Category Archives: Politics

Quite a few people are calling me, legitimately, on my slippery slope comparisons between harassment of researchers and mass murder. Fair enough, but I would still maintain that once you put yourself in a situation of effectively absolute license to … Continue reading →

Opposing the war in Iraq is not the same as endorsing terrorism. It is not the same as refusing to engage in a protracted military and political struggle against terrorist movements. The war in Iraq is not the war on … Continue reading →

Like John Quiggan at Crooked Timber, I think for me the first question about Israel, Lebanon and Hizbollah concerns consequences of action. That’s been the primary basis of my anger about the war in Iraq as well. I read Charles … Continue reading →

While I still think it’s a tactical mistake for Democrats to promise troop withdrawals from Iraq, I’m all for Ned Lamont’s victory. Joseph Lieberman is one of my least favorite politicians ever, and Iraq’s the least of my irritations with … Continue reading →

I’m catching up now with events in Lebanon. Every single time I have travelled to southern Africa, a major Middle Eastern crisis has begun right after I arrived. I realize that given how often such crises unfold, that’s roughly like … Continue reading →

Listening to the BBC World Service on radio this morning, there was some kind of security consultant talking about bin Laden and Zarqawi. She was offering incredibly precise, strong readings of the current state of Islamist insurgents around the world, … Continue reading →

I was and am still no fan of Bill Clinton. Or any of the major Democratic Party leaders of the last fifteen to twenty years, really. But I’m hard-pressed to think of any moment where Clinton pandered to his political … Continue reading →