Transcript: Stephen Hadley ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal by John D. McKinnon - (Interview) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am The Journal's John McKinnon sat down with National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley at his office in the West Wing. They talked about the situation in Gaza, the U.S. relationship with Russia, Iraq and more in an interview previewing a valedictory speech Mr. Hadley plans to deliver Wednesday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview. * * * The Wall Street Journal: Talk a little about the challenges, as well as the opportunities, that the next administration is going to face. » Read more

How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian by Avi Shlaim - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians. British officials bitterly resented American partisanship on behalf of the infant state. On 2 June 1948, Sir John Troutbeck wrote to the foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, that the Americans were responsible for the creation of a gangster state headed by "an utterly unscrupulous set of leaders". » Read more

Children pay a high price for turmoil ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times by Vita Bekker - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Medical officials in Gaza said on Tuesday that at least 115 children had died since the Israeli assault began 11 days ago, amid warnings that the bombardment and continuing blockade could spur a new generation to embrace violence. Said Ghabayen, a doctor and father of six living north-east of Gaza City, said the din of nearby artillery fire and air strikes for almost four hours on Monday night was the worst his family had experienced in the 11-day assault. “The kids were screaming, clinging to us, shutting their ears with their hands and all I could do was hug them,” he said. » Read more

Selective memory, conflict chronology ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times by Daoud Kuttab - (Opinion) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am A much repeated Arab saying dealing with conflicts states: the initiator [of a conflict] is the wrong one. So if one is trying to figure out who is wrong in the current round of violence in Gaza, all one has to do is figure out who started it. But the moment one begins this search, one finds oneself in a more complicated, bind, namely figuring out what is the starting point, time-wise. » Read more

Hamas and the Continued Turnaround ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) January 7, 2009 - 1:00am Hamas - like Hezbollah, the other devout follower of the Syrian and Iranian regimes - is an expert at changing notions and truths, and using words in a manner that is contrary to their definition. Hence, simply staying alive becomes a "victory"; the increase in the number of deaths and injuries becomes the ability to "resist"; "scratching" the Israeli cities with a few rockets becomes a "strategic balance", and the lack of readiness for battle and of surveillance of the enemy's intentions, as well as being surprised by the extent of the enemy's response become "betrayal". » Read more

Restrained Obama leaves many displeased ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Paul Richter - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am As civilian casualties mount in the Gaza Strip, President-elect Barack Obama is coming under intensifying pressure to end his disengagement and begin working for a halt to the fighting. Obama has argued that President Bush remains in charge of U.S. foreign policy until the inauguration on Jan. 20. But critics say hundreds may die in the next two weeks while the president-elect stands by. » Read more

Mideast Mediators Seek Anti-Tunnel Plan ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Craig Whitlock - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am The biggest hurdle to winning a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, according to diplomats and Israeli military officials, is a problem that has bedeviled Israel for years: how to stop Hamas from digging tunnels into Egypt in order to bring tons of rockets and other weaponry into Gaza. » Read more

Unintended Consequences Pose Risks for Mideast Policy ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Glenn Kessler - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am President-elect Barack Obama will inherit a perilous situation in the Middle East, with Israel under increasing pressure to halt its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, key Arab leaders close to the United States greatly weakened and the Hamas militant group earning resurgent popularity in the region. After days of studied silence on the Gaza conflict, Obama promised yesterday "to hit the ground running" on achieving a broad Middle East peace deal. » Read more

For Battered Gazans, Few Places Left to Hide ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Reyham Abdel Kareem, Sudarsan Raghavan - January 7, 2009 - 1:00am It was shortly after noon Tuesday when Intisar Sultan walked through the clusters of dirty children and fatigued adults, leaving behind a U.N. school that had been turned into a refuge for families hoping to escape the fighting around them. She walked out its doors without her son, Abdullah, 19, who had died along with two cousins hours earlier in an Israeli airstrike that hit the school in Gaza City. They had been returning to bed from the bathroom. » Read more

Israel Puts Media Clamp on Gaza ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Ethan Bronner - January 6, 2009 - 1:00am Three times in recent days, a small group of foreign correspondents was told to appear at the border crossing to Gaza. The reporters were to be permitted in to cover firsthand the Israeli war on Hamas in keeping with a Supreme Court ruling against the two-month-old Israeli ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza. Each time, they were turned back on security grounds, even as relief workers and other foreign citizens were permitted to cross the border. On Tuesday the reporters were told to not even bother going to the border. » Read more