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But it is the next man in the White House who counts in Middle Eastern diplomacy and not Mr Sarkozy or his Union.
BBC: Sarkozy's plan: Showy or astute?
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Reducing America's petrol consumption by 20% by 2017, a target he announced in the state-of-the-union address, would certainly diminish the country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil, but the way he plans to go about it may not be either efficient or clean.
ECONOMIST: Climate change
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Although often mocked in Brussels as a mediocrity, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign-policy chief, finds herself at the heart of Middle Eastern mediation.
ECONOMIST: Charlemagne