Be sure to check out our collection of useful links to blogs and websites from around the globe, ranging from US foreign policy, national security and politics to law, development, econo- and enviro-bloggers, and tech and media.
Megan McCardle, to her credit, makes a go at an updated mea culpa for her position on the Iraq war. One of the reasons cited for her, admittedly, flawed decision to support the war seems a bit odd, however:
I erroneously believed that I could interpret the actions of Saddam Hussein. He seemed to be acting like I’d [...]
Edward E. Curtis IV has a useful summary of facts/myths surrounding mosques in the United States (via). In one portion, he comments on Sharia law (a topic of some concern on this site in recent weeks):
In Islam, sharia (“the Way” to God) theoretically governs every human act. But Muslims do not agree on [...]
IWPR has an article uncovering some of the political sinews moving events in Iran away from the Green Movement. It highlights the opposition between the Ahmadinejad administration and a traditional conservative political party called Motalefeh. Here’s the economic component:
“Motalefeh also has effective control of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation, the largest charity in [...]
The New York Times has a piece highlighting one aspect of the pointlessness of our ongoing slog in Afghanistan:
The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.
Now that the dust has settled regarding Jeffrey Goldberg’s much anticipated, and much discussed, article on Israel’s plans to launch a war with Iran (or, better yet, have the United States do the favor), I must say that despite the charges leveled against Goldberg – even from myself on occasion (propagandist, likudnik, warmonger, etc.), [...]
A few weeks back, Bret Stephens took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to issue the latest iteration of what is a recurring hawkish argument in favor of continuing the war du jour (in the present example, Stephens is arguing for prolonging the longest war in US history - the war in Afghanistan):
Israel’s Ministry of Education is ordering teachers not to attend a workshop that promotes including the facts of Palestinian dispossession in classes:
“Government officials warned Israeli teachers last week not to cooperate with a civic group that seeks to educate Israelis about how the Palestinians view the loss of their homeland and the establishment [...]