IISS 2007 Regional Security Summit Press Coverage
- December 11th - - Washington Post - The Gulf in the Gulf
Just listen to what Defense Secretary Robert Gates said to the government delegations assembled for a regional security conference in Bahrain this past weekend: "Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or the cost in the blood of innocents - Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. There can be little doubt that their destabilizing foreign policies are a threat to the interests of the United States, to the interests of every...
- December 11th - - Jerusalem Post - Missing urgency
Speaking on Saturday in Manama, Bahrain, Gates pointed out that the same NIE that Iran has joyfully embraced also described Iran's "continued research and development of medium-range ballistic missiles that are not particularly cost-effective unless equipped with warheads carrying weapons of mass destruction." "Everywhere you turn," Gates continued, "it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or the cost in the blood of...
- December 11th - - Associated Press - Iraq's VP urges Iraqis to return home, citing improved security
"Considering the improved security situation, we're doing our utmost to encourage Iraqis to return home," al-Hashemi told reporters following closed-door talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Nader al-Dahabi. Al-Hashemi, who arrived here from Bahrain where he attended a regional security summit, maintained that the Iraqi authorities "want our citizens back to their country because there are many university graduates among them who can help in the development drive."
- December 11th - - Arab News - Iran Is No Threat and That’s Official
It looks as though the GCC countries have had enough of Washington crying wolf. During a regional security summit, held last weekend in Bahrain, they signaled their opposition to military strikes against Iran and called for roundtable dialogue — a position that was also supported by Iraqi leaders attending the conference.
- December 11th - - Fars News Agency - US Efforts to Sow Discord between Iran, Regional States Futile
The General's comments followed earlier remarks by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at a regional security meeting in Manama, where the Washington official alleged that Iran was seeking to cause chaos, and its neighbors had to demand Tehran to renounce any intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.
- December 9th - - New York Times - Bomber Kills 11 at Police Station in Northern Iraq
Political in-fighting was renewed when Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab who is vice president, said the country was led by a “weak government.” “We have to revise the political process to ensure genuine power-sharing in decision making,” Mr. Hashemi told Reuters on a trip to Bahrain. “I do have my own reservations about the way my country is being run,” he added. “Deficiencies in professionalism, corruption is becoming widespread.”