But on the Other Hand...

Jim Hoagland highlights an achievement in the Iraqi election that I had not seen mentioned, the success of women in the polls. Of the 140 candidates in the winning Shiite slate nearly a third (45) were women. Of the 275 members of the newly elected parliament 31% are women.

On the Other Hand...

To balance off David Ignatius I present to you Juan Cole. It is true that Mr. Cole has been in something of a funk since the Iraqi election, but he still raises a decent if not simplistic point about democracy in the Mid East. He wonders what we will do if democracy does spread in the Arab states, but they elect governments that act against our interests. Cole's exhibit A is the leading candidate for Iraq's top slot Ibrahim Jafari who has strong ties to Iran. It's true that Jafari spent a good part of his exile in Iran, but what Cole neglects to mention that Jafari left Iran for London to escape Irani control.

The Cardinal Eats Crow

Wow, who would have thought there are still people out there with a conscience? Douglas Wead feels guilty enough about taping the President that he has decided to turn over the tapes to W. and has decided to give all future profits from his book to charity. By the way the book has sunk back to #1,014.

And The Walls Came Down?

David Ignatius has my quote of the day and undoubtedly the story that will warm the cockels of every neo-con's heart. Here he is reporting on the situation in Lebanon:

The leader of this Lebanese intifada is Walid Jumblatt, the patriarch of the Druze Muslim community and, until recently, a man who accommodated Syria's occupation. But something snapped for Jumblatt last year, when the Syrians overruled the Lebanese constitution and forced the reelection of their front man in Lebanon, President Emile Lahoud. The old slogans about Arab nationalism turned to ashes in Jumblatt's mouth, and he and Hariri openly began to defy Damascus.

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq," explains Jumblatt. "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." Jumblatt says this spark of democratic revolt is spreading. "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Not all is hunky dory of course. Ignatius goes on to mention that the most powerful political unit in Lebanon remains Hizbollah.

What Timing...

A front page story in the New York Times explores the economic nightmare that is Latin America. A focus is given on the backlash against privatized and the failure to deliver even the most basic services. In bookstores this month is "Liberty for Latin America: How to Undo Five Hundred Years of State Oppression" by Alvaro Vargas Llosa in which he discusses what we wrong during the free market wave of the 80's and 90's and how to make it right. Unfortunately for Vargas Llosa he did not get a mention in this Times front-pager so I do not see an Amazon spike in his future. Vargas Llosa will be at Books and Books next month.

#70 and Climbing

Remember that book that Douglas Wead was not promoting? The one in which he used secret recordings with the President for background material? I know he only released the tapes to provide insight on the Prez and he only recorded him out of concern for the historical record, but isn't it funny that his book has zoomed 5,920 spots on the Amazon Bestseller List after he played them for the New York Times? Wow can you imagine how it would sell if he was actually promoting his book?

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!

W is off to Europe and there is no shortage of advice. The NY Times asks a group of notable Euros to offer their opinion on how the US can win back the Euros. First there is the the absurd or delusional: Bono wants more attention and aid for Africa, a Nobel Prize winner in literature (her books blow) wishes for us to sit around and sing "Kumbaya" (not really, but that's what she's saying), a French expert wants a reformed NATO with the Euro's taking up their fair share of defense (that hasn't happened since 1919) and a German wants a Security Council Seat for Europe . Can you just imagine how long it would take for the Euro rep at the Council to vote on anything? There is still some common sense in here one writer asks Bush to stay true, and Robert Skidlesky (an economist that writes well) urges W to talk about the dollar.

In other papers Jim Hoagland does not think that W should expect much from the Euros, neither does a German writer in the LA Times. The LA Times also does a quick 'round the world survey to show how politicos have used their relations (good or bad) with the US to get ahead. Daalder and Kupchan, not really big Bush fans, try to tell him how to make nice with the Euros...treat them as one entity. They kind of go overboard on the Euro's hard work with Iran...it has accomplished nothing. A former Clintonite recognizes a shift in the Bush Admin, but puts the entire onus on fixing things on the Bushies (more multilateral with the threat of Iran, completely unilateral on N. Korea).

Awesome piece on Rafiq Hariri, the assassinated former Lebanese PM. Nora Boustany who wrote it is originally from Beirut and spent 26 years covering Lebanon. The LA Times explains Syria's hold on Lebanon. The Council on Foreign Relations also has a great recap of how Syria got into Lebanon and what it all means. Thomas Friedman is getting a little giddy about a "Baghdad Spring" and that the Arab Street may not jump when their local despot asks them to.

BUSH'S SECRET TAPES REVEALED!

Ok not necessarily foreign policy news but am I the only one who thinks that today's big story in the New York Times is kind of National Enquire-ish? Secret tapes where he implies marijuana use! They reveal that he liked John Ashcroft! The entire story could have been told in one page, but the article runs for five! Funny how the Times is absolutely blaise about being used by the man who taped the conversations to promote his new book currently ranked 5,990th in Amazon sales. Let's see if there is a blip in sales...