IISS 2007 Regional Security Summit Press Coverage
- December 11th - - Asia Times - Iran prepares to further its US 'interests'
Even in the absence of such a brave initiative on Europe's part, Iran's European policy has now been much strengthened as a result of the NIE report. This has been seized on by the government to put Europe on the defensive and cause a split from the US, which has been hard-pressed to justify the absence of any policy change toward Iran by recycling the old accusations of Iran's "threat to region", to paraphrase Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a security conference in the Persian...
- December 11th - - Alsumaria - Iraq considers regional security pact
National Security Advisor Mouaffak Al Rubaie stressed the necessity of reaching regional reconciliation rather than sectarian confrontation in the region. In a dialogue session during Gulf Security Conference held at the end of last week in Manama that the region’s security cannot be disintegrated. He added that Iraq is considering seriously calling for regional security pact similar to Baghdad pact or NATO-style pact in aim to counter terrorism, counter narcotics, counter religious...
- December 11th - - Turkish Daily News - Ahmadinejad seeks to improve Iran image with Ankara visit
A NATO member and a candidate for accession to the European Union, Turkey must take care to adopt its policies toward Iran accordingly, Celalifer said. Despite the NIE's observations, European countries still urge Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment that could lead to it acquiring nuclear weapons, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates depicted Iran as the troublemaker of the Middle East over the weekend. “However, Turkey has to live with Iran. Extensive sanctions on Tehran will...
- December 11th - Washington Times - Fantasies and realities
At a global security conference in Bahrain, Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed to Persian Gulf nations to demand that Iran "openly affirm that it does not intend to develop nuclear weapons in the future." Now, those nations must prove whether they will have the strength, the clout and the means to prevent Iran from acquiring the capability to build nuclear weapons. This odyssey is, however, doomed to spiral through a series of increasingly dark fantasies — such as Iran over...
- December 11th - New York Times - Who Wears a Winter Coat in Djibouti?, and Other Tales From a Trip
The big question ahead of this past weekend’s Persian Gulf regional security conference in Bahrain — the one behind all the speculation, the whispering, the laying even of odds — was the possible interaction between Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and his Iranian counterparts. Would it be cold shoulders and icy glares in the warm desert? A polite handshake and then move on to a coffee and juice? Perhaps — how tantalizing! — a secret meeting?
- December 11th - New York Times - Israelis Brief Top U.S. Official on Iran
Admiral Mullen, who has been chairman of the Joint Chiefs for only a few months, was making a 24-hour visit to Israel, rare despite close defense ties between the United States and Israel. He was returning from a regional security conference in Bahrain, where the American defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, emphasized that Washington continued to see Iran as a grave threat to regional security. Mr. Gates said Iran had accelerated its efforts to enrich uranium despite United Nations Security...
