Happy Anniversary!

It's hard to believe it was one year ago today that I started this blog with a post entitled "Thoughts on the New Knighthood." I began this blog with a simple purpose: look at world events, particularly those involving Islamism, through the lens of history. It turns out I picked a great time to start writing about world events.

What a year it's been! The Arab Spring has turned from "peaceful" protests to open war in Libya and Syria. While many of us who were paying attention saw that coming a mile away, other events were hard to imagine twelve months ago. The death of Osama bin Laden, and to a lesser extent Anwar al-Awlaki, was surprising and certainly great news. Most events that I covered, however, were not as positive. Two stand out as frightening visions of possible things to come: the Norway murders by supposed radical nationalist Anders Breivik in July and the socialist-sparked London riots in August. Both of these events point to something I have feared for a couple of years now, namely that the economic and social stresses in Europe will split the continent between fascists, communists, and Islamists. The normal, freedom-loving (or at least not freedom-hating) Europeans will be squeezed into supporting one of these groups. In America, we have seen the idea of isolationism surge in popularity, represented in particular by Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul. Meanwhile, the Obama administration abandons allies like Israel while supporting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.

This has been a great experience for me, and I hope it will continue for a long time. "May you live in interesting times," is an old Chinese curse (supposedly) and it is an apt description of current events. Make no mistake, 2012 will be "interesting times" and I will be here to cover it all. Stay tuned. We're not finished yet.