IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.

POLITICS: Despite Obama’s Vow, Combat Brigades Will Stay in Iraq
By Gareth Porter*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – Despite President Barack Obama?s statement at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina Feb. 27 that he had “chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades over the next 18 months,” a number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), which have been the basic U.S. Army combat unit in Iraq for six years, will remain in Iraq after that date under a new non-combat label.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46264

VIDEO:
IPS Correspondent Gareth Porter talks to Democracy Now! about breaking this story:
www.democracynow.org/2009/3/26/report
_despite_obamas_vow_combat_brigades

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MIDEAST: Building New Bridges to Latin America
By Baher Kamal
MADRID (IPS) – In the shadows of a critical Arab summit in Doha this week, a parallel Arab- South American heads of state meeting is expected to seal key political and economic cooperation agreements between the two regions.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46309

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MIDEAST: US Overtures to Iran Must Wait – Analysts
By Meena Janardhan
DUBAI (IPS) – While most countries in the world welcome Washington?s conciliatory message towards Iran, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are sceptical about an appropriate response from their neighbour.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46311

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MIDEAST: Israeli Military Cloaks Abuses
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – The Israeli army’s Advocate General has summarily closed an internal investigation into allegations stemming from accounts by soldiers of abuses against Palestinian civilians committed during Israel’s recent war on Hamas in Gaza.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46348

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EGYPT: Camp David Accord Unacceptable to Many
By Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa Al-Omrani
CAIRO (IPS) – Egyptian and Israeli officials celebrated the anniversary of the Camp David peace agreement last week. The agreement normalised relations between the two former adversaries 30 years earlier on Mar. 26. Opposition leaders, however, are calling for a suspension of the treaty, which they say fails to serve Egyptian interests.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46315

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MIDEAST: Path to Peace Needs New Realism on All Sides
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – With Benjamin Netanyahu now close to announcing his government line-up in Israel, the issue of whether and how to include Hamas in Palestinian-Israeli peacemaking is moving to the top of the Middle East agenda.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46295

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MIDEAST: All Change, and Nothing Changes
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – In the Middle East this week it’s all change. In fact, it’s all diplomatic stasis. Neither Monday’s Arab League summit in Doha nor Tuesday’s induction of a new Israeli government in Jerusalem is likely to break or even ease the conflict deadlock that grips the region.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46313

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US: Freezing Out Hamas No Longer Viable, Say Policy Heavyweights
By Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON (IPS) – A new report from a New York-based think tank and delivered to U.S. President Barack Obama by a signatory who is also a current adviser recommends that Washington forcefully reinsert itself into the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, calling for “a more pragmatic approach to Hamas.”
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46290

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Q&A: Sacked for Writing Against the Egypt Regime
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani interview former editor ABDELHALIM KANDIL
CAIRO (IPS) – For years, Abdelhalim Kandil has been one of Egypt’s most high-profile opposition journalists, known for writing hard-hitting articles critical of the ruling regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46277

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MIDEAST: To be an Arab, and an Israeli
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
SAKHNIN, Israel (IPS) – The cluster of blue-and-white Stars of David – Israel’s national flag – had seen better days. In the wake of unseasonably heavy rain, they looked limp, anything but proud – in direct contrast to the mark their bearers hoped to make.
ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46275

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DON’T MISS IPS EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

U.S. President Barack Obama has inherited wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a tanking economy, and global crises like climate change. IPS reports on the implications of the new administration not just for U.S. citizens, but for the world.
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/us_elections2008/index.asp

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp

Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/

Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/

Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/

Bush’s Legacy – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/

IPS coverage of terrorism – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/terrorism/

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