Monthly Archives: May 2004

May 26, 2004 — John Hinderaker

Sadr Out of Business?

We’ve been critical of the stand-down in Fallujah, but it is hard to fault the military’s handling of Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia. Al-Sadr apparently agreed to vacate the town of Najaf today, which likely would mean the end of his insurrection: Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Wednesday to withdraw his militia from Najaf and hand the city back to Iraqi police, the government said, raising hopes for an end »
May 26, 2004 — John Hinderaker

Richard Clarke, Liar: Part II

We have already described Richard Clarke as a fraud and a liar. More evidence arrived today in this story from The Hill, linked by Real Clear Politics: Richard Clarke, who served as President Bush »
May 26, 2004 — Scott Johnson

A letter from the front

A friend of the Marine who wrote the letter below forwarded it to us to provide another perspective on the events in the news from Iraq. The letter describes how Marines kicked their own out into a sandstorm/rainstorm in order to give shelter to three Fallujah detainees, an event we’re sure is more representative of how detainees are actually treated in Iraq than the news would indicate. The Marine describes »
May 26, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

Will sees a way

George Will appears to have regained his equilibrium when it comes to Iraq. Will returns to first principles, in his case, Madison’s. These principles lead him to conclude that the violent factions in Iraq “must be violently suppressed,” with, one hopes, significant help from new Iraqi forces seen to be working in tandem with elected Iraqi authorities. »
May 26, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

What is America’s role in America?

These days we hear much discussion of the question, what is America’s role in the world. But it can be argued that the more important question is one posed by a friend of mine — what is America’s role in America. Accordingly, I recommend this piece from FrontPage Magazine by Lawrence Auster. Auster argues that the sole source of the growth of jihadism and terrorism in the West is Moslem »
May 26, 2004 — Scott Johnson

The book on Edgar

The radical author E.L. Doctorow rose to prominence in 1971 with The Book of Daniel, his fictional retelling of the Rosenberg spy story from the vantage of one of the Rosenberg’s children. This week Doctorow has been back in the news as a result of his poorly received attack on President Bush in the commencement address he gave Sunday at Hofstra University. Peggy Noonan did justice to Doctorow’s offense against »
May 26, 2004 — John Hinderaker

No More Mr. Nice Guy at the Times

The New York Times has carefully reealuated its coverage of Iraq over the last two years, and has issued a mea culpa. The Times’ self-criticism? It hasn’t been tough enough on the Bush administration! The Times faults itself for publishing reports of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq without 1) expressing sufficient skepticism, or 2) doing follow-up investigation to show that the reports weren’t true. The Times’ »
May 26, 2004 — Scott Johnson

Protocols of the Elders of Zinni

I don’t know how we missed this piece when it appeared over at the American Thinker, but FrontPage has picked up the excellent column by Richard Baehr: “The Protocols of the Elders of Zinni.” This morning the American Thinker adds Douglas Hanson’s “The low-down on Zinni.” UPDATE: Commander Mark Basich (USN, ret.) demurs from Hanson’s critique: I think Zinni is contemptible. Having said that, I also think the American Thinker »
May 25, 2004 — John Hinderaker

Real Atrocities

Reader Krystof Zmudzinski pointed us to this article in the »
May 25, 2004 — John Hinderaker

Spring Pageantry

It’s time for the Miss Universe pageant; the contestants have gathered in Quito, Ecuador. So far the press coverage has been muted, but the grand finale is scheduled for June 1. Here are some of the contestants, from left to right, Miss Spain, Miss Germany, Miss Greece and Miss Sweden. I haven’t seen any wagering data yet, but I suspect that they are among the favorites. However, I kind of »
May 25, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

Ahmed Chalabi and his enemies

We haven’t had much to say about the the raid on Ahmed Chalabi’s house and the allegations that Chalabi spied for Iran. In my case, this is because it’s difficult to know what to make of these stories. Joel Mowbray argues in the Washington Times that Chalabi is the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by the State Department and the CIA, with the assistance of the Washington Post and »
May 25, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

The wages of restraint

The Washington Times reports that Fallujah is emerging as an “Islamic mini-state” dominated by anti-American fundamentalists who are boosted by the perception that they have defeated a superpower. The Times warns that this pattern “could be repeated elsewhere in Iraq. . .unless other legitimate leaders come forward to replace those tainted by association with the occupation.” »
May 25, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

Dealing with trouble

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the U.S. is “closing in on a deal” with Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the insurrection in at least three towns in southern Iraq. The coalition’s previous position has been that it wants to kill or capture Sadr. But now, according to the report, the plan is to co-opt him, by engaging him politically and perhaps even integrating his militia into the »
May 25, 2004 — John Hinderaker

The Latest From Iraq

Two stories you shouldn’t miss this morning, both of which touch on the role of Syria in the ongoing Iraq war: U.S. Says Iraq Attack Site Wasn’t Wedding. Kimmitt again showed pictures of items the military said it found at the attack site, including machine guns, rounds of ammunition, a Sudan Airways plane ticket, medical gear, a Sudanese passport and battery packs associated with improvised explosive devises. “These are pictures »
May 25, 2004 — John Hinderaker

Filling Hugh’s Shoes

The Northern Alliance gang will be subbing for Hugh Hewitt tonight, while Hugh is on vacation. The show starts at 3 p.m. Pacific time; you can listen online here, or check out this list for a station that carries the show in your area. Speaking of listening online, our station, 1280 AM the Patriot, still expects to have an internet feed for our show up and running some time next »
May 25, 2004 — Scott Johnson

Lies cloaked as science

Patrick Michaels is the co-author with Robert Balling of The Satanic Gases, an outstanding book on the politics of the global warming hoax. Both Michaels and Balling are bona fide climate experts whom Rocket Man and I tracked down to interview for an article we wrote on global warming about ten years ago. This morning’s USA Today carries a column by Michaels on “The Day After Tomorrow,” Hollywood’s new contribution »
May 24, 2004 — Paul Mirengoff

Poking the cocoon

I saw President Bush’s speech tonight. It was a good speech well delivered. I’d like to think that a reasonable viewer would find it difficult to accept the mainstream media gospel that (a) Bush has no plan, (b) the struggle in Iraq serves no purpose, and (c) events in Iraq have spun out of control. The president presented his plan, articulated his purpose, and calmly explained the progress we have »