What They Read Inside the Agency

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Hayden Peake is curator of the Historical Intelligence Collection at the CIA, and he recently wrote this fascinating review of a compilated set of intel-related books. I know some TWN readers are intelligence agency groupies, and I thought that this might be of interest to you.

Stephen Walt Responds: NOT Fired

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I received the email note that follows from Stephen Walt last night in response to my post yesterday about whether he was being demoted or not. I think Walt’s views and account of his situation are level-headed and make sense and coincide with Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood’s account, published here on TWN yesterday.

Light Sentence for Abramoff. . .So Far, but More to Come

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Just announced. . .Jack Abramoff sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison. This is too light for someone who so badly damaged this democracy. Wait….update….this is just for the Florida fraud case. He still needs to be sentenced for federal crimes. Good.

Olmert Calls on Abbas for Negotiations

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Well, this is big news. The man who will be Israel’s next Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert has dropped his bid for unilaterally settling Israel’s borders and has called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to negoatiate the permanent borders of Israel. Last Wednesday, Abbas said he was ready for such negotiations.

Polls in Israel Show. . .

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Amir Peretz actually looks like one of the big winners — clearly surpassing expectations — if exit polls hold steady with vote count. Avigdor Lieberman of the Russian-immigrant supported Yisrael Beitanu party — a hard-right party — is also a big winner.