"I have been but little in," said Ninian hastily...

"If a country is occupying and settling land conquered through war, if it's treating a minority population with inhumanity, the US should stand up for Western values."

I agree with Andrew Sullivan.

According to the Guardian

Danny Rubinstein, Arab affairs editor of Ha'aretz newspaper and a member of its editorial board, has landed himself in hot water with the British Zionist community. He had the temerity to say something outside Israel that can be read in his own newspaper and others quite regularly. At a UN conference on Palestinian human rights he called Israel an "apartheid state"

This goes hand in hand with a replayed episode of On Point that I heard last night on NPR, in which Abe Fox of the ADL compared Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer to Hitler and Stalin because they dared to describe the pro-Israel lobby in the US and point out that its actions don't always add up to good policy for the US...or even for Israel. Now, I've not yet been convinced that Tom Ashbrook is anything like a real journalist, and his handling of this show convinced me that he's not. How anyone can, with a straight face, pretend that Walt and Mearsheimer have said something new, revolutionary, or truly debateable is beyond me. But Ashbrook went even farther than that, by effectively supporting Fox and calling the two antisemitic. Totally irresponsible hatemongering in the guise of 'impartial' journalism. Impartial my arse.

I find it sad that, once again, those who want to defend the indefensible are trying to hide behind charges of racism. Fox's performance was worthy of Marion Barry in his prime, but who was Ashbrook trying to be? Tony Snow?

My friend Nick emailed aroundthis link to UN news with the subject line "Why I may join the Idaho Anti-Black Helicopter Brigade".

My somewhat acerbic response follows. ( Read more... )

A blog of Congressional testimony on Iraq by two guys who are pretty smart.

including:

Odom again spoke about what would happen when/if the United States pulls out. The aftermath is going to be great, he said. It was going to be great the day you went in, but the longer you wait the greater it will be. And, Odom added to noticable effect, this will be the greatest strategic defeat in American history.

Congressman Rothman said that he had voted for the war because he had believed Bush and Rumsfeld, and that he now understood they had been lying. He said he saw the same approach now underway with Iran, and that he thought it was aimed at the coming U.S. elections.

Odom again spoke of leaving Iraq and said "It takes a very high level of ignorance to believe America can leave behind in Iraq any government that will not be anti-American."

But Odom argued that staying longer in Iraq would make things worse, whereas getting out would dramatically improve America's standing in the world. Our standing went up as soon as we got out of Vietnam, he said.

"Beating the war drums on Iran," Odom said, "is a disaster that will make this one look small."

...

Rep. Hinchey asked Odom "How do we get out?" Odom's reply came without a pause: "Well, the Constitution gives the House the right to impeach."

Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has announced.

...

Jordanian-born Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with associates at the time. Several other people were reported to have been killed in the raid.

[The head of US-led forces in Iraq, General George] Casey said Zarqawi's body was identified through fingerprints, facial recognition and known scars. He promised to give more details on the raid later on Thursday.

from the BBC

I have to say, that's one of the first good pieces of news in a long time. It won't solve the insurgency. It probably won't even slow it down in the short term. But my impression is that, unlike bin Laden who inspires, Zarqawi controlled through fear. And with him dead, that's just a bit less fear that Iraqis have to operate under, and a bit more cofidence that bad things can happen to bad men, rather than just to ordinary Iraqis.