The New Republic

The provost of University College, London, where Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab studied for three years, said that he was "completely shocked" by the news of what the Christmas terrorist had tried to do. Really? I've just received an e-mail from an old Harvard colleague, whose accomplishments include seeing social and intellectual trends in the world--the Muslim world, especially--that many of his fellow academics blithely deny. Here is his New Year’s morning correspondence: READ MORE >>

Three years ago, an Israeli jet fighter prowling for one particular Palestinian terrorist just missed Ahmad Dahduh's car. Alongside it was Hamdi Aman's car, which the jet hit. Aman's oldest son, wife, and mother were killed. His daughter Marya was thrown from the car. Marya's spinal cord was broken at the neck. During the Gaza war, Hamas dispatched a rocket into Beersheva. Actually, two rockets. The first one missed. The second one hit Orel, who quite literally lost half his brain. His mother, a surgical nurse, said "I saw his brain coming out ... I was not even scratched." READ MORE >>

Many religions practice self-flagellation rituals. Even today. Catholics in Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, the Philippines, and ultramontane Roman Catholics of the Opus Dei conviction flagellate themselves on Good Friday in fraternity with the suffering of Jesus. Among Sunnis, it is forbidden. Not so among the Shi'a, where there is no actual uniformity of belief and certainly not in practice. READ MORE >>

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Jorge Castañeda’s lament ("Adios, Monroe Doctrine," December 28, 2009) about U.S. indifference towards Latin America sounds a familiar theme. His claim that “the United States doesn’t seem to care much what happens in Latin America” has been a constant refrain that has dominated analyses of U.S. regional policy since the mid-1970s. The “new passivity” is not, after all, terribly new.   READ MORE >>

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This AP story reminds us that it's going to be tough to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan so long as they have a safe haven across the border in Pakistan: SHAKTOI, Pakistan (AP) -- A top Pakistani Taliban commander says he sent thousands of fighters to neighboring Afghanistan to rebuff incoming U.S. troops, a claim that comes as a Pakistani army offensive is believed to have pushed many of his men to flee their main redoubt. READ MORE >>

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Apparently I found Newsweek's interview with Henry Kissinger and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton more interesting than Isaac did. Clinton makes what I think are a couple of interesting observations,  including this one, about diplomacy in the modern world: READ MORE >>

I'm no expert, but the more I think and learn about Pakistan, the more I wonder whether there's any hope of a healthy long-term relationship between our country and theirs. Here's an example of the culture gap we're facing: READ MORE >>