The Iranian Foreign Minister is demanding that Great Britain withdraw her troops from the Iraqi city of Basra. Prime Minister Tony Blair has rejected that demand, calling it a diversion from the real issues surrounding Iranian behavior.

In Iraq, the New York Times is reporting on the changing social structure in that country as people retreat to the sanctuary of their sect and tribe. While this is understandable, it does not bode well for the creation of a stable, unified Iraqi state.

Hillary Clinton is sponsoring a bill that would prevent foreign ownership of companies that run our ports. This is in response to the decision by the administration to allow the sale of a British owned company that currently runs several major American ports to a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates. This could be a political winner for the Democrats.

There were more violent protests against the Danish cartoons yesterday, this time in Libya, directed against the Italian consulate. Why attack the Italian consulate? Because they were once the colonial masters of Libya and, as such, they represent to radical Muslims there the humiliation of defeat and occupation which has been the historical reality of the Islamic world since the fall of their Caliphate.

President Bush is calling for NATO help in peacekeeping efforts in Sudan.

Christopher Caldwell has the cover article in the Weekly Standard about Nicolas Sarkozy, the French Interior Minister who is a leading candidate to be the next President of the French Republic.