In direct contravention of my wife's explicit instructions, herewith I inaugurate my first blog. Long may it prosper.

For some reason, I think I have something to say to you. You think you have something to say to me? Email me at: gideonsblogger -at- yahoo -dot- com

 
Welcome to all the visitors brought here by John Derbyshire, to whom I owe a debt of thanks. If you're looking for stuff that is at least somewhat topical to what John directed you here for (stuff about the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on questions of nationalism and how it - or the lack of it in a mature form - plays into the current war against the West and the prospects for success - or even survival - of various countries in the region (long sentence, I know), here are a few items from the archives:

* On Egypt's foreign policy priorities.
* On the difference between Egypt and Syria.
* On not blaming Islam, and how it's not that simple.
* On healthy nationalism, its lack in much of the Middle East, and how this causes problems that can't be solved from the outside.
* A follow-up on the same topic.
* 10 rules for building successful nations in the Middle East.
* On various models of nationalism and their differences (and particularly on which is most appropriate for Israel).
* On the consequences of not supporting revolution in Iran, with reference to post-1989 China.

Stick around. I can't. Got to go back to work.
posted by Noah at 2:17 PM