Links February 14th to February 15th

Links from my del.icio.us account for February 14th through February 15th:

• The Saharan Conundrum - NYTimes.com - Article on US policy towards Mauritania, move from Bush administration balancing of security cooperation with nasty regimes and push for democratization. It's flawed in many respects, and the author, a Pakistan expert, may be trying to apply ideas from that country (esp. US backing for Musharaff's dictatorship) to Mauritania. I don't think the two are comparable, and Mauritania does not have the same jihadist tradition/experience that Pakistan had since the 1970s. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's the author's point.


• Army returns to an old tactic to defeat resurgent Taliban: sniping | UK news | The Observer - Article about the use of snipers as most effective weapon in Afghanistan.


• Maghreb Politics Review - New multi-author blog led by the guy who runs The Moor Next Door, will focus on covering Maghreb politics and geostrategy in English, bringing more attention to a region mostly covered in Arabic and French.


• Israel’s Back Yard - New blog on West Bank checkpoints by Israeli human rights activist.


• TPMMuckraker | Talking Points Memo | Blackwater Is Dead! Long Live ... Xe? - Blackwater rebrands itself. All's forgiven.