Author: Jidarian Alex

ARMENIAN MUSIC
Jim Harrington

San Mateo County Times, CA
March 29 2007

If you’re bored with every single track on your iPod, or just need to
escape the never-ending onslaught of "American Idol" mediocrity, we
recommend that you try something different and go see the Chookasian
Ensemble on Friday night at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House
in Berkeley.

Chookasian is one of the leading traditional Armenian music
ensembles. The group is led by clarinetist John Chookasian, who has
been playing Armenian and Middle Eastern folk music for more than 35
years. Intriguingly, he’s also an accomplished actor, having appeared
in 40-plus films.

The Chookasian Ensemble performs at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.50 in
advance; $21.50 at the door. The Freight and Salvage is at 1111
Addison St. Call (510) 548-1761 or visit

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WESTERN DIOCESE E-NEWSLETTER
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Bible Readings
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Sorry, there are no readings for this week.
Diocesan News
—————–

PRIMATE’S EASTER MESSAGE
`Put on Christ’

“Put on Christ” The Resurrection of the Lord is the most
inspiring and powerful event in the history of the world, one which
continues to challenge us to live our God-given life spiritually
transformed in all circumstances during all times. “Put on
Christ”. (Rom 13:14) This is a message by St. Paul addressed to
the Galatians, but equally to us all, enlightening in our spirituality
the truth about Christ our Lord and the message conveyed to all
mankind. However, this message needs to be embodied and applied not
only in our personal lives, but mostly in our communities.
( /story.php?id=393)

PRIMATES PASTORAL VISIT TO DESERT COMMUNITY

On March 20th, 2007, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian,
Primate of the Western Diocese made a pastoral visit to the Armenian
Community of Palm Desert and met with the parish council to discuss
the construction of the new church as well as the assignment of a
permanent pastor to the community.
( tory.php?id=381)

LOS ANGELES COUNCIL OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS MONTHLY MEETING

On March 21st, 2007, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian hosted
the monthly meeting of the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders,
during which he discussed the 80th Anniversary of the Western Diocese
and its schedule of celebrations.
( s/story.php?id=382)

PRIMATE PRESIDES OVER LENTEN SERVICES AT ST. JOHN GARABED

On March 21st, 2007, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
presided over and delivered the sermon during the Lenten service in
St. John Garabed Armenian Church of Hollywood.
( tory.php?id=383)

PRIMATE PRESIDES OVER ETCHMIADZIN CHILDRENÂ’S FUND MEETING

On March 22nd, 2007 His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
presided over the Etchmiadzin Children’s Fund (ECF) Executive
Committee meeting. During the meeting he introduced the committee to
the plans to sponsor a new orphanage in Armenia recently adopted by
the Western Diocese. ECF has pledged to contribute $30,000 annually to
the orphanage which will be operated under the supervision of the
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. His Eminence also offered his sincere
congratulations to the committee for their successful annual
fundraising event which took place in January.
( ry.php?id=384)

DIOCESAN SUB-COMMITTEEÂ’S MEETING

On the evening of March 22nd, 2007, His Eminence presided over a
meeting of the leaders of the Diocese’s various sub-committees
and auxiliary bodies.
( y.php?id=385)

PRIMATE ATTENDS Â?PASSAGE OF INDIAÂ’

On March 23rd, 2007, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
attended an event entitled “Passage of India” organized by
the Paradon Committee of the AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian Day School. The
event was in support of the school and was chaired by Mr. Vicken
Gulvartian. ( =386)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL MEETING

On March 24th, 2007 the first Diocesan regional meeting of 2007 took
place at St. John Garabed Armenian Church of Hollywood. During the
meeting, the Parish Councils in attendance were given an extensive
report of Diocesan activities as well as the 80th Anniversary
celebrations. They were also given ample time to discuss matters
related to their respective parishes.
( ory.php?id=387)

PRIMATES PASTORAL VISIT TO LAS VEGAS

On March 24 & 25, 2007, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
made a pastoral visitation to the annual reception of the Las Vegas
community. During the reception Mr. and Mrs. Haig Adamian, Mr. and
Mrs. Jim Avakian, Mr. and Mrs. Sarkis Frungian, and Mr. and Mrs. Mike
Ladah were honored by the Primate for their continued support and
dedication to the Armenian Church. The following day, Divine Liturgy
was celebrated by the Primate. In his sermon, His Eminence commended
Very Rev. Fr. Asbed Balian and the members of the Parish Council and
stressed the importance of building a house of worship for the
community ( =388)

ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCH YOUTH LEADERS GATHER FOR SPIRITUAL DAY

On Saturday March 24th, 2007, the youth of the Western Diocese of the
Armenian Church, the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Church and the
Coptic and Syriac Dioceses gathered for a one day long spiritual
retreat. ( =389)

ACYO HOSTS SUCCESSFUL FIRST ANNUAL JUNIOR RETREAT

On the weekend of March 23th, 2007, 45 junior ACYO members from
several parishes gathered at the Coptic Village retreat center to
participate in the first annual ACYO Junior Retreat. The topic of the
retreat was the “Holy Week in the Life of Juniors.”
Dn. Kevork Halladjian was in attendance and led the prayer services
and various classes throughout the weekend. The event was successful
due to the dedication of the ACYO Central Council responsible for
planning and executing it as well as the support of many ACYO parents.
( ry.php?id=390)

NOR HAYASTAN DAILY CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY

On Sunday 25th, 2007, Rev. Fr. Sipan Mekhsian, chancellor of the
Western Diocese, represented the Primate at the 15th Anniversary of
Nor Hayastan newspaper and conveyed the best wishes of the primate to
the editor. ( =391)

UCLA HONORS PROMINENT WRITER BERJ ZEITOUNTSIANTS

A reception was held in honor of prominent writer Berj Zeitountsiats
at the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
and was hosted by the Chair of the Armenian Studies
Department. Representing the Primate was Rev. Fr. Zaven Arzoumanian
who conveyed congratulations on behalf of the Primate.
( ry.php?id=392)

CITY ATTORNEY DELGADILLO TO HOST 80TH

“I would like to congratulate the Western Diocese on this
milestone occasion and offer my thanks for their service as a source
of hope, spiritual nourishment, inspiration and education for the
Armenian Community and for the faithful,”  Delgadillo.
( story.php?id=380)

HARUT SASSOUNIAN HONORED BY ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

"An Evening Honoring Harut Sassounian" was held at the
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America on Sunday,
March 18, 2007. On this occasion, more than 500 community leaders and
friends attended a program and reception to pay tribute to Harut
Sassounian for his effective and compassionate leadership as President
of the United Armenian Fund and Vice President of the Lincy
Foundation. He was also honored for his contributions in the field of
journalism, as the Publisher of the California Courier newspaper.
( tory.php?id=379)

WESTERN DIOCESE MOURNS PRIME MINISTER OF ARMENIA

It is with deep sorrow that the Western Diocese inform its faithful
that the Prime Minister of Armenia, Andranik Margarian passed away
today at the age of 56 from heart attack in his apartment.
( tory.php?id=378)

Upcoming Events
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4/18: BOOK PRESENTATION `GENOCIDEOLOGY’ BY DR. GEVORK KHERLOPIAN
( ar/detail.php?id=54)
4/27: Armenian Shabbat
( detail.php?id=53)
5/2: 80th Annual Diocesan Assembly
( /detail.php?id=52)

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T he Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, providing
spiritual guidance and leadership to the Armenian Apostolic community,
is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization comprised of 47
churches in 16 western states. It was established in 1898 as the
Diocese of the Armenian Church encompassing the entire United States
and Canada. In 1927 the Western Diocese was formed to exclusivly serve
the western United States.

3325 North Glenoaks Blvd. Burbank, CA 91504
Tel: (818) 558-7474 Fax: (818) 558-6333
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:

WILSON: "RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY SHOULD BE IMPROVED"

Turkish Press
March 28 2007

US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson said yesterday that relations
between Turkey and Armenia should be improved. Also commenting on
an US Armenian resolution before the US House of Representatives,
Wilson stated that the US administration’s official policy on the issue
wouldn’t be changed by the non-binding resolution, adding that the US
clearly encourages the sides to discuss the issue. He added that he
would continue to voice his opposition to the resolution. In related
news, Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy stated that if
passed, the resolution could cast a shadow over Turkish-US relations.

Russia to launch probe if Ahtisaari Kosovo plan accepted – FM-1

16:17|27/ 03/ 2007

MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will demand inquiries into the
implementation of all previous UN resolutions on Kosovo if the UN
Security Council approves a UN special envoy’s plan on the status of
Kosovo, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday.

Marti Ahtisaari, a special UN envoy for talks on Kosovo, has proposed
that the province be granted internationally supervised sovereignty,
but Serbian authorities have strongly opposed the plan as threatening
Serbia’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We will be checking how existing UN Security Council resolutions on
Kosovo, particularly Resolution 1244, are being implemented," Sergei
Lavrov said. "We want to objectively, without imposing any one-sided
evaluations, determine who was implementing UN Security Council
resolutions and how, and who was not."

On Monday Ahtisaari returned his proposals on the future status of the
breakaway Serbian province to the UN Security Council following
fruitless top-level talks in Vienna between Pristina, Belgrade and the
European Union, which said later in a statement that it fully backed
Ahtisaari’s plan.

As a veto-wielding member in the 15-nation UN Security Council and a
traditional ally of Serbia, Russia has insisted that a decision on
Kosovo should satisfy both Kosovar and Serbian authorities, and that
it must be reached through negotiations.

Serbia’s predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo province, which has a
population of two million, has been a UN protectorate since NATO’s
78-day bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia ended a war
between Serb forces and Albanian separatists in 1999.

The Serbian parliament unanimously approved a resolution February 14
rejecting some provisions of the plan.

Unlike Russia, NATO has made it clear that it favors independence for
Kosovo, but a final decision will be up to the UN Security Council.

In its foreign policy review, published Tuesday, the Russian Foreign
Ministry said that the lack of an alternative to the proposed
independence for Kosovo could strain the international community’s
efforts to resolve the issue as a whole.

"The formation of an independent state of Kosovo could result in
serious complications for stability in Europe," the ministry said. "It
is doubtful that an independent Kosovo that does not enjoy the consent
of all the countries involved will resolve the fundamental tasks at
hand, such as the formation of a multi-ethnical society and the
implementation of other standards for Kosovo."

Russia has been opposed to the internationally backed plan to grant
sovereignty to Kosovo, also arguing that it would set a precedent for
the breakaway regions in the former Soviet Union it is believed to
support – Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Moldova’s
Transdnestr.

Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan conveys condolences

ArmRadio.am
27.03.2007 13:45

The Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Azim Isabekov sent a condolence
letter on the occasion of the death of RA Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan.

Press Service of the Government of Kyrgyzstan informs that the letter
says: ` The Armenian nation lost a deserved son of the motherland, who
made a great contribution to the economic and political development of
the country. Please, convey my words of deepest grief and sympathy to
Andranik Margaryan’s family and friends.’

TALKS ABOUT FAIR ELECTIONS DO NOT CORRESPOND TO REALITY, RAFFI
HOVANNISIAN FINDS

YEREVAN, MARCH 27, NOYAN TAPAN. "The most important issue is that
citizens of Armenia are free in their choice and are not confused by
the authorities’ actions or any political circumstances." Raffi
Hovannisian, the Chairman of the "Zharangutiun" (Heritage) party,
former RA Minister of Foreign Affairs stated about it at the March 27
conference entitled "Free and Fair Elections as Foundation-Stone of
Democracy." He expressed sorrow on the occasion that Armenians, always
used to live in unequal conditions in the Ottaman and other Empires,
are today again put in unequal conditions in their own country, in
holding a struggle for etsbalishment of democracy, national interests,
protection of the population’s rights, etc. In R.Hovannisian’s words,
it is important to find out today if all the participants of the
pre-electoral campaign will have equal qualitative and quantitative
conditions in three spheres, particularly: – if mass media will
display balanced approach towards different political forces, – if an
equal approach will be displayed towards all participants of the
pre-electoral race in giving rooms for organizing meetings with
voters, – if the "financial limit" affirmed by the law will be
kept. "It is obvious that today talks about fair elections and reality
do not correspond to one another," Raffi Hovannisian stated. In his
words, the main task is that "words about holding fair elections do
not part with the deed," and it is not only the opposition’s task but,
first of all, it is also the task of the authorities, pro-ruling
political forces, mass media and the whole society.

Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), VA
March 27 2007

Iraq’s Other Tragedy: 2 Million Refugees

by Muriel Mirak-Wiessbach

Four years into the war, it is impossible to say how many Iraqis have
died. The occupying forces do not keep such statistics, and the local
authorities are so swamped at the morgues and hospitals, that they
cannot guarantee accurate figures.

Now, there is another category of Iraq War statistics, and it is
somber: the number of Iraqis driven from their homes, and either
displaced internally, or scrambling for refuge in some neighboring
country. Here, too, the statistics are unreliable, since many flee
clandestinely, and do not register in their exile land; but the
dimensions are daunting. According to the United Nations, 727,000
Iraqis have been displaced internally since the February 2006 bombing
of a Shi’ite shrine. About 470,000 have registered with the Ministry
of Displacement and Migration, since the beginning of the war. About
160,000 have sought refuge in the Kurdish region. It is estimated
that the exodus of Iraqis since 2003, is the largest such refugee
stream since the Palestinians were driven off their land in 1948: an
estimated 2 million have fled, and, by the end of this year, that
will rise to 10% of the entire population (today, about 27 million).

The consequences, for both Iraq and the countries to which refugees
have fled, are devastating. For Iraq, it means a further brain drain,
as the most highly qualified members of the workforce flee. For the
host countries, it means enormous economic strains, social tensions,
and, in some cases, religious/ethnic strife.

Syria Under Pressure
The country which has been most overwhelmed by the number of Iraqi
refugees is Syria, followed by Egypt, Jordan, and Iran, then Europe,
and faraway lands like the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Jordan, with 800,000 Iraqis, has halted the inflow. When rumors
spread, in mid-February, that Syria would curb the influx, refugees
organized a demonstration in front of the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Damascus. The Syrian
government estimated in mid-March that there are already 1.5 million
Iraqis in the country. According to Laurens Jolles, the
representative of the UNHCR in Damascus, somewhere between 10,000 and
40,000 refugees cross the border each month. Other estimates put it
at 50,000 per month.

The crisis there has become so grave that even the Bush
Administration has had to violate its own ban on contacts with Syria,
by sending a State Department representative to talk to government
and UN officials there. After that visit, during which the U.S.
representative also met with the UNHCR personnel, led by António
Guterres, the number of Iraqis to be granted asylum in the U.S. was
raised to 7,000, from 435.

The reasons for the mass exodus should be obvious: First is the
well-grounded fear of being killed randomly, by suicide or car bombs.
Then, there are fears of sectarian violence: Sunnis, particularly
those in any way associated with the Ba’ath Party or former
administration, are political and sectarian targets, just as Shi’ites
are, from the opposite side. Particularly targetted are Christians,
who are mainly Chaldeans, but also the gnostic Mandaens. Of the
original 30,000 who lived in Iraq, there are now only 13,000. One
Mandaer interviewed by the Neue Züricher Zeitung explained: "Our
women are without veils, our men are traditionally goldsmiths, and we
have our own language. All this creates bad blood."

Iraqis with money are profiled for kidnappings; numerous exiles have
reported that they had had family members kidnapped, often children,
and had been forced to pay high ransoms. In more cases than not, even
after the ransom had been paid, the abducted family member was found
dead. One Iraqi refugee told the Neue Züricher Zeitung that she had
paid $40,000 to free her kidnapped husband, only to discover soon
after that he had been beheaded. Another woman reported that her
daughter had been kidnapped; when her husband left to sell his
grocery store, to raise the ransom, he didn’t return. A phone call
informed her that the store and her husband’s car were burning. She
fled with a son, without news of her daughter.

Iraqi Arabs who flee to Syria have a three-month sojourn permit, with
the possibility of a three-month extension. Following the permit’s
expiration, the refugee usually returns briefly to Iraq, and starts
all over again.

The strain on Syria’s economy is profound. The UNHCR estimates that
it needs $60 million to deal with the refugee flow, $15 million of
which is for Syria. Thus far, according to varied reports, Japan has
pledged $3 million, and Jordan, $1 million. But this comes nowhere
near the sum required. Syria’s health system is totally unable to
cope with the new demands, and cannot cover the costs of health care
for such a huge number of people. The UNHCR and the Red Crescent (the
Islamic counterpart to the Red Cross) have set up two new clinics.
According to Caritas, many doctors reportedly provide free care, or
give discounts for X-rays and other treatment. Although Iraqi
children are allowed to attend Syrian schools, the schools too are
totally overwhelmed.

Some refugees are so poor, that they are forced into prostitution or
other criminal activities. A prostitute can earn $60 a night, whereas
a seamstress earns $50 a month. According to Sister N., director of a
Christian order interviewed by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung: "Children
are up until 3:00 a.m. in the winter, wearing flip-flops, and
cleaning houses. Former professors are begging for a kilo of rice."
And the rich? They are not so few in number. Some can afford to buy
million-dollar villas, or apartments costing a few hundred thousand
dollars. The massive influx of refugees has placed such pressures on
the housing market, that an unprecedented speculative construction
boom has resulted, driving prices of existing homes for sale and
apartments for rent, into the stratosphere. Rents have gone up in
some areas by 300%. The poor, including Syrians who had made ends
meet prior to the refugee crisis, have found their rents raised, and
cannot any longer cope.

Ethnic-Religious Destabilization
One of the most insidious features of the refugee crisis is the
impact on the delicate social balance in Syria. To appreciate the
nature of this phenomenon, one has to first consider the
ethnic/religious makeup of Syria. According to an in-depth study
published in the German weekly Die Zeit on Feb. 22, out of a
population of 18 million, 70% are Sunnis, 16% Shi’ites (Alawites),
and 10% Christians. In addition, there are an estimated 150,000
Kurds, largely unregistered. Within each religious denomination,
there are further subdivisions. Among the Christians, there are 11
confessions: five Orthodox groups, five Catholic and one Protestant.
And there may be religious differences among the same ethnic
community: For example, there are Armenian Orthodox as well as
Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic communities. In addition,
the Muslims are also divided into five sects. Religious tolerance in
Syria has been a trademark in the country’s 6,000-year history. The
condition of Christians, according to church representatives,
continues to be very good under the Bashar al-Assad government.

Now, with the refugee stream from Iraq, this complex religious/ethnic
mosaic is being affected. According to Pater Metri Hadji-Athanasiou,
a Greek Catholic priest, who studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and in
Belgium, it is not to be excluded that the Bush regime may aim
deliberately to destabilize Syria along ethnic/religious lines,
through the refugee crisis. If the feared event of a total
disintegration of Iraq along ethnic/sectarian lines takes place, this
crisis could explode overnight.

Given this grave situation, it is not only absurd but criminal for
the Bush Administration to exclude Syria from direct talks, aimed at
stabilizing the Iraq situation. As mentioned above, Washington was
forced recently at least to send an envoy to talk about the refugee
crisis. But managing the crisis, is no solution. The only solution,
four years after the dreadful war began, is to put an end to the
conflict, with a carefully planned, phased troop withdrawal, within
the context of a regional security arrangement, supported by the
United States. Syria’s role in this process, along with Iran’s, is
vital, not only because of the refugee plight which the war has
created, but because of the political, as well as ethnic/religious
experience Damascus could contribute.

This article appears in the March 30, 2007 issue of Executive
Intelligence Review.

efugees.html

Turkish publishers hesitate to publish Robert Fisk’s book

ArmRadio.am
26.03.2007 18:00

Turkish publishers are hesitating to publish the latest book penned by
Robert Fisk, chief Middle East correspondent for British daily The
Independent, because of concerns over the possibility of legal charges
under infamous Article 301 of the penal code that makes it a crime to
denigrate Turkish identity or Turkishness, the Turkish Daily News
reports.

`Fisk’s book is invaluable in terms of investigative journalism. Of
course, I want to publish it but I have hesitations because a court
case might be filed against the book under Article 301 due to its
reference to the Armenian question in one of the chapters,’ Osman
Akınhay, editor of Agora Publishing House, told the Turkish
Daily News.

The book `The Great War for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle
East’ is made up of 24 chapters but one chapter is about the alleged
genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during World
War I.

Robert Kocharyan Expressed Condolences in View of death of Andranik
Margaryan

Arminfo
2007-03-25 17:48:00

RA President Robert Kocharyan has expressed his condolences to the
relatives of Armenia’s Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan in view of
his sudden death, RA Presidential press-service reports.

Turkey/Israel pipeline could shift Middle East power balance

22 March 2007 [23:40] – Today.Az

Although regional pipelines rarely are recognized as progenitors of
global power balance, the prospective agreement between Turkey and
Israel to construct such a strategic connection may accomplish a
seismic economic shift.

Since Russia, the world’s leading oil producer and global runner up
energy exporter to Saudi Arabia, is asserting its energy muscle, this
circumvention of Russia’s monopoly also carries geopolitical
overtones.

With Russia in the process of exerting an energy stranglehold over
much of the trans-Caucasian and Eastern European areas, a new pipeline
could become a counterweight to Moscow’s increasing expansionism.

This pipeline now is being considered for extension from oil center
Azerbaijan’s Baku on the Caspian Sea through Georgia to Turkey’s
Mediterranean seaport of Ceyhan, all of which avoid impinging on any
Russian territory.

Although oil and natural gas flowing through these pipelines
originally was targeted for large tankers headed for Europe and
elsewhere, such shiploads coming out of the Black Sea and through the
Turkish Dardanelles already are overloaded.

Such a glut of tanker volume rapidly has become a gigantic bottleneck,
delaying badly needed deliveries for increasingly longer time periods.

Now comes news that Turkey and Israel have reached a memo of
understanding calling for a $4 billion pipeline linking the Turkish
port of Ceyhan and Israel’s Ashkelon seaport, also on the
Mediterranean coast. From there, oil and even badly needed water and
electric power for Israel could be piped to Elath, Israel’s port on
the Gulf of Aqaba leading to the Red Sea.

Continuing on, such varied utilities and others flowing through this
multi-task pipeline could be transshipped to Asian markets.

With a $40 million feasibility study already under way to determine
how best to implement such a titanic project in the shortest time
possible, what is most remarkable is that this giant project
represents a realignment of geopolitical power as well as a
circumvention of Russian hegemony.

Emanating from the oil-rich Caspian Sea, this contemplated
multinational pipeline avoids encroaching on Russian territory,
thereby eliminating any attempted Moscow interference with its free
flow. With energy drawn from the Caspian Seas’s Azerbaijan-controlled
sector, Russia’s influence and interference effectively is withheld.

It also reinforces the long-standing Turkish-Israel military and
economic alliance, which seemed to weaken under the current
pro-Islamist Ankara regime. Although never verbalized, this
Turkish-Israeli joint venture is sure to resolidify the two nations’
political and economic ties.

It also could influence internal Turkish politics, which is split
between pro-Islamist prime minister Erdogan and the secular president
and Army chief of staff.

The successful implementation of the multifaceted pipeline also would
represent a victory for American policy, which favors a strengthening
of the Turkish-Israeli alliance, while breaking the Russian monopoly
over energy suppliers from the Caspian Sea. That source potentially
could generate oil and natural gas volume reducing the overwhelming
dependence of energy from the militarily vulnerable Persian Gulf area.

The successful completion of such a gigantic undertaking also could
add Turkey’s considerable power as a bulwark against the rapid spread
of radical Islam.

By Morris R. Beschloss

/