An Instahoglets Christmas Eve

By Cernig

Some fodder for news junkies this holiday season.

- Andy Worthington talks to Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, the Gitmo tribunal officer turned whistleblower, who tells him "There are two ways of looking at it, the result of which, from either perspective, is exactly the same. One, as you say, is that they always understood that, in some twisted Machiavellian way, if they gave the job to a non-functional organization, which, by any number of criteria, was incapable of performing its work as described, this would further a particular agenda. The other way of looking at it is that they are blazingly incompetent... I think that either one is certainly plausible."

- Doug Saunders points to what may be the most crucial East-West conflict of all, between the Islam of the Middle Eastern deserts and that of more hospitable climates. One Bangaladeshi activist calls their vesrion "vegetarian Islam" and says "we are outside the desert culture." Of course, both the other "religions of The Book" started in the same region - are they just as affected by the desert culture of their beginnings?

- James Joyner at The New Atlanticist: Interpol secretary general Ronald Nobel says that his agency has been kept out of the loop on information relating to the Mumbai attacks, which only strengthens Pakistan's implied claim that there's no actual evidence to present. But at least war seems unlikley at the present.

- Jon Perr looks at conflicting tales of Russia selling advanced S-300 air defense missiles to Iran. Various reports have regularly claimed that the S-300 is destined for Iran for a few years now but I'll believe it whan it happens. All trace back to either Israeli intelligence or false Iranian boasting. It's true that both sides' hardliners use the threat of the other to keep their grasp on power.I suspectRussia is being deliberately obscure right now to pressure the US in other negotiations such as those on missile defense and the replacement for the START treaties. "Screw us over and we'll arm Iran."

- Pat Kushlis at WhirledView writes that the Bush administration phrase "war on ideas" is counter-productive and in comments the current Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy agrees with her.

- Mona at Unqualified Offerings: Dennis Prager is just fine with marital rape.