Month: March 2011

Murder in Bahrain

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been one busy official of late. Last week, on a surprise visit to Afghanistan, he managed to apologize for U.S. helicopters killing nine boys collecting wood on a hillside in Kunar Province, even as he announced that a negotiating team would soon be dispatched from Washington to work out … Continue reading “Murder in Bahrain”

Saudi Intervention Likely to Bring Regional Blowback

Saudi Arabia’s incursion into neighboring Bahrain is a risky move that could further inflame domestic unrest in both countries and give a propaganda boost to Tehran’s campaign to cultivate the Arab street. Saudi authorities and officials from the United Arab Emirates—which sent 500 police to augment 1,000 Saudi troops—said they had entered the island kingdom … Continue reading “Saudi Intervention Likely to Bring Regional Blowback”

Another Imperial Quagmire?

Unbelievably, after experiencing 10 years of quagmire in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American foreign policy establishment is now clamoring for the institution of a no-fly zone in Libya. Luminaries on both the Left and the Right have endorsed the concept: for example, Senators John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and John McCain. Even though the U.S. military … Continue reading “Another Imperial Quagmire?”

West Bank Neighbors: Chronicles of Death

March 11, 2011 On Friday night, two men—presumably Palestinians—entered the West Bank Jewish settlement of Itamar. The settlement of 1,000 was established in 1984, deep in occupied land (28 km from the Green Line). It is named after the son of the biblical Aharon, Itamar, whose grave—according to a 13th-century legend—is located in the adjacent … Continue reading “West Bank Neighbors: Chronicles of Death”

Libya: Five Reasons Not to Intervene

As Moammar Gadhafi’s thugs move toward Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, and the provisional government calls for arms and other assistance from the West – principally the United States – we are told to put all doubts aside and simply respond to the alleged moral imperative of preventing a slaughter. This, intone the interventionists, is an … Continue reading “Libya: Five Reasons Not to Intervene”

How to Prevent Chaos in Pakistan

The eruption of democratic defiance among Arabs has discredited neoconservatives and al-Qaeda alike, shattering their shared assumption that Muslims need violent prodding to reclaim their dignity. Ten weeks of protests won Tunisians and Egyptians what 10 years of bloodshed could not purchase for Pax Americana or its archenemy in Iraq or Afghanistan: a spirit of … Continue reading “How to Prevent Chaos in Pakistan”