In this mailing: Douglas Murray: We Are Charlie: Free Speech v. Self-Censorship Yaakov Lappin: War Risk Rises in Middle East We Are Charlie: Free Speech v. Self-Censorship by Douglas Murray  •  January 8, 2015 at 5:00 am Will we keep on blaming the victims? Perhaps the media assume that it is easier to force good people to keep quiet, or keep their own media offices from being attacked, than to than to tackle the problem of Islamic extremism head-on. It is easier to blame Geert Wilders, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Lars Hedegaard, Suzanne Winters, Salman Rushdie or Charlie Hebdo -- and even put some of them on trial -- than to attack the attackers, who might even attack back! The press and the media seem to prefer coerced self-censorship: It is your own fault if you get hurt: none of this would be happening to you if you had only kept your mouth shut. It is easier to denigrate the people warning us about a danger than it is to address the danger they are warning us about. Do you think a country should change its policies because segments of one community will run into newspaper offices and gun people down if you don't? If those in positions of influence do not deal with this problem now, we will not like those who deal with it later. Stéphane Charbonnier, the editor and publisher of Charlie Hebdo, who was murdered yesterday along with many of his colleagues, is shown here in front of the magazine's former offices, just after they were firebombed in November 2011. Wednesday's massacre at the Paris offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo was not just a barbaric act of jihadist violence. It was also a test for the West and for the freedom of speech in the West. It is a test that we all have been failing. Those of us who have proposed that all Western -- and in particular European -- news outlets should multilaterally publish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons have been greeted in return with a terrified and terrifyingly self-conscious silence. The papers and broadcasters do not want to do it. Last time they refused to republish the cartoons, from Denmark's Jyllands Posten, they said it was because the cartoons were from a "right wing" newspaper. This time they refuse to republish cartoons from a "left-wing" newspaper. It does not matter what the politics are -- it is not about the politics, it is about the cartoons. The sooner the press at least has the guts to admit this, the better. Continue Reading Article War Risk Rises in Middle East by Yaakov Lappin  •  January 8, 2015 at 4:00 am Iran's weapons industries are at the service of Hezbollah, while Hezbollah tries to acquire precision-guided rockets and missiles for future attacks on strategic Israeli sites. The Middle East is increasingly becoming an area where it is harder for actors to exercise control over their situations or to control events. Hezbollah combat units, battle-hardened from fighting in the Syrian civil war, now have improved capabilities to deploy against Israel. Despite Israel's deterrence, the risk of an inadvertent clash between Israel and Hezbollah is rising The new year holds many new dangers and few opportunities, as Israel's two near enemies, Hezbollah in Lebanon on its northern front and Hamas in Gaza on its west, continue their large-scale armament programs, and prepare for a future day when they will fight another war with Israel. Although neither Hezbollah nor Hamas has an interest in sparking a war with Israel any time soon -- when they stand to suffer widespread, lasting, and crippling damage from any such clash -- both are nevertheless preparing in earnest. Continue Reading Article

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