Libya and Other Stuff

I have not written much on the Middle East (or anything else) recently. Let me explain why:

(1) I don’t have much to say. One reason I decided to leave the think tank world was that I hated the pressure of feeling I always needed to have something to say. Look, I’m a smart guy. I have a lot to say about a lot of issues. But the truth is, there are a lot of issues where all I have to say is, “damn, this is interesting.” Now that I have been liberated from the need to comment on every damn thing, I won’t be commenting on every damn thing.

(2) That said… Libya. We’re in a dangerous position here. You can’t condemn Libya if you won’t condemn Bahrain or anywhere else where violence is used to quell protests.  There is real risk that we will harm our position in the region if we seem to be using the protests just as a cudgel in support of U.S. foreign policy. Here is an opportunity to demonstration that our foreign policy is principled. Let’s seize it.

(3) Another reason I’ve been writing less is technical issues. Over the past three months I am either suffering from a poorly configured server or have been subjected to a series of DOS attacks. Frankly, I don’t know which. Expert opinion is inconsistent. Anyway, long story short, I’m dealing with some recurrent technical issues on the blog.