Abu Muqawama's friends are wicked smaht

Two of Abu Muqawama's favorite bloggers have reason to cheer:

First, Charles Levinson over at Conflict Blotter has a piece up in the new Arab Reform Bulletin on governance in the West Bank since the Hamas/Fatah split.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has brought pragmatic, expert technocrats back into government. Many of the same faces that pushed through widely praised reforms in 2002-04 are back today, struggling to reverse the damage done during Hamas's year of learn-as-you-go governance. In their first five months in power, the technocrats have focused on restoring a semblance of law and order, including a heavy-handed crackdown on Hamas, kickstarting the West Bank economy, and easing the daily hardships of Israeli occupation through a revived peace process. At best, however, results have been mixed.

Second, some fool has given the man behind afghanistanica, Abu Muqawama's favorite Afghanistan blog, a full PhD scholarship. Sucker.