I was doing some research on the Iranian Revolution last night, and came across this terrible incident, which I’d never heard of before: On August 19, 1978, in the Cinema Rex fire, the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set … Continue reading →
Hey, did you know that today is the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Khomeini forces in Iran? It is celebrated there as the national holiday “Islamic Revolution Victory Day,” Iran’s un-Fourth-of-July. If you follow the timeline of the … Continue reading →
It strikes me that I have a very different attitude towards what is going on in Egypt right now than I would have if I were younger and hadn’t witnessed the media coverage of the 1979 revolution in Iran. I’m … Continue reading →
Michael Totten has an important must-read interview with Iranian exile Abbas Milani, professor at Stanford, who discusses the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution that led to the present theocracy there, and how it might relate to Egypt today. Here’s Milani … Continue reading →
The situation in Egypt keeps conjuring up memories of Iran for me. This seems as though it might become relevant again. I hope not; I hope that as events unfold it will turn out there was no analogy after all. … Continue reading →
If I were Jimmy Carter, I think I’d keep my mouth shut on the subject of the current Egyptian unrest. But being Carter being Carter, that’s not happening: Former President Jimmy Carter said Sunday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will … Continue reading →
Are Obama and Hillary Clinton becoming neo-neocons? Well, sort of: Asked if Washington supports Mubarak as Egypt’s leader, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton avoided a direct answer, telling Fox News in an interview, “We have been very clear that … Continue reading →
The sad news of the suicide in Boston of Alireza Pahlavi, the youngest son of the late and last Shah of Iran, is the most recent chapter in the sorrowful saga of the family. Here they are in happier days. … Continue reading →
When I wrote this post I perceived the philosophical connections between Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers renown. But little did I know that their ties are even more concrete than I thought. For instance, Assange … Continue reading →
Obama’s version of sanctions on Iran comes with a huge asterisk. [NOTE: The title of this post is a riff on this.]
Continue reading →[NOTE: Yesterday and today represent the 30th anniversary of the Carter administration’s ill-fated Iranian hostage rescue attempt. Four years ago I wrote the following post about it. It feels appropriate for a variety of reasons—and not just the anniversary—to revisit … Continue reading →
You heard it here first—from Valerie Jarrett, Obama aide and foreign policy expert extraordinaire: [NOTE: Jarrett has an interesting history. A lawyer, most of her experience has been as a mover and shaker in local Chicago democratic politics, and she … Continue reading →