Month: November 2006

Financial Times (London, England)
November 10, 2006 Friday
London Edition 1
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; Pg. 17
Turkish entry would fatally dilute the Union
By FRITS BOLKESTEIN
It is called “the great train crash”. The European Union’s
negotiations with Turkey are coming to the crunch. In December 1999
Europe’s leaders agreed, after a few minutes’ debate, that Turkey
would be a candidate member. Its accession would not be a matter of
if, but of when. Now a number of leaders, perhaps a majority, are
trying to wriggle off the hook.
Would Turkey’s accession be a good thing? For Turkey it would
probably be the best thing that could happen to it, even though
enthusiasm for membership there is waning. For the EU it would be a
bad thing. Why?
There are incidental reasons and structural ones. The present crunch
is about Cyprus. Turkey does not recognise Cyprus, nor does it open
its harbours to Cypriot ships. That in itself is odd. If one wants to
join a club, it does not do to reject one of its members.
Another incidental matter is the Armenian genocide. Whoever calls it
so commits a crime in Turkey, as the writer Orhan Pamuk found out,
even though he has been let off the hook. Curiously, this restriction
of free speech is mirrored in France where a proposal has been made
to make denial of the genocide a crime. But it does not look as if
this proposal will reach the statute book, whereas article 301 of the
Turkish criminal code is real enough.
The so-called Copenhagen criteria demand that all EU members respect
democracy, human rights and the rights of minorities. The European
Commission decided in 2004 that Turkey satisfied these criteria
sufficiently for negotiations on membership to be opened. I was the
sole dissenter.
Gunter Verheugen’s report – he was then commissioner for enlargement
– mentioned that, in 2003, 21,870 Turks had asked for asylum in the
EU, of whom 2,127 were accepted. So member states themselves
acknowledged that in 2003 more than 2,000 Turks had been persecuted
by their government.
In March 2005 Turkish police violently disturbed a demonstration of
women intended to celebrate International Women’s Day.
This week the Commission’s report on Turkey again condemned these
failings, stressing in particular the use of torture and shortcomings
with respect to the freedom of religion, expression and assembly.
Some of these shortcoming are undoubtedly incidental. Article 301 can
be changed, torture in prisons can be stopped. But others are not.
Will there ever be true religious freedom, which means mosque and
church are be treated on a par? Will minorities ever have the same
cultural freedom as the majority? Will women ever be treated in the
same way as men?
Some people will say: these things will improve after accession. I
doubt it. To the contrary: after accession all desire to liberalise
will evaporate.
What is Turkey’s basic identity? It has a marvellous history. But it
is not a European history. Europe is marked by the great developments
of its past: Christianity, Renaissance, Enlightenment, democracy,
industrialisation. Turkey does not fit in that mould. Here I will be
accused of saying that Turkey may not enter because it is not
Christian. That is emphatically not what I say. But it can hardly be
denied that European civilisation has been deeply marked by its
Judaeo-Christian heritage, however much politically correct
bien-pensants may deem this old hat.
Some maintain that only membership will stop the tide of Islamism.
But the EU wants to reduce the power and influence of the Turkish
army, which is a bulwark against radical islam. Does Europe know what
it is doing?
I now come to the most important reason for rejecting Turkish
membership: its consequences. Whoever lets Turkey in cannot very well
refuse Ukraine, which is more European than Turkey. Ukrainian
membership (much advocated by Poland) would be followed by that of
Belarus, Moldova and – why not – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbidjan.
Together with the successor states of Yugoslavia that would mean, in
time, an EU of some 40 member states, bordering on Russia in the
east, Syria, Iraq and Iran in the south. I was responsible for the
customs union: I do not envy my future successor.
Supporters of Turkish membership focus on foreign relations. That is
legitimate. But the EU’s cohesion comes first. These advocates think
they know how the EU works. But they do not.
It is already hard to get member states to toe the line. That can
only get worse. Helmut Schmidt, former German chancellor, said: “We
cannot manage Turkish membership.” He was right. It would fatally
dilute the EU. But perhaps this might suit the UK government,
especially when headed by Gordon Brown.
The writer was a member of the European Commission 1999-2004

Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part A (Russia)
November 10, 2006 Friday
ORIENTATION TEST;
Putin checks to see if Ilham Aliyev is planning to join NATO
by Viktor Yadukha
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan visits Moscow; President Ilham
Aliyev of Azerbaijan started a working visit to Moscow yesterday,
arriving there from Brussels. In contrast to Aliyev’s Brussels visit,
his Moscow visit has been downplayed in Azerbaijan – to avoid
stirring up the pro-Western opposition.
BODY:
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan started a working visit to
Moscow yesterday, arriving there from Brussels.
In contrast to Aliyev’s Brussels visit, his Moscow visit has been
downplayed in Azerbaijan – to avoid stirring up the pro-Western
opposition. Announcements in Russia have also been very brief. But
everyone knows the issues of concern to both sides: Baku is trying to
win Moscow’s support on Nagorno-Karabakh, while Moscow is trying to
prevent Azerbaijan from joining NATO.
Moscow doesn’t have much economic leverage with Azerbaijan. All Azeri
oil is exported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, bypassing
Russia; gas deliveries account for the lion’s share of trade
turnover, but even this source of dependence will be eliminated once
the Shah-Deniz field starts production. However, given its influence
on Armenia, Russia is still an important mediator in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This mediation is also vital for
Azerbaijan’s biggest investor – the United States. Shareholders in
the BTC pipeline and the new Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline require
transit security. Moscow can’t side with Azerbaijan, at the risk of
losing Armenia – a member of the CIS Collective Security Treaty
Organization and Russia’s sole ally in the Trans-Caucasus.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said on November 7 that
Russia is prepared to act as a conflict regulation guarantor if Baku
and Yerevan can reach a compromise themselves. But this is unlikely:
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has already made it clear
that his meeting with his Azeri counterpart on November 14 in
Brussels will not be successful. Oskanian also said recently that if
“Russia recognizes one or more of the unrecognized republics, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry will make an appropriate statement.” It’s a
sticky situation.
In the meantime, Western countries are trying to draw Azerbaijan
further into their orbit. Citing diplomatic sources, the “Zerkalo”
newspaper (Baku) reports that “Azerbaijan is expected to make an
official application for NATO membership within days.” However,
judging by Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamediarov’s statement about
Russia’s “important role” in the region, Baku is not prepared to take
that step as yet. Sergei Markedonov from the Political and Military
Analysis Institute says: “Azerbaijan understands that joining NATO
would exacerbate tension in relations with Russia, and draw
Azerbaijan into the Iran campaign. So Aliyev has to keep
maneuvering.”
All the same, according to Azeri political analyst Zafar Guliyev,
Baku’s policies could tilt towards the West in the near future. And
the invitation for Aliyev to visit Moscow after Brussels may be
regarded as the Kremlin’s attempt to prevent such developments.
Source: RBK Daily, No. 33, November 9, 2006, p. 2
Translated by Elena Leonova

The Business Times, Singapore
November 10, 2006 Friday
Odds stacked against Turkey joining EU
Shada Islam, Brussels Correspondent
IT’S crunch time for relations between Turkey and the European Union
(EU). Ankara opened membership talks with the EU last year but the
past few months have seen a rise in tension between the two sides
over an array of issues, including Turkey’s troubled relationship
with Cyprus.
The mood has soured. In the latest blow, the European Commission
threatened to recommend freezing entry talks unless Turkey opens its
ports and airports to EU member Cyprus by mid-December.
The outlook is not good. Tempers are fraying on both sides. Leading
EU officials have warned Ankara repeatedly in recent months to speed
up political reforms or face a ‘train crash’ which could fatally
derail the 12-month-old membership talks.
Turkish leaders, on their part, are accusing the Europeans of being
impatient, making excessive demands and constantly moving the goal
posts. Many have warned that the EU stance – with many politicians in
Europe openly opposing Turkish accession to the EU – is turning
ordinary Turks against EU entry.
The current difficulties centre on Ankara’s slow progress in
reforming its political structures. But many in Europe continue to
insist that Turkey as a Muslim nation – albeit with a secular
Constitution – has no place within a largely Christian club.
The suspicion that religion, rather than politics, is the key
obstacle to Ankara’s EU membership bid also persists in Turkey and
other countries in the Muslim world. Officials in Brussels insist,
however, that religion is not the issue. With Turkey under EU
pressure to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels,
Ankara argues that the EU must first agree to end the economic
isolation of the poor, northern Turkish part of the divided island of
Cyprus.
After months of sterile argument, Finland as the current EU
president, has started work on a plan under which the EU would end
its current economic boycott of Turkish Cypriots in exchange for a
commitment by Turkey to allow Greek Cypriot vessels to access its
harbours. The Finnish initiative has won praise from Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul but reaction from Greek Cypriot President
Tassos Papadopoulos has been less supportive.
A key problem for Turkey is that apart from Britain, it has few
friends in Europe. Most other countries, including heavyweights
France and Germany, remain lukewarm on Turkey’s EU entry, with many
politicians in both countries saying Ankara should be offered a
‘special relationship’ instead of membership. Spotlighting increasing
French hostility towards Turkish accession, the French Parliament
last month passed a law declaring that anyone who denies that the
mass murder of Armenians in eastern Turkey in 1915-1917 was genocide
will face a year in prison.
EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn has cautioned European
politicians against talking tough on Turkey’s membership.
‘This weakens our credibility and the strength of the reforms in
Turkey, and through this we shoot ourselves in the foot,’ Mr Rehn
said recently. ‘It is much better to be fair but firm. Fair in
keeping our word and commitments in terms of Turkey’s membership
goal, but meantime firmly demanding reforms and fulfilment of the
membership criteria,’ he said.
Few are listening, however. As a result, Turkey-EU relations face an
uncertain future. The speculation in Brussels is that faced with the
commission’s damning assessment of Ankara’s failure to meet many of
the EU’s requirements, the bloc’s governments will decide to suspend
current accession negotiations. While Islam’s role in curbing EU
enthusiasm for Turkey cannot be ruled out, it is also true that most
EU governments are suffering from a bad case of ‘enlargement
fatigue’.
>From January next year, Romania and Bulgaria will be full-fledged EU
members. Negotiations are also under way with Croatia while Macedonia
has been acknowledged as a future member. Further down the road, all
western Balkan states are waiting to join – and the queue may one day
also include Ukraine and Georgia. New applicants therefore face tough
tests ahead. With the mood definitely not expansion-friendly, EU
policymakers are cautioning that more members will only be allowed
into the bloc if the EU can ‘absorb’ newcomers without undergoing
financial and institutional strain.
Turkey’s only hope is that at least some thoughtful EU leaders
attending an EU summit in December will argue that a decision to
suspend Ankara’s accession talks will send a grim message to
reformists in Turkey.
To make an even more compelling case, they must also argue that a
freeze in EU relations with Turkey will further strain Europe’s
already difficult ties with other Islamic countries.
And signal worldwide that the EU is closed to membership of Muslim
nations.r
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Associated Press Worldstream
November 11, 2006 Saturday 7:36 PM GMT
Benedict to meet in Turkey with Islamic cleric who denounced him for
speech
By FRANCES D’EMILIO, Associated Press Writer
Pope Benedict XVI will meet in Turkey later this month with a top
Islamic cleric who denounced the pope’s remarks on Islam and
violence.
During the pope’s Nov. 28-Dec. 1 visit to the predominantly Muslim
nation, he will also visit a symbol of Turkey’s official commitment
to secularism the mausoleum of the Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is
honored as the founder of the modern Turkish state.
The Vatican on Saturday released details of the trip, which was
originally planned so that Benedict could meet with Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the
world’s Orthodox Christians, as the pontiff pursues closer relations
among Christians.
But the trip quickly turned into a test of Catholic-Muslim relations
after much of the Muslim world reacted angrily to a Sept. 12 speech
in which Benedict quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor describing
Islam as a religion spread by the sword.
One of the first to decry Benedict’s speech was Turkey’s president
for religious affairs, Ali Bardakoglu, a top Islamic cleric who said
criticism of Islam threatened world peace. Benedict and Bardakoglu
will meet within hours of the pope’s arrival in Ankara, the Turkish
capital, on Nov. 28. The pope will also deliver a speech during his
encounter with the cleric, the Vatican said.
Benedict has offered his regrets that the quotes from the emperor
caused offense and has stressed they did not reflect his personal
opinion. He has also expressed esteem for Islam.
Immediately after the pope’s arrival at Ankara’s airport, he will
head to the mausoleum of Ataturk, revered as a hero in Turkey by
those who share his fierce dedication to secularism.
Earlier this month, thousands of nationalist Turks rallied at the
mausoleum, vowing to defend Turkey’s secular government.
The pontiff will meet with Turkey’s deputy premier. Turkey’s prime
minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has already said he won’t be meeting
the pope because he will be attending a NATO summit in Latvia.
Erdogan has denied he was trying to avoid an encounter with the
pontiff. His Islamic-rooted party faces elections next year.
Benedict will spend much of his first papal visit to a Muslim country
in ceremonies and meetings with Orthodox leaders. The visit was timed
to coincide with the Nov. 30 feast day of a special saint for the
Orthodox, Andrew, who is considered the father of the patriarchate of
Constantinople, the Byzantine name for present-day Istanbul.
The pope will pray in the patriarchal Church of St. George in
Istanbul on Nov. 29.
On Nov. 30, Benedict will meet with other Christian leaders: Armenian
Patriarch Mesrob II, who is based in Istanbul, and Assyrian
Metropolitan Yusef Cetin.
While in Istanbul, Benedict will meet Turkey’s chief rabbi. Two
synagogues in the city were destroyed in twin suicide bombings in
November 2003.
The pope will also dine on his last evening in Turkey with Catholic
clerics. In February, an Italian priest was slain as he prayed in his
church in the Black Sea town of Trabzon, and a 16-year-old Turk was
charged with the murder.
Benedict will tour the Haghia Sophia, the magnificent ancient church
that became the main mosque of Istanbul when Sultan Mehmet took the
city in 1453. The Turkish government made it a museum in 1935.
Other details of the trip were given previously, including a stop in
Izmir, a port city near Ephesus, which is an ancient Christian
community.
An Algerian intellectual and Muslim scholar, Mustapha Cherif, had a
private meeting with Benedict on Saturday at the Vatican, people
close to Cherif said. Cherif could not be immediately be reached for
comment.
The Vatican press office did not list the meeting, but the daily list
of the pope’s audiences does not always include all the people paying
calls on him.
That was the case of a private audience Benedict granted in 2005 to
Italian intellectual and writer Oriana Fallaci, who said the pontiff
shared her concerns about relations between the Muslim world and the
West.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
November 11, 2006 Saturday
FIRST EDITION
DIGEST
50th anniversary at Armenian church
Holy Virgin Mary and Shoghagat Armenian Church in Swansea will
celebrate its 50th anniversary today and Sunday.
Events include a welcome reception this evening and the Divine
Liturgy Mass on Sunday featuring Archbishop Khajag Barsamian,
primate, Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern),
followed by a banquet at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Fairview
Heights.
For more information, contact Zabelle Vartanian at 618-398-4302 or
[email protected].

Radikal, Turkey
Nov 7 2006
Translated from Turkish {KMP}

`Before challenging check it’
Murat Belge
When our Prime Minister speaks, he speaks tough. He sounds very self-
confident. This might be ok. But there is a concept called
philosophical doubt which implies that strong declarations need to be
avoided.
Upon being challenged by an Armenian journalist last week, our
Premier boasted saying, `I am challenging…’. What is the challenge?
The current `archives question’. Prime Minister Erdogan said, ‘We
have made our state archives public; you Armenians should also make
yours public. All archives around the world should be accessible to
judge whether the Genocide happened or not.’
As long as I know the Armenians do not reject this. They are also
asking, `Is the Genocide issue so much unknown that we will be able
to discover it now?’
Anyhow, it is not important what the Armenians are saying. It is much
more important and meaningful what we say.
More than a year ago (17 August, 2005), in Turkey, Mr. Nihat Sahin,
the Assistant Director of The Land Registry Office sent a letter to
the National Security Counsel. In this letter, he asked for advice
regarding the question of all property-registration books, whether or
not these documents should be sent to the administration of the State
Archives. At the time, there was an ongoing program called TABIS to
update and digitalize the old registry of real property.
The Brigadier General of the National Security Counsel, Mr. Tayyar
Elmas, replied to this with a letter. We learn from the daily
Hurriyet that he is the chief of the Department of Mobilisation and
War Planning. He wrote in his letter:’ The contents of the
above-mentioned registry books dated from the Ottoman era are liable
to ethnic and political manipulations (like the unfounded genocide,
the Ottoman Foundation, property claims, etc.).For the sake of
national interests, it is undesirable that those documents, partially
or completely, be multiplied, or delivered to centers where archival
work and research are done. Hence, it is more desirable that those
books stay in the Land Registry Offices with limited access’.
Every body knows that in the state archives mentioned by Mr. Erdogan
the possibility to discover something new is very small. There is no
smoking gun since there have been no official written orders. Nobody
does this. No one has discovered any written order by Hitler to
exterminate the Jews either. But undoubtedly, it is impossible in a
state mechanism that a deed in this magnitude has not been registered
somewhere in the archives. Back to Talat (Interior Minister), Enver
(War Minister) Bahaettin Sakir (Chief of Special Organisation) and
others; after their defeat, they escaped the country on board a
German U- boat. It is well-known that they took a load of top secret
archival documents with them.
The land Registry books will not unveil such a `kill order’ but they
will prove who the owners at the time were and when and in which
circumstances did changes in ownership occur. We know that it is
forbidden to search in the old land registry books. This means a lot.
Thus, we advise the Prime Minister to be more careful when he raises
his voice. For his sake, he shouldn’t use the word `challenge.’
The original in Turkish
no3718
Meydan okumadan meydanı okumak
Murat Belge
07/11/2006 (2826 kişi okudu)
Başbakanımız konuştu mu sert konuşuyor.
Kendine güvenle dolu bir tavır ve ses tonuyla konuşuyor.
Bu, herhalde iyi bir şeydir, gene de, ‘felsefi şüphe
payı’ diye bir şey var! Çok kesin edalardan kaçınmakta
yarar var sanki.
Geçen gün Başbakanımıza karşı bir ‘Ermeni
harektı’ olmuş gene. O da, “Bakın, buradan meydan
okuyorum” demiş. Neyin meydan okuması? Bir süredir devam
eden ‘arşiv’ konusu. Başbakan, “Biz açtık, siz de
açın” diyor; “Herkes serbestçe çalışsın,
olmu&amp ;#351; mu, olmamış mı, ortaya çıksın.”
Bildi&#28 7;im kadar Ermeniler de buna ‘Açmayız’ diye cevap
vermiyorlar. “Şimdiye kadar bu olay bilinmiyordu da şimdi
mi ne olduğunu öğreneceğiz?” diyorlar.
Neyse, onların ne dediği o kadar da önemli değil
bence. Bizim ne dediğimiz ve burada ne olduğu çok daha
anlamlı.
Burada, bir yılı aşkın bir zaman önce,
Tapu-Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü’nden Genel Müdür
Yardımcıs&#3 05; Nihat Şahin, Milli Güvenlik Kurulu’na
bir yazı göndermiş (17 Ağustos 2005’te) ve Tapu Tahrir
Defterleri’nin Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü’ne
devredil mesi konusunda mütalaa istemiş. Bir süreden beri,
‘TARBİS’ denilen bir proje yürütülüyor ve tapu
kayıtlarına otomasyon teknolojisi getirilmeye
çalışı lıyor. Bu da çerçevede olan bir şey.
MGK’dan tuğgeneral Tayyar Elmas gelen yazıyı
cevaplandır& #305;yor. Tuğgeneral Elmas’ın ‘Milli
Güvenlik Kurulu Seferberlik ve Savaş Hazırlıkları
Planlama Daire Başkanı’ olduğunu Hürriyet’te bu
yakınlarda yayımlanan haberden öğreniyoruz. Cevap
şöyle:
“Osmanlı devleti dönemine ait söz konusu defterlerin
içerdiği bilgilerin etnik ve siyasi (asılsız
soykır&#30 5;m, Osmanlı Vakıfları mülkiyet
iddiaları ve benzeri) istismara malzeme olabileceği ve
ülkemizin içinde bulunduğu koşullar dikkate
alındığ&#30 5;nda, kısmen ya da tamamen
çoğaltılarak dağıtılmamalar&#305 ;nın,
genel arşiv çalışması yapılan merkezlere
devredilmemelerinin, dolayısıyla bulundukları Tapu ve
Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü’nde muhafaza edilmelerinin ve
kullanılmasının ülke menfaatleri açısından
sın& #305;rlı tutulmasının uygun olacağı
değerlendirilme ktedir.”
Erdoğan’ın ‘meydan okuyarak’ ‘Biz açıyoruz, siz de
açın’ dediği devlet arşivlerinde Kıyım’la
ilgili yepyeni belgelerin çıkma ihtimalinin son derece
düşük olduğunu herkes biliyor. ‘Ele verme’ mahiyetinde
yazılar, talimatlar, zaten hiçbir zaman resmen gönderilmedi,
gönderilmez de. Söyleye söyleye dilimizde tüy bitti, ama Hitler’in
‘Yahudileri öldürün’ dediği bir belge ele geçmemiştir.
Şüphesiz, sonuçta koca bir devletin işleyişi içinde
böyle bir olayın arşive hiç yansımaması mümkün
değildir. Gelgelelim, Talt, Enver, Bahattin Şakir vb.
savaş sonunda Alman denizaltısıyla ülkeyi terk ederken
yanlarında çuvalla arşiv belgesi götürdükleri de o zamandan
beri bilinir.
Tapuda da ‘ölüm emri’ çıkmaz. Ama bir gayrimenkulün kime ait
olduğu, ne zaman bu sahiplik durumunda değişiklik
olduğu, mülkiyetin nasıl ve hangi koşullarda el
değiştirdiği çıkar.
Tapu dairelerinde araştırmaya izin verilmediğini,
bazan bu yüzden dramatik denebilecek olaylar olduğunu zaman
zaman haber alıyorduk, işitiyorduk. Bu haberden
öğrendiğimiz gelişmeler son derece anlamlı.
Dolayısıyla Başbakan da bu gibi konularda
konuşurken, sesini o bildiğimiz tona yükseltmese, hele hele
‘Meydan okuyorum’ gibi cümleler sarf etmese, herkesten önce kendisi
için sonuçların daha hayırlı olacağını
dü&# 351;ünüyorum.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Foreign Sales by U.S. Arms Makers Doubled in a Year
By LESLIE WAYNE
New York Times, p. B3
November 11, 2006
Sales of military weapons by United States contractors to foreign
governments doubled in the last year, as countries like Pakistan, Australia
and Greece stepped up purchases of armaments and the United States
government loosened policies to allow more American weapons to be sold on
the world market.
A total of $21 billion in arms sales agreements were signed from September
2005 to September 2006, compared with $10.6 billion in the previous year,
according to new data compiled by the Pentagon. Foreign military sales
agreements have typically ranged from $10 billion to $13 billion a year
since 2001.
A number of factors are behind the surge in sales. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the
Bush administration has used arms sales as a way to reward allies and cement
international relationships. Middle Eastern countries, flush with oil
revenues, have become big buyers.
Countries like India, Pakistan and Indonesia that were once barred from
buying American weapons have had those bans lifted, and some have placed big
orders.
For military contractors, the sales have provided a welcome source of new
revenue at a time when the Pentagon has indicated that the era of record
military budgets is ending.
Because many of the weapons sold overseas are mature products, the profit
margins to American arms makers are high, since the initial development
costs have long been recuperated.
And in the case of some planes, like the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet
and the C-17 Globemaster cargo plane, foreign military sales are a way to
keep open production lines that might close for lack of Pentagon orders.
`There have been a remarkable number of orders placed,’ said Howard Rubel,
an analyst at Jeffries & Company. `It’s another arrow in the quiver of
military contractors.’
One of the biggest orders was placed by Pakistan, which had been barred from
buying most American weapons because of its nuclear program. That ban was
lifted last year and the country placed a $5 billion order for advanced F-16
jets made by the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
A similar ban on India was also lifted, opening up a potentially lucrative
market to American contractors. India is currently looking to buy up to 126
new fighter jets, and American contractors have been flying to India to show
off their wares.
Oil profits are also behind some of the orders. Saudi Arabia said in July
that it planned to spend $5.8 billion on American weapons to modernize its
National Guard and will also put in more than $3 billion in orders for Black
Hawk helicopters, Abrams and Bradley armored land vehicles, new radio
systems and other weapons.
In the gulf region, Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have filed
plans to buy Black Hawk helicopters – for a total of $1 billion. Oman plans
to buy a $48 million anti-tank missile system. The Emirates plans to buy
rocket artillery equipment and military trucks for $752 million and Bahrain
will purchase Javelin missiles for $42 million.
Bahrain alone has accounted for $1 billion in foreign military sales in the
five years since 9/11.
`The rise in oil prices has allowed countries like Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates to increase their arms purchases dramatically,’ said
William Hartung, director of the arms trade project at the World Policy
Institute, which is part of the New School in New York.
For contractors, Mr. Hartung added, these sales `are a welcome windfall, not
just icing on the cake.’
These new big gulf region orders, like the Saudi deal, were not included in
the $21 billion tally for 2006. They will be carried over into the 2007
tally and are a sign that next year will be as robust as this one.
`We’ve got a good start on 2007,’ said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey B. Kohler, director
of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which manages foreign military
sales.
Besides Pakistan and India, since 9/11, bans on arms sales have been lifted
on Tajikistan, Serbia and Montenegro, Armenia and Azerbaijan as these
countries have been identified by the State Department as critical allies in
the war on terror. They have turned into buyers, although on a much smaller
scale than the big Pakistani or Saudi orders.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan had no American arms purchases before
9/11. But as a group, they have bought $32 million in weapons under the
foreign military sales program, according to statistics from the Center for
Defense Information.
Foreign military sales are negotiated directly between the United States and
other governments and are overseen by the State Department, the Pentagon and
Congress.
Other strategically situated countries have also stepped up their purchases.
Nepal, for instance, bought $1.1 million of American weapons in the full
decade before 9/11, and $22 million in the five years since.
Similarly, Yemen, Djibouti and Uzbekistan bought $16.4 million combined in
the decade before 9/11, and $73 million of American weapons since.
`Foreign military sales are a good hedge against potential further cuts in
Pentagon procurement,’ said Mark T. Esper, executive vice president for
defense and international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association, a
trade group.
In a conference call with analysts, Christopher E. Kubasik, chief financial
officer of Lockheed, estimated that foreign sales account for 15 percent –
or $5.5 billion – of Lockheed’s sales, which were $37 billion in 2005.
`They’re valued customers, and we plan to continue to grow in that area,’ he
said.
Foreign sales have importance to military contractors beyond the dollar
value of the contract. Once a country buys a weapon system, it will need to
continue to buy spare parts or upgrades.
`In the next couple of years,’ said Cai von Rumohr, an analyst with Cowen &
Company, `foreign sales as a percentage of company revenues will be tracking
up.’
Foreign sales can also keep endangered weapons programs alive.
For instance, when Boeing made some announcements that it might begin to
close production of its C-17 cargo line, Canada and Australia quickly
stepped in to place orders: Canada’s deal is valued at $1.3 billion and
Australia’s at $2 billion. Orders for the F-16 from Turkey, Greece and
Pakistan are pumping $11 billion into that program at a time when the Air
Force is phasing out of it.
For that reason, the Aerospace Industries Association has been pressing
Congress to relax rules so more foreign deals can be done outside of
government scrutiny – an effort that has, so far, been rebuffed in Congress.
Last month, the industry association, along with representatives from the
Boeing Company and the Northrop Grumman Corporation, met at the Heritage
Foundation, a conservative Washington research group, to outline their plans
to pursue this effort.
s/11military.html?ex=1163912400&en=536ae1f1aee f4bce&ei=5070

EurasiaNet, NY
Nov 11 2006
AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO MOSCOW: TOUGH TALKS OVER THE ENERGY
ISSUES
Rovshan Ismayilov 11/10/06

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin seem to have engaged in some hard bargaining over
energy and security issues when the two met in the Kremlin on
November 9. While Russia has used its energy assets as tool of
coercion against many former Soviet states, Azerbaijan’s own energy
abundance and export capability enables it to engage Russia on more
of a parity basis.
Aliyev arrived in Moscow for talks with Putin after visiting
Brussels, where the Azerbaijani leader signed a memorandum on energy
cooperation with the European Union, as well as lobbied EU officials
for support on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. [For background see
the Eurasia Insight archive]. He also met with top officials of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Azerbaijan’s ability to act as an
independent energy player in Europe is a source of vexation for
Russian officials, who have pursued policies aimed at achieving
Moscow’s lasting dominance as an EU energy supplier. [For background
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Azerbaijani and Russian officials remained tight-lipped on the
specifics of the two presidents’ discussions. All indicators,
however, suggested that Aliyev and Putin jousted over energy and
strategic issues. Publicly, Putin lauded the improvement in
Azerbaijani-EU energy ties. Behind closed doors, Azerbaijani experts
believe the Russian president spared no effort in trying to bind Baku
closer to Russia, and thus get Azerbaijan to moderate energy
cooperation with the EU and strategic ties with the United States and
NATO. Another factor in the discussions likely was Azerbaijan’s own
purchase of Russian natural gas. The price and amount of Russian gas
to be imported by Azerbaijan in 2007 remains up in the air. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Azerbaijan has long pursued policies that have sought to concurrently
strengthen ties with the United States, EU and Russia. Politically,
Aliyev favors tight control of the democratization process, generally
following Putin’s “managed democracy” model, in which the state keeps
a lid on dissent and the non-governmental sector. In the energy and
security spheres, meanwhile, Azerbaijan leans toward the West.
Aliyev is one of the few regional leaders to have good working
relationships with both Putin and US President George W. Bush. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
But balancing US and Russian interests is becoming increasingly
difficult for Azerbaijani leaders as they pursue their top policy
priorities, namely energy exports and a Karabakh settlement that
allows Baku to retain control of the territory.
According to a November 10 analytical report published by Kommersant,
Aliyev indicated to Putin that Baku would take Russia’s interests
into account in Azerbaijani-EU energy matters. “We work together with
you, don’t we; that’s just what I told them [EU officials],”
Kommersant quoted Aliyev as telling Putin, citing a Russian official
source. At the same time, Aliyev reportedly rebuffed Putin’s efforts
to get Azerbaijan to go along with Russia’s economic blockade of
Georgia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The
Russian energy giant Gazprom recently announced a drastic price
increase for its gas exports to Georgia, from $110 per thousand cubic
meters (tcm) to $230 tcm, a hike that Georgian officials have
denounced as politically motivated. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].
Azerbaijan’s own vast reserves of oil and gas enable Aliyev to say
“no” to Moscow. It also gives Baku the ability to pursue an
independent security course. This independence has Russian officials
increasingly worried. At present, Azerbaijan is engaging in a rapid
military buildup, and officials in Moscow worry that this defense
spending binge could be a harbinger of a rapid Azerbaijani move
toward NATO integration. The Kommersant analysis also suggested the
buildup could be a precursor to the establishment of an American
military base in Azerbaijan, although Azerbaijani officials have
repeatedly dismissed the possibility.
Lacking an energy trump card to play against Azerbaijan, Putin has
few levers at his disposal to influence Azerbaijani decision-making.
During their November 9 meeting, Putin reportedly offered significant
economic investment and lucrative arms deals, but neither offer
seemed appealing from the standpoint of enhancing Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty.
While Russia may have little that it can offer Baku, distrust of the
United States and other Western countries seems to be on the rise not
only within Azerbaijani governing circles, but on the grass-roots
level as well. Political analyst Arif Yunusov, in an interview with
the Russian news agency Regnum, said “disappointment with US policy”
was widespread in Azerbaijan, explaining that resentment was growing
over what he characterized as a “hypocritical” Bush administration
policy toward Baku.
“They [Bush administration officials] keep saying that the only thing
they are thinking about is to build democracy in Azerbaijan, but, in
fact, the only thing they are thinking about is how to get our oil
and how to use our territory against Muslims,” Yunusov said. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
Many Azerbaijanis are frustrated by the lack of follow-up on the US
democratization rhetoric, while officials in Baku continue to worry
about the possibility of Azerbaijani being caught in the middle of a
possible US-Iran conflict.
After his visits to Brussels and Moscow, Aliyev will likely have
trouble making choices that keep all parties – the United States, the
EU, Russia, as well as Georgia – happy. Experts in Baku are reluctant
to predict the country’s future geopolitical course. “We should
follow the situation for the coming few month before we can make
clear conclusions. We have to follow Azerbaijan’s position in the
`Georgia issue,’ and the pace of country’s NATO integration,” said
Zafar Guliyev, a political analyst for the Turan analytical group.
Editor’s Note: Rovshan Ismayilov is a freelance reporter based in
Baku.

The St. Petersburg Times
The $2-trillion CitiBlunder
CitiMortgage processed Carl Varadian’s payment, then wrote him to say he was
$18 short of the $853.15 owed on his house. Too bad it overlooked its own
$2-trillion mistake.
By HELEN HUNTLEY
Published November 11, 2006
Carl Varadian made a mistake when he sent in his mortgage payment. But his
$18 error was small potatoes compared with the mistake CitiMortgage made
when it wrote him back:
“We have received and applied your check in the amount of
$2,001,004,113,835.15,” the company’s cash processing department informed
him. That’s 2-trillion 1-billion 4-million dollars. And some change.
The company said the Bradenton retiree and his wife, Ida, still owed $18 on
their $853.15 monthly payment. Send it in, CitiMortgage said.
Varadian, who worked in government and taught college government classes
back in Michigan, decided to have a little fun with CitiMortgage. He wrote
back:
“Please deduct the $18 from my check and return the balance to me,” he
wrote. “I may buy CitiMortgage in its entirety with the proceeds.”
Actually, he could buy all the outstanding stock in parent Citigroup Inc.,
which has a current market value of “only” $249-billion.
CitiMortgage officials responded to the St. Petersburg Times’ inquiry with a
little humor of their own:
“We would like to apologize to Mr. Varadian, our potential future boss, for
this error,” spokesman Mark Rodgers said. “In all seriousness, however, we
want information going to our customers to be 100 percent correct, and we
will make sure to understand why this happened and correct it for the
future.”
Sadly, his account has not been credited with $2-trillion.
Varadian, 76, figures he must have transposed a couple of numbers on one of
his checks, writing $835 instead of $853. But the big numbers in
CitiMortgage’s letter were a shock.
“I couldn’t believe it when I got the letter,” he said. “I had to set it
aside so I could calm down a little bit.” But he added, “If they want $18,
I’ll give it to them.”
The company’s letter suggested that Varadian consider automatic payments,
allowing CitiMortgage to draft its monthly payment from his bank account.
Varadian said no thanks.
“I don’t know if you can trust them,” he said. “But if they were adding to
my account I wouldn’t mind.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Agence France Presse
11 novembre 2006 samedi 12:23 PM GMT
Le lapin Nabaztag : une réussite française qui attend une nouvelle version
PARIS 11 nov 2006
Le lapin Nabaztag, le premier objet qui communique grce à sa liaison
avec internet, s’est déjà vendu à 65.000 exemplaires depuis son
lancement l’année dernière, et le petit animal français espère
doubler la mise avec une version plus sophistiquée.
Si son apparence n’a pas changé avec ses 23 cm de haut, son
revêtement blanc et ses deux oreilles mobiles, Nabaztag –lapin en
arménien–, se voit affubler d’un petit nom supplémentaire:
Nabaztag/tag, précise la start-up française Violet qui l’a conçu.
Mais un oeil averti remarquera que l’animal a désormais un nombril
qui cache… un micro. “Le problème de Nabaztag était sa surdité”,
fait remarquer l’un de ses concepteurs, Olivier Mével. Il est l’un
des fondateurs de Violet en 2003 avec Rafi Haladjian, autre
précurseur de l’internet.
Le micro permet de parler à son lapin, lui demander d’aller chercher
des informations sur internet avec lequel il est relié en permanence
grce à une carte wifi.
Si vous voulez connaître la météo à New York ou les cours de Bourse,
il ira piocher ces informations sur le réseau. En panne sur la
signification d’un mot, il fouillera l’encyclopédie en ligne
wikipédia pour vous apporter la réponse.
Il lit les podcasts, les fichiers musicaux (MP3), les webradio et
engage même des conversations avec d’autres lapins à l’autre bout du
monde grce à la technologie déjà largement utilisée de la VOIP (voix
sur internet).
Autre innovation : le passage d’un objet devant le nez du nabaztag
déclenchera une action, grce à des étiquettes numériques (RFID). Le
propriétaire d’un lapin attribue une action à une étiquette qui est
lue par un lecteur caché dans le nez. Un enfant pourra ainsi écouter
son histoire favorite en passant sa poupée devant le nez du lapin.
Cet objet bourré de technologie a été présenté en septembre au “Demo
Fall”, le rendez-vous des entreprises innovantes de San Diego. La
société Violet espère séduire le marché américain pour atteindre les
300.000 lapins vendus à la fin de 2007.
Signe du succès, une recherche sur Google suscite déjà plus de 2,82
millions de résultats, plus que Jacques Chirac (2,69 millions).