David Warren isn’t exactly a fan of the intervention in Libya. However, he provides an answer (but is it true?) to my oft-repeated question about who the Libyan “rebels” might be: …[I]n point of fact, the most promising internal opponents … Continue reading →
Let’s hope this isn’t the answer to the question. [ADDENDUM: I continue to find the Libyan situation puzzling, to say the least. Not only because of the shrouded identity of the rebels, but also the fact that France is taking … Continue reading →
Because as far as I can see, the situation is in complete confusion. It seems that the US has finally gotten on board with action against Gaddafi. But why now? And is it a case of too little, too late? … Continue reading →
Qaddafi does. And he’s making sure that Libya remembers him. Is the fact that Qaddafi is successfully fighting the rebels any sort of surprise? It shouldn’t be. Nothing fundamental has changed in Libya since I wrote this three weeks ago: … Continue reading →
I wrote at some length the other day about Qaddifi’s formerly good-guy-reformer son Saif. Here he is, still on the dark side (the Amanpour interview also features his much-less-political brother Al-Saadi): Amanpour points out that although she’s in Libya, she’s … Continue reading →
John Bolton has written an article suggesting ways in which liberal democracy (rather than the siren song of “one person, one vote, one time,” or Islamiscist control) could come to Egypt, and perhaps even other countries in the Middle East. … Continue reading →
But why? The most benign interpretation is that he’s learned that anything he does is criticized as well as ineffectual, and so he’s keeping his mouth shut. The in-between interpretation is that he has no idea what would be best … Continue reading →
…what the fog of war looks like, it looks like this.
Continue reading →As events in Libya began to spiral out of control, it was Qaddafi’s son Saif who went on the air to give a rambling speech that talked of impending civil war and dark conspiratorial forces at work. I noted yesterday … Continue reading →
As a consequence of the domino effect that’s currently sweeping the Arab world, Libya’s Qaddafi is facing the challenge of his 41-year dictatorship’s life. There are tyrants, and then there are tyrants. Qaddafi is no Mubarak; he’s more brutal and … Continue reading →
I observed a while back that: One very large difference between Egypt and Iran is that Iran had a ready-made charismatic figure in Khomeini, who was ruthless in his drive to power. Egypt seems to lack a similar figure””so far. … Continue reading →
It turns out that the Lara Logan incident was not the first time journalist Nir Rosen had opined on the subject of female journalists being assaulted in the Middle East. On August 2, 2010, during an interview with the Columbia … Continue reading →