archives :: Middle East
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]
the unlamented end of pan-Arabism
Last week Tony Badran of Across the Bay posted a most enlightening essay: The Irrelevance of Political Arabism. He defines that movement as follows. [W]hat exactly is political Arabism? There are two essential elements: 1- Pan-Arab unity, and 2- the... [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 Hezbollah primer
Reader Tom Bombadil sent along this essay on the self-proclaimed Party of God and its influence in and around Lebanon. As I've been meaning to write more on the subject, Master Bombadil's essay will serve as a useful introduction. Party... [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]
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]
hardball
Even within the conservative punditocracy, President Bush's diplomatic tour of Europe last week received mixed marks. At NRO on Friday, Denis Boyles pronounced the President's efforts charmless; in the next column over, Larry Kudlow judged the trip a smashing success.... [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]
one week on
Today Orrin Judd points up two very interesting stories from Iraq. The first is in the NYT: Suddenly, It's 'America Who?' Through 22 months of occupation and war here, the word “America” was usually the first word to pass through... [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]
finally
Some days, I despise CNN more than on others. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, 75, the leader who passionately sought a homeland for his people but was seen by many Israelis as a ruthless terrorist and a roadblock to peace,... [read more]
Jimmy Carter's revenge, II
A few days ago I quoted two articles suggesting that John Kerry's foreign policy is inspired more by Jimmy Carter than by Bill Clinton. It's getting worse (links via lgf). Q: One of the findings of the 9/11 Commission concerns... [read more]
Jimmy Carter's revenge
Last fall I stated that a Democratic victory would mean defeat in the broader war. That may not be true. But what is certain is that a Kerry victory will give our enemies good reason to believe that the United States can be alternately attacked and then lulled back into slumber. [read more]
a woman, a gun, a revolution
An Iraqi recruit receives help determining which eye is her dominant, during AK-47 weapons training at the Jordanian Royal Military Academy, Jordan. This earthquake in the very heart of the Middle East brought to you courtesy the United States... [read more]
context
Michele of A Small Victory provides a roundup of reactions from Iraqi bloggers regarding their nation's new independence. So does Joe Katzman of Winds of Change. And Tim Blair points up a moving story from Ali at Iraq the Model.... [read more]
independence day
Staying up most of the night coding has consequences. Like sleeping through history in the making, for instance. From the Voice of America: The transfer of sovereignty in Iraq became official during a small ceremony in Baghdad Monday. The... [read more]
hearts and minds
My good friend Dean reminds me that not all news is bad. Even if it involves Abu Ghraib: In 1995, nine Iraqi businessmen found themselves in the feared Abu Ghraib prison, accused of dealing in foreign currency, a crime under... [read more]
Iran watch
Last month I wrote about the difficulty in finding news about Iran's domestic affairs—a subject of some importance, as the activities of the Iranian intelligence services, and the regime's not-so-secret support for all manner of Islamist terror groups, both have... [read more]
guess that clinches it
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat watched Mel Gibsons's controversial “Passion of the Christ” at a private screening on Saturday and said it was not anti-Semitic, officials said. He watched the film — which Jewish groups... [read more]
same planet, different worlds
TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) — Iranians danced in the street, threw firecrackers and jumped over bonfires Tuesday night as authorities openly tolerated an ancient fire festival for the first time in 25 years. Halted each year since the 1979 Islamic revolution... [read more]
axis of evil, con.
The agreement on the Iraqi interim constitution was overshadowed yesterday by a horrific series of bombings targeting Shia on the holiest day of their calendar. There were contradictory death tolls from Tuesday's near simultaneous bombings at Baghdad's Kadhimiya shrine and... [read more]
the plot thickens
So why did Libya's Gaddafi decide that WMD were no longer worth the hassle? And is his change of heart genuine? It's too early to know the answer to the second question—but there's a lot of reporting on the first.... [read more]
Libya comes clean
At least that's the report: Libya's leader Colonel Gaddafi has said his country sought to develop weapons of mass destruction capabilities but will dismantle this programme completely, Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced. … Colonel Gaddafi had told him the... [read more]
