archives :: liberty
American Athena
Winds of Change points up the July 4th gala over at the Cotillion, which features the artwork of William Teach of the Pirate's Cove. Most of his pieces are in the style of 1940s pin-ups, which are by today's standards... [read more]
mission
One year ago: Tonight: The progress in the past year has been significant, and we have a clear path forward. To complete the mission, we will continue to hunt down the terrorists and insurgents. To complete the mission, we will... [read more]
"send lawyers, guns, and vowels"
(Post title shamelessly lifted from Orrin Judd) In the months after 9/11 I often looked at maps of Central Asia, memorizing the names, locations, and geopolitical orientation of the various *stans: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and of course Afghanistan... [read more]
two years
Two years is about 730 days. In those days what have I seen. My eyes have seen more than I had ever hoped, more blood, more death and more pain, then I ever imagined or hoped I would have seen.... [read more]
bigger
Yesterday's pro-independence demonstration in Beirut drew in excess of 800,000 people. Here's what it looked like. Lebanon's population is just over four million—meaning that somewhere north of 20% of the population was in the streets. That's a lot of flags.... [read more]
a grove divided
Is Hezbollah making the same order of strategic error as has Bashar Assad of late? Lebanese blogger Tony Badran thinks so. [I]t's really Hizbullah (and a practically homogenous Shi'a following) vs. the majority of Lebanon's groups: Christians, Druze, Sunnis. So... [read more]
hell freezes
And the British left catches chill. As Syria pulls out of Lebanon, and the winds of change blow through the Middle East, this is the difficult question that opponents of the Iraq war are having to face. More: Orrin Judd's... [read more]
dominoes
But hell's bells, what in Allah's name is going on? —Reihan of The American Scene My sentiments exactly. In fact, the last time I remember this kind of energy was the summer and fall of 1989. Though the analogy is... [read more]
road to Damascus
(Image via Iraq the Model) Yesterday's WaPo column by David Ignatius has already made the rounds, but the choice parts are worth repeating. Over by the Martyr's Monument, Lebanese students have built a little tent city and are vowing... [read more]
unforgettable
My good friend Peter Gornell sent along a link to this large gallery of images from the Iraq elections. Be forewarned: the first few are unpleasant viewing. But some of the rest are unforgettable. Like this one. More: The price... [read more]
election day
Voting in Iraq has been underway for a couple of hours now. From the snapshots being offered by our 24-hour networks, it is of course impossible to know how things are really progressing. There has been some violence, but casualties... [read more]
three days
On 9 April 2003, the statue of Saddam fell in Firdos Square, Baghdad. That afternoon I went to mock antiwar protesters in the main square here in Bloomington. Twenty-one months and more have passed since. The news has often been... [read more]
in with the new
Europe, that is. Viktor Yushchenko became Ukraine's president Sunday and vowed to overturn its post-Soviet legacy by seeking a place in Europe for the people he led in a peaceful revolt against a rigged election and pressure from Russia. Watched... [read more]
