The Rundown - February 8

News & views on RFE/RL's broadcast region

Sunday Talk Shows
#
The analysis of Shields and Brooks
# Hillary Clinton discusses Iran with CNN
# Fareed Zakaria sits down with Jordan's King Abdullah
# "Meet the Press" has Alan Greenspan, Henry Paulson, and John Brennan
# "This Week" has Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Afghanistan/Pakistan
# Gilles Dorronsoro calls U.S. strategy in Afghanistan "self-destructive"
# Talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan are in the offing
# NATO troops have begun a major operation against the Taliban

Iran
#
Der Spiegel interviews Mehdi Karroubi
# Joshua Prager on provocative photos from Iran
# "The Independent" thinks there is still a chance for diplomacy with Iran

Russia
#
Alexei Bayer thinks Russia isn't cool anymore
# Vladimir Frolov sees a chance to save the "reset"
# A Russian company just a bought an entire town in Latvia
# The "Boston Globe" ed board bemoans Stalin's picture on soda cans

U.S. Politics/Foreign Policy
#
Jackson Diehl sees Obama retreating from foreign policy
# The State Dept. is readying for a larger mission in Iraq
# Al Kamen's "In the Loop"