Kristol Calls for “Targeted Air Strikes” on North Korea

What other answer would you expect Bill Kristol to give when directly asked what the U.S. should do about North Korea? And Matthew Yglesias wonders why he keeps getting the bully pulpit to say that he’s philosophically opposed to any option but war: As you probably know, a certain number of people are...

India’s 9/11

The latest confirmed figure of deaths in Mumbai (that I have seen) is 195. According to an article in the UK Telegraph, however, that number is likely to rise to 300. Amid the ocean of ink being spilled on the Mumbai atrocity, a few underplayed angles have emerged that deserve mention: Learning from...

Robert Kagan on Bribing Sunni Fighters: It Worked, Didn’t It?

Spiegel Online interviews Robert Kagan in its current issue. The conversation turns to “the surge” in Iraq (emphasis mine): SPIEGEL: What contribution should the Europeans make in Iraq, and what do you specifically expect from the Germans? Kagan: No more troops. They’re already having...

Palin-Gibson Interview: Four Screens of Ignorance

I am going to give my initial impressions of the Gibson-Palin interview before I read any of the blogger response, because I don’t want to be influenced by anyone else. Here goes: Charlie Gibson asked pretty tough questions, and he followed up when she didn’t answer the question he asked (which...

“A Flamethrower in a Fireworks Factory”

That’s what a John McCain presidency would be, according to Glasgow Herald political correspondent Iain MacWhirter: It seems incredible, but as the Democrats gather in Denver to anoint Barack Obama, America could be on course to re-elect a Republican as their President. Not just any Republican either,...

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

I wasn’t able to absorb too much of the Georgia-Russia debacle, because it happened during My Week From Hell — but I have gathered from glancing at some of the coverage on right-wing blogs that The Cold War Is Back!, and the air in neocon quarters is so thick with excitement you could cut it with...