Rick Francona is not happy with the overall direction of Obama’s policies:
‘That said, orders for military operations originate at the White House, for better or worse. It is no secret that I think this Administration is clueless on effective military operations. Again, see the article I mentioned above.
I assume that the Senate will not violate the professional courtesy afforded to fellow Senators and that both Hagel and Kerry will be confirmed. Again, they will only carry out the ill-advised policies of the President.’
Where is there a conservative movement in the Middle-East not dominated by political Islam? In order to get around the autocrats, where are there liberal movements that represent the will of enough people with enough wealth to build democratic institutions?
Addition: In the meantime, without our objectives necessarily being met, and without taking a position of leadership, Obama continues to assume his liberal internationalism tempered by realpolitik is sufficient to secure our interests.
Related On This Site: Al-Zawahiri’s Egypt, a good backstory: Lawrence Wright At The New Yorker: ‘The Man Behind Bin Laden’
From Al Jazeera English: ‘Morsi Wins Egypt’s Presidential Election’…Adam Garfinkle At The American Interest on Egypt: ‘Still More of the Same—and Something New’…are we still on a liberalizing, Westernizing trajectory?, however slow the pace? Adam Garfinkle At The American Interest: ‘What Did The Arab Spring Really Change?’
From Abu Muqawama: ‘Mubarak And Me’…From Michael Totten: ‘The New Egyptian Underground’…Michael Totten At The American Interest: “A Leaner, Meaner Brotherhood”
Pakistan’s a mess, but in a way, more stable than Egypt: Via Youtube Via Michael Totten At World Affairs: ‘VICE Guide To Karachi’…Christopher Hitchens At Vanity Fair: ‘From Abbotabad To Worse’…Repost-’Dexter Filkins In The NY Times: The Long Road To Chaos In Pakistan’