World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (February 9, 2012)

The Los Angeles Times published an article headlined ‘Russia role in Syria crisis criticized as Homs violence flares’. According to its author, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin deplored what he called a growing "cult of violence" in international affairs, and emphasized that countries should have the opportunity to decide their own fates without interference from outside forces.  Even as casualties mounted in Homs and elsewhere — a soaring human toll documented in amateur videos posted on the Internet — a diplomatic impasse has largely blocked any international effort to stop the carnage. The inaction has drawn expressions of outrage from the Syrian opposition and human rights advocates. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, stressed in a statement on Wednesday the "extreme urgency for the international community to cut through the politics and take effective action to protect the Syrian population."

The Washington Post published an analytical article headlined ‘At the Pentagon and in Israel, plans show the difficulties of an Iran strike’. “Israel has a plan to go it alone. So does the United States. And there may even be a plan for the two countries to collaborate. On December 20, the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Martin Dempsey, told CNN: “We are examining a range of options” and “I am satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary.”, the article reads. For example, should Israel act alone, it would face the extraordinary problem of needing to refuel its bombers en route to targets about 1,000 miles away and refueling them again on the way back. That is why in the new Bipartisan Policy Center report, “Meeting the Challenge: Stopping the Clock,” former senator Charles S. Robb (D-Va.) and retired Air Force General Charles F. Wald suggest that the United States provide Israel with three KC-135 refueling tankers. Just this week, the United States continued pressuring India to reduce its oil purchases from Iran. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters on Tuesday that talks in Washington with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai included “how India might find alternative sources. . . . This is a two-track policy, both to encourage countries to wean themselves from Iranian oil, but also to work with suppliers around the world to help countries find alternative sources of supply.” In his pre-Super Bowl interview on NBC last Sunday, President Obama said, “Our preferred solution here is diplomatic; we’re going to keep on pushing on that front. But . . . I’ve been very clear that we’re going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating an arms race, a nuclear arms race, in a volatile region.”

According to the Hurriyet Daily news agency, fighting erupted in the Turkish Parliament yesterday after opposition deputies occupied the speaker's rostrum to protest a proposed bylaw. Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputies marched toward the speaker's rostrum and blockaded it after they were not given any say about a proposed bylaw that regulates the workings of Parliament. The CHP members chanted slogans, calling on Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek to resign and refused to return to their seats for almost 4.5 hours. Çiçek suspended the session five times throughout the protest to talk the CHP deputies into ending their occupation.