCIATED PRESS (WASHINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1601082_pf.html

ARABIAN NIGHTMARES - RALPH PETERS (NEW YORK POST, NOVEMBER 15): Our government and even the upper echelons of the military never tried the one technique that has a solid track record of defeating insurgents if applied consistently: the rigorous imposition of public order. That means killing the bad guys. Not winning their hearts and minds, placating them or bringing them into the government. Killing them.
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print....alph_peters.htm

WASHINGTON DIARIST: THE TROOPS AND US - LAWRENCE F. KAPLAN (NEW REPUBLIC, NOVEMBER 17): In Iraq, the U.S. mission requires sacrifice and killing. At home, the U.S. mission requires easy certainties and narrative simplicity. The dissonance makes it nearly impossible to convey one to the other.
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20061127&s=diarist112706

NURTURE IRAQI DEMOCRACY, FROM THE GROUND UP: U.S. FUNDING TO IRAQ SHOULD BE REDIRECTED AWAY FROM THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO IRAQ'S MUNICIPALITIES - MICHAEL RUBIN (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 16)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...inion-rightrail

SOURCES OF VIOLENCE: WE NEED A U.S. FOREIGN POLICY BASED ON FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE TOWARD IRAQIS - KATHY KELLY (COMMON DREAMS, NOVEMBER 16): A generous portion of U.S. wealth and productivity could be directed toward assisting Iraqi refugees and developing a reparations package which could be placed in escrow, under the control of a third party, neutral group for disbursement.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1116-31.htm

WHY IRAQ IS CRUMBLING - CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER (WASHINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 17): We have given the Iraqis a republic, and they do not appear able to keep it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1601359_pf.html

U.S. TANKS WILL ROLL OUT OF IRAQ ON A ROAD PAVED WITH EXCUSES - ROBERT FISK (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, NOVEMBER 14/COMMON DREAMS): We are preparing our get-out excuses. The Iraqis don't deserve us. Screw them. That's the grit we're laying down on the desert floor to help our tanks out of Iraq.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1114-25.htm

FORSAKING HONOR - JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO (WASHINGTON TIMES, NOVEMBER 17): It would be a cruel, unspeakable tragedy for America to abandon the Iraqi people to a merciless insurgency that wants to reinstate the totalitarian rule of the now outlawed Ba'ath Party.
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...16-090025-6608r

UNLEASH THE SHIITES?: THE U.S. MAY BE FORCED TO CHOOSE SIDES IN IRAQ'S CIVIL STRIFE - LAURA ROZEN (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 16): Among the risks of an unleash-the-Shiites strategy is that if it were adopted, the White House would be unlikely to publicly acknowledge that such a choice had been made.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...inion-rightrail

REALITY CHECK II: EXAMINING THE CONSEQUENCES OF "REDEPLOYMENT" - FREDERICK W. KAGAN (WEEKLY STANDARD, NOVEMBER 15): We face a stark choice now. We can either maintain bases and large forces in Iraq, or we can withdraw. If we withdraw, the Iraqi Army will collapse, and we will not be able to help it except by re-entering the country in large numbers and in a much worse situation.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Publ...12/963idrtz.asp

SOME PLAIN TRUTHS ABOUT IRAQ - EHSAN AHRARI (ASIA TIMES, NOVEMBER 17): An important question is how many more reviews and commissions the US will need before it faces the ugly fact that it might have to withdraw from Iraq.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK17Ak02.html

IRAQ: NO MAGIC SOLUTION - ROBERT GUTTMAN (HUFFINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 17): Putting all the pressure on the Iraq Study Group to get the Bush Administration out of one of the largest failures in American foreign policy is unrealistic.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-guttm...html?view=print

THE DESERT STORM LEGACY - AUSTIN BAY (WASHINGTON TIMES, NOVEMBER 17): "Enter the James Baker and Lee Hamilton-led Iraq Study Group (ISG). It's my bet it will produce nothing original in terms of strategic and operational thinking."
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...16-090025-3471r

BAKER EX MACHINA - DAVID IGNATIUS (WASHINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 15): The essence of a negotiation is that, in the pursuit of mutual interest, the parties narrow their demands to ones that are achievable. This is the kind of conversation America should be having and -- god-from-a-machine willing -- it may begin soon.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1401228_pf.html

CONDI'S IRAQ SURPRISE: IN A SECRET END RUN AROUND CHENEY AND RUMSFELD, THE SECRETARY OF STATE PRESSED BUSH TO BACK THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP -- AND CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE WAR - MARK BENJAMIN (SALON, NOVEMBER 17)
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/...oops/print.html

IRAQ DEADLINE QUAGMIRE: AS SOME DEMS TALK WITHDRAWAL, THE TOP U.S. COMMANDER ASKS FOR MORE TIME -- AND TROOPS. AT WHAT POINT WILL CONTINUED FAILURE NOT BE ACCEPTABLE? - MICHAEL SCHERER (SALON, NOVEMBER 16): More oversight and study may not reveal any elegant solutions to the problem in Iraq. It might, however, encourage leaders like John Abizaid, the U.S. military commander for the Middle East, to set up a goal post beyond which continued failure will no longer be acceptable.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/11/...oops/print.html

A WAY OUT OF IRAQ - SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (TOMPAINE.COM, NOVEMBER 16): Simply announcing when we will begin redeployment, without any end date, is unlikely to put adequate pressure on the Iraqis. A target date isn't just critical to our Iraq policy, it is essential for our national security policy. (Russ Feingold is a United States senator from Wisconsin.)
http://www.tompaine.com/print/a_way_out_of_iraq.php

BUSH INITIATES IRAQ POLICY REVIEW SEPARATE FROM BAKER GROUP'S - ROBIN WRIGHT (WASHINGTON POST NOVEMBER 15)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6111401095.html

BUSH NOT READY TO GIVE UP ON IRAQ VICTORY - PHILIP STEPHENS (FINANCIAL TIMES, NOVEMBER 16): The commander-in-chief still thinks the war can be won.
https://registration.ft.com/registration/ba...00779e2340.html
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POCALYPSE NOW? NOT FOR BUSH - URI DAN (JERUSALEM POST, NOVEMBER 15): The impression from the White House is that the American president is a man of principle and will not run away from Iraq, but rather will attempt to stabilize the volcanic situation in a way that will guarantee the security of the moderate Arab states, and as a byproduct, that of Israel too.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...ticle%2FPrinter

WHEN THINGS GET OUT OF HAND: TALKING TOUGH ON IRAQ ISN'T COURAGEOUS - SAUL LANDAU AND FARRAH HASSEN (COUNTERPUNCH, NOVEMBER 15): Bold and logical patriots would get the US troops out of Iraq now in a safe way, and thus weaken Al Qaeda and give Iraqis a chance to reintegrate their nation.
http://www.counterpunch.org/hassen11152006.html

THE MEANING OF GATES: FROM IMPERIAL OFFENSE TO IMPERIAL DEFENSE - MICHAEL T. KLARE (TOMDISPATCH, NOVEMBER 14): Any notion of emerging triumphant from Iraq will now be abandoned, and the search will be on for a strategy that would allow the United States to extricate itself from the Iraqi morass while retaining its dominant position in the greater Persian Gulf region. This has become the overarching objective.
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=140248

A ROLE FOR IRAN IN AN IRAQ EXIT STRATEGY - DANIEL SCHORR (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NOVEMBER 17): Clearly some move is under way to internationalize the Iraq problem by bringing together the countries of the region. Whether Iran will be involved is hard to say.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1117/p09s01-cods.html

CAN IRAN HELP STABILIZE IRAQ? - SCOTT PETERSON (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NOVEMBER 15): Beneath the heated rhetoric, Iran and the US have both sent signals for months that they are ready to engage in some way.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p01s04-wome.html

EXITING IRAQ WITH 'HELP' FROM IRAN - MONITOR'S VIEW (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NOVEMBER 15): Engaging Iran will not be easy, if it is done at all.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1115/p08s02-comv.html

WE'LL TAKE TEHRAN - EDITORIAL (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 16): Iran wants American tourists, something this nation manufactures in abundant quantity. We should oblige.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...newsopinion-hed

ABBA OLMERT - MICHAEL B. OREN (WALL STREET JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 16): In the absence of international commitment to thwart Iran's nuclear plans, Israel has no choice but to consider striking pre-emptively. But the U.S. is hardly in the position to sanction an Israeli attack. The only option for the U.S. is international sanctions.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB1163...3045124713.html
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THE SUMMIT OF THE BUNGLERS - YOEL MARCUS (HAARETZ, NOVEMBER 17): "If I had to give a name to the Bush-Olmert meeting, I would call it the Summit of the Bunglers. Both of them are mixed up in wars that have no solution despite the might of their armies."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/789165.html

FALLING IN LINE ON ISRAEL - STEPHEN ZUNES (TOMPAINE.COM, NOVEMBER 15): The election of a Democratic majority in the House and Senate is unlikely to result in any serious challenge to the Bush administration's support for Israeli attacks against the civilian populations of its Arab neighbors and the Israeli government's ongoing violations of international humanitarian law.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/1...e_on_israel.php

LEBANON'S FRAGILITY - EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, NOVEMBER 17): As US policymakers contemplate striking deals with Syria and Iran to facilitate an exit strategy in the Iraq war, they must resist any temptation to trade away support for Lebanon's independence.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...agility?mode=PF

IF U.S. NOW KEEN ON TALKING, SYRIANS ARE DOUBTFUL: OFFICIAL MEDIA SAYS BUSH HAS 'BLOWN UP ALL BRIDGES' TO PEACE - HUGH MACLEOD (SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, NOVEMBER 17)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...&type=printable

THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS - EDITORIAL (NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 15): With the threat from Iran so clear, this is no time to invent more reasons for not talking to Syria.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/opinion/...agewanted=print

SUPPORT BUILDS FOR LIBYAN DISSIDENT: ADVOCATES WANT STRONGER U.S. EFFORT TO FREE DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST - NORA BOUSTANY (WASHINGTON POST, NOVEMBER 16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...1501576_pf.html

THE RETURN OF REALISM: THE MESS IN IRAQ HAS SOME AT THE WHITE HOUSE RECONSIDERING A REALIST MIDDLE EAST POLICY - (MICHAEL YOUNG, REASON, NOVEMBER 16): If the U.S. is going to reinvent itself in the Middle East, it will have to blend Bush's democratic goals with the realists' pursuit of interests, but in such a way that democracy and liberty are consistently made a priority.
http://reason.com/news/printer/116771.html

AFGHANISTAN'S IMMINENT JIHAD - CHRIS SANDS (ISLAMONLINE, NOVEMBER 15): Fierce anti-NATO rhetoric can be heard almost everywhere in Afghanistan now.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satelli...irs%2FMAELayout

BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS CIVILIZATIONS - DESMOND MPILO TUTU/ALI ALATAS/ANDRE AZOULAY (WASHINGTON TIMES, NOVEMBER 16): We firmly reject the claim that the roots of the widening rift between Muslim and Western societies lie in religion or culture. Rather, they are to be found in politics.
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...15-093409-4839r

THAT OLD VIETNAM SYNDROME - EDITORIAL (BOSTON GLOBE, NOVEMBER 15): It may turn out to be little more than a legislative detour, but there was something sadly anachronistic about the House's failure Monday to pass a bill on normalized trade relations with Vietnam by the two-thirds majority required under a special rush procedure usually employed for noncontroversial legislation.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial...yndrome?mode=PF

PROTECTIONISTS PUNISH VIETNAM: THE HOUSE'S CAVALIER REJECTION OF A TRADE INITIATIVE IS DEVASTATING, ESPECIALLY AS BUSH HEADS TO ASIA - EDITORIAL (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 15)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editor...ment-editorials

BUSH IN HANOI: VICTORY FOR VIETNAM AND US - MONITOR'S VIEW (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, NOVEMBER 17)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1117/p08s02-comv.html

SLOWLY WINNING VIETNAM: THE COUNTRY THAT DEFEATED THE U.S. MILITARY STILL PREACHES COMMUNISM, BUT ITS PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY FOR AMERICAN-STYLE CAPITALISM - ANDREW LAM (LOS ANGELES TIMES, NOVEMBER 15): It could even be argued that Vietnam won the war against the United States but that America has slowly won the peace in Vietnam.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-...inion-rightrail

LETTER FROM VENEZUELA: THE LAND OF CHAVISMO - CHESA BOUDIN (NATION, NOVEMBER 16): Although the United States itches to do away with Hugo Chávez, his socialist policies are alleviating poverty and earning the people's trust. To Bush's chagrin, the Venezuelan leader is here to stay.
http://www.thenation.com/docprem.mhtml?i=20061204&s=boudin
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ENTRY FROM http://www.thenation.com/