Links from my del.icio.us account for February 22nd through February 23rd:
- Dubai Gets $10 Billion Bailout to Ease Debt – WSJ.com – Dubai gets bailed out by its big brothers.
- Gulf States Bet on Africa – WSJ.com – Gulf Arabs still investing massively in African agrobusiness: "What the Arabs are doing for us is what colonialists should have done for Africa," said Djibouti President Ismail Guelleh, whose sliver of a nation on the Horn of Africa is enjoying an economic turnaround thanks primarily to Gulf money. "It's like a new Marshall Plan."
- Op-Ed Columnist – ROGER COHEN – Reading Khamenei in Tehran – NYTimes.com – Here's something you don't see often in the NYT: "Obama must abandon military threats to Iran’s nuclear program in favor of an approach recognizing the country’s inevitable mastery of the nuclear fuel cycle, while securing verifiable conditions that ensure such mastery is not diverted to bomb manufacturing. That addresses Iran’s intellectual pride (as well as the fact that the neighborhood includes the nuclear-armed powers of Israel, Pakistan and India).
He must redirect U.S. policy toward Israel-Palestine to make Hamas-Fatah reconciliation a core American objective, recognize that the “terrorist” label is an inadequate description of the broad movements that are Hamas and Hezbollah and end the Israel-can-do-no-wrong policy that sabotages a two-state solution. This would allow Khamenei to claim that his demands for Palestinian justice — as the self-styled leader of the world’s Muslims — have been heard." - AFP: Egypt arrests three over deadly bazaar bombing – On last night's bomb attack.
- World record Islamic sale is cancelled – The Art Newspaper – Art / auction world controversy over alleged "key to the Kaaba"
- From Captive To Suicide Bomber – Did Gitmo make a radical more radical?
- Ben Smith’s Blog: A test for the Israeli lobby – Politico.com – A test for Obama, more like: "Arabist" diplomat Chas Freeman as head of National Intelligence Council is not thought kosher enough for AIPAC and friends.
- Olmert ousts Egypt mediator over ‘unseemly criticism of a PM’ – Haaretz – Israel News – Amos Gilad may have to abandon ceasefire negotiations – although ultimately he answers to Ehud Barak, not Ehud Olmert.
- Bellum » Covert Action and Iran’s Nuclear Program – A look at various methods that may have been used to covertly disrupt Iran's nuke program, including manipulation of currency, sabotage, fake suppliers, etc. An interesting blog too.
- Mexico’s Drug Cartels May Have Become Too Powerful to Control – WSJ.com – WSJ equates narco-criminality in Mexico with (narco-?) jihadism in Pakistan: "The parallels between Pakistan and Mexico are strong enough that the U.S. military singled them out recently as the two countries where there is a risk the government could suffer a swift and catastrophic collapse, becoming a failed state."
Chas Freeman is a terrible choice to head the NIC not because he is perceived to be “anti-Israel” or in the pay of the Saudis, but rather because he is an intellectual bully. While there is no doubt that Freeman is a smart guy, his tempermant is similar to John Bolton’s. Hasn’t there been enough of this kind of crap in Washington recently?
Interesting Abu Tabakh. I don’t know much about Freeman, care to enlighten us with an anecdote or two?
Here’s some links from a quick Google:
Freeman critical of both parties’ approach to foreign policy:
http://robertdreyfuss.com/blog/2006/10/chas_freeman_both_parties_wron.html
Strongly-worded speech on Bush policy:
http://www.mepc.org/whats/whynot.asp
An anti-Freeman piece on the conservative UK mag, Spectator:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/3380291/a-weapon-in-the-islamists-armoury.thtml
His language is certainly pretty strong. But I feel that people who can speak out like Freeman are still quite rare, and there are plenty of hardcore advocates for Israel in the Obama administration. Let them battle it out, at least this time there might actually be a debate!
AFP bomb story – I love the Fuad Allam quote (man, how long has he been the go-to man for the State Security comment?). “A new wave of terrorism” huh? Spurred on by all kinds of stuff that happens outside Egypt, of course. Nothing to do with State Security beating the crap out of hungry, tired people. Better get that new security law squared away boys. Don’t want to get swept away by three more teenagers from Shoubra with a can of diesel and half a bag of fertilizer!