Published in NRO: The Corner One of the problems with Obama's Middle East speech was that parts of it were so deliberately balanced — so meant to appease all sides — that they go nowhere. For example, look at the portions where he discusses democracy in the Middle East versus the alternative — Islamist rule, which he does not name. One sentence seems to say that a "true" … [Read more...]
Raymond Ibrahim 1, CAIR 0 (by KO)
By Jamie Glazov in FrontPageMagazine.com Translations of this item: Danish FrontPage Interview's guest today is Raymond Ibrahim, associate director of the Middle East Forum, author of The Al Qaeda Reader, and editor of FPM's new section on Muslim Persecution of Christians. Introduction: On May 5, he gave a talk on Islam at Everett Community College (EvCC) in … [Read more...]
Osama Bin Laden: Chicken or Egg?
Published in Pajamas Media To posit the significance of Osama bin Laden's demise, we must first decide which came first — the chicken or the egg? Quaint as it is, this question is fundamentally an inquiry into the nature of cause and effect. In our context, did Osama bin Laden "create" the idea of jihad, or did the centuries-old doctrine of jihad — supplemented by Koranic … [Read more...]
Ideals Trump Interests in Obama’s Libya Policy
Published in Hudson New York President Obama's recent explanation for militarily engaging Libya is yet another example of how U.S. leaders increasingly rationalize their policies via sentimental and idealistic platitudes, rather than reality or the long view—or just plain common sense. In a speech replete with moralizing intonations, Obama did manage to evoke U.S. … [Read more...]
Mubarak Still in Charge?
Published in National Review Online: The Corner While the media has eagerly accepted the "happy ending" that Egypt's Hosni Mubarak abdicated—after all, the uprisings were dragging on and it needed a quick denouement to the drama so it could return to Lady Gaga—an increasing number of Egyptians are convinced that he never abdicated, and is still in charge of the military he … [Read more...]