Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The first recorded world-historical pandemic took place (541–750 CE) in the Roman Empire and Sasanian Iran, as well as neighboring […]
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Giuliani, Reagan, and Kissing up to Ayatollahs with fancy Cakes
I just saw this campaign ad for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign. He says that Iran held US embassy hostages for 444 days. Then they were […]
Muqtada al-Sadr Regroups Sadrists Condemn al-Hakim’s Visit to Washington Mortars hit Prison
Sam Dagher of the Christian Science Monitor is a good reason to subscribe to CSM. He reports on the way Muqtada al-Sadr is using his […]
Police Chief of Hilla Killed; And, 40 Women Killed in Basra
Guerrillas deployed a roadside bomb to kill the police chief of Hilla, a largely Shiite city south of Baghdad. AP reports that “Religious vigilantes have […]
Oprah and Obama: Irony of the Week
The irony of the week is that Oprah Winfrey has come out strongly for Barack Obama as president. Why is that ironic? Because the subtext […]
Napoleon’s Scientists and the Pyramids
At the NYT, Katherine Bouton reviews Nina Burleigh’s new book, “Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt,” which I’m eager to see. In the […]
Guerrilla War 3.0 in Iraq; Attacks in Bayji, Yusufiya, Elsewhere, Kill 32, Wound Dozens; Dulaimi’s Sunnis Unlikely to Rejoin Government
Guerrillas differ from conventional armies in that they typically avoid direct, conventional engagements on the battlefield. They melt away before a conventional army’s advance, and […]
US Deploys Pakistani Insurgents against Al-Qaeda
The USG Open Source Center translates an article from an opposition Afghanistan newspaper alleging that Washington it deploying Pakistani tribal levies against the Taliban and […]
Bombings in Diyala Kill over Two Dozen
Bombings were back on the front page in Iraq on Saturday, with significant attacks carried out on Thursday evening and Friday. At Muqdadiya in Diyala […]
Romney: Some Beliefs are More Equal than Others
Mitt Romney’s speech in Texas on Thursday was supposed to be an attempt to fend off religious bigotry. Instead, it betrays some prejudices of its […]
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