Merit takes second place to gender and religion When all the political sophistry is said and done, there is no denying that the claim to fame of the Democratic Party's two superstar candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, is that the one is a woman, the other black and from something of an "ambiguous" religious background (little wonder bland John Edwards stepped out, … [Read more...]
Terrorists Die but Ideology Lives
Middle East Strategy at Harvard Will the recent killing in Pakistan of "senior" Al Qaeda leader, Abu Laith al-Libi, have any tangible effects on the "war on terror"? Considering the headline news coverage, one might assume so. In fact, whenever any major Al Qaeda operative or leader is slain, the media is abuzz with it, implying that we are one step closer to eradicating Al … [Read more...]
Tristan Abbey, The Stanford Review
The Al Qaeda Reader by Raymond Ibrahim New York: Doubleday, 2007. 352 pp. $15.95, paper. Reviewed by Tristan Abbey The Stanford Review "Stop hurting us and we'll stop hurting you." That is the message Americans get from al Qaeda. In his fascinating new book, historian Raymond Ibrahim explains that the jihadists say one thing to CNN, and quite another to fellow … [Read more...]
Bin Laden’s Latest Message in Context
Middle East Strategy at Harvard Full of the same old complaints, threats of retaliation, and victim status role that have become mainstays of al-Qaeda propaganda, Osama bin Laden's latest release would seem to offer nothing new. It dwells on the many "crimes" the West insists on visiting upon the Muslim world, simply because "their only sin is that they are Muslim"; it, once … [Read more...]
Nukes and Natures
National Review Online Much of the current debate surrounding Iran's nuclear aspirations centers on the National Intelligence Estimate report which "judge[s] with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program." While such reports tend to be accepted as authoritative — witness the ongoing political maelstrom caused by it — it is imperative to … [Read more...]