An interesting analysis, and speculation. Whatever it was, the silence from all quarters does indeed indicate that it was very big:

Apart from averting the threat that was developing at Dayr as Zawr, Israel

Christopher Hitchens writes about a remarkable young man:

I became a trifle choked up after that, but everybody else also managed to speak, often reading poems of their own composition, and as the day ebbed in a blaze of glory over the ocean, I thought, Well, here we are to perform the last honors for a warrior and hero, and there are no hysterical ululations, no shrieks for revenge, no insults hurled at the enemy, no firing into the air or bogus hysterics. Instead, an honest, brave, modest family is doing its private best. I hope no fanatical fool could ever mistake this for weakness. It is, instead, a very particular kind of strength. If America can spontaneously produce young men like Mark, and occasions like this one, it has a real homeland security instead of a bureaucratic one. To borrow some words of George Orwell’s when he first saw revolutionary Barcelona, “I recognized it immediately as a state of affairs worth fighting for.”

Remember when Al Gore was castigating George Bush for ignoring Saddam’s ties to terrorism? Gee, I wonder what changed?

Calculating and cynical? Democrats? How can you think such a thing?

[Update late morning]

When is Al Gore going to apologize to George Bush and the nation for lying about Saddam’s ties to terrorism?

Apparently, the Dutch government was willing to provide security to Ayaan Hirsi Ali only as long as there was no threat to her.