The Libyan uprising always contained more extreme Islamists than portrayed by its supporters inside and outside Libya. There is a measure of truth in Muammar Gaddafi's claim to Tony Blair that the jihadis had "managed to set up local stations and in Benghazi have spread the thoughts and ideas of al Qaeda." His claims sound... Read More

My working assumption about international affairs is that people in mortal peril are careful and clever. On the other hand, people with plenty of money, power, and impunity are often arrogant and sloppy. This outlook colors my perspective on various US dustups with adversarial nations, most recently Syria. That’s why I’m unwilling to rule out... Read More

I suppose the Western media caravan has moved on, and there isn’t going to be a lot of interest in the latest footage of Muamar Qaddafi’s capture obtained by Global Post. Basically, Qaddafi is brutalized for four minutes by a frantic mob. One triumphalist tries to stick something up his rear end. Everybody yells and... Read More

News flash: war is hell, even when it’s a humanitarian intervention. It’s pretty clear, listening to today’s NPR report on Libya, that the “no fly zone” is pretty much past the “protect civilian” stage and well into the “kill Libyan soldiers” phase. Pictures of dead Libyan soldiers seem to be relatively rare, but here’s one,... Read More

In the last couple weeks, I’ve had two articles up at Asia Times. The March 19 piece, China embroiled in a Libyan muddle, correctly predicted that China—despite its abhorrence of foreign intervention--would not vote against the Libya no-fly-zone because of its desire to stay on the good side of Saudi Arabia. (The piece was completed... Read More