Some of the MSM are apparently beginning to wake up regarding the presence of al-Qaeda in Iran. Evidence that Iranian territory is being used as a base by al-Qaeda to help in terrorist operations in Iraq and elsewhere is growing, say western officials. It is not clear how much the al-Qaeda operation, described by one official as a money and communications hub, is being tolerated or encouraged by the Iranian

I dig her.

Leftists shrug. Again. An underground prison containing hundreds of bodies has been discovered in Afghanistan. The prison, a former military barracks on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, dates from the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, officials say. A senior police officer in Kabul says that many of the bodies were found blindfolded with arms tied. The find was revealed by a 70-year-old Afghan who worked for the Russians and

Rich Lowry, The Corner: At first I thought that commuting Libby’s sentence was a reasonable compromise—keeping him from serving prison time, but letting the jury verdict stand. But now I don’t think it makes any sense. There’s an incoherence at the heart of the administration’s case. It says that Libby’s sentence was excessive. But technically, it’s not. It’s only excessive if you think it was a politicized prosecution and never

I’ve written a bit on the topic of how doggedly the left holds to its ideological fantasies about Islamic terrorists’ acting out of economic desperation, even as a trove of empirical evidence is making it increasingly untenable to maintain such a (romanticized socio-economic) narrative. That is, unless you’re willing to ignore jihadists themselves — or recast them as “Neocon poster boys.” Which, now that I think about it, might not

— At least, that’s how I explained it to the two ranch hands who threatened to turn me in for killing a couple head of cattle with my Excalibur Exomax crossbow. Methane, I explained to them. Carbon blankets. Somebody has to do something, no? At which point they agreed to let me go for a Ronnie Milsap CD and a clump of dog hair I convinced them was trim leftover

Iowahawk is brilliant this morning.  Coffee snort keyboard shortcircuit warning.  British public safety officials today increased the national alert level to “Quite Elevated Indeed” — the highest category possible — and appealed to UK citizens to “keep a sharp lookout for diverse people engaged in activities.” “We ask the public to report any behaviors by various people that may or may not be of a suspicious nature,” said Lt. Clive

Today Gleen goes screedy on America’s loss of international standing, according to data compiled by Pew, during the Bush administration. If one argues — as I frequently do, including as a central argument in A Tragic Legacy — that America’s hard-earned moral credibility in the world has collapsed as a result of the Bush presidency, one can hear similar objections from each side — namely, that while America is despised

Via LGF and Italy’s Corriere della Sera comes notice that one of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet ministers is a Truther: Italy’s leading newspaper Corriere della Sera discloses today on its website that Christine Boutin, a French politician who is a member of Sarkozy’s cabinet, said during the electoral campaign that Bush might have been responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks. Her exact words on the journalist’s question is:

From Vincent Carroll, Rocky Mountain News: More bad news for “peak oil” enthusiasts — those wishful thinkers and doomsday peddlers who say the world is running out of oil. BP’s annual “Statistical Review of World Energy” shows “proved oil reserves continue to exceed 1.2 trillion barrels, equivalent to current production levels for more than 40 years.” If that’s not long enough for you, consider this: “Global proved oil and natural