Could Turkey’s president Erdoğan be ginning up a casus belli in Syria to distract from his domestic problems? Maybe. Here, from Friend of the Gormogons Claire Berlinski, are Ten Things You Need to Know About Turkey. Read them all, but … Continue reading →
There is not much left to say about President Obama on this Syria affair, but it is interesting to see parties on the Left and Right come together at long last and excoriate his inept bungling of what seemed a … Continue reading →
The sun sets on the Pax Americana There are a number of opinion pieces referring to the recent Syria as a foreign policy disaster for the Obama Administration and consequently for the US: From the Weekly Standard: This revealed to … Continue reading →
Maybe GorT should have come up with a classier title for this post but with all the directions that I could take this post, I figured I’d keep it simple. GorT has been having a great time with getting his … Continue reading →
The semper paratus Island Dweller puts charcoal to the cave wall to write in: Most August Majesty: There is a phrase being bandied about by both sides on the Syria issue, to wit: “Boots on the ground.” Everyone using this … Continue reading →
Hey, this anti-war veteran posturing againstbaseless American military interventionsin far-flung lands to shore up a failing president looks kind of familiar, doesn’t he,Secretary Kerry? ‘Puter’s not fond of open-ended American military interventions in foreign countries, unless the interventions result from … Continue reading →
The most intentionally under-reported aspect of the Syrian crisis is the severity with which the Obama administration is now revealed to the world. We have learned that if a President shoots his mouth off an a cutey-pie way of trying … Continue reading →
Gentle Readers, Dr. J. falls into the camp of those against President Obama using force in Syria. Dr. J. has an open-mind, and would not mind if the president persuaded him otherwise. The president however has yet to do so, … Continue reading →
‘Puter’s been sparse in his posting of late, with good reason. You see, it’s tradition in ‘Puter’s office that when he goes on vacation each and every miserable slob of an employee uses ‘Puter’s absence as an opportunity to dump … Continue reading →
Island Dweller writes in, and the Czar will comment along. Dread and Awful Majesty: Your humble subject has mentioned in the past the possible consequences of incompetence in foreign policy. He has also mentioned how the US government at the … Continue reading →
The pageant of incompetence continues at the Obama White House. Remember when we said this? Let us see if we have this mapped out. The United States backed protesters in Egypt, demanded Ḥusnī Mubārak resign immediately, got chummy with the … Continue reading →
The Czar ponders what might be done with Egypt. In passing, he describes the Volgi as a foreign-policy cynic. One thinks of oneself as an empiricist more than a cynic, but perhaps the eye of the beholder governs. The short … Continue reading →
The Czar tends to be the optimist; he leaves cynicism for 孔夫子, the Œcumenical Volgi (The Notorious ŒV) as the latter is far more experienced in matters of Что делать. But what is to be done seems to be the … Continue reading →
After more than four full years in office, the Obama administration is still acting like amateurs. Perhaps a more accurate tag would be the Obama Pathetic Hour. This time, it’s Syria. Watching his State Department deal with a problem is … Continue reading →
Dr. J. would like to follow up on The Czar’s outstanding commentaries about Europe and Syria. Regarding Europe, the ‘One World Government Utopians’ would be the first to tell you that we are destined to be a united world with … Continue reading →
Ah, the glorious arrival of Winter is imminent, when we have had so many days of below-freezing weather that the weeds and dandelions on the dacha lawn have all died leaving a glorious expanse of green grass that looks like … Continue reading →
Strange as it may seem, the Czar is inclined to agree today with both Libertarians and Democrats alike, and confess something that many Republican conservatives probably also feel. We need, for as long as possible, to stay the hell out … Continue reading →
Minion Nightfly (yes, he’s a superhero) writes: That picture of the citadel at Aleppo seems very familiar… it greatly resembles the description (and the wonderful illustration by Pauline Baynes) of the city of Tashbaan in C.S. Lewis’s The Horse and … Continue reading →
Matrakçı Nasuh’s Compendium of Stopping Places of the Campaign of the Two Iraqs of Sultan Süleyman Khan (1537) is an illustrated, first-hand chronicle of Süleyman the Magnificent’s 1535 war against the Safavids, then-rulers of Iran. It is beloved of architectural … Continue reading →
We have been discussing Syria lately, and conservatives seem slightly divided on whether Senator McCain is right that American intervention is required, indeed imperative. The Mandarin says no, of course, and that McCain of all people should understand the importance … Continue reading →
The Royal Surgeon writes in hypodermically (trust me, it didn’t work on me and Dat Ho ran screaming from the castle) to comment on this post: GorT, Lovely email on the discrepancies of the Obama Administration’s Middle East Foreign Policy. … Continue reading →
What about Syria? That’s the cry you’ll start hearing in the news soon. Likely on Fox News and a few others quietly, but it’ll come soon. For those not in the know, in the last two months there have been over … Continue reading →
Strange things are afoot. Rumors in certain circles are spreading that there may have been an unsuccessful coup attempt over the weekend. Something bad happened there, and it sounds like another piece of malware, possibly named Stars, is responsible. Ahmadî-Nezhâd … Continue reading →
As the situation worsens in Egypt, you continue to hear references to The Domino Theory. First Tunisia, now Egypt, and protests (or attempts at protests) are taking place in Jordan, Yemen, and Syria. The success of one protest emboldens the … Continue reading →
Ha‘aretz is reporting some encouraging news, in that a senior US official believes an unspecified number of Arab states have agreed to make overtures to Israel, perhaps as a prelude to normalizing relations with Israel. Presently, only two Arab countries … Continue reading →
Read the whole thing. Money quote: Sooner or later, however, Barack Obama will also have to make hard decisions about regimes that oppose U.S. policy for reasons deeper than dislike of George W. Bush. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions … Continue reading →
That the Pyongyang-Damascus-Tehran nuclear axis went undetected and unacknowledged for so long is an intelligence failure of the highest magnitude. It represents a plain unwillingness to allow hard truths to overcome well-entrenched policy views disguised as intelligence findings. Confucius, Œc. … Continue reading →
…to stiff-arm IAEA nuclear-weapons inspectors. Buckle up, kids. The next decade or so could get really rough. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Friend of the Gormogons Steve Hayes reports that Condi requested a meeting with the Syrian FM. So, destabilize Lebanon, assassinate people, that doesn’t count as state sponsorship of terrorism these days, I guess. Maybe they were discussing U.S. support for … Continue reading →
Amir Taheri says it looks like it. Looks like they’ve got their Operation Himmler false-flag operation all set up, and are just waiting for a Gleiwitz Incident. Credit where credit is due, the pretext of going after Islamist terrorism is … Continue reading →
Some reasonable speculations from Robert Freedman at MESH on the Middle Eastern repercussions of Russia’s invading Georgia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Right? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
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