Incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that President Bush order an immediate buildup of 10,000 troops in Iraq, with an option of doubling that to 20,000 by spring. The plan is known as “Five Plus Two,” sending five Army… Read moreTilt to “pragmatists” in DC; tilt to Sunnis in Iraq?
The year is off to a great start. As in Madrid and Bangkok, somebody seeks to prove the intellectual superiority of their position by blowing up random civilians. (And none of these three cases involves Muslims, by the way.) From… Read moreMore terror in Sri Lanka
The routing of Somalia’s Islamist forces from their last stronghold in the southern port of Kismayo is being portrayed in the Western press as a victory for order and civilization against extremism and terrorism. A look at the local press… Read moreSomalia: ousted warlord back in Kismayo
We actually sympathize with the cause of Basque independence, but given everything that is going on in the world, why does anybody think blowing up random civilians is a legitimate means to acheive political aims? The Basque movement does appear… Read moreETA blast reveals split in Basque independence movement?
From El Universal, Jan. 2 via Chiapas95: Relatives of prisoners detained during a Nov. 25 federal crackdown on Oaxaca demonstrators set up a protest camp outside the Miahuatlan prison in Oaxaca City Monday, and vowed to stay there until all… Read moreOaxaca: protest encampment outside prison
From El Universal, Jan. 2 via Chiapas95. We take strong exception to the last paragraph, for reasons which should be clear to our readers. OVENTIC, Chiapas – Thousands of Zapatista rebels on Monday celebrated the 13th anniversary of their brief… Read moreZapatistas host fiesta on 13th anniversary of Chiapas uprising
From El Universal, Dec. 29 via Chiapas95: TUXTLA GUTIERREZ – The Chiapas state government said Wednesday it has created a special prosecutor’s office to investigate a 1997 massacre of 45 indigenous villagers. It also announced an office to look into… Read moreMexico: Chiapas establishes special prosecutor for Acteal massacre
Sadam Hussein was hanged in the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 30 for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of 148 men and boys from the Shi’ite town of Dujail in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him there…. Read moreSaddam executed; historical memory betrayed
Anti-Ethiopia riots erupted in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, Dec. 29, a day after Ethiopian troops and allied Somali militias took the city from Islamist forces. Hundreds took to the streets to hurl rocks at Ethiopian soldiers, set tires on fire and… Read moreSomalia: Ethiopia-backed forces pledge “iron hand”; Islamists pledge resistance from Kismayo
Lest we forget. From the NY Daily News, Dec. 29: Kiss before dying As his father lay dying, crushed by a car that smashed into his Long Island house, Brian Calhoun gave him a final kiss. “There was no question… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
A little more than a year ago, when the media noted a lesser milestone—2,000 US troops killed in Iraq—we pointed out that the media’s habit of only counting the deaths of US troops as opposed to all US-led forces actually… Read moreUS troops killed in Iraq top 9-11 toll
Predictable but depressing. Given the current popularity of “dual loyalty” insinuations against American Jews (even in supposedly progressive cricles), you’d think there’d be a little Jewish outrage over essentially identical arguments being used against American Muslims. This Dec. 28 column… Read moreGoode-Ellison affair reveals Jewish myopia
