More riots in ME

Monday, I enumerated some of the protests against repressive governments in the Middle East, Algeria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iran. Today you can add Bahrain and Libya. While he was urging Palestinians to revolt against Israel, Gaddafi didn’t notice the unrest among his own population.

Two people were killed in Bahrain protests and during a funeral for one of the victims of the Iran protests, more violence broke out;

Although opposition Web sites say the two people killed in Monday’s demonstrations were anti-government protesters, state television said the victims were members of a paramilitary organization and had been killed by the opposition, as government-backed entities have asserted.

“Students and the people attending the funeral ceremony of the martyred student have clashed with a limited number of people apparently linked to the sedition movement and forced them out by chanting slogans of death to hypocrites,” the state TV Web site said.

Apparently, some Iranian protesters are prepared to die;

Karroubi, once a pillar of the regime, said in a statement posted on his website Sahamnews.org, he was ready to “pay any price”.

“I declare that I am not afraid of any kind of threat and as a soldier of this great nation for the past almost 50 years, I am ready to pay any price,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration twiddles it’s collective thumbs as infighting between the Clinton and Obama camps makes for a sluggish policy towards the protests and our relationships with the petty fiefdoms. More of that “smart diplomacy”, no doubt.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy