Posts Tagged ‘unrest’

LinkSwarm for January 26, 2012

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

LinkSwarm, or EuroDoom? LinkSwarm, or EuroDoom? Well, the first link has some of each, but with Davos just starting up, I imagine their will be a nice helping of EuroDoom ready to serve tomorrow, so let’s put up a LinkSwarm today:

  • Mark Steyn looks at the Costa Concordia sinking and smells a metaphor.
  • Myth: Newt Gingrich told his first wife he was divorcing her on her hospital deathbed. Fact: They had already agreed to a divorce, Newt was just visiting her, the tumor was benign, and Jackie Battley Gingrich is still alive. But who are you going to believe: Online liberal trolls, or the daughter who was actually in the hospital room at the time?
  • Borepatch says that Gingrich is particular effective at demolishing the Left’s Thought-terminating cliches.
  • Larry Elder lists all the things Gingrich can nail Obama and the media on.
  • Jonah Goldberg discusses Newtzilla, but his best barbs are reserved for his opponent: “Romney seems like a creature put on Earth to blend in with the humans and report back what he finds. He clearly likes earthlings, and they in turn find him pleasant enough and surprisingly lifelike.”
  • Maureen Dowd on on Obama’s cocoon of self-aggrandizing victimization. Like all Dowd’s columns, it focuses on the trivial minutia of the-personal-as-political…and is all the more devastating for it. “The man who came to Washington on a wave of euphoria has had a presidency with all the joy of a root canal…The Obamas, especially Michelle, have radiated the sense that Americans do not appreciate what they sacrifice by living in a gilded cage. They’ve forgotten Rule No. 1 of politics: No one sheds tears for anyone lucky enough to live at the White House. And after four or eight years of public service, you are assured membership in the 1 percent club.”
  • After 12 months, what has the Arab Spring wrought in Egypt? Cairo Winter: “The reality of the past twelve months, however, has undone whatever high hopes one might have held. Egypt is now headed for radical theocratic, rather than liberal democratic, rule. And a befuddled Obama administration has failed to do anything to stop the coming disaster.” (Hat tip: Michael Totten, who adds: “I know a few Egyptian intellectuals and activists who are authentic liberals, but they’re not remotely a majority. The percentage of Egyptians who genuinely support most or all the tenets of Western-style liberal democracy is in the high single digits at best.”)
  • An interesting quiz that ties in to Charles Murray’s new books asking how thick is your bubble?
  • A roundup of State of the Union reactions from the Texas congressional delegation.
  • Japan suffers its first trade deficit since 1980. Remember all those stories from the 1980s about how Japan was going to take over the world? They were very similar to the ones we were getting about China just a few years ago…
  • Hat tips: Ace, Insta, The Corner, and the usual suspects.

    Syrian Revolt Gathering Steam

    Sunday, November 20th, 2011

    The rebels in Syria seem newly emboldened, as they just attacked the ruling Baath Party building in Damascus.

    One estimate of the death toll since mid-March of 4,500 Syrains killed, which strikes me as much too low.

    Barry Rubin says that Syria is no longer a revolution, it’s a civil war. He also says that the newly formed Syrian National Council is dominated by Islamists. Lovely. Guess who the U.S. is backing?

    It is hard to overestimate how disastrous Obama Administration policy has been. Not only has it promoted an Islamist-dominated leadership (which might be pushed into power by monopolizing Western aid) but this mistake has fractured the opposition, ensuring there would be several anti-SNC groups. This strategy has also angered the Kurds and Turkmen minorities who view the SNC as antagonistic to their hopes for some autonomy. As a result, these two groups have reduced their revolutionary activities.

    Rubin also recommends Syrian Revolution Digest as a source to keep up with the latest developments. And here’s a news scroll for events in Syria, courtesy of Lebanon’s NOW.

    How bad has it gotten for Assad? A pro-Syrian demonstration in Beruit only drew dozens of supporters, where previously Assad count count on his (and Iran’s) puppets in Hezbollah to throng the streets with tens of thousands. Of course, Hezbollah and Amal are still in Assad’s corner. I do wonder if Assad could start importing Hezbollah fighters wholesale, since his own army seems unable to contain the rebellion. I also wouldn’t put it past Iran to send combat troops on to prop him up, though that seems less likely.

    In the Weekly Standard, Lee Smith goes so far as to state: “Bashar al-Assad is finished.”

    Libya Slips Into Civil War

    Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

    If there was any question whether Moammar Gadhafi was willing to give up power quietly, they’ve now been answered:

    Residents of parts of the capital were trapped in their homes as “thousands” of soldiers patrolled the streets accompanied by African mercenaries.

    Tanks took up positions around public buildings including government offices, while sandbag defences were also being built.

    “We will fight until death,” a pro-Gaddafi soldier in his early 20s said outside a military compound close to Tripoli’s Green Square, which had been cleared of demonstrators by yesterday morning.

    He doesn’t just mean his own death, or those of his enemies. here’s footage of Libyan soldiers executed for refusing to fire on the people (Warning: graphic).

    Michael Totten says that the implications of the Libyan revolt are bigger than those of Egypt or Tunisia: “If ordinary citizens can overthrow Qaddafi, of all people, every other despot in the region may look vulnerable—including Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran.”

    How is Obama responding to the situation in Libya? He’s considering…(wait for it)…sanctions. Right. Here’s an oppressive dictator gunning down his own people left and right, so I’m sure he’s quaking in his boots at the thoughts of sanctions. For the full flavor of the empty suit quality of this administration, just read this press conference transcript.

    Here’s a close-to-zero risk chance to get on the right side of history, win a quick, decisive and popular victory with the application of American air power, and Obama’s liberal world view makes him too timid to take advantage of it. Even the toothless UN Commissioner on Human Rights is calling for a no-fly-zone over Libya, and Obama can’t bring himself to say he’s even considering the idea.

    Libyan Revolt Continues Apace

    Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

    As for what the hell is going on in Libya right now, I’m not sure I know. Rebel forces appear to control the eastern part of the nation, including Benghazi and Tobruk, while Gadhafi seems to be maintaining his grip on Tripoli, at least for the time being.

  • Al Jazeera continues updating. “The interesting thing is that Libya has no constitution but [Gadhafi] has threatened the death penalty for people who fail to follow the constituion.”
  • Reports of Gadhafi unleashing foreign mercenaries on his people. I’d take that with a grain of salt.
  • No signs of Libyan troops at the Egyptian border.
  • Benny Morris in The National Interest believes that the region’s most brutal dictators will weather the storm, while the region’s least oppressive leaders will be replaced by Islamists.
  • More on the triangle between Gadhafi, aspiring democrats, and Islamists.
  • A Few Quick Libyan Updates

    Monday, February 21st, 2011

    Before I hit the hay:

  • Some of Moammar Gadhafi’s own diplomats are disowning him.
  • Two Libyan pilots have evidently defected to Malta rather than attack civilians.
  • Gadhafi himself says he hasn’t fled the country.
  • You know who Gadhafi says is behind the protests, don’t you? That’s right: the Jews. Man those guys get around. With all this protest-leading, when do the Elders of Zion have time to sleep?
  • Pretty much everyone in America (with the possible exception of the Obama State Department) supports toppling Gadhafi. Unfortunately, so do the Islamists.
  • Including the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
  • Ace of Spades asks: should we intervene militarily?
  • Both NRO and DailyKos Call for a No Fly Zone Over Libya

    Monday, February 21st, 2011

    No, really. Daniel Foster at National Review Online and “azizhp” at DailyKos both call for the U.S. military to impose a No Fly Zone over Libya to prevent the slaughter of civilians.

    And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood…

    So What the Hell is Going on in Libya?

    Monday, February 21st, 2011

    As a much more closed society, news is harder to come by, but depending on who you believe, there are conflicting reports that:

  • The Libyan Air Force is bombing protesters trying to enter an army base.

  • Gaddafi has fled Tripoli.
  • How strong are Islamists in Libya? Well, given the fact that they’re the ones seizing military bases, I’d say pretty strong.
  • Michael Totten offers some background.
  • As usual, the BBC has live updates.

    A popular uprising that toppled Ghaddafi would be great news, but I’m not sure I’m willing to believe he would be that easy to topple. Ghaddafi seems like the sort of dictator who would happily slaughter tens of thousands of his citizens if he thought he needed to to stay in power.

    Of course, one big difference was between Egypt and Libya is that Egypt’s military is (by Arab standards) professional and pretty competent, and even though they lost the Yom Kipur war, Egyptian troops in Sinai bloodied the Israelis enough that Egyptians felt they had sufficiently restored the nation’s honor that Anwar Sadat was able to sign to Camp David accords. (The previous three Arab-Israeli wars had resulted in Israel delivering a complete ass-kicking to all the Arab armies, so only receiving a partial ass-kicking was indeed a vast improvement.)

    By contrast, Libya’s army seems pretty incompetent: they got their asses kicked by Chad in the Toyota War, in which Chadian forces armed with Toyota-pickup-mounted anti-tank guns left a billion dollars worth of Soviet equipment burning in the Aouzou Strip. It would not surprise me at all to find that the Libyan army is too poorly trained to suppress a real popular uprising.

    Whether they want to or not, it looks like people all across the Middle East are fated to live in interesting times…

    Leon Panetta: Mubarak Will Step Down Today: Mubarak: The Hell I Will

    Thursday, February 10th, 2011

    Despite the predictions of all the Usual Supects, Mubarak isn’t stepping down. I guess my low opinion of the sagacity of Leon Panetta has been borne out.

    In email, Stratfor is saying that Rather than letting protesters storm the Presidential Palace, or firing on them to prevent same, the Egyptian military will replace Mubarak in a coup. I remain skeptical; except for a couple of signs early in the crises, they has been no hard evidence that the army has ever wavered in its support of Mubarak.

    It is hard to tell at this remove how effective the calls for a general strike have been. Those claiming the strike is widespread have tended to be left-leaning publications that celebrate just about any strike.

    The Magic 8-Ball has the same answer it’s been giving since unrest began: ANSWER CLOUDY, ASK AGAIN LATER.

    Egypt: A Fist, Slowly Clenching

    Monday, January 31st, 2011

    Hosni Mubarak seems to have adopted an interesting strategy to deal with the unrest gripping his country: Let the worst of it rage with a minimum of reprisals and crackdowns, and then slowly but surely reassert his control using the police and the military. Such a strategy walks the fine line between appearing weak enough to let the revolution push him out of power, and a Tienanmen-type crackdown that leaves thousands dead. So far it seems to be working: Despite some blips and waivers, the army still appears to be following Mubarak’s orders. If they continue to do so, it’s hard to see how the called-for general strike can be total enough to paralyze the nation. And if gas and food continue to make it through, it’s hard to see the general masses being radicalized enough to join the call to oust Mubarak.

    Also, National Review reminds us that the Muslim Brotherhood is bad news.

    Egypt Update for Monday, January 31

    Monday, January 31st, 2011

    The situation this morning looks much the same as it did last night: neither side backing down, the army following Mubarak’s orders (for now).

    Once again the live update pages have changed:

  • BBC
  • Al Jazeera
  • And here’s an interesting article placing the Egyptian situation in the context of higher global food prices, which is driving global unrest. So ethanol subsidies, which were supposed to ween us from dependence on unstable Middle Eastern sources of oil, are helping destabilize the Middle East. Good work, guys!