David Frum on Slate, Susan Sontag and Mithal al-Alusi

Uncharacteristically long diary piece by David Frum today in which he takes on the sophomoric tendency of Slate magazine, comparing their juvenile (and fashionable) sarcastic treatment of Arab dissidents with Communist dissidents of the 20th century. He quotes a Susan Sontag mea culpa regarding her own dalliance withe anti-anti-Communist left and the unjustified suspicion reserved for intellectuals such as Csezlaw Milosz. This quotation in particular shows just how well engaged conservatives such as Frum are with the left. It'd be nice to see Buckley quoted in The Nation.

The article by al-Alusi on the reaction to his trip to Israel should serve as reminder to conservatives that even the pro-American elements in Iraq do not find the occupation entirely welcome. And that al-Alusi has been targeted by gunmen and his children murdered should remind us all of the risks taken by true dissidents.