Marc Lynch’s initial comments after a month-long hiatus from blogging:

” And a lot sure has happened while I’ve been gone — Israel and the Palestinians resolved the impasse over a settlement freeze and resumed talks, and… oh wait, that didn’t happen. Well, Iraq now has a government… what? Oh, um, well at least we’ve made progress in our nuclear talks with Iran. Wait, they haven’t yet even said whether they’ll show up for the talks next month? Hosni Mubarak’s still around? Gaza still under blockade? Hamas and Fatah still haven’t reconciled? At least the unjustly imprisoned Bahraini internet forum leader Ali Abdulemam has finally been released… oh, that didn’t happen either. Okay then.”

Okay then.