The Iraqi insurgents were boo-hooing to Zarquawi last week that their morale is low. Ain’t it a crying shame?

The author of the letter also “admonishes ‘the Sheik’ for abandoning his followers” after last year’s U.S. siege on Falluja, west of Baghdad.

U.S. forces led an assault then on the Sunni Triangle city’s terrorist network believed to be run by al-Zarqawi.

Because of the “continuous pressure by Iraqi and [U.S.-led] coalition forces,” a military statement said, al-Zarqawi has relied on his cell leaders to conduct operations while he is forced to evade being killed or captured.

Doesn’t your heart just go out to them?

The Iraqi insurgents were boo-hooing to Zarquawi last week that their morale is low. Ain’t it a crying shame?

The author of the letter also “admonishes ‘the Sheik’ for abandoning his followers” after last year’s U.S. siege on Falluja, west of Baghdad.

U.S. forces led an assault then on the Sunni Triangle city’s terrorist network believed to be run by al-Zarqawi.

Because of the “continuous pressure by Iraqi and [U.S.-led] coalition forces,” a military statement said, al-Zarqawi has relied on his cell leaders to conduct operations while he is forced to evade being killed or captured.

Doesn’t your heart just go out to them?

The Iraqi insurgents were boo-hooing to Zarquawi last week that their morale is low. Ain’t it a crying shame?

The author of the letter also “admonishes ‘the Sheik’ for abandoning his followers” after last year’s U.S. siege on Falluja, west of Baghdad.

U.S. forces led an assault then on the Sunni Triangle city’s terrorist network believed to be run by al-Zarqawi.

Because of the “continuous pressure by Iraqi and [U.S.-led] coalition forces,” a military statement said, al-Zarqawi has relied on his cell leaders to conduct operations while he is forced to evade being killed or captured.

Doesn’t your heart just go out to them?

It hadn’t previously occurred to me that the fall of Saigon, thirty years ago today, was in turn almost exactly three decades after the fall of Berlin and the end of the war in Europe, six decades ago.

Quite a contrast in American power. The fall of Saigon was a post-war low point for American foreign policy, but it didn’t end there–in many ways it was a prelude to the greater humiliation of the Iran hostage crisis, and a long string of shows of American weakness in the face of new confrontations by the new totalitarians–the Beirut barracks bombing, the foolish overtures to the mullahs in Iran/Contra, the pullout in Somalia, the ineffectual responses by the Clinton administration–that eventually culminated in the destruction of the twin towers.

As Glenn points out, many (though of course not all) critics of US policy would be happy to see Americans standing on the roof of a Baghdad embassy, being evacuated by helicopters, in renewed joy at our comeuppance, like that of thirty years ago, in thinking that we could defend the world against those who despise western notions of freedom. I hope (and in fact think) that due to our wakeup call almost four years ago, our resolve will prove more durable today, mirroring that of sixty years ago, rather than thirty.

It hadn’t previously occurred to me that the fall of Saigon, thirty years ago today, was in turn almost exactly three decades after the fall of Berlin and the end of the war in Europe, six decades ago.

Quite a contrast in American power. The fall of Saigon was a post-war low point for American foreign policy, but it didn’t end there–in many ways it was a prelude to the greater humiliation of the Iran hostage crisis, and a long string of shows of American weakness in the face of new confrontations by the new totalitarians–the Beirut barracks bombing, the foolish overtures to the mullahs in Iran/Contra, the pullout in Somalia, the ineffectual responses by the Clinton administration–that eventually culminated in the destruction of the twin towers.

As Glenn points out, many (though of course not all) critics of US policy would be happy to see Americans standing on the roof of a Baghdad embassy, being evacuated by helicopters, in renewed joy at our comeuppance, like that of thirty years ago, in thinking that we could defend the world against those who despise western notions of freedom. I hope (and in fact think) that due to our wakeup call almost four years ago, our resolve will prove more durable today, mirroring that of sixty years ago, rather than thirty.

It hadn’t previously occurred to me that the fall of Saigon, thirty years ago today, was in turn almost exactly three decades after the fall of Berlin and the end of the war in Europe, six decades ago.

Quite a contrast in American power. The fall of Saigon was a post-war low point for American foreign policy, but it didn’t end there–in many ways it was a prelude to the greater humiliation of the Iran hostage crisis, and a long string of shows of American weakness in the face of new confrontations by the new totalitarians–the Beirut barracks bombing, the foolish overtures to the mullahs in Iran/Contra, the pullout in Somalia, the ineffectual responses by the Clinton administration–that eventually culminated in the destruction of the twin towers.

As Glenn points out, many (though of course not all) critics of US policy would be happy to see Americans standing on the roof of a Baghdad embassy, being evacuated by helicopters, in renewed joy at our comeuppance, like that of thirty years ago, in thinking that we could defend the world against those who despise western notions of freedom. I hope (and in fact think) that due to our wakeup call almost four years ago, our resolve will prove more durable today, mirroring that of sixty years ago, rather than thirty.

If I were going to be home this weekend, I’d think about attending and reporting on this event, but I’m going to be in Phoenix at the Space Access Conference.

That’s what France says now. I guess it’s only bad when the US does it “unilaterally” (that is, with Britain, Australia, Italy, Poland, Spain…)

Some commenters in this post (and over at Little Green Footballs) are (unaccountably, to me) skeptical about Laura Mansfield’s tale of the mosque. I emailed her to ask if she wanted to respond, and she wrote:

I did not provide details as to the location of the mosque or the date of the visit simply for safety reasons. They do not have my full name. However if I provide the date and the name/location of the mosque I might as well walk back in, hand the imam a copy of the article, and wait for the backlash.

I do not have the weight of a governmental agency behind me; I have had to redact certain information for security purposes.

Let me also add that the sessions were audiotaped – not broadcast quality but certainly understandable.

I suspected that was the situation, as I noted in previous comments. People will, of course, continue to believe (and disbelieve) as they choose.

On the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, Laura Mansfield has a very disturbing story–Jihad comes to Small Town, USA:

Khaled and three of his companions had gone to New York for several days in January. He told of how uncomfortable his trip up to NYC had been. He felt like he was being watched, and thought he was the victim of racial profiling.

Khaled and his friends were pretty unhappy about it, and while in New York, they came up with a plan to “teach a lesson” to the passengers and crew. You can imagine the story Khaled told. He described how he and his friends whispered to each other on the flight, made simultaneous visits to the restroom, and generally tried to “spook” the other passengers. He laughed when he described how several women were in tears, and one man sitting near him was praying.

The others in the room thought the story was quite amusing, judging from the laughter. The imam stood up and told the group that this was a kind of peaceful civil disobedience that should be encouraged, and commended Khaled and his friends for their efforts.

This part of the meeting was all spoken in Arabic.

In Israel, Yasser Arafat was well known (at least to the non-naive) for making conciliatory speeches in English and inflammatory ones in Arabic. Apparently, he’s not alone in this practice.