A sharp drop in the value of the Iranian currency as a result of new American sanctions may sound like good news to hawks in the US. But actually this development may signal ways in which Americans will also be harmed, and Obama may have put a second term in jeopardy, cutting off his nose […]
Conservative White People’s Primary
What Iowa looks like with regard to ethnicity (2010 Census): What the United States looks like (2010 Census)
Top 5 Foreign Policy Challenges for US, 2012
My list of challenges last year this time more or less nailed it, especially my concerns about the Mubarak era ending in Egypt. Many of the dangers to which I pointed still exist, of course, but a whole host of new difficulties has emerged. 5. The compromise reached in Yemen is unacceptable to many reformers. […]
On the end of Newt Gingrich’s Campaign
“Passion often makes a madman of the cleverest man, and renders the greatest fools clever.” – François de La Rochefoucauld (d. 1680)
Iraqis Celebrate being Free of US Troops, Fear US Meddling
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq held a rally in a sports stadium on Saturday to celebrate Iraq being free of US troops. He declared a national holiday, and thousands of Iraqis were surprised to receive a text message from him on their cell phones saying “All of us are for Iraq; the glory is […]
New Year’s 2012 in Tahrir Square, Egypt
New Year’s in Tahrir Square, Cairo: The leftist crowd begins by singing the national anthem. Then a woman revolutionary calls out, “Bread, Freedom and social justice!” “A civil state, civil state!” “May the military government fall!” she chants, and the crowd repeats. “Treatment for injured [protesters]!” “Free Egypt, with God’s permission!” “Free Egypt, with God’s […]
New Year’s in Dubai 2012
New Year’s in Dubai
2011: End of US Hyperpower & its War with Islamdom
Some years are pivotal and serve to mark off eras of history. 2011 saw the end of American hyperpower, and it announced the end of a decade of US-Muslim conflict that began with 2001. It saw the killing of Usama Bin Laden, the virtual rolling up of al-Qaeda, the repudiation of al-Qaeda’s methods by the […]
Top Ten Myths about the Arab Spring of 2011
1. The upheavals of 2011 were provoked by the Bush administration’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq Bzzt! Wrong answer. None of the young people who made this year’s revolutions ever pointed to Iraq as an inspiration. The only time Iraq was even brought up in their tweets was as a negative example (“let’s not […]