There are various mantras about the Iraq war that have become popular these days. One of them is that there is no military solution, only a political one. Another is that the surge isn’t working, sometimes modified lately to read: … Continue reading →
Okay, class, I know it’s been said before, including by me. But I promise I’ll be (relatively) brief this time. Here’s how you write about Israel and Palestine if you’re a journalist today—even, apparently, if you work for the Voice … Continue reading →
I took the redeye last night from San Francisco, and I’m pleased to report it was a textbook flight. However, what’s the deal when the plane takes about five and a half hours to traverse the entire country and the … Continue reading →
During my short stay in San Francisco, I’ve managed to go to Muir Woods in Marin. I hadn’t been there in a couple of decades (who’s counting?), but the memory of its majesty and mystery had stayed with me. There’s … Continue reading →
Well, it didn’t take long, did it? General Petraeus, who wrote the book on counter-insurgency fighting, whose Princeton PhD. dissertation analyzed the bloody consequences of the withdrawal from Vietnam, who was unanimously confirmed by Congress when appointed as Iraqi commander, … Continue reading →
I’m in San Francisco for a few days for a family get-together. It’s the usual beautiful summer here, with clear skies and only an intermittent bit of the fog for which the city is famous, just enough to give a … Continue reading →
One aspect of the traditional idea of American Exceptionalism included the notion that its geography kept the US safe from foreign invasion. This was historically true for the most part. Pearl Harbor was the singular exception, as far as I … Continue reading →
I’ve been reading a collection of essays in the book The Survival of Culture by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. In a piece entitled “Burke and Political Liberty,” by Martin Greenberg, the author is discussing the French Revolution and its … Continue reading →
I don’t know whether it shocks you, but it still has the capacity to shock me that the Democrats don’t seem to care about the consequences of their current stance on Iraq. Perhaps that’s the best indication that they are … Continue reading →
Surprise, surprise! The Senate pulled an all-nighter, but the Democratic leadership failed to garner enough votes to change anything in Iraq. That “surprise, surprise” comment of mine was, of course, sarcastic, because it could not possibly have come as a … Continue reading →
A while back I had lunch with Michael Totten during one of his rare moments in this country. He’d just returned from a recent visit to Iraq and Kurdistan, and was telling me what it was like to travel there. … Continue reading →
In the many posts I’ve written attempting to explain the basic neocon attitude towards the spread of democracy-(see this and this) I’ve tried to be careful to use the term “liberal democracy” to describe what is advocated. Why? Because democracy … Continue reading →