Politics

I’m not sure what I think about Pakistan providing nukes to Saudi Arabia, other than that I can’t be sure if the article is even accurate. One anonymous source is a thin reed. You could claim that this is the result of recent Israeli saber-rattling, but really, it’s not. It’d be more accurate to claim that a nuclear Israel will inevitably encourage other Middle Eastern countries to get the bomb. And, of course, a US-occupied Iraq changes the balance of power in the Middle East. This sort of thing is an inevitable consequence. It’s not clear that it’s an unacceptable consequence; Saudi Arabia with nukes is hardly the end of the world. But this move certainly shouldn’t be unexpected.

Lieberman and Clark are skipping Iowa (original), or at least the Iowa caucuses. Makes sense for Lieberman, who was polling very poorly in Iowa. A little surprising for Clark, but he couldn’t make a dent in the Gephardt/Dean race, so it’s probably his best option. However, this puts both of them in the position of battling for third place in New Hampshire, which is not entirely auspicious. Even worse, if Kerry wins or comes in second in Iowa, they run the risk of being just part of the pack. ...

Christopher Allbritton dug around (original) and came up with some fresh indications that the United States might be planning to attack Syria. I gotta agree that HR 1828 (original) is pretty indicative, although it’s also the kind of rhetoric Congressmen use to take a tough stance on terrorism in election years. I also think that Israel’s nuclear revelations are aimed at Iran, which has much more of a nuclear program than Syria. ...

If this (original) isn’t mockery of a high order, I don’t know what is. Bush told his senior aides Tuesday that he “didn’t want to see any stories” quoting unnamed administration officials in the media anymore, and that if he did, there would be consequences, said a senior administration official who asked that his name not be used.

Phil Carter was on fire yesterday. First off, this post on radical Islam in prison (original) is fascinating. It’s one of those issues which is obvious after someone points it out, but only then. Radical black racism often uses Islam as a skin in the United States. Cue Louis Farrakhan. This “Islam” has very little to do with mainstream Islam — but you could say the same of Al Qaeda, and it makes sense for Al Qaeda to recruit inside the prisons of America. ...

Wolfowitz made a nice speech at the Hungarian Embassy today. I shouldn’t really pick on it; it’s a semantically meaningless speech designed to make Hungary feel good. And Hungary should feel good about itself; it’s emerged from some really nasty totalitarianism. Still, he had one of those quotes, and I can’t resist. “And, frankly, it is particularly important to have friends who really understand the value of freedom. And I think countries that regained their freedom relatively recently seem to have that sense more strongly sometime than others.” ...

The International Institute for Strategic Studies says that the war on Iraq helped Al Qaeda (original). As predicted, invading Iraq pissed off Muslims, resulting in a recruiting bonanza for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The IISS is “a distinguished group of thinkers,” in case anyone was thinking they were lefty pinko symps. Or at least, that’s what Condolezza Rice says (original).

Good for China. I have two reactions to China’s membership in the manned space club. My first is pleasure. I’m glad there are other countries in the world who are going out there, because we’re sure falling behind. For whatever reason, the United States government isn’t maintaining a serious space exploration effort. That’s one egg I don’t want in a single bucket. In the grand scheme of things, I’d rather China bring the resources of space back to Earth than nobody. I believe that once we start harvesting the asteroid belt, the value will be so clear that you’ll see an explosion of effort in that direction. But someone’s gotta get there first to make the point, whether it’s China or India or a private American company. I’d be a little worried if it turns out to be China, but in the long term it won’t matter as long as someone does it. ...

Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, is putting together a shadow government in Iraq. The Sunni guerilla action, which continues to take its toll (original), provides excellent cover for the Shiite efforts.

I’ve been chewing over these two posts from Kevin Drum about the Texas Republican Party platform. First off, I agree with him: the platform as a whole is pretty damned radical. I would certainly be interested in hearing President Bush, who presumably has signed a similar document, talk about whether or not he supports all those positions. And much of the platform is way the hell out of the mainstream. However, it’s wrong to say that the platform has no place in American politics. For example, there is absolutely no reason to recoil from the sight of a politician who wants to return to the gold standard. It might not be a bright thing to do, but it hardly signifies the destruction of the republic. Most if not all of the economic planks fall into that bucket. Dumb ideas? Maybe. Radical? Sure. Shouldn’t be discussed in polite company? Uh… ...