Walid Phares on Osama Bin Laden's New Video

From the American Thinker:

In the end, the speech shows that the War of Ideas is the ultimate battlefield in the War on Terror. This is why, US leaders in both parties and all branches of power should not ignore or dismiss bin Laden's tape. To the contrary, I strongly suggest they respond to it, point by point. All those named in the speech must answer al Qaeda directly, instead of fleeing into domestic politics.

Here's a link to Walid Phares' blog.

The Meaning of Bin Laden's New Video

Contrary to White House claims that Bin Laden is "irrelevant," the new video shows that he is all too relevant six years after 9/11. His taunting of the US, messages to anti-globalists, Chomsky-ites, and even Democrats should be generating outrage rather than dismissal from pundits. A basic principle of propaganda is that including one claim with which an audience agrees tends to give a "he's on our side" impression, no matter how horrible other factors may be. This is Bin Laden's "with us or against us" moment--he's the anti-Bush. If you hate Bush, Bin Laden is on your side. And now, he feels comfortable enought to proudly take credit for 9/11.

This is why, as NY Times columnist David Brooks says, Bin Laden now sounds like a "lefty blogger." Publication of excerpts only helps Bin Laden's cause. Bits and pieces may make sense to different sub-audiences. The full insanity of the psychopathic killer with delusions of grandeur oncly comes across in extenso. For example, Judy Woodruff on PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer on Friday (note, the day reserved for Friday prayer and sermons in Islam) seemed perplexed shuffling through the printout on McNeil-Lehrer, looking up from a text not shared with viewers, looking disturbed, surprised and baffled.. Her Q & A with University of Missouri professor Mohammed Hafez reveals an inability to come to terms with what is going on:

JUDY WOODRUFF: Professor Hafez, what do you make of this -- you brought it up a moment ago -- but this almost obsession with the capitalist system and how, you know, telling Americans to throw off the yoke of capitalism?

MOHAMMED HAFEZ: Well, I think it's a message for the American public, but also for the world public. What bin Laden is trying to do is really take up the themes that Ahmadinejad and Chavez have brought up; that is, to try to portray America as this hegemonic bully that doesn't care about issues, for instance, the environment and global warming, and say that, essentially, that the world is -- you need to stay away from America and to not cooperate with America, and you'll be safe. I think that is an important message.

But also what he's trying to do is to appeal to a subculture, particularly in Europe, of youth, interestingly some that recently converted Islam or that might convert to Islam, that are anti-globalist, anti-hegemonic, that are anti-establishment. And in that respect, he might be trying to reach out to a new audience, not just the traditional jihadists that we're accustomed to seeing.

I think he's struggling to prove his relevance by casting a very wide net to as broad a constituency as possible, by touching on just about all the major issues that are in the public discourse today and then, like everyone else, weighing in on Iraq.

Appealing to a young audience

JUDY WOODRUFF: He makes specific reference to several people, the new book -- recent book, I should say -- by the former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, the title of it "Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror." What did you make of that?

MOHAMMED HAFEZ: Well, he also recommends for people to read Noam Chomsky, again, kind of a leftist anarchist, not the Prophet Muhammad or Sayyid Qutb, which is, you know, the normal stable of radical Islamists. And, again, I think what he's trying to do is to really appeal to the youth, particularly in Europe, to try to get that segment that does not fit the normal profile and create a new generation perhaps of jihadists that are mobilized on anti-globalist, anti-imperialist themes.

That six years after 9/11 Woodruff even thought Bin Laden might have made some sense, demonstrates how skillful Al Qaeda propaganda--and how inept Bush administration "public diplomacy" has been. Bin Laden's speech is an example of what David Horowitz' book calls an unholy alliance between the radical left and Islamist extremists. That the media as part of the left has shown sympathy for the Devil (as in Woodruff's puzzled reaction), has objectively helped Bin Laden's cause, whatever the intent--and paradoxically helped George Bush to remain in power as well. To defend Bin Laden and his partisans in order to embarrass Bush only makes matters worse--yet a "worse the better" scenario complaining of "terrorist bogeymen" conjured up to increase political power is absurd. Bush didn't "conjure up" this Bin Laden tape. Bin Laden is definitely a "bogeyman".

Only confronting the explicit messages from Bin Laden will lead to a new course. He cannot be ignored, or explained away as irrelevant. He can only be defeated and destroyed--like Hitler, Bin Laden has stated his aims clearly. He claims credit for the collapse of the USSR and now seeks to achieve a similar result for America and the West. He says that Iraq is one battlefield in a world-wide war. Bush, and Bush's opponents must take Bin Laden at his word. Each sentence of the speech--obviously delivered with a Western audience in mind--must be answered with actions, not rhetoric, dismissal, or denial.

The AFP report concludes, correctly:

In the latest video bin Laden appears with a trimmed beard that is apparently dyed black, which experts have said is a "sign of war" according to the rigorous Salafi Islamic school to which bin Laden belongs.

A senior Pakistani official involved in the hunt for Al-Qaeda said there was "no evidence of bin Laden being present in our areas", repeating Islamabad's frequent mantra on the subject.

But there is intelligence suggesting bin Laden's Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and "some senior operation commanders come to our region frequently," the official added on condition of anonymity.

Bin Laden's continuing defiance is meanwhile winning the group new recruits, another Pakistani official with a government intelligence agency said on condition of anonymity.

"Al-Qaeda is perceived by a young Muslim mind as a fighting unit against US and Western forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the bordering areas of Pakistan and its stubborn defiance brings more volunteers," the official said.

Taking Bin Laden's insane videos seriously, countering his propaganda of the word with propaganda of the deed--beating him in every arena in the world-wide conflict now in progress--is unfortunately the only path open to the West at this moment, other than conversion to Islam.

The absurdities of Bin Laden cannot be permitted to remain unanswered any longer. Which means devoting more public discussion to their exposure--in the US and around the globe. Denial, as a strategy, cannot work. For, as Voltaire noted, "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

Because it has been difficult to find the full text online at other sites, posted below is the full transcript from MideastWeb:

"All praise is due to Allah, who built the heavens and earth in justice, and created man as a favor and grace from Him. And from His ways is that the days rotate between the people, and from His Law is retaliation in kind: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the killer is killed. And all praise is due to Allah, who awakened His slaves' desire for the Garden, and all of them will enter it except those who refuse. And whoever obeys Him alone in all of his affairs will enter the Garden, and whoever disobeys Him will have refused."


"As for what comes after: Peace be upon he who follows the Guidance. People of America: I shall be speaking to you on important topics which concern you, so lend me your ears. I begin by discussing the war which is between us and some of its repercussions for us and you."

"To preface, I say: despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and up-to-date military arsenal as well; and despite it spending on this war and is army more than the entire world spends on its armies; and despite it being the being the major state influencing the policies of the world, as if it has a monopoly on the unjust right of veto; despite all of this, 19 young men were able - by the grace of Allah, the Most High- to change the direction of its compass. And in fact, the subject of the Mujahideen has become an inseparable part of the speech of your leader, and the effects and signs of that are not hidden."

"Since the 11th, many of America's policies have come under the influence of the Mujahideen, and that is by the grace of Allah, the Most High. And as a result, the people discovered the truth about it, its reputation worsened, its prestige was broken globally and it was bled dry economically, even if our interests overlap with the interests of the major corporations and also with those of the neoconservatives, despite the differing intentions."

"And for your information media, during the first years of the war, lost its credibility and manifested itself as a tool of the colonialist empires, and its condition has often been worse than the condition of the media of the dictatorial regimes which march in the caravan of the single leader."

"Then Bush talks about his working with al-Maliki and his government to spread freedom in Iraq but he in fact is working with the leaders of one sect against another sect, in the belief that this will quickly decide the war in his favor."

"And thus, what is called the civil war came into being and matters worsened at his hands before getting out of his control and him becoming like the one who plows and sows the sea: he harvests nothing but failure."

"So these are some of the results of the freedom about whose spreading he is talking to you. And then the backtracking of Bush on his insistence on not giving the United Nations expanded jurisdiction in Iraq is an implicit admission of his loss and defeat there. "

"And among the most important items contained in Bush�s speeches since the events of the 11th is that the Americans have no option but to continue the war. This tone is in fact an echoing of the words of neoconservatives like Cheney, Rumsfeld and Richard Pearle, the latter having said previously that the Americans have no choice in front of them other than to continue the war or face a holocaust."

"I say, refuting this unjust statement, that the morality and culture of the holocaust is your culture, not our culture. In fact, burning living beings is forbidden in our religion, even if they be small like the ant, so what of man?! The holocaust of the Jews was carried out by your brethren in the middle of Europe, but had it been closer to our countries, most of the Jews would have been saved by taking refuge with us. And my proof for that is in what your brothers, the Spanish, did when they set up the horrible courts of the Inquisition to try Muslims and Jews, when the Jews only found safe shelter by taking refuge in our countries. And that is why the Jewish community in Morocco today is one of the largest communities in the world. They are alive with us and we have not incinerated them, but we are a people who don't sleep under oppression and reject humiliation and disgrace, and we take revenge on the people of tyranny and aggression, and the blood of the Muslims will not be spilled with impunity, and the morrow is nigh for he who awaits."

"Also, your Christian brothers have been living among us for 14 centuries: in Egypt alone, there are millions of Christians whom we have not incinerated and shall not incinerate. But the fact is, there is a continuing and biased campaign being waged against us for a long time now by your politicians and many of your writers by way of your media, especially Hollywood, for the purpose of misrepresenting Islam and its adherents to drive you away from the true religion. The genocide of peoples and their holocausts took place at your hands: only a few specimens of Red Indians were spared, and just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons."

"And among the things which catch the eye of the one who considers the repercussions of your unjust war against Iraq is the failure of your democratic system, despite it raising of the slogans of justice, liberty, equality and humanitarianism. It has not only failed to achieve these things, it has actually destroyed these and other concepts with its weapons - especially in Iraq and Afghanistan- in a brazen fashion, to replace them with fear, destruction, killing, hunger, illness, displacement and more than a million orphans in Baghdad alone, not to mention hundreds of thousands of widows. Americans statistics speak of the killing of more than 650,000 of the people of Iraq as a result of the war and its repercussions."

"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment."

"And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority?"

"I will come back to reply to this question after raising another question, which is:"

"Why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw Iraq?"

"In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation."

"And so Kennedy was killed, and al-Qaida wasn�t present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld. And even more incredible than that is that Bush picked him as secretary of defense in his first term after picking Cheney as his vice president, Powell as secretary of state and Armitage as Powell's deputy, despite their horrific and blood history of murdering humans. So that was clear signal that his administration - the administration of the generals- didn't have as its main concern the serving of humanity, but rather, was interested in bringing about new massacres. Yet in spite of that, you permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you - with your full knowledge and consent- to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Then you claim to be innocent! This innocence of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th - were I to claim such a thing. But it is impossible for me to humor any of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or for me to humor your leaders in their lying, as the entire world knows they have the lion's share of that. These morals aren't our morals. What I want to emphasize here is that not taking past war criminals to account led to them repeating that crime of killing humanity without right and waging this unjust war in Mesopotamia, and as a result, here are the oppressed ones today continuing to take their right from you."

"This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. And among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic and on the manufacturing of public opinion is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn't like those who give advice. The entire world came out in unprecedented demonstrations to warn against waging the war and describe its true nature in eloquent terms like "no to spilling red blood for black oil," yet he paid them no heed. It is time for humankind to know that talk of the rights of man and freedom are lies produced by the White House and its allies in Europe to deceive humans, take control of their destinies and subjugate them. "

"So in answer to the question about the causes of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment - and there isn't any- in the Democrats' failure to stop the war. And you're the ones who have the saying which goes, "Money talks." And I tell you: after the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war."

"However, there are two solutions for stopping it. The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations."

"And with that, it has become clear to all that they are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the death and displacement of the millions of human beings because of that, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives."

"And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown- still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system."

"If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of "globalization" in order to protect democracy."

"And Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; and the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa: all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system."

"So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for an alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."

"The infallible methodology is the methodology of Allah, the Most High, who created the heavens and earth and created the Creation and is the Most Kind and All-Informed and the Knower of the souls of His slaves and the methodology that best suits them."

"You believe with absolute certainty that you believe in Allah, and you are full of conviction of this belief, so much so that you have written this belief of yours on your dollar."

"But the truth is that you are mistake in this belief of yours. The impartial judge knows that belief in Allah requires straightness in the following of His methodology, and accordingly, total obedience must be to the orders and prohibitions of Allah Alone in all aspects of life."

"So how about you when you associate others with Him in your beliefs and separate state from religion, then claim that you are believers?!"

"What you have done is clear loss and manifest polytheism, And I will give you a parable of polytheism, as parables summarize and clarify speech."

"I tell you: its parable is the parable of a man who owns a shop and hires a worker and tells him, "Sell and give me the money," but he makes sales and give the money to someone other than the owner. So who of you would approve of that?"

"You believe that Allah is your Lord and your Creator and the Creator of this earth and that it is His property, then you work on His earth and property without His orders and without obeying Him, and you legislate in contradiction to His Law and methodology."

"This work of yours is the greatest form of polytheism and is rebellion against obedience to Allah with which the believer becomes an unbeliever, even if he obeys Allah in some of His other orders. Allah, the Most High, sent down His orders in His Sacred Books like the Torah and Evangel and sent with them the Messengers (Allah's prayers and peace be upon them) as bearers of good news to the people."

"And everyone who believes in them and complies with them is a believer from the people of the Garden. Then when the men of knowledge altered the words of Allah, the Most High, and sold them for a paltry price, as the rabbis did with the Torah and the monks with the Evangel, Allah sent down His final Book, the magnificent Quran, and safeguarded it from being added to or subtracted from by the hands of men, and in it is a complete methodology for the lives of all people."

"And our holding firm to this magnificent Book is the secret of our strength and winning of the war against you despite the fewness of our numbers and materiel. And if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing of your war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard."

"Don't be turned away from Islam by the terrible situation of the Muslims today, for our rulers in general abandoned Islam many decades ago, but our forefathers were the leaders and pioneers of the world for many centuries, when they held firmly to Islam."

"And before concluding, I tell you: there has been an increase in the thinkers who study events and happenings, and on the basis of their study, they have declared the approach of the collapse of the American Empire."

"Among them is the European thinker who anticipated the fall of the Soviet Union, which indeed fell. And it would benefit you to read what he wrote about what comes after the empire in regard to the United States of America. I also want to bring your attention that among the greatest reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was their being afflicted with their leader Brezhnev, who was overtaken by pride and arrogance and refused to look at the facts on the ground. From the first year of the Afghanistan invasion, reports indicated that the Russians were losing the war, but he refused to acknowledge this, lest it go down in his personal history as a defeat, even though refusal to acknowledge defeat not only doesn't do anything to change the facts for thinking people, but also exacerbates the problem and increases the losses. And how similar is your position today to their position approximately two decades ago. The mistakes of Brezhnev are being repeated by Bush, who - when asked about the date of his withdrawing of forces from Iraq - said in effect that the withdrawal will not be during his reign, but rather, during the reign of the one who succeeds him. And the significance of these words is not hidden."

"And here I say: it would benefit you to listen to the poignant messages of your soldiers in Iraq, who are paying - with their blood, nerves and scattered limbs - the price for these sorts of irresponsible statements. Among them is the eloquent message of Joshua which he sent by way of the media, in which he wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in harsh terms and invites them to join him there for a few days. Perhaps his message will find in you an attentive ear so you can rescue him and more than 150,000 of your sons there who are tasting the two bitterest things: "

"If they leave their barracks, the mines devour them, and if they refuse to leave, rulings are passed against them. Thus, the only options left in front of them are to commit suicide or cry, both of which are from the severest of afflictions. So is there anything more men can do after crying and killing themselves to make you respond to them? They are doing that out of the severity of the humiliation, fear and terror which they are suffering. It is severer than what the slaves used to suffer at your hands centuries ago, and it is as if some of them have gone from one slavery to another slavery more severe and harmful, even if it be in the fancy dress of the Defense Department's financial enticements."

"So do you feel the greatness of their sufferings?"

"To conclude, I invite you to embrace Islam, for the greatest mistake one can make in this world and one which is uncorrectable is to die while not surrendering to Allah, the Most High, in all aspects of one's life - ie., to die outside of Islam. And Islam means gain for you in this first life and the next, final life. The true religion is a mercy for people in their lives, filling their hearts with serenity and calm."

T"here is a message for you in the Mujahideen: the entire world is in pursuit of them, yet their hearts, by the grace of Allah, are satisfied and tranquil. The true religion also puts peoples' lives in order with its laws; protects their needs and interests; refines their morals; protects them from evils; and guarantees for them entrance into Paradise in the hereafter through their obedience to Allah and sincere worship of Him Alone."

"And it will also achieve your desire to stop the war as a consequence, because as soon as the warmongering owners of the major corporations realize that you have lost confidence in your democratic system and begun to search for an alternative, and that this alternative is Islam, they will run after you to please you and achieve what you want to steer you away from Islam. So your true compliance with Islam will deprive them of the opportunity to defraud the peoples and take their money under numerous pretexts, like arms deals and so on. "

"There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling only 2.5%. So beware of the deception of those with the capital. And with your earnest reading about Islam from its pristine sources, you will arrive at an important truth, which is that the religion of all of the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) is one, and that its essence is submission to the orders of Allah Alone in all aspects of life, even if their Shari'ahs [Laws] differ."

"And did you know that the name of the Prophet of Allah Jesus and his mother (peace and blessings of Allah be on them both) are mentioned in the Noble Quran dozens of times, and that in the Quran there is a chapter whose name is "Maryam," i.e. Mary, daughter of 'Imran and mother of Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both)? It tells the story of her becoming pregnant with the Prophet of Allah Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them both), and in its confirmation of her chastity and purity, in contrast to the fabrications of the Jews against her. Whoever wishes to find that out for himself must listen to the verse of this magnificent chapter: one of the just kings of the Christians - the Negus - listened to some of its verses and his eyes welled up with tears and he said something which should be reflected on for a long time by those sincere in their search for the truth."

"He said, "verily, this and what Jesus brought come from one lantern": i.e., that the magnificent Quran and the Evangel are both from Allah, the Most High; and every just and intelligent one of you who reflects on the Quran will definitely arrive at this truth. It also must be noted that Allah has preserved the Quran from the alterations of men. And reading in order to become acquainted with Islam only requires a little effort, and those of you who are guided will profit greatly. And peace be upon he who follows the Guidance."

Mark Weil, 55, World-Renowned Tashkent Theatrical Impressario

Terrible news from Uzbekistan, according to Registan.net. Mark Weil, the impressario behind the Ilkhom Theatre, has been stabbed to death in the stairwell of his apartment building. Yesterday's New York Times carried a report by Anna Kisselgoff:

"Mark Weil, an internationally known theater director in Uzbekistan whose troupe, Ilkhom, caused controversy at home with its experimental productions, was fatally stabbed late Thursday night in Tashkent, the capital. He was 55.

Mr. Weil died in a hospital after being attacked in front of his apartment building, a spokesman for his troupe told The Associated Press. Neighbors saw two young men waiting for him, The A.P. reported.

At the hospital, he was able to say he had not been robbed and did not know his assailants, according to actors from his company. The A.P. quoted a theater spokesman as saying the police would not speculate on a motive.

Mr. Weil made his name as a dissident artist when he directed plays in other companies in Moscow and conceived and directed unconventional productions for Ilkhom in the Soviet era. He also worked regularly abroad with American and other foreign collaborators. In recent years, his updating of the classics and treatment of subjects like homosexuality were considered sensitive in an increasingly repressive Uzbek society.

Mr. Weil had homes in his native Tashkent and in Seattle, to which he moved his wife and two daughters in the 1990s because of increasing unrest in Uzbekistan. Like many Russian Jews, Mr. Weil felt at home in Tashkent’s cosmopolitan society. He traced the cultural coexistence of Russians and Uzbeks from the czars to the post-Soviet era in “The End of an Era: Tashkent,” a highly personal documentary with remarkable archival material that was shown at European film festivals from 1996 to 1998.

He founded his Russian-speaking company in 1976 and named it Ilkhom, “inspiration” in Uzbek. He always included Uzbek actors and collaborators. With no subsidy, the troupe functioned as an Off Broadway theater and incorporated disparate styles and elements, including mime.

A twin-city theater project between Seattle and Tashkent first took Mr. Weil to Seattle in 1988. He also directed and held drama workshops at universities throughout the United States.

In 1991, Ilkhom performed as part of the New York International Festival of the Arts with “Ragtime for Clowns.” It was essentially a mime show. But Mr. Weil had his four characters dancing into changing predicaments like silent-film comics.

Last year he worked with the American choreographer David Rousseve in Tashkent on “Ecstasy with the Pomegranate,” a mixed-media work.

The company was scheduled to open its new season this weekend in Tashkent with his new staging of Aeschylus’ “Oresteia.” A company spokesman said that the company would carry on and that Mr. Weil’s ashes would be flown to Seattle.

Members of his troupe said his last words in the hospital were “I open a new season tomorrow, and everything must happen.”

I went to the Ilkhom theatre when I lived in Tashkent–it provided a window to the West, a post-Soviet cultural link to theatrical trends abroad, in addition to a venue for popular shows such as “Tortilla Flats” (the musical!) which had been running for some 10 years, and “White, White, Black Stork” a classic Uzbek drama based on the stories of Abdullah Kadyri. Yes, the latter show had gay themes–but they were 70 years old. Mark Weil’s Ilkhom theatre represented the best of Uzbekistan, it was a real showcase for talent, and also showed the nation could host modern, intelligent, and deeply moving drama. I hope they keep it going–and name the theatre in his honor as a tribute, like the Hamza theatre.

As far as suspects go, I’m no expert, but someone I know compared the killing to the death of Theo van Gogh in Holland–a cultural figure stabbed to death as an act of terrorism, to punish a cultural figure and set an example. I hope this is not the case.

However terrible, I would prefer if it were a random act of violence by ordinary criminals. Something similar happened to my translator and her mother when we were living in Center-1, a supposedly safe neighborhood, in 2003. Shortly after a Presidential Amnesty, she and her mother were ambushed in the stairwell of their apartment building by a man wielding a knife. They fought back, she was stabbed, but managed to push him down the stairs after he had knocked down her mother. He ran away, and she had only a minor wound. We were told there is often a crime wave after an amnesty.

There will be a memorial service in Tashkent on September 12th at the Ilkhom. Here is a link to the Ilkhom Theatre website. Guardian (UK) story here.

Peter Rainer on 3:10 to Yuma

I knew Peter years ago in Los Angeles, when he was working as a film critic for the defunct Herald-Examiner and Los Angeles Magazine. I often wondered what happened to him since then. Today I found out, thanks to Google. Glad to see Peter's still working. Here's an excerpt from his review from the Christian Science Monitor:

A posse, of course, is an essential appurtenance of any self respecting Western. It's been a long time – too long – since I've heard those glorious words, "Spread out!" As the posse is methodically worn away and only Dan and Ben remain, "3:10 to Yuma" becomes a study in unlikely kinship – another Western mainstay. Dan knows Ben is a better man than many who have hunted him down. But he never forgets that Ben is a killer.

Bale acts as if he's still playing the POW survivalist from Werner Herzog's "Rescue Dawn." His hyperrealistic performance is a drag next to Crowe's dapper prince of darkness. Crowe understands that the classic Western villains wear their mythology like a cape. His underplaying here is in many ways as hammy as if he were overplaying, and that's just fine.

Mangold and his screenwriters aren't trying to be revisionists. Ben is celebrated in the dime novels of the day and, in person, he still seems larger than life. Because Dan's son idealizes Ben, or at least the Ben of the dime novels, the movie turns on the notion of heroism. Dan's heroics, in the end, become a match for Ben's antiheroics, and Will learns to love his father.

This drippy father-son stuff is the least successful aspect of the movie, perhaps because it's overly familiar not only from other Westerns, but also from all-too-many current contemporary films. Who can blame Will for being starry-eyed around Ben? From a didactic standpoint, the problem with most morality plays, this one included, is that the villains are almost always more exciting than the champions of decency.

On the other hand, what Alfred Hitchcock once said about thrillers also applies to Westerns: The stronger the bad guy, the better the film. By that measure, "3:10 to Yuma" is excellent. Grade: B+

Luciano Pavarotti, 71

In memoriam, here's a clip of Pavarotti singing "Nessun Dorma" from YouTube:

James A. Baker on "Pragmatic Idealism"

The former Secretary of State's 10 maxims to guide American foreign policy have been published in The National Interest:

What I suggest might be called “pragmatic idealism.” While firmly grounded in values, it appreciates the complexity of the real world—a world of hard choices and painful trade-offs. This is the real world in which we must live, decide and act.

It is a world that Ronald Reagan understood. He was, famously, a man of deeply held conviction. But he was also pragmatic. When I was his chief of staff, he often told me, “Jim, I’d rather get 80 percent of what I want than to go over the cliff with my flag flying.” The Gipper, of course, was right.

I am not proposing a dogmatic list that must be checked off for each foreign- policy challenge we confront. On the contrary, these maxims embody a mindset marked by a realistic assessment of events and a practical response to them. They represent anything but elements of a rigid ideology that forces events into preconceived notions and creates “either/or” choices that are both false and dangerous. This approach embodies one of our most distinctive national characteristics: We Americans are a practical people less interested in ideological purity than in solving problems. Our pragmatism should inform our foreign policy.

Such a balanced approach can help us avoid both the cynicism of “realism” and the impracticality of “idealism.” It is based on an optimistic view of man but is tempered by our knowledge of human imperfection. It promises no easy answers or quick fixes. But neither did the containment policy pursued by U.S. administrations, Democratic and Republican alike, during the Cold War. Yet that policy ultimately triumphed. It was based, much like the approach I have sketched, on a unique melding of idealism and realism. It eschewed the temptations of both isolationism on the one hand, and rollback of communism through direct conflict with the Soviet Union on the other. And it reflected, at an important level, a confidence about the future that we need to recapture.

Such an approach does, I am convinced, offer our surest guide and best hope for navigating our great country safely though this precarious period of unparalleled opportunity and risk in world affairs.

Just in Time for the Jewish Holidays...

Thanks to an email from a friend in Hollywood, I've learned that
Netflix now carries WHO SHALL LIVE AND WHO SHALL DIE? My distributor tells me they ordered 100 copies, so there should be plenty of DVDs available....

The Blogger Who Ended Senator Craig's Career

Profiled in today's Washington Post Style section by Jose Antonio Vargas under the headline: "The Most Feared Man on the Hill?" He reportedly has a hit list with 30 names on it, so far. His name is Mike Rogers:

A little volume titled "The Book of Questions: Business, Politics and Ethics" is tucked under his coffee table. There, on Page 193, is the question: "How much right do we have to know about the private lives of elected officials?"

Rogers says, "When those private lives are in direct conflict with the public policy that these officials espouse, I think it's fair game that their private lives be brought into this. And I have to blog to do that with. Here's the question: What community is expected to protect its own enemies? Don't beat up the gay community, and then expect us to protect your secrets and your double life. It's just not right."

Mike Rogers' blog is BlogActive.com.

Enjoy Labor Day Weekend...

From Wikipedia:

A recurring Labor Day event in the United States, since 1966, is the annual telethon of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, hosted by Jerry Lewis to fund research and patient support programs for the various diseases grouped as muscular dystrophy. The telethon raises tens of millions of dollars each year.

Labor Day weekend also marked the annual running of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC. The race was run at any time during the weekend from 1950-2002. In 2004, NASCAR began racing on Labor Day weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. This dropped the race to November in the schedule for 2004 which became a night race and was dropped altogether in 2005 in favor of a Mother's Day weekend night race.

An old custom eschewed wearing white after Labor Day. The custom is rooted in nothing more than popular fashion etiquette. In actuality, the etiquette originally stated that white shoes were the taboo while white or "winter white" clothes were acceptable. This custom is fading from popularity as it continues to be questioned and challenged, particularly by leaders in the fashion world. "Fashion magazines are jumping on this growing trend, calling people who 'dare' to wear white after Labor Day innovative, creative, and bold. Slowly but surely, white is beginning to break free from its box, and is becoming acceptable to wear whenever one pleases. This etiquette is comparable to the Canadian fashion rule against wearing green after Remembrance Day. In the world of western attire, it is similarly tradition to wear a straw cowboy hat until Labor Day. After Labor Day, the felt hat is worn until Memorial Day. ",

MuseBook e-Scores

I think I found the company that makes the automatic music score device spotted on From the Top last night: MuseBook.

You can buy one online from Kelly's Music and Computers:

MuseBook Score is an electronic score solution which automatically turns page for you! Use a Tablet PC instead of sheet music and open MusicXML score files saved on your computer's hard disk. As you play the piano, MuseBook Score listens to the piano performance through a microphone, recognizes where you are playing, then turns pages automatically. MuseBook Score works with both acoustic and digital pianos.

Automatic Page Turning
Let MuseBook Score be your page turner. You concentrate only on the music, and then piano practicing becomes far more effective.

Current Position Display
Have MuseBook Score respond to your piano performance. As you play the piano, it indicates the current performing note with a color you defined. It provides not only an easier way of reading scores, but also more fun piano practicing by interactive learning environment.

Score Player
With MuseBook Score, you can hear what the score sounds like. Listening to the score before you practice helps you understand and memorize the music better.

How does MuseBook Score work?

MuseBook Score listens to the live piano performance through a microphone connected to a computer and recognizes the complex performance utilizing artificial intelligence technology. Therefore, MuseBook Score automatically tracks current performing notes and turns the pages over when it is timed to.

Music recognition technology enables a machine or a computer to listen to the music and recognize its contents in a similar way as human ear and brain do. Artificial intelligence software emulates a human's music recognition process by means of digital signal processing.

Ken Burns' Latest Snafu

Is Ken Burns fubar?

According to today's Washington Post, the latest controversy swirls over four-letter words in his 14 1/2-hour PBS documentary about WWII, The War:

"It's the world we live in right now," said Joe Bruns, WETA's chief operating officer. "My own view is that with the landscape of a 14-hour film about World War II, and given the overall obscenity of war, four words are not particularly shocking -- especially given the fact that these are words used routinely at that time. But [nowadays], we have to exercise an abundance of caution."

The profanity could subject a station to a $325,000 indecency fine if broadcast between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In two instances, the words are spoken by former American soldiers as they describe the meaning of the common military euphemisms "snafu" and "fubar," as well as some combat experiences. The other two words refer to a body part and excrement. In the edited version, the soundtrack briefly goes silent when the profanities are uttered.

In an interview, Burns called the soldiers' comments "four incredibly appropriate words." He added: "It's what soldiers in battle say, and not just during World War II."

From the Top

Last night, our local PBS station aired a marathon broadcast of From the Top, a show in which young people perform classical music. I enjoyed it. To hear and see 12 year old virtuosi of widely diverse backgrounds play Chopin on the piano, Kreisler on the violin, or Schumann on the clarinet provided a sorely-needed alternative to MTV, gangster rap, or Britney Spears. Sort of a junior classical "American Idol," without the competition.

It reminded me of watching the Culture TV channel in Russia, where 6-year olds performed Mozart (the youngest musician I heard on PBS last night was 10, playing a cello) in real musical competitions as well as on variety shows.

Producer Don Mischer did a good job keeping the tone light rather than solemn for Carnegie Hall and WGBH, Boston (how come not WNET?). Pianist Christopher O'Riley did his best as an MC to keep things moving along. He accompanies the kids on the piano, so you can see how good they are compared to him.

And, I really loved the electronic music score on the piano--no more page turners. Who makes it, and how does it work? Maybe O'Riley will explain it someday.

Only a few quibbles:

*The show is billed as "Live" from Carnegie Hall. Actually, it is taped in front of a live audience. It's nice, but not really live. Truth in advertising, please.

*O'Riley's jokes can verge on the tasteless, especially in front of children. Giving a 12-year old pianist "Michael Jackson's glove" and a 12-year old violinist a pair of worn tube socks prizes seemed tacky and undercut the positive atmosphere of the show. O'Riley also seemed a little jealous of his young co-stars at times. It would be nice if he could keep that natural competitiveness more in check.

*Let's have information on CDs, iTunes, and websites on the TV screen while the kids perform on the show. There is a link on the NPR website, but it takes a few clicks.

*The NPR radio show version (about which I had heard nothing before the PBS broadcast), is not simulcast. Why not?

These are minor points. Overall, From the Top is top-notch cultural fare, and a welcome addition to the TV schedule. I'm sure it will help encourage more young people to take music lessons. Although the original 13-episodes are "in the can" (they showed 7 half-hours last night on WETA, I think), I hope PBS gives it a regular weekly time-slot in the Fall.

BTW, Young musicians can apply to perform on the show by clicking this link.

Rudy Giuliani & Teddy Roosevelt

Yesterday I stumbled accross Ed Koch's attack on Rudy Giuliani in a local bookstore. I thumbed through the large print of Giuliani: Nasty Man (easy to read at my age) and found a chapter that actually explains Giuliani's appeal.

In what he thought was a savage demolition of Giuliani's mayoral record, Koch called him "a great NYC Police Commissioner." Koch meant it as a put-down, but I think it may turn out to be a compliment.

Koch's label can help Giuliani overcome the jinx that prevented other NYC mayors, like John Lindsay and Ed Koch, from reaching the Oval Office. For Giuliani can run as a former NYC Police Commissioner, just like Teddy Roosevelt. According to the law of unintended consequences, Ed Koch may have done Giuliani a favor.

TR served as NYC Police Commissioner before he became President. Like Giuliani, Roosevelt was a maverick Republican, a Progressive who believed in peace through strength. He built up US Navy's "Great White Fleet"--and never had to use it. He presided over the expansion of American power throughout the world, and the dynamic growth of American industry at home. Peace and prosperity were the hallmarks of the Roosevelt Era. TR's enduring popularity helped Franklin Roosevelt (his cousin) win the Democratic nomination during the Great Depression. His "Square Deal" was a forefunner of the "New Deal."

Not bad for a NYC Police Commissioner. Here's a link to his bio on Wikipedia.

Nureyev on PBS

Speaking of anti-communists, I hope readers had a chance to watch PBS' broadcast of the BBC documentary Nureyev: The Russian Years last night on Great Performances. The documentary was fascinating, and explained why the Soviet ballet star defected to the West--he faced 5 years in a Siberian prison camp for homosexual behavior, which just might have been his death sentence. Having just read David Caute's The Dancer Defects, with a chapter on Nureyev, the film seemed particularly vivid and compelling. The face-off between KGB and French police at Le Bourget airport at the moment of Nureyev's leap to freedom was dramatized beautifully in a first-person eyewitness account. Nice clips of Nureyev dancing both in Russia and the West, too.

You can read my review of The Dancer Defects at Amazon.com.

Humberto Fontova: Shame on the Washington Post!

Agustin Blazquez sent us this op-ed by Humberto Fontnova, author of Exposing the Real Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him, criticizing the Washington Post for running a recent Pat Oliphant cartoon advocating the deportation of Cuban-Americans:

Note that a smiling Uncle Sam insults an American ethnic group as “nuisances" while forcibly expelling them from the nation in a rickety boat titled "Cuban-Americans," while these scowling, elderly and Mafiosi-clad people scream “we demand a chance to interfere with the '08 election!”

By “interfere” we have to assume the cartoonist refers to the right, privilege and duty bestowed upon U.S. citizens known as "voting." It so happens that the cartoonist, Pat Oliphant, is himself an immigrant to this country. In an interview with Time magazine he admitted to “leaning Democratic” in his politics.

I now invite you to contemplate the reaction from the usual political-correctness police had any other U.S. ethnic group (except overwhelmingly Republican Cuban-Americans) inhabited that boat. Imagine the fire and brimstone (literal, perhaps) if instead of Fedoras (rarely worn by Cuban-Americans, by the way) the group had worn kuffiyeh's, burkha's and chadors!

Imagine the clamor and attempted extortions followed by craven apologies and grovelings if the boat's passengers had been "nappy-headed" and headed for Africa! Imagine the rallies in Los Angeles and the indignant blusterings by California politicians and Nancy Pelosi if they'd worn sombreros!

Such cartoons are indeed imaginable with other ethnic groups — but surely with Uncle Sam cast as the villain, wearing a white hood, a swastika or an Ann Coulter mask. Maybe all three. In this one Uncle Sam smiles benevolently while handing the boat's ethnic occupants their just desserts.

When earlier this year authorities in Virginia's Prince William County attempted to enforce U.S. laws against illegal immigration the Washington Post denounced it as “shameful," "hypocritical" and "ugly." "Hounding Immigrants" ran the editorial's title (no mention of "illegal" in the title, though it came up in the text.) "By singling out illegal immigrants, local politicians are contributing to what is becoming a poisonous, increasingly nativist atmosphere that will infect relations with Hispanics generally."

Nothing "poisonous" or "infectious," "shameful" or "nativist", mind you, about a cartoon gloating over the expulsion of U.S. citizens of Hispanic origin from America's shores in a manner identical to Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of Jews and Moors from Spain.

When U.S. Federal authorities attempted to enforce U.S. law against illegal immigration in New Bedford earlier this summer the Post once again stormed to its pulpit and denounced it as: "Cruel," "lurid" "hypocritical, "self- defeating" and "illogical." "Stop the Raids! Stop Hurting Children!" blared their editorial headline. "The New Bedford raid is an inelegant example of how badly this country needs a clear-eyed immigration policy, one that provides . . . a path to citizenship for immigrants who have put down roost and contributed to the national economy." ("As long as they don't go on to vote Republican" they forgot to add.)

The immigrant (actually, refugee) group the Post insults in a manner utterly inconceivable for any other, is in fact the very one that “implanted roots" and "contributed to the national economy” like few others. The 1998 census shows Americans of Cuban heritage to have income and educational levels higher — not just than other "Hispanic" (a meaningless term) groups, but higher than the U.S population in general. Lower crime rates than the national average complete the picture.

But these insufferable people consistently vote close to 80 percent Republican, you see. This sin instantly nullifies all of the Washington Posts usual hyper-sensitivity in these matters.

Attempting to enforce U.S. law as in potential expulsion, (with full due process) of, illegal immigrants is denounced by the Washington Post as "xenophobic," "shameful," "poisonous," "nativist," "cruel," "self defeating," "illogical," and "ugly."

But a cartoon celebrating the expulsion of Americans who happened to be foreign-born, who played by the rules, who became U.S. citizens, who then outpaced even the overall U.S. population in educational and income levels (in "Americanization" you might say) and who specialize in exercising their right and duty to vote, well, these vermin should be shoved off en masse to Stalinist prison camps by a smiling Uncle Sam. Unreal.

Senator Craig & Walter Jenkins

Another parallel comes to mind, between the predicaments of Republican Sen. Larry Craig and Democratic LBJ aide Walter Jenkins, the Karl Rove of the Johnson administration, whose career came to an end after he was arrested in a YMCA toilet. Here's a link to the Wikipedia version of the story:

Johnson's former aides have generally credited much of Johnson's political success to Jenkins. In 1975 journalist Bill Moyers, a former Johnson aide and press secretary, wrote in Newsweek, "When they came to canonize political aides, [Jenkins] will be the first summoned, for no man ever negotiated the shark-infested waters of the Potomac with more decency or charity or came out on the other side with his integrity less shaken. If Lyndon Johnson owed everything to one human being other than Lady Bird, he owed it to Walter Jenkins." Joseph Califano wrote, "Jenkins was the nicest White House aide I ever met in any administration. He was never overbearing. It was quite remarkable."

D.C. Scandal

His career with Johnson ended in October 1964, when Washington, D.C. police arrested Jenkins during a homosexual liaison at a YMCA and a reporter at the Washington Star learned of the incident. Johnson applied considerable pressure on the newspaper not to print the story and recruited his personal lawyer, Abe Fortas, to lobby the newspaper's editor. However, the story eventually appeared in the Star and Jenkins was forced to resign.

The arrest raised questions about whether Jenkins had been blackmailed. At this time gay men and lesbians were automatically denied clearance. Johnson's opponent in the 1964 presidential election, Barry Goldwater, who knew Jenkins from the Senate and served as commanding officer of his Air Force Reserve unit, chose not to make the incident a campaign issue. "It was a sad time for Jenkins' wife and children, and I was not about to add to their private sorrow," Goldwater later wrote in his autobiography. "Winning isn't everything. Some things, like loyalty to friends or lasting principle, are more important." Jenkins arrest was quickly overshadowed by international affairs -- the People's Republic of China successfully tested its first nuclear device and the politburo of the USSR overthrew Nikita Khrushchev.

Members of Congress called for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to carry out an investigation into the case, citing concerns that the FBI had been unaware of Jenkins previous offence in the same Washington toilet six years earlier. Tapes of Johnson's Oval Office telephone calls later revealed that the President had orchestrated the FBI report that cleared Jenkins of any suspicions that he had compromised national security. However, investigations did reveal that Jenkins, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, had tried to use his influence to reinstate a fellow officer dismissed for sex offences.

Johnson did not replace Jenkins, but instead divided his responsibilities among several staff members. "A great deal of the president's difficulties can be traced to the fact that Walter had to leave," Johnson's press secretary, George Reedy, once told an interviewer. "All of history might have been different if it hadn't been for that episode." Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark suggested that Jenkins' resignation "deprived the president of the single most effective and trusted aide that he had. The results would be enormous when the president came into his hard times. Walter's counsel on Vietnam might have been extremely helpful."

The LBJ library has tapes of conversations between Abe Fortas and the President about Jenkins. I think I may have heard this recording broadcast on C-SPAN. Here's the catalog listing, for readers who want to check out the original tape.

Citation No.: 5876
Speaker: ABE FORTAS
Tape: WH6410.08 Program No.: 6
Length: 15:03

Date: 10/14/64
Time: 3:56P
To/From: F
Transcribed: N
Restriction: OPEN

Comments: "NEW YORK C."; FORTAS IS MEETING WITH CLARK CLIFFORD AT TIME OF CALL; CLIFFORD IS LISTED ON SLIP BUT DOES NOT SPEAK; POOR SOUND QUALITY; LBJ HOARSE, FORTAS DIFFICULT TO HEAR; CONTINUES ON NEXT PNO

Topics: FORTAS TELLS LBJ THAT WALTER JENKINS HAS BEEN HOSPITALIZED FOR NERVOUS EXHAUSTION FOLLOWING HIS ARREST LAST WEEK ON MORALS CHARGE; FORTAS' AND CLIFFORD'S EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS NEWS STORIES OF ARREST; JENKINS' 1959 ARREST; POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON CAMPAIGN

Alberto Gonzales & Webster Hubbell

The departure of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General recalled the saga of former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell in the Clinton Administration. This reminder, from Wikipedia:

Webster Lee Hubbell (born 1949), known as Webster L. Hubbell and Webb Hubbell, was an Arkansas lawyer and politician. He was a lawyer in Pulaski County before serving as Mayor of Little Rock from 1979 until he resigned in 1981. He was appointed by Bill Clinton as chief justice of Arkansas State Supreme Court in 1983. When Clinton became President, Hubbell was appointed as associate attorney general; he was generally considered the third most powerful person in the Justice Department. His wife is Suzanna "Suzy" Hubbell.

In December 1994, Hubbell pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges connection with his handling of billing at the Rose Law Firm, a firm with partners that once included Hillary Clinton and Vince Foster. Hubbell admitted he had defrauded former clients and former partners out of $482,410.83. On June 28, 1995, Judge George Howard sentenced Hubbell to 21 months' imprisonment.

On the other hand, Ann Coulter compares Gonzales with Janet Reno.

Gordon Hahn: The West Has Lost Russia

From the Moscow Times (ht Johnson's Russia List):

Now Moscow's bitter disappointment with the West has taken the form of harsh anti-Americanism. It has also translated into a burning desire among the Russian elite and public to finally show the West that it would regret its policies once Russia "got up from its knees." That time has surely come.

Some analysts warned that this would be the inevitable result of NATO expansion and other flawed U.S. and Western policies. Only a partnership with Russia and a firm policy of drawing it into the West would prevent Moscow's turn to the East. This also would have prevented the revival of traditional Russian suspicion -- if not outright antagonism -- toward the West. Finally, a closer cooperation with Russia may have prevented Moscow's disenchantment with democracy, which it has interpreted as being no more than an insidious and cynical Western ploy to weaken Russia.

The cost of NATO expansion is that Russia has been lost in the medium term -- and perhaps in the long term as well -- as a powerful, committed democracy and Western ally. Moreover, the West has pushed Russia closer to China and Iran.

If these are the costs of NATO expansion, what are the advantages? Few, if any. The alliance received from its new member states: a few thousand additional troops that are stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, a three-jet Latvian air force and five Estonian nurses. Compare these benefits to Russia's vast military and intelligence resources and experience -- particularly in Afghanistan. Moreover, Moscow has helped to track down global jihadists, prevent the proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction and reconstruct Afghanistan. As a true ally, Russia could contribute much more to the Western alliance than the small new NATO members.

All opinion polls now show that a plurality or majority of Russians regard the United States as the greatest threat to Russia and the world. Putin has repeatedly decried the U.S. impetus for a "unipolar" international structure -- which is to say, global hegemony.

The Russian elite's consensus is even harsher. Alexander Solzhenitsyn recently said the United States seeks to encircle and weaken Russia. This statement is highly symbolic, coming from the esteemed writer who once took refuge in the United States as a political refugee from the Soviet state. It also underscores how cold U.S.-Russian relations have become.

John Danforth for Attorney General

Here's who I would like to see President Bush nominate for Attorney General of the United States: John Danforth. The former Ambassador to the UN and Senator from Missouri might be able to restore respect to the Justice Department among the American public, Congress, and the rest of the world. I bet he would not give a green-light to torture, either--since he's an ordained Episcopal priest, in addition to everything else.

He resigned in a hurry from his UN job in 2005, no doubt passed over for a cabinet job like Secretary of State. Now's Bush's chance to bring him--and mainstream thinking--back into the administration. I think he'd get confirmed without too much trouble by the Senate, especially since Danforth used to serve on the Judiciary Committee...and according to CNN, he told Bush that he would be available for "short-term assignments". With only 18 months left in the administration, sounds like a perfect match.

Here's a link to Danforth's Wikipedia entry.

Alex De Waal: Darfur Problem Not Genocide

In the Washington Post today, De Waal and co-author Julie Flint say the real problem in Darfur is "anarchy:"

While the script of many rights campaigners and activists has remained stuck in the groove of "genocide," Darfur faces something that can be just as deadly in the long term: anarchy. The government is a dictatorship, but its writ doesn't run beyond the first checkpoints outside the towns. The army has a fearsome arsenal, but two much-heralded offensives last year were smartly and bloodily annihilated by rebels. The air force is rarely used, except when targets of opportunity arise -- or the rebels have the army on the run. There have been no large-scale offensives by the government in 2007.

The Sudanese government relies on its Arab militias for a semblance of control, but increasingly these militias pursue their own agendas. The largest loss of life this year occurred in clashes between two Arab militias, most recently at the end of July, when 100 militia members and Arab civilians died. The other big ongoing crisis, and the major cause of more than 100,000 people being displaced this year, is a multisided conflict in Southern Darfur involving warring Arab militias; rebel commanders from the Sudan Liberation Army who are now allied with the government, though other commanders are fighting it; a militia drawn from West African immigrants; and a rebel commander from the Justice and Equality Movement who answers to no one but himself. Simple, it isn't.

More on Darfur by De Waal at the CSIS website and on his Social Science Research Council blog.