Monthly Archives: March 2007
Birthpangs of a Post-Bush Middle East
Not now, Condi, we’re busy I’ve marveled for some time now at the abundance of unmistakable evidence to the contrary, so much of the mainstream media in the U.S. appears to feel dutybound to parrot Condi Rice’s giddy fantasies about … Continue reading
West Africa/East Africa
Downtown in Arusha, Marcello’s new home Cronies seem to be showing up all over the Mother Continent. It was when she went off to see the Teranga Lions thrash the hapless national team of Tanzania in an African Cup of … Continue reading
Iran’s ‘Tonkin’ Moment in the Gulf?
Update: I wrote the following in a piece earlier today on TIME.com: But the outcome of the standoff may well depend on the strategic calculations of the Iranian leadership. Seizing the British troops a day before the U.N. Security Council … Continue reading
Safe Posturing on Iraq
Kudos to David Rieff for making clear that all the retrospective posturing on Iraq by the Democrat frontrunners is meaningless — safe, even — and is made nonsense of by the fact that all of them hold positions on Iran … Continue reading
What’s Iraq About Now?
Four years into the Iraq war — “hard to believe,” eh, Mr Wolfowitz? — don’t expect the U.S. media to dwell on the conceptual foundations of this catastrophe. That may be because the media was rather complicit in laying those … Continue reading
More on Iran War Prospects
The Fatah-Hamas deal brokered by the Saudis signaled the limits on U.S. influence in the region In my latest on TIME.com , I argue that the Baghdad talks involving the U.S., Iran, Syria and other Iraq neighbors are a further … Continue reading
The Rebel Grace of Patti Smith
This op-ed from Patti Smith, on the eve of her induction into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, brought tears to my eyes, for its humility and grace, and for the revolutionary fire that still burns so bright inside … Continue reading
Telephone Call for Mr. Horrible
Not just any American in Paris, but a vicious, potty-mouthed, epically angry American in Paris… I’m please to share with you Mr. Horrible’s Ugliness Glob, the new blogging effort by my friend Bruce Crumley, who busts out of the constraints … Continue reading