Women as Religious Leaders

Maryam compiles some evidence for why woman can serve as imamas in mosques. Christianity, Islam, and probably most branches of Judaism all have issues with women as religious leaders arising from the fact that as these religions developed in patriarchal societies, the idea of women as leaders didn't really cross anyone's mind. Over the years, these attitudes have been embedded in tradition so thoroughly that to many people, having women lead worship sounds like a huge change even though it's really no different in religious terms than enfranchising them was in politics. If you are an opponent of having women as priests, imams, or whatever, think about this: If 'Aisha, Mary Magdalene, or someone else appropriate to your religion were to show up for worship and want to take over, what would you do with her? In terms of holiness and authority, she would pretty clearly trump anyone else who might be present, so gender can't possibly be that relevant.

Swing State Life

So far this weekend I have been canvassed twice and received seven campaign flyers.

UPDATE: As of 3:45 p.m., it is now three canvassers and eight flyers. (And no, the third canvasser did not bring the eighth flyer.)

UPDATE: A ninth flyer arrived sometime this evening.

Public Service Announcement: Honey

When you get down to the last little bit of honey in your squeeze bottle, it is a perfectly fine idea to store it upside down so that it all runs to the top for easy squeezing. However, if you do so, make sure that the bottle is closed. A failure to properly secure the lid results in honey getting all over your cupboard.

Bush and Zarqawi

Daniel Benjamin, a former counter-terrorism official for the National Security Council, has joined those wanting to know why Bush let Zarqawi go before the invasion of Iraq. I really wish this had become the big issue the past week rather than al-Qaqaa, which is less clear-cut and more easily explained through the fog of war.

Maine

Rare

Look! People with different political beliefs agreed to disagree in a blog comments string!

John Kerry in Madison

I went to today's Kerry rally by the capitol in Madison, where he drew three times what Al Gore did four years ago. Rimjob of Daily Kos has pictures. The line to get in was an impressive nine blocks for those of us with white tickets when I reached the end of it, and got longer while I was waiting. I'm not sure what people of other ticket colors had to go through.

Baseball

This feels weird.

Arafat's Last Days

Suddenly the Gaza withdrawal is only the second most important breaking story in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Any plans to force a crisis in Sharon's coalition will probably be put on hold if it becomes necessary to implement these sorts of plans, which promise turmoil over everything from Arafat's burial site to how to handle chaos in the territories in the event of a violent succession struggle. In fact, the withdrawal itself might be delayed if the Palestinian Authority collapses completely and it becomes unclear who will take over. Furthermore, whichever faction eventually fills the void may depend a great deal on how Israel handles this transition. The more intense the conflict, the more likely it is that Palestinians will rally behind the most militant factions.

Muslim American Opinion

Zack Ajmal posts posts information from a survey of Muslim-Americans. Be sure to check it out - some of the findings are interesting.

Bush and Free Speech

During their 10 p.m. newscast, Madison's NBC affiliate mostly confirmed this story, but denied the expulsion threat.

Allawi vs. Bush?

Kevin Drum beats me to what I think is the most interesting thing about the al-Qaqaa story: The fact it fits into a developing pattern of the Iraqi interim government doing things that hurt Bush's chances in the election. To this leak and Allawi's comments about American "gross negligence" I would add an interview I saw recently where Allawi said he didn't think it mattered whether Bush or Kerry won in November. Like Kevin, I'm not sure of the explanation. However, if Allawi feels tied to the success of the occupation and doesn't believe Bush's policies are likely to succeed, then he might decide to try someone else.

Gay Priests

The Anglican Communion is currently torn with controversy over the election of a gay bishop. However, the conservative position on this begs the question of whether they are embracing a modern Donatism. According to all Christian theology with which I am familiar, priests are held to be sinners just like everyone else. Whether homosexuality is a sin should therefore be irrelevant to the question of whether homosexuals can hold church office.

Boycott Over Kirkuk

Protesting Kurds yesterday called for a boycott of the planned January elections if the Arabs Saddam forced to move to the city have not left. Such a boycott would, of course, be bad, and together with a similar action in the Sunni triangle would mean that not only would Iraq have a government which rigged the system to put itself in power, but that only the Shi'ite south had any formal say in the matter.

Gaza Vote

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan has passed ye olde Knesset. Sharon has now fired two ministers who opposed the plan, one of whom, Uzi Landau, many expect to lead a hard-line faction of Likud if the party splits. Jonathan Edelstein has more commentary on what this vote means for Israeli politics.

Another Kerry Voter

Allison Kaplan Sommer has voted for John Kerry.

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan endorses Kerry. This paragraph is key:

"Which candidate is best suited for this unappetizing ordeal? In Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration has shown itself impatient with and untalented at nation-building. Moreover, the toll of the war has left the United States with minimal international support, one important ingredient for the successful rebuilding of nations. If Bush is reelected, even Britain will likely shift toward withdrawal in Iraq, compounding American isolation there and making it even harder for a new Iraqi government to gain legitimacy. In the essential tasks of building support for greater international help in Iraq--financially, militarily, diplomatically--Kerry is the better choice. No, other countries cannot bail us out or even contribute much in the way of an effective military presence. But within Iraq, the impact of a more international stamp on the occupation and on the elections could help us win the battle for the hearts and minds of Iraqis. That battle--as much as the one on the battlefield itself--is crucial for success. I fear Bush is too polarizing, too controversial, too loathed a figure even within his own country, to pull this off."

Women's Suffrage in Kuwait

The Emir of Kuwait has called for giving women the right to vote. He does that fairly often; however, because the Parliament actually matters somewhat in Kuwait, conservatives have been able to block the measure, using it as a banner issue similar to gay marriage for conservatives in the United States. The linked article suggests that the bill may get through this time, due to support the monarchy gained in the last Parliamentary elections. With both the king and crown prince aging rapidly, I suspect the government wants to provide itself with a firm base of support that will allow them to hold power after whatever realignments follow the emir's death. One way of doing this is to co-opt the liberal social agenda, making feminists and secularists wary of weakening the power of a friendly monarchy by pushing too hard for systemic reform.

Volcano

Last night I dreamed a volcano erupted in my living room. It was a slow volcano, so I wasn't hurt or anything, but my furniture was ruined and I had to stay with a friend.

Bush the Uniter

Via Matthew Yglesias, I see that the Gadflyer's Paul Waldman has an article about an issue that makes me really uncomfortable with the Republican party, their habit of speaking derisively of large portions of the country they aspire to lead. It's not just states, though. Occupations like lawyers and college professors draw their scorn and ire as they play toward the prejudices of their base in cropping people out of the American community. Democrats, by contrast, go out of their way to speak respectfully of the south and small-town America while directing their fire mainly at non-human institutions such as corporations. Although they are often accused of class warfare, saying the rich shouldn't have a tax cut is a long way from saying they are evil. So which party is it that's really going to unite us, again?

Bush Let Zarqawi Go

Back in March, I covered allegations that Bush decided against attacking Zarqawi so as to use him as a propaganda piece against Saddam Hussein. Now, the Wall Street Journal also raises the question of why Bush ignored Zarqawi, preferring to fight a War on Terror that did not, in fact, have as its primary focus actual terrorists.

State of the Taliban

Since the Presidential election earlier this month, I've seen several articles like this one on the future of the Taliban. I don't for a minute believe they decided not to disrupt the elections of their own accord. Now the United States and the Karzai government are in talks with Taliban representatives over participation in the Parliamentary elections. Furthermore, western military spokesmen maintain that serious disputes exist within the Taliban leadership. If that is true, look for a major push to locate Mullah Omar, whose influence is likely waning. Also, we need to pressure Pakistan to clean up their side of the border so that it no longer represents a save haven for attacks in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Illegal Mines

IWPR has a story on illegal coal mining in Kyrgyzstan.

Saharan Spiders

Reader Jeff, whom I met in Morocco, writes regarding my Sahara write-up:

"One small complaint though: there was no mention of the huge, terrifying angry spider that was in my tent in the Sahara. It was as big as my hand and I’m pretty sure it wanted to lay its eggs in my brain."

My apologies - I meant to mention this, but forgot. As it happened, the guys in that tent decided to cede it to the spider and just slept outside. In any case, here's a picture of the Sahara:

Bush Supporters

Kevin Drum has a post on how Bush supporters are wrong about Bush's positions and the fact that 92% of people whose primary concern is terrorism support Bush. Both of these reflect the importance of personality in American politics. Even in the information age, most people don't have a detailed understanding of most issues, especially regarding foreign policy. As a result, politicians' images take on a magnified importance as voters look for someone they feel they can trust, while character traits like "toughness" and "compassion" become subsitutes for substantive positions on the issues. President Bush understands this, and has made a personality cult his political centerpiece. I've often been in conversations with his supporters where they rationalize ways to justify perceived shortcomings in his policy, such as things the President knows that the general public doesn't or Bush failing to articulate his true greatness because he's just a regular guy.

One additional point on the terrorism thing: Perhaps because 9-11 was billed as a "Pearl Harbor," most Americans perceived it as the beginning of a struggle against al-Qaeda, and give Bush credit for the lack of terrorist attacks since then. They simply din't grasp that this struggle began during the 1990's, with the first 9-11 attack and foiled Los Angeles airport bombing, and continues today in attacks on American allies abroad such as Spain. I believe this and the "toughness" line are the sole reasons for widespread support for Bush on the terrorism issue.

Iranian Presidential Candidates

Iran's reformists are having trouble uniting behind a Presidential candidate. The most popular choice, Prime Minister Mir-Hussein Musavi, has decided not to run, and former President Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has said he does not wish to enter the race, either. In his absence, some reformists are pushing the candidacy of Mustafa Mo'in, a former Khatami Cabinet member who twice tried to resign in protest of the suppression of student demonstrations. Because I believe the lack of cooperation between student and government reform movements has been a major reason for their failure, I look with favor upon a Mo'in candidacy, but wonder if he really has a chance of getting on the ballot and winning.

Review of Literature

They sure don't write reviews of literature like they used to. This is from the Wadie Jwaideh translation of the opening of Yaqut's Mu'jam al-Buldan, in which he explains the need a for a comprehensive geographical reference book:

"Copies of the book journeyed far and wide, like the journeying of the sun after sunrise. No daring quibbler or recriminating assailant ventured to reproach him regarding anything contained therein, and no one entertained the idea of undoing the well-knit strands of his meanings, until he mentioned the names of places upon which Abu Muhammad had built his Maqamat. Thereupon the thread of his pearl necklace was snapped, the edifice which his beneficence had raised collapsed, his blooming garden dried up, his erstwhile munificence was dissipated, the cavalcade of his virtues lagged, and the perfect body of his work lay prostrate. He became in turns delirious and confused, and began to stumble and grope in the darkness of ignorance."

Specific examples followed.

Politics: October 21

Paul Adler and Josh Chafetz are the latest Democratic hawks to come out for John Kerry. What they have to say is, as always, insightful. Meanwhile, I want to mention some addition liberal Wisconsinites in Scarybug (the author of Pirate Jesus) and Bill Allison and Chad Young of Hawken Blog.

Insurgents vs. Zarqawi

Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubai'e claims that Iraqi insurgents are helping coalition forces track Abu Musab Zarqawi. This is another article which highlights the growing fissures between the mainstream Iraqi insurgency and the radical Sunni militants such as Zarqawi. However, as Spencer Ackerman notes, al-Rubai'e also claimed Zarqawi had support within Falluja. What we're seeing here is a battle between factions for control of Falluja, with the factions breaking down over methodology and ideology. The Fallujan notables don't want Zarqawi honing in on their territory, nor do they want to life under his brand of theocracy. I suspect they still have hopes of cutting a deal with Allawi that would leave them entrenched.

Yemen in the News

Yemen is sending monitors to the U.S. elections. Meanwhile, a Yemeni poet named Amin Mashrigi is on an anti-terrorism poetry campaign.

Warnings Over Lebanon

The United States and France are pushing Syria to stay out of Lebanese politics, a move which looks like it bearing little fruit as the pro-Syrian Omar Karameh become Prime Minister. Some reports suggest that Syria believes Lebanon isn't a major issue for the U.S., about which they are undoubtedly right. If Syria cooperates regarding Iraq and Palestinian issues, the U.S. would spend little time worrying about Lebanon's fate, especially if neoconservatives are less involved in shaping foreign policy after the election. The wild card is Hizbullah, which is the major tie-in between Syria's Lebanon policy and the Arab-Israeli conflict. I suspect that Karameh's elevation represents Syria "digging in" politically in Beirut to weather upcoming diplomatic storms.

Prognostication

Some Bostonians will probably celebrate tonight.

Iran's Saudification?

Citing an anonymous member of the legislature, RFE-RL reports that discussions are underway on introducing gender segregation into Iranian universities. To be honest, since other legislators deny this, I can buy that it's just a political charge. Iran's leaders have been growing more despotic, but not more conservative.

Early Voting

Today I mail my early voting ballot, which has been marked for John Kerry, Russ Feingold, Tammy Baldwin, and various candidates for local office the most interesting of which were for City Clerk and State Senator. I also got to check out this ballot initiative, and decided to vote "yes" since the most likely site, Warner Park, isn't exactly a great nature preserve.

Even in races I don't care much about, I get a fulfilling thrill from voting. Call it secular communion.

Undecided Hawks

Two pro-war undecided voters, David Asednik and Daniel Drezner, are leaning toward John Kerry. Both have extremely thoughtful posts on the subject.

At Issue in Falluja

I think Matthew Yglesias has this right:

"The problem was supposed to be that insurgent control of Falluja and other cities would make it impossible to organize elections which would undermine the legitimacy of the Iraqi government in the eyes of Sunni Arabs and make it impossible to undercut the insurgency's political support. That wasn't a bad analysis. But demolishing Sunni Arab cities against the advice of the main Sunni Arab figure within the Interim Government and then having people publish op-eds about what a good job Donald Rumsfeld has done twisting the arm of the 'sovereign' Iraqi government doesn't accomplish anything if the problem was that the Interim Government lacked legitimacy in the eyes of Sunni Arabs."

Not all - perhaps not even most - of the people we are fighting in Iraq are terrorists. A large swathe of people just don't trust the United States and want us out of the country. It is highly unclear why we are seeking to defeat them militarily when according to our stated goals in the country we have very little to fight about. This and the post immediately below also show why so many people see the "sovereignty" of Allawi's government as little more than a PR front.

Muslim Force Nixed

According to Newsday, President Bush killed a plan to put a Muslim peacekeeping force in Iraq so as to preserve American control over military operations. One compromise would have put the force under the "sovereign" Iraqi interim government, which supported that move, but the United States still wouldn't sign on. We now know that it is possible to get other nations involved in Iraq, provided we make deals in the right places. Via Daily Kos.

Good Faith?

The United States arrested the lead Fallujan negotiator while he was trying to move his family to a safe location. Gee, that will make us look good. At least the guy was released. All-out assaults on Falluja have failed in the past, and I'm not optimistic about this one.

UPDATE: Falluja's leaders have suspended negotiations.

Advantage: Kerry

The theme that the tough fight over Wisconsin represents a serious problem for the Kerry campaign is misguided. You could just as easily mention President Bush's 43% job approval in Ohio. He can't win with that number, and if it holds up and Kerry wins those 20 electoral votes, it's Bush who needs to flip at least two blue states while holding on to all the remaining red.

Rocca Maggiore

This is Rocca Maggiore in Assisi, Italy. The original castle was destroyed in 1198 by the citizens of Assisi, and they used the stone to build the city walls. What you see here was build in later centuries on the same site, if smaller.

The Draft

Rock the Vote, a non-partisan organization dedicated to turning out the youth vote, is playing the draft card as part of their efforts. Ed Gillespie, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, is threatening legal action against the group unless they stop. His case is that, because the administration has said there will be no draft, there will be no draft and the case is now closed.

The Republicans are way out of line here. Personally, I don't think that we will see a regular draft during a second Bush term, though we might see a skills draft. This, however, is shaped by political reality and not by some notion that George Bush always tells the truth and not automatically believing him shows a "reckless disregard for the truth." Furthermore, political reality could change. Another serious terrorist attack could lead to a reinstatement of the draft, perhaps even with bipartisan support. This is simply the reality given the current situation in Iraq.

As a group trying to get out the youth vote - and their event here in Madison yesterday was either non-partisan or multi-partisan depending on how you look at it - Rock the Vote would be foolish not to call attention to this issue, which is something young people worried about long before President Bush came to office. When I was student teaching during the Kosovo War, some high school seniors worried that it might lead to a draft. What was paranoia then is today actually possible, regardless of whether Bush or Kerry is elected next month, and those who might be drafted would do well to consider it.

UPDATE: RegenerationMan lays out the evidence many believes indicates a draft is likely. It is far from conclusive, certainly, but does constitute enough to make it a legitimate issue.

Hockey

Tired of the NHL lockout which no one is even trying to settle? Do what I'm about to do, and look in on your nearest college team!

Tax Increase Snark

President Bush is signing 63 tax increases this week. Pass it on.

Wisconsin as Swing State

By the way, in what universe was John Kerry supposed to be safe in Wisconsin? Al Gore's margin here was miniscule, and the state has gotten more Republican since then. The real unexpected story of the election map isn't that Bush might win Wisconsin, but that Kerry might win Colorado, Ohio, and Arkansas.

UPDATE: CNN reports that Gore won Wisconsin by 5,708 votes.

Failed States, Rogue States

An underlying difference between Bush and Kerry during this campaign that hasn't come to the fore much is the role of states as supporters of terrorist activity. Josh Marshall revisits a good analysis of this disagreement. President Bush and his advisors, perhaps under the influence of the Arab-Israeli conflict, see terrorist groups as dependent upon state sponsorship for their operational capacity.

Obviously, states can play that role, but that it doesn't represent the primary problem can be seen from al-Qaeda, the main terrorist group we're fighting. True, al-Qaeda was given sanctuary by the Taliban, but they could have carried off the September 11 attacks without them. They continue to operate in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, where they have no state sponsorship. The Madrid bombings were carried out by cells with connections in Spain and Morocco, again without state sponsorship. In Liberia, when Charles Taylor wanted to deal with al-Qaeda, he didn't send envoys to Kabul, he talked directly to the leadership of a transnational militant network.

Yet President Bush continues to see states as the primary problem. The invasion of Iraq was to cut off a highly hypothetical possibility that Saddam Hussein might act as a state sponsor of al-Qaeda. This is also what Bush meant when he said that "You can't win it" but you can get to a point where terrorists are less welcome in certain parts of the world. (can't find exact quote) Unfortunately, his actions are only making things worse as he spreads the instability in which modern terrorism really does thrive.

Green Jackets

Today I got a mailing from ACT warning that Republicans in green coats might try to stop me from voting on Election Day. Excuse me? Do they have any evidence to back up this claim? From reactions seen out my window, most people seemed to just give the flyer a really weird look, and this is Madison, Wisconsin. People can follow the news from Oregon and Nevada - do Democrats really think it's wise to risk crying wolf?

Muhammad Cartoon

An animated feature called Muhammad: The Last Prophet will hit U.S. theaters on Eid al-Fitr this Novemeber. If nothing else, this has the makinds of a great pedagogical tool.

Wisconsin Liberals

Trebz has a list of liberal Wisconsin blogs. I got some hits from a similar page at Daily Kos yesterday, which now I can't find. I'm assuming the Kossacks have one for every state.

Tax Cuts

Matthew Yglesias wants to know what the President meant when he said most of the tax cuts went to the middle class. That's easy. There are more middle class people than rich people. You got a tax cut, and you got a tax cut, and you got a tax cut, and so on.

Get it?

Falluja Politics

The Iraqi nationalist resistance in Falluja is starting to turn on the terrorist elements associated with Abu Musab Zarqawi. One root of this is probably Iyad Allawi's attempts to lure the Fallujan leaders in with patronage. At the same time, the ideological differences here are undoubtedly real - they are the same as those who made is difficult to imagine an alliance between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. If this goes through, the U.S. might claim to have "defeated" the insurgency (in the world of spin), and would have a real success in that Falluja would no longer serve as a haven for terrorists. The Iraqi nationalist resistance, meanwhile, might be tempted to discuss the planned elections if it means the U.S. might begin withdrawing troops, as Rumsfeld has recently suggested. This is just one as-yet-unfulfilled potential for a positive development in Iraq, but we've been without good news for a long time now. Developing...

Nathan Sproul

In a well-researched Daily Kos diary, Bob Johnson finds a common element in the breaking GOP election tampering scandal.

Barzani on Kirkuk

Kurdish Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani is vowing to fight those who would oppress the people of Kirkuk. Kurdish leaders have been using food rations to force Kurds to move to the city at the expense of its Arab inhabitants, and these comments signal Kurdish intentions to incorporate it into their region no matter what.

Administering Segregation

Saudi officials say that women will not be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections for administrative reasons. They want to have segregated voting facilities, but lack women to run them. This is a cop-out designed avoid the real issue of women's rights in Saudi Arabia, where they are becoming the flagship social issue much like they have in Kuwait.

Dissertation Topic

It's a tad late for dissertation week, but here's the first paragraph to my latest dissertation proposal:

"The tribal organization of Arab society has long been of importance to scholars of the early Islamic period. Throughout the conquest period and after, Arabs identified themselves as members of tribes, and the sources treat tribal identity as one of people’s salient characteristics. Tribes also function as actors in relation both to the caliphate and each other. However, not only is the nature of these relationships during this period unclear, the internal organization of these tribal groupings, their structures of authority, and the extent to which they served primarily as levels of identity is, as well. To approach this question, I propose to study the social and political development of the group known as the Azd from the pre-Islamic period until the early 9th century. By examining the sources to find the varied accounts which touch upon the Azd, one can understand a society in which a man can flee a battle in Hadhramawt and find shelter with kinsmen in Basra before becoming prominent in Mosul. This investigation will shed light on how the caliphate and its agents asserted power through kinship systems in both urban and rural contexts, as well as how tribally organized people responded to the social, political and economic milieu which developed following the Islamic conquests."

Deadlines

Forty-seven minutes before the deadline, one of my references has still not submitted their form for the Fulbright-Hays grant. Professors are like that. However, doing some random homework assignment shortly before class rather than at home can still get you a stern lecture.

UPDATE: All forms have been submitted. My advisor thinks I absolutely nailed the proposal essay. Let's hope he's right!

Iraq Troop Levels

One of President Bush's bigger disagreements with reality in this campaign has been the line that the generals in Iraq have all the troops they need, and if they ask for more they can have them. Realistically, of course, such troops don't exist. Now Spencer Ackerman has the goods on someone whose request for more troops got denied.

Afghanistan's Elections

Afghanistan's Presidential elections went off much as expected. There have been some allegations of fraud. At the same time, turn-out was extremely high. I also maintain that advance intimidation was a factor underming these elections, as even with the secret ballot, those in authority will be willing to punish concentrations of those who vote the wrong way.

The bottom line for Afghanistan, however, is that Hamid Karzai will have a renewed mandate recognized in that country, if not in every corner of the globe. He seems clearly to have been the people's choice, one reason why fraud and intimidation were not even more widespread than they already were. I'm not willing to sign off on the idea that Afghanistan is a democracy, but there were no serious disruptions of its path toward greater stability and responsive government. That was really all we could hope for.

Election Wisdom

"For now we see but through a glass darkly." - Paul of Tarsus (Corinthians I)

Iran Blockade

My friend and neighbor Dave Milovich wants more specifics about what it means to get tough on Iran. He suggests a naval blockade as something between sanctions and military force. However, such a move could only come with the cooperation of the international community, as blockades deny not only the blockaded country's right to trade, but the rights of the rest of the world to trade with them. What does the U.S. do when other world powers decide to ignore us? And, of course, once you have enough of an international coalition, you might as well just use sanctions and save your ships.

Tetouan

The Rif Mountains form the backdrop to Tetouan:

Library Records

When Senator Russ Feingold voted against the Patriot Act, one of his concerns was the privacy of library records. Following a chain of links from here, I found this and this about how the FBI is demanding library records to see who scrawled a bit of potentially pro-al-Qaeda graffiti in a rural Washington library book. Americans willingly accept contraints of the "bomb-in-an-airport" variety, but do we really want to become a police state where under no circumstances can we relax and do whatever this graffiti scrawler was trying to do (even if in potentially bad taste)?

Tonight's Debate

I don't agree with the line coming from CNN and MSNBC that the debate was a draw. That has to be the effect of Bush exceeding his last performance. The President had his moments, but there were so many times when Kerry would reply effectively to a Bush attack and the President would be completely unconvincing in sticking to it. Regardless of my own stands, I see the partial birth abortion ban and drug importation from Canada as two examples of this. Bush also looked desperate at times, ranting about health care rationing and caught way off balance by his timber income. Kerry was effective, and I could easily picture him leading the country. While I have always been voting for him, I have not generally been enthusiastic.

Incidentally, I was invited to three debate watching parties tonight. I don't remember any in 2000.

Site Feed

I now have a site feed. Look at the sidebar between the links and featured books.

Iraqi Casualties

The tone of this bothers me. Iraqis are human beings just as much as the British are, and clearly those on our side should be counted as allies, even if not technically part of "the coalition," however that informal body is defined. I find the fact Democrats are only counting them as part of some political gamesmanship deeply offensive.

Women in Tajik Mosques

In a curious twist, Tajikistan is attempting to fight militant Islam by forbidding women from attending mosques, a stance associated with conservatism in Islam. However, many women are fighting police to get in anyway.

Lebanese al-Qaeda

RFE-RL has a good round-up of the debate over al-Qaeda in Lebanon. It would not surprise me if there were al-Qaeda operating in Lebanon, and I don't think Sunni/Shi'ite differences are enough to prevent them from cooperating with Hizbullah, though Hizbullah's focus on comprehensively promoting the interests of Lebanese Shi'ites means they really don't have that much in common in the world of radical Islamic militants. However, because global terrorist organizations tend not to be tightly defined containers, I think it likely people who were affiliated with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan might be willing to go somewhere else and hook up with a new organization that shared whatever traits led them to join al-Qaeda originally.

A Success

Last year I didn't get a Fulbright at least partly because the professor who wrote my language reference didn't think I was qualified to do the research. This afternoon he evaluated me again, and after examining me on an account of Ahmad b. Hanbal debating the nature of the Qur'an with his opponents, pronounced me fit for service. This is a load off my shoulders, and I'm still decompressing four hours later.

My career can now continue.

Thus Spake Weisglass

Jonathan Edelstein isn't happy with Sharon advisor Dov Weisglass's comments that the Gaza withdrawal was meant to freeze the peace process. I'm slightly more relaxed. At the moment, Sharon's Gaza plan is the only proposal to change the status quo for the better. If this helps it, so much the better. I don't think Sharon believes any serious negotiations are possible while Arafat remains in power. At the same time, this makes it more difficult for Palestinian militants to claim credit for driving the Israelis out. The major sacrifice is in the court of public opinion, especially in Europe, and I think it's probably worth it if the benefits are realized. Sometimes you have to burn your closer to nail down game seven before you worry about the next round.

EU Ironies

Opposition to Turkish entry into the European Union comes from its religious discrimination and the fact its people are Muslim.

Thanks, Reagan!

President Reagan's Star Wars program is proving useful to Sudanese refugees.

OSCE in Afghanistan

The OSCE has announced they will not issue a statement about the fairness of Afghanistan's elections because they are so unlikely to meet international standards. However, they're still going to be constructive, preparing a list of suggestions after the polls. This is to avoid embarrassing the European Union, which is one of the main organizers of the elections. Meanwhile, this article gives a good picture of the hopes and difficulties surrounding the event.

Weird

Pat Robertson is really weird.

Smoke Detectors

A new report says that the purported plutonium-239 seized in Kyrgyzstan is merely a collection of old smoke detectors.

Area Studies and Government

Matthew Yglesias has some issues with Lee Smith's Title VI column. As regular readers might suspect, I do, too. As I commented in Yglesias's thread:

"There are many things I wonder about looking at these stats. One is the degree to which they include with funding FLAS money, which at UW accounts for about half of all "Title VI" funding but which by law can go only to grad students. (At least some Democrats tried to change this last year.) More important, I wonder if they count Title VI-A in with Title VI. Title VI-A is just for languages and undergraduate development - in theory, the "experts" produced by Title VI programs go out into the world and build programs under Title VI-A. So if you look strictly at Title VI, you're missing a huge part of the story.

"Finally, I wonder about this degree-granting business. By that, I assume they mean area studies majors. But there are very few of those in proportion to people who take and benefit from the classes. You can be an International Relations major and use Arabic as your language, for example. I've had students in Islamic history who weren't concentrating in Middle East Studies but were reserves or ROTC and just wanted background in the region. I doubt this shows up in their stats."

Kyrgyz Plutonium

Kyrgyzstan's National Security Service is investigating the plutonium-239 seizure, and says that it was not of Kazakh origin. Wherever its from, this whole affair just shows how porous Central Asia is to loose nuclear material. The need to manage this problem is the reason I don't speak out strongly against our connections to Central Asian dictators, though I do object when we pretend democracy promotion is the key element to our foreign policy.

Friedman Returns

Liberal hawk columnist Tom Friedman has returned, with a column demolishing the Bush administration's handling of Iraq:

"Being away has not changed my belief one iota in the importance of producing a decent outcome in Iraq, to help move the Arab-Muslim world off its steady slide toward increased authoritarianism, unemployment, overpopulation, suicidal terrorism and religious obscurantism. But my time off has clarified for me, even more, that this Bush team can't get us there, and may have so messed things up that no one can. Why? Because each time the Bush team had to choose between doing the right thing in the war on terrorism or siding with its political base and ideology, it chose its base and ideology. More troops or radically lower taxes? Lower taxes. Fire an evangelical Christian U.S. general who smears Islam in a speech while wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army or not fire him so as not to anger the Christian right? Don't fire him. Apologize to the U.N. for not finding the W.M.D., and then make the case for why our allies should still join us in Iraq to establish a decent government there? Don't apologize - for anything - because Karl Rove says the "base" won't like it."

I was not a Bush-hater in March 2003. President Bush lost me with stuff like this.

Disaster Avoided

Juan Cole points out just how disastrous President Bush's Iraq policy could have been had he followed his original plan. It's occurred to me that one reason Bush continues to enjoy such high levels of support is that his incompetence is almost beyond belief. Therefore, they assume his critics are just radicals.

Fez al-Bali

Of my Morocco posts, none seemed to have more of an impact on people that my comments about Fez's old city. In fact, one woman came up and hugged me randomly, citing that post as her reason. Here's a panoramic view of Fez al-Bali at dusk taken from the Merenid tombs. The two tallest minarets belong to the Qarawiyin Mosque and tomb of Moulay Idris II.

Excitement

I-chi-ro! I-chi-ro!

Syrians for Bush

Reghida Dergham writes in Dar al-Hayat sees Syria's border moves as a sign the Damascus regime both hopes for and expects a Bush victory in November:

"Damascus decided that it would be best for it to comply with Washington's demands, the latter being more important to it than Paris. Damascus understood the demands as relating first and foremost to Iraq, then to Palestine vis-à-vis Palestinian organizations in Syria, and least importantly to Lebanon.

"That is why Syria was quick to fulfill its obligations regarding border cooperation and coordinating intelligence efforts within the trilateral American-Iraqi-Syrian mechanism. Syria was quick to cooperate on a very important demand having to do with the discovery of funds in Syria belonging to individuals or organizations with links to activities in Iraq, regardless of whether those activities are termed terrorism or resistance. The American Secretary of State Colin Powell revealed that his meeting with the Syrian foreign minister Farouk Sharaa touched on specific names and funds which Damascus promised to investigate with complete transparency.

"Syrian diplomatic assessments are that a 'qualitative shift' in relations with the American administration opens the door to a new approach to negotiations with Israel in addition to closing the door on the campaign against it and on calls for regime change in Syria."

Syrian Border

The Lebanon Daily Star has an article about escalating tension between Jordan and Syria over both land Jordan says is occupied by Syria and infiltration of militants and weapons into Jordan either unimpeded or actively aided by the Damascus government. This comes as the United States claims to win Syrian cooperation in stopping militant infiltration into Iraq and pressure mounts on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon. Syria has the reputation of an ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, yet this article suggests the two are working together in some manner. It may be that if al-Qaeda has formed connections to Hizbullah that Syria's stance has also shifted. However, this is all very murky, and a lot more evidence will have to come to light before we can get the straight of it.

Incidentally, I have been an accessory to smuggling between Syria and Jordan. Produce prices are higher in Jordan than Syria, so people providing transportation across the border will stock up in Syria, claim it all belongs to the foreigners, and then sell at a higher price in Jordan. Because Syria doesn't seem to have an enforced taxi license system, this is a gig anyone can get in on, and on one of my trips my friends and I were apparently used in a watermelon smuggling scheme. It was funny when the border guards inspected the vehicle and unloaded all the watermelons looking for something being smuggled. It was even funnier when I looked around and saw that over 80% of the cars being inspected had watermelons in the trunk.

UPDATE: See the comments for some security implications for watermelon smuggling we didn't consider, as confirmed here.