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

US-IRAQ: Al-Maliki Dons Mantle of Seasoned Statesman
Mohammed A. Salih
WASHINGTON – His visit to the U.S. this week was meant to be a show of statesmanship, much different than when he was in Washington last time.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47793

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MIDEAST: Turkey Gets Boost from Pipeline Politics
Helena Cobban
WASHINGTON – The political geography of the modern Middle East has been affected for one hundred years by the appetite of westerners and other outsiders for the region’s hydrocarbons.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47708

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MIGRATION: U.S. to Admit Palestinian Refugees from Iraq
Marina Litvinsky
WASHINGTON – Approximately 1,350 Palestinian refugees from Iraq are being considered for resettlement in the U.S. after being referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Programme by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47677

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POLITICS: Behind Detainee Release, a U.S.-Iraqi Conflict on Iran
Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON – The release Friday of five Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two and a half years highlights the long-simmering conflict between the U.S. and Iraqi views of Iranian policy in Iraq and of the role of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) there.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47627

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

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

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

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

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/index.asp

View From the U.S.: Bush at War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/index.asp

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