U.S. Officials: Al Qaeda in Iraq Behind Deadly Bombings in Damascus and Aleppo, Syria

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  February 10th at 10:26 PM  | 

U.S. officials have reportedly confirmed that deadly bombings in the Syrian cities of Damascus (in December and January) and Aleppo (Friday) were the work of al Qaeda in Iraq, whose members were acting with authorization from al Qaeda central head and Osama bin Laden successor Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to McClatchy: The Iraqi branch of al Qaida, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to | Read More »

Rethinking the Calls for Intervention in Syria

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  February 10th at 06:00 AM  | 

My RedState colleague and good friend Victoria Coates recently wrote a post calling for a humanitarian intervention in Syria on behalf of the opposition and civilians who are being killed daily by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.  She writes: “In dealing with Libya and Syria, consistency need not be the hobgoblin of little minds but can rather be the hallmark of a consistent and coordinated foreign policy.  | Read More »

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress: a Reinforcement, not a Renegotiation

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  May 24th at 04:00 PM  | 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of the U.S. Congress for the second time today (and for the first time in fifteen years), fresh off a meeting with President Obama on Friday, Obama’s Middle Eastern address Thursday, and dueling weekend speeches between the two leaders at AIPAC. The first few minutes were well-used defining the scope of the current fight against | Read More »

Levantine Day of Protest Brings Attacks on Israel from All Sides

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  May 15th at 05:08 PM  | 

“Nabka Day” 2011 represents two major milestones: (1) the 63rd anniversary of the creation of the modern state of Israel by UN resolution, and (2) very close to the 63rd straight year of the UN doing everything it can to make up for its half-century-plus-old “mistake.”  Sunday May 15, 2011 also represents the first anniversary of Israel’s establishment since the events of the “Arab Spring” | Read More »

OPEN THREAD: ‘Anti-Americanism + Nuclear Programs = Happy Dictators. Embracing America = Setting Yourself up to be Stabbed in the Back’

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  March 29th at 02:30 PM  | 

Courtesy of The Cold Equations, here is a handy cheat sheet for dictatorial longevity. Country Prior relations with the US Nuclear weapons program US treatment of country Status of leader Egypt Allied Not significant Pressured ally to step down Permanent vacation Libya Moderately warm lately, despite past difficulties Abandoned under US pressure Bombs away Probably on his way out Syria Strained to hostile Not a | Read More »

The Definition of Insanity

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  December 16th at 04:55 PM  | 

On December 4, Israel’s supreme court ruled that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, “may continue negotiating with Syria and the Palestinians over peace agreements” despite the caretaker, or lame duck, status of their administration. The High Court of Justice’s ruling negated a petition filed by Limor Livnat, a Knesset member of the minority Likud party, claiming that the concessions | Read More »