Text of Himmler’s 1943 Poznan speech
on the extermination of the Jews. About
the speech.
Arguing that
brutality can be effective: what really matters is the combination of factors.
Marketing
a container-launched cruise missile.
Considering
the long term cycles of battles and the future of war. Arguing
for a balancing rather than an enforcing role for American policy.
About
the sudden revolution in Kyrgyzstan.
The tension in Thailand
got worse with soldiers shooting protesters.
UN calls
for nuclear-free Middle East, singling out Israel.
Arguing that the Iranian regime’s links with Hezbollah
put it beyond (nuclear) containment. About
Hezbollah’s growing military strength. Suggesting dealing with Hezbollah
means dealing with its sponsors. Against
the pointless search for Hezbollah “moderates”.
Suggesting distancing from allies and fiscal pressure at home
is undermining the basis of US ability to manage the international order. International polling finds view of the US
are continuing to improve, with a particularly sharp jump since Obama became President. The
detailed results (pdf)-Iran is the most negatively viewed country. About
Iran’s strategy. Arguing the Iranian regime is now
dominated by its fears.
About
how deterrence works. Arguing that American dithering and Western squeamishness
may have catastrophic consequences.
A
particularly brutal review of a book on the Middle East. An
also critical review. The writer
responds to the latter.
About the Israeli concept
of justice in war and categorically illegal orders. Elie Wiesel
on Jerusalem, supporting Israel, Iran …
Israeli commandos board a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade, are attacked by
people wearing camouflage, people die,
Israel gets blamed. Video
here. And
here. Israeli journalist describes the action
here. The announcement
made to the flotilla. Interviews with Israeli commandoes included
here,
here and
here. The
squad leader talks of his experience. Putting
Israel’s case. Suggesting that sending in the commandos armed with paintball guns
was not clever. About
the organization that organised the flotilla. An “activist” saying that
he hopes to be a martyr. Noting the strategic shifts
against Israel and
the despondent mood within Israel while Turkey’s Foreign Minister
goes over the top in rhetoric. The Turkish PM is threatening
to run the blockade. Israeli proposals
of a reverse flotilla to aid Turkey’s Kurdish and Armenian minorities (Turkish Kurdistan
could do with some help). Vice President Biden
does not join in. Hamas
is blocking aid from the flotilla getting to Gaza and so is
continuing to do its bit to make sure the “siege” of Gaza is as onerous as possible. The Palestinian authority claims
that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About what
ending the blockade would mean. Wondering about
the grander strategy involved. Arguing that, in terms of wider grand strategy,
Israel is winning. Iran and Turkey
are now competing in anti-Israeli bombast. What that says
about Turkish politics and Arab weakness. Poll finds Americans
overwhelmingly do not blame Israel over the raid debacle: Democrats
somewhat less so than Republicans. Noting that
it is not Gaza people care about:
An extraordinary amount of time and energy has been spent in the last ten days denouncing Israel for its supposedly inhumane treatment of Gaza, but Hamas - under which Palestinians fare orders of magnitude worse - gets a pass from most of the people yelling at Israel. It’s not hard to figure out who and what all the fuss is really about. If Gaza weren’t at war with a half-Western Jewish country, Palestinians who suffer as a result would get no more attention than victims of the civil conflict in Yemen.
Israeli commandos board another ship
and no one gets hurt.
Noting
the tension between being against preventative detention but for targeted drone killings:
a broad swathe of the American public seems more comfortable having a man shot or vaporized by a Predator drone than given three square meals and a mattress for an undefined period. …
There have been more targeted killings so far during [Obama’s] presidency than there were during all the Bush years combined. Critics like Cole may find, if they think about it, that this is partly their fault, as they’ve spent so much time and energy discrediting the alternative.
NATO
is pulling troops out of a contested Afghan border valley to concentrate on population defence.
About supplying very isolated soldiers in Afghanistan (lots of pictures).
Artillery in Afghanistan (also lots of pictures).