Michael J. Totten's Blog, page 65

Ahmadinejad's "Mission"

It doesn't usually end well when the leader of one nation or group of people furiously denounces another as sub-human or non-human, and it takes real nerve for a ruthless tyrant to describe any American president as the world's harshest dictator, but Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did both a few weeks ago.

From MEMRI, via Marty [...:]

Fourth of July

Happy Independence Day to my American readers (and no hard feelings to my British readers).

This Site is Moving

I'll be moving this blog over to the Pajamas Media site shortly. You can adjust your bookmarks if you want, but that's optional. You should be automatically redirected.

If you use an RSS reader, point it here for the new feed. The RSS feed you have been using will no longer work. If you don't [...:]

Syria Must Be Contained, Not Engaged

Nibras Kazimi suggests in the pages of the New Republic that the Middle East's violent Islamists might go after the Syrian government after they're finished in Iraq and Afghanistan. "On jihadist online discussion forums," he writes, "they have been authoring what amount to policy papers calling on the jihadist leadership to take the fight to [...:]

Christopher Hitchens Diagnosed with Cancer

Damn.

Christopher Hitchens has been diagnosed with cancer. According to the Washington Post, he has been "advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me."

Some thought he published his new book Hitch-22: A Memoir a bit prematurely. I hope they're right.

Get better, [...:]

The Ghosts of Martyrs Square

Michael Young, opinion page editor at Beirut's Daily Star newspaper and assistant editor at Reason magazine in the U.S., is one of the finest analysts of the modern Middle East working in English. He was born in Washington D.C. to a Lebanese mother and American father, and his mother took him to Beirut when he [...:]

That's One Way to Stop the Blockade Runners

So the Israelis have figured out a way to stop their enemies from trying to run the blockade of Gaza. From here on out, it seems they will confiscate any ships that make an attempt.

Iran said the June 27 departure of a ship carrying aid to the Gaza Strip has been canceled because of [...:]

Good Call, Mr. President

General Stanley McChrystal has been relieved of command in Afghanistan and replaced by General David Petraeus. This is one of the best decisions the president has made since he took office.

Back in a Sec

Apologies for the slow blogging. I have to finish up something offline and will be back shortly.

The Return of the Ottomans

Go read Lee Smith's latest essay The Return of the Ottomans. I'm not even going to try to summarize or excerpt this. Just read it.