Uprisings in the Arab World

After a popular uprising toppled the government of Tunisia, it may have only been a matter of time before the frustration with strongman rule in the Arab world boiled over. Now demonstrators in Egypt and Yemen have taken to the streets, in Egypt to demand an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, and in Yemen to protest the government of Ali Abdallah Saleh. Spearheading the protests in both countries are thousands of students and young people who are angry at a lack of economic progress and dictatorial rule. The Egyptian government is employing thousands of police and security forces to control the demonstrations, which have spread from Cairo to Suez, and the situation is extremely tense. Yemen is a new "ground zero" for expanded al Queda operations, and the government there has been cooperating with U.S. efforts to disrupt their activities.

Developments in Egypt and Yemen bear close watching given the strategic importance of these Arab nations. Will it be a failed "Prague spring" moment or will democracy take root in these important Arab countries?

G.I. Joe

We noticed over the weekend that neocon Likudnik Joe Lieberliar now wants the U.S. to preemptively attack Yemen after the aborted airline bombing this past week. We're already stretched militarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, with troops stationed in South Korea, Western Europe and elsewhere, and now Lieberliar -- who never served in the armed forces -- blithely states on the Fux News Sunday poo-fling that "Yemen will be tomorrow's war" if we don't act preemptively. We thought Iran was "tomorrow's war" for Lieberliar, or was that Syria....

Soon, Lieberliar will have us fighting the entire Muslim world (maybe so that the Israelis won't have to?). Al Qaeda must be thrilled that they have a recruiter working for them in the U.S. Senate.

(photo: G.I. Joe unleashes his weapon of choice: halitosis with a helping of bullshit)