Betzee said...

Betzee at 06:16 AM JST - 31st March

[From Yahoo News AP}: The fact that al-Maliki apparently miscalculated the response casts doubt on his judgment and raises serious questions about his commitment to the U.S. goal of national reconciliation.

Despite the Mahdi Army's unsavory image, a number of key U.S. commanders and officials here have long maintained that…

Posted in Sadr orders militia to reject PM's call to surrender arms at 06:16 AM JST - 31st March
Betzee at 02:29 AM JST - 31st March

"Al-Sadr’s goal—or one of his goals—is to remove the foreign invader and that will most likely not be realized under al-Maliki, under whom the invader is there for the long term."

I'm not sure a society can be stable when it is occupied by a foreign army. It's difficult enough…

Posted in Sadr orders militia to reject PM's call to surrender arms at 02:29 AM JST - 31st March
Betzee at 11:55 PM JST - 30th March

Taka, Moral outrage is intended to stifle debate when those expressing it lack the knowledge to respond. It's an old trick utilized, ironically, by those who profess to be advancing the cause of freedom.

Sadr and his Madhi Army may have convinced their constituency they were Robin Hoods at one…

Posted in Sadr orders militia to reject PM's call to surrender arms at 11:55 PM JST - 30th March
Betzee at 10:36 AM JST - 28th March

Oh where, oh where are the posters who chide the skeptics over our doubts about the Iraqis' "readiness" for democracy????

This is in fact hinges on whether a country that has been under authoritarian dictatorial rule--Iraq, Tibet, or any other--can develop democratic institutions able to mediate conflicts and resolve them…

Posted in Baghdad under curfew as Iraqi forces battle militia at 10:36 AM JST - 28th March
Betzee at 10:55 AM JST - 27th March

"The CCP removed Dali Lama from the Potala Palace, and they make the Potala Palace the most prominent place of tourist attraction in Tibet rather than a place of worship."

In fact he fled himself. The monks are chafing under political oppression which restricts their right to practice their religion.…

Posted in China calls demonstrators 'shameful' at 10:55 AM JST - 27th March
Betzee at 11:06 PM JST - 26th March

ARE THE TIBETANS doomed to go the way of the American Indians? Will they be reduced to being little more than a tourist attraction, peddling cheap mementos of what was once a great culture? In Tibet itself, that sad fate is looking more and more likely. And the Olympic year…

Posted in China calls demonstrators 'shameful' at 11:06 PM JST - 26th March