11:34 am - Tue, Oct 23, 2012

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“THE HEIGHT OF SILLINESS!”

So last night got a little wild, didn’t it? Before we get too excited about horses and bayonets, let’s remember that US Special Forces did in fact charge into Afghanistan on horseback in 2001.

Before we plunge into the final two-week stretch, here’s a look back at last night’s debate from people who are smarter than us.

Foreign Policy has the scoreboard of which countries were mentioned how many times (QATAR!). Jeff Goldberg is surprised at the frequency of Mali in that list, and dissects the substance of the mutual fixation on Israel (Yad Vashem! Sderot!). Meanwhile, Peter Beinart’s gradual meltdown was way too much fun to watch on Twitter. Drezner debriefs the drinking game (damn that Arab Human Development Report!).

Ezra Klein offers sexy sexy graphs (though we disagree with his operational definition of “Middle East”), Issander El Amrani checks in from North Africa, Noah Millman wonders how Debate Romney squares with Hypothetical President Romney, and Conor Friedersdorf gives the obligatory gnashing of teeth over drones. Also, our erstwhile Tumblr crush Gubbi of Arabia reminds everyone that Syria isn’t Iran’s only “outlet to the sea.”

And all our lovely Wonkistani followers chimed in on Twitter at #banter2012. Check out the conversation, and stay tuned for more shenanigans to come!