MidEast Report

MEANWHILE, IN MERRY OLDE ENGLAND...
Prime Minister Tony Blair has come in for severe criticism for his support of Bush's Middle East policy, particularly his support of Bush's endorsemement of Ariel Sharon's plan to annex large portions of the Palestinian West Bank into Israel. I can understand why Blair is sticking with Bush on Iraq, but I'm confounded as to why he would stand by Bush's extremely ill-advised endorsement of Sharon's expansionism. Hopefully we'll get some answers when Blair responds to these criticisms.

Also in England, the New York Times reports:

The call to jihad is rising in the streets of Europe, and is being answered, counterterrorism officials say.

In this former industrial town north of London, a small group of young Britons whose parents emigrated from Pakistan after World War II have turned against their families' new home. They say they would like to see Prime Minister Tony Blair dead or deposed and an Islamic flag hanging outside No. 10 Downing Street.

They swear allegiance to Osama bin Laden and his goal of toppling Western democracies to establish an Islamic superstate under Shariah law, like Afghanistan under the Taliban. They call the Sept. 11 hijackers the "Magnificent 19" and regard the Madrid train bombings as a clever way to drive a wedge into Europe.

Isn't that sweet?

The Guardian reports that moderate Muslims in Luton demonstrated for peace, seeking to counter impressions of radical, anti-Western Islam. We need more of these kind of marches.

UPDATE: Here's the text of the letter sent to Blair.

posted by Matt Duss @ 12:16 PM