All eyes on Libya this week, but, as usual, there’s a lot more Jihad-related news from around the world:
(Hat tips: JihadWatch, Stratfor, Michael Totten, Instapundit)
This Week in Jihad for February 24, 2011
February 24th, 2011Libya Slips Into Civil War
February 23rd, 2011If there was any question whether Moammar Gadhafi was willing to give up power quietly, they’ve now been answered:
Residents of parts of the capital were trapped in their homes as “thousands” of soldiers patrolled the streets accompanied by African mercenaries.
Tanks took up positions around public buildings including government offices, while sandbag defences were also being built.
“We will fight until death,” a pro-Gaddafi soldier in his early 20s said outside a military compound close to Tripoli’s Green Square, which had been cleared of demonstrators by yesterday morning.
He doesn’t just mean his own death, or those of his enemies. here’s footage of Libyan soldiers executed for refusing to fire on the people (Warning: graphic).
Michael Totten says that the implications of the Libyan revolt are bigger than those of Egypt or Tunisia: “If ordinary citizens can overthrow Qaddafi, of all people, every other despot in the region may look vulnerable—including Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran.”
How is Obama responding to the situation in Libya? He’s considering…(wait for it)…sanctions. Right. Here’s an oppressive dictator gunning down his own people left and right, so I’m sure he’s quaking in his boots at the thoughts of sanctions. For the full flavor of the empty suit quality of this administration, just read this press conference transcript.
Here’s a close-to-zero risk chance to get on the right side of history, win a quick, decisive and popular victory with the application of American air power, and Obama’s liberal world view makes him too timid to take advantage of it. Even the toothless UN Commissioner on Human Rights is calling for a no-fly-zone over Libya, and Obama can’t bring himself to say he’s even considering the idea.
Free Mickey Kaus (With Purchase)
February 23rd, 2011I haven’t been covering events in Wisconsin because plenty of other people have been doing a good job on that front. However, I was keenly interested in what Internet bon vivant and international man of mystery Mickey Kaus had to say.
Kaus is a Democrat (and an unsuccessful Senate candidate), but one fiercely critical of the Democratic Party’s reliance on corrupt public sector unions (and illegal alien amnesty), and thus I was quite interested to find out what he had to say on the subject.
While Kaus himself is Twittering up a storm about it, his Newsweek blog hasn’t been updated in more than three weeks…mainly because he’s no longer on that sinking shiphole, having been hired away by The Daily Caller. A good move for both Kaus and The Caller.
Or it would be, except I can’t find any mention of him there since the announcement of his hiring.
So what gives? Why aren’t we being regaled with Kaus’ pithy insights on the the battle in Wisconsin?
Free Mickey Kaus!*
*(Offer not valid in California, New York, Michigan, or Puerto Rico)
Nice Try, Instapundit!
February 22nd, 2011Instapundit Glenn Reynolds was forced to get a new campus ID, so he showed his readers the 20-year “before and after pics.” Actually, he looks older but pretty much the same, almost as if he has a painting of himself hidden away in his attic that ages instead of him.
However, my sources at the University of Tennessee have uncovered the shocking fact that the “after” picture up on his blog is in fact a shameless lie. Thanks to their efforts, I can now reveal the horrifying truth.
Here’s the before picture:
And here’s the real portrait of what you look like after teaching law school for 20 years:
Libyan Revolt Continues Apace
February 22nd, 2011As for what the hell is going on in Libya right now, I’m not sure I know. Rebel forces appear to control the eastern part of the nation, including Benghazi and Tobruk, while Gadhafi seems to be maintaining his grip on Tripoli, at least for the time being.
A Few Quick Libyan Updates
February 21st, 2011Before I hit the hay:
Both NRO and DailyKos Call for a No Fly Zone Over Libya
February 21st, 2011No, really. Daniel Foster at National Review Online and “azizhp” at DailyKos both call for the U.S. military to impose a No Fly Zone over Libya to prevent the slaughter of civilians.
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood…
So What the Hell is Going on in Libya?
February 21st, 2011As a much more closed society, news is harder to come by, but depending on who you believe, there are conflicting reports that:
As usual, the BBC has live updates.
A popular uprising that toppled Ghaddafi would be great news, but I’m not sure I’m willing to believe he would be that easy to topple. Ghaddafi seems like the sort of dictator who would happily slaughter tens of thousands of his citizens if he thought he needed to to stay in power.
Of course, one big difference was between Egypt and Libya is that Egypt’s military is (by Arab standards) professional and pretty competent, and even though they lost the Yom Kipur war, Egyptian troops in Sinai bloodied the Israelis enough that Egyptians felt they had sufficiently restored the nation’s honor that Anwar Sadat was able to sign to Camp David accords. (The previous three Arab-Israeli wars had resulted in Israel delivering a complete ass-kicking to all the Arab armies, so only receiving a partial ass-kicking was indeed a vast improvement.)
By contrast, Libya’s army seems pretty incompetent: they got their asses kicked by Chad in the Toyota War, in which Chadian forces armed with Toyota-pickup-mounted anti-tank guns left a billion dollars worth of Soviet equipment burning in the Aouzou Strip. It would not surprise me at all to find that the Libyan army is too poorly trained to suppress a real popular uprising.
Whether they want to or not, it looks like people all across the Middle East are fated to live in interesting times…
LinkSwarm for February 20, 2011
February 20th, 2011A small Sunday Linkswarm for you:
(Hat tips: Ace of Spades, Instapundit, Etc..)