After six months of hiding behind Petraeus, the Decider will emerge tomorrow to tell a grateful nation that he accepts the General’s plan to start drawing down troops from Iraq.
Americans who haven’t been following the shell game closely may believe the President is finally responding to their desire to start getting out. But of course he will only be v-e-r-y slowly removing the 30,000 troops he added this year and ensuring that the war will go on until he leaves office in January 2009.
If Congress fails to act, another 1500 young people will die, ten times that many may be maimed and another $100 billion that might have been spent on education, housing, health care and infrastructure will be shipped to Baghdad to keep a collapsing country together until a new President inherits the wreckage. Bush’s Pottery Barn rule is you break it, you sweep the pieces under the rug.
Congressional Democrats will huff and puff but, more likely than not, endangered Republican “centrists” will decide they have enough political cover to survive next November and do nothing to end the war but cluck sympathetically for the voters.
Compared to this bunch, the old carnival sharpies gave the rubes more of an even break.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Whither Vitter: Sex, Lies and Polygraphs
In questioning Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker today, Sen. David Vitter cited “ups and downs” in Iraq. Before the day was out, Vitter was on his own roller coaster and, after escaping his D.C. Madam crisis, the Senator may be heading for Larry Craigland this time.
Public-spirited Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, paid for a lie detector test for Wendy Cortez, a former prostitute in New Orleans who claimed that she had a "sexual relationship" with Vitter through an escort service three times a week over at least four months.
She passed the test and, as the story breaks today, Vitter will have to deal not only with additional sexual peccadilloes but lying about them in public. He has repeatedly denied Ms. Cortez’ story but, if further evidence supports her claim, there will be some serious explaining to do.
After the Craig to-do, Republicans will be under pressure to show they are not homophobic. Ethics committee, anyone?
Public-spirited Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, paid for a lie detector test for Wendy Cortez, a former prostitute in New Orleans who claimed that she had a "sexual relationship" with Vitter through an escort service three times a week over at least four months.
She passed the test and, as the story breaks today, Vitter will have to deal not only with additional sexual peccadilloes but lying about them in public. He has repeatedly denied Ms. Cortez’ story but, if further evidence supports her claim, there will be some serious explaining to do.
After the Craig to-do, Republicans will be under pressure to show they are not homophobic. Ethics committee, anyone?
The Rise of Al-Qaeda Iraq
In the prolixity of Gen. Petraeus this week, there is a curious emphasis on the entity, “Al-Qaeda Iraq,” which, of course, did not exist until the U.S. invaded the country.
“We face a situation that is exceedingly complex,” he had written to his troops. “Al Qaeda, associated insurgent groups, and militia extremists, some supported by Iran, continue to carry out attacks.”
"Al-Qaeda is trying to open new fronts in certain locations," Petraeus told Senators today. "They've been run out of some areas...but remain a very dangerous foe and adapting foe."
There is an echo here of Bush’s argument that we’re fighting the people there who attacked us here, which would be convincing if there had been the slightest link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda before we created the chaos that invited them to come from our great ally, Saudi Arabia, and start car-bombing our troops.
Petraeus’ emphasis on Al-Qaeda Iraq, balanced by not-quite-equal time to extremists from Iran, may be non-political, but it plays neatly into the two remaining objectives of the Bush-Cheney Administration, staying in Iraq and preparing to fight Iran.
Too bad that Congressmen didn’t ask Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker about self-fulfilling prophecies.
“We face a situation that is exceedingly complex,” he had written to his troops. “Al Qaeda, associated insurgent groups, and militia extremists, some supported by Iran, continue to carry out attacks.”
"Al-Qaeda is trying to open new fronts in certain locations," Petraeus told Senators today. "They've been run out of some areas...but remain a very dangerous foe and adapting foe."
There is an echo here of Bush’s argument that we’re fighting the people there who attacked us here, which would be convincing if there had been the slightest link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda before we created the chaos that invited them to come from our great ally, Saudi Arabia, and start car-bombing our troops.
Petraeus’ emphasis on Al-Qaeda Iraq, balanced by not-quite-equal time to extremists from Iran, may be non-political, but it plays neatly into the two remaining objectives of the Bush-Cheney Administration, staying in Iraq and preparing to fight Iran.
Too bad that Congressmen didn’t ask Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker about self-fulfilling prophecies.
Eisenhower to Petraeus
Fifty five years ago, an American general who had won his war and was running for President, had some advice that Gen. David Petraeus and his Commander-in-Chief should take to heart today. “Fanaticism,” Eisenhower said, quoting the philosopher George Santayana, “consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”
After election, Eisenhower gave his Cabinet members copies of “The True Believer” by Eric Hoffer, then a best-seller.
“We have perhaps a natural fear of ends,” Hoffer wrote. “We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.”
Before Hoffer died, Ronald Reagan gave him the Medal of Freedom. Today’s Republicans and those who serve them may want to take another look at what their party icons of the past century admired so much.
After election, Eisenhower gave his Cabinet members copies of “The True Believer” by Eric Hoffer, then a best-seller.
“We have perhaps a natural fear of ends,” Hoffer wrote. “We would rather be always on the way than arrive. Given the means, we hang on to them and often forget the ends.”
Before Hoffer died, Ronald Reagan gave him the Medal of Freedom. Today’s Republicans and those who serve them may want to take another look at what their party icons of the past century admired so much.
The Lasting Losses of 9/11/01
That morning, when the second airliner hit the Twin Towers, life changed for every American, starting with the inane man who was reading “The Pet Goat” to second-graders in Sarasota, Florida. None of us would ever again feel as safe as we had before, and the accidental President who emerged from the disputed 2000 election would be empowered to change our lives in ways that would have otherwise been unimaginable.
Without 9/11, we would not now be enmeshed in an endless war in Iraq against the will of a majority of our people, be subjected to unthinkable government surveillance and invasions of privacy, and facing an election year in which voters with good reason seem to have lost faith in all politicians.
What happened that day might have, as it first appeared, brought us together in a shared sense of purpose arising from shock and grief. But the President who could have nurtured that unity was surrounded by politicians who saw fear as a way to win elections and crackpots who took it as an opportunity to test their theories of dominating the world with American military power.
With any other President in the Oval Office that day, we would be living in a different post-9/11 world than the one Bush, Cheney and their crew created.
Osama bin Laden’s murderous minions had to be lucky as well as cunning and evil to cause as much devastation as they did that day and, with the help of this Administration, in the six years since. On our part, we have much more to repair in America than Ground Zero in Manhattan.
Without 9/11, we would not now be enmeshed in an endless war in Iraq against the will of a majority of our people, be subjected to unthinkable government surveillance and invasions of privacy, and facing an election year in which voters with good reason seem to have lost faith in all politicians.
What happened that day might have, as it first appeared, brought us together in a shared sense of purpose arising from shock and grief. But the President who could have nurtured that unity was surrounded by politicians who saw fear as a way to win elections and crackpots who took it as an opportunity to test their theories of dominating the world with American military power.
With any other President in the Oval Office that day, we would be living in a different post-9/11 world than the one Bush, Cheney and their crew created.
Osama bin Laden’s murderous minions had to be lucky as well as cunning and evil to cause as much devastation as they did that day and, with the help of this Administration, in the six years since. On our part, we have much more to repair in America than Ground Zero in Manhattan.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Petraeus' Technocratitis
In 2004, as a division commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus was asking a philosophical question to which he clearly had no answer, “Tell me how this ends.”
At his first press conference after taking command this year, he was still focused on the broad picture, saying, “There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq...There needs to be a political aspect.”
In his appearance before Congress today, Gen. Petraeus seems to have put all doubts aside as he gives what amounts to an unqualified testimonial to the “progress” of the Surge and joins the chorus of chaos-sayers if we significantly withdraw our troops in the near future.
Given his intelligence and sincerity, the most obvious diagnosis is that the General has contracted a severe case of technocratitis--so involved in the security mission he is overseeing that he no longer has the perspective of three years ago, of Iraq as an endlessly frustrating enterprise.
It is Congress’ job to see the war in the perspective Petraeus had back then and has clearly lost to the tunnel vision of his assignment now.
Tell us how this ends, General, and when.
At his first press conference after taking command this year, he was still focused on the broad picture, saying, “There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq...There needs to be a political aspect.”
In his appearance before Congress today, Gen. Petraeus seems to have put all doubts aside as he gives what amounts to an unqualified testimonial to the “progress” of the Surge and joins the chorus of chaos-sayers if we significantly withdraw our troops in the near future.
Given his intelligence and sincerity, the most obvious diagnosis is that the General has contracted a severe case of technocratitis--so involved in the security mission he is overseeing that he no longer has the perspective of three years ago, of Iraq as an endlessly frustrating enterprise.
It is Congress’ job to see the war in the perspective Petraeus had back then and has clearly lost to the tunnel vision of his assignment now.
Tell us how this ends, General, and when.
American Dream Tableau
In Little Leagues or Bigs, baseball fields are places to celebrate our national ideals--individual skills as part of a team effort where everyone knows the boundaries and plays hard to win but respects the rules.
This weekend, when we needed it more than ever, there was a tableau in Kansas City to bring tears to the most hardened observer of American life. A 22-year-old named Joba Chamberlain stepped out on the mound and began throwing 100-mile-an-hour pitches for the New York Yankees.
But the real drama was in the grandstands where his father, Harlan, in a wheelchair, surrounded by neighbors from Lincoln, Neb. was seeing his son in the Major Leagues for the first time.
The elder Chamberlain, afflicted by polio when he was nine months old, was born on a reservation of the Winnebago American Indian tribe and left with little use of his left arm, a severe limp and deafness in his left ear.
Nonetheless, as a single father supporting his family, he played catch with his son while sitting in the wheelchair until his hand stung so much he couldn’t stand it. "If it wasn't blowing or a million degrees below zero, we were out there," Harlan Chamberlain recalls.
Joba, born Justin, is now a sensation in the American League after pitching in eleven games without giving up a run. But his father was not watching with statistics in mind.
“I just want to reach out to my son and touch him,” he said. "I just want to hold him for a few minutes."
This weekend, when we needed it more than ever, there was a tableau in Kansas City to bring tears to the most hardened observer of American life. A 22-year-old named Joba Chamberlain stepped out on the mound and began throwing 100-mile-an-hour pitches for the New York Yankees.
But the real drama was in the grandstands where his father, Harlan, in a wheelchair, surrounded by neighbors from Lincoln, Neb. was seeing his son in the Major Leagues for the first time.
The elder Chamberlain, afflicted by polio when he was nine months old, was born on a reservation of the Winnebago American Indian tribe and left with little use of his left arm, a severe limp and deafness in his left ear.
Nonetheless, as a single father supporting his family, he played catch with his son while sitting in the wheelchair until his hand stung so much he couldn’t stand it. "If it wasn't blowing or a million degrees below zero, we were out there," Harlan Chamberlain recalls.
Joba, born Justin, is now a sensation in the American League after pitching in eleven games without giving up a run. But his father was not watching with statistics in mind.
“I just want to reach out to my son and touch him,” he said. "I just want to hold him for a few minutes."
The YouTube Terrorists
Now, after Osama’s pathetic stand-up routine, the Al Qaeda video production company is announcing a special with “the last testament of one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers, marking the sixth anniversary of the attacks.”
One of the classic American answers to TV network and cable trash is not watching and, even in our new unmediated media world, making editorial judgments about the value of enemy propaganda.
TV and cable networks, take note. We appreciate knowing about this garbage, but you are not compelled to rub our faces in it.
One of the classic American answers to TV network and cable trash is not watching and, even in our new unmediated media world, making editorial judgments about the value of enemy propaganda.
TV and cable networks, take note. We appreciate knowing about this garbage, but you are not compelled to rub our faces in it.
American Traditions: Bush's Second Strike
In the second half of the twentieth century, Republicans expressed fears that core American values could be subverted by a foreign ideology. They were right.
After years of tearing down the separation between church and state, George W. Bush is now politicizing the military to a point that should impress his allies, Pervez Musharraf and Nouri al-Maliki.
Tomorrow, as General David Petraeus testifies before Congress, the antiwar group MoveOn.org will run a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."
The Standard calls this “disgusting,” and such Generals as Washington and Eisenhower who became Presidents would likely agree.
Washington spoke about “an insidious foe...plotting the ruin of both, by sowing the seeds of discord and separation between the civil and military powers of the continent.”
In his farewell address, Eisenhower famously warned against “the disastrous rise of misplaced power” by the military-industrial complex, “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of...defense with our peaceful methods and goals.”
Now Bush is breaking down the barriers between military and civilian by attempting to use Petraeus and “the generals” who agree with him, after replacing those who don’t, as a battering ram against Congress to keep them from challenging and changing his disastrous policies.
The invective of the ad against Petraeus is misplaced. He is doing his job in the way that the Commander-in-Chief has defined it. It’s that definition that is now not only causing ruin in Iraq but subverting the Constitution.
After years of tearing down the separation between church and state, George W. Bush is now politicizing the military to a point that should impress his allies, Pervez Musharraf and Nouri al-Maliki.
Tomorrow, as General David Petraeus testifies before Congress, the antiwar group MoveOn.org will run a full-page advertisement in the New York Times under the headline: "General Petraeus or General Betray us? Cooking the books for the White House."
The Standard calls this “disgusting,” and such Generals as Washington and Eisenhower who became Presidents would likely agree.
Washington spoke about “an insidious foe...plotting the ruin of both, by sowing the seeds of discord and separation between the civil and military powers of the continent.”
In his farewell address, Eisenhower famously warned against “the disastrous rise of misplaced power” by the military-industrial complex, “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of...defense with our peaceful methods and goals.”
Now Bush is breaking down the barriers between military and civilian by attempting to use Petraeus and “the generals” who agree with him, after replacing those who don’t, as a battering ram against Congress to keep them from challenging and changing his disastrous policies.
The invective of the ad against Petraeus is misplaced. He is doing his job in the way that the Commander-in-Chief has defined it. It’s that definition that is now not only causing ruin in Iraq but subverting the Constitution.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Fred Thompson Blowing Smoke in Iowa
The newest Republican candidate started to close the gaffe gap yesterday by telling Iowans why the Iraqis are turning against Al Qaeda. "They said, 'You gotta quit smoking,’” he observed in explaining why tribes in Anbar province are coming over to our side.
Aside from that revelation, Fox News called his campaigning “lackluster,” with hazy answers on gay marriage and health care.
"There's a fair amount of rhetoric there, but in terms of action and results we just don't see it,” says right-wing activist, Richard Viguerie. “It's almost like he's gotten another Hollywood role where he's supposed to play a conservative."
According to the conservative house organ National Review, Thompson “has done nothing, anywhere, ever. The Hubble Telescope could not find what he has done, because he has not done it. It would be unwise to put such a man in the White House at this moment in history.”
To top it all, opponents have dusted off a 1996 Thompson memo titled “Breaking from the Republican Pack” that trumpets examples of his "legislative independence from 'the party line'" when he "voted against the Republican majority," listing liberal positions on campaign finance reform, consumer protections and tort reform to rebut Democratic charges of being too partisan.
Thompson may be beginning to wonder if he declared too soon,
Aside from that revelation, Fox News called his campaigning “lackluster,” with hazy answers on gay marriage and health care.
"There's a fair amount of rhetoric there, but in terms of action and results we just don't see it,” says right-wing activist, Richard Viguerie. “It's almost like he's gotten another Hollywood role where he's supposed to play a conservative."
According to the conservative house organ National Review, Thompson “has done nothing, anywhere, ever. The Hubble Telescope could not find what he has done, because he has not done it. It would be unwise to put such a man in the White House at this moment in history.”
To top it all, opponents have dusted off a 1996 Thompson memo titled “Breaking from the Republican Pack” that trumpets examples of his "legislative independence from 'the party line'" when he "voted against the Republican majority," listing liberal positions on campaign finance reform, consumer protections and tort reform to rebut Democratic charges of being too partisan.
Thompson may be beginning to wonder if he declared too soon,
Schwarzenegger on Boffo Ballot Box Office
Gov. Arnold, who knows about these things, is advising his party on how to get the grosses up next year. He told a Republican convention this weekend that they are "dying at the box office" and “not filling the seats” because they have "lost the middle.”
“I have been a Republican since Nixon,” Schwarzenegger said. “I have been a Republican in spite of years of debates with Maria, the entire Shriver clan and all the Kennedys up at Hyannis Port. Believe me, it would have been far easier to abandon my Republican identity years ago.”
The majority of Republicans want health care reform and action to reduce global warming, he pointed out, suggesting their leaders follow them.
“I am of the Reagan view that we should not go off the cliff with flags flying,” Schwarzenegger said, quoting his fellow actor-governor who became President: "We cannot become a narrow sectarian party in which all must swear allegiance to prescribed commandments...This kind of party soon disappears in a blaze of glorious defeat."
The Governor went even further back for a new role model for the party, “President Eisenhower, the moderate military man who understood the need for logistics and infrastructure and created the Interstate Highway System--the largest public works project in American history. The majority of Republicans understand the need for investment.”
Schwarzenegger named no names, but another fellow actor, Fred Thompson, does not sound like good casting for the role he described. He has spoken warmly of Rudy Giuliani and, if all else fails, there is another New York Mayor he likes, Mike Bloomberg, who may run as an Independent.
“I have been a Republican since Nixon,” Schwarzenegger said. “I have been a Republican in spite of years of debates with Maria, the entire Shriver clan and all the Kennedys up at Hyannis Port. Believe me, it would have been far easier to abandon my Republican identity years ago.”
The majority of Republicans want health care reform and action to reduce global warming, he pointed out, suggesting their leaders follow them.
“I am of the Reagan view that we should not go off the cliff with flags flying,” Schwarzenegger said, quoting his fellow actor-governor who became President: "We cannot become a narrow sectarian party in which all must swear allegiance to prescribed commandments...This kind of party soon disappears in a blaze of glorious defeat."
The Governor went even further back for a new role model for the party, “President Eisenhower, the moderate military man who understood the need for logistics and infrastructure and created the Interstate Highway System--the largest public works project in American history. The majority of Republicans understand the need for investment.”
Schwarzenegger named no names, but another fellow actor, Fred Thompson, does not sound like good casting for the role he described. He has spoken warmly of Rudy Giuliani and, if all else fails, there is another New York Mayor he likes, Mike Bloomberg, who may run as an Independent.
Our Hundred Years' War
When the fighting started, did the English have any idea how long it would go on? Did they expect to go through France in a cakewalk?
It’s Year 5 in Iraq, and the forecasts are lengthening. On Meet the Press this morning, retired Marine General James Jones, head of a commission studying the readiness of Iraqis to take over their own security, predicted “it’s probably a three to four year project for them.”
Today’s Washington Post, describing Bush Administration in-fighting over the war, reports one plan that calls for “slashing U.S. combat forces in Iraq by three-quarters by 2010” and Gen. Petraeus “making the case to keep as many troops as long as possible to cement any security progress.”
A New York Times blog reports that a poll “which contained an oversample of members of the United States military and their families, found that Americans say the Iraqi government is not doing all it can realistically be expected to do to establish order. Sixty-two percent of those polled said the United States made a mistake getting involved in Iraq.”
This week, the Washington air will be filled talk of “progress” in Iraq, and the questioning of what we are doing there will be branded defeatist by those who are planning to replicate the whole enterprise in Iran before American voters throw them out of power.
At how many points in the Hundred Years’ War did the English and French talk about progress, patience and persistence? And they were fighting for their national existence, not in a far-off hellhole for the misbegotten theories of armchair strategists named Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Libby.
It’s Year 5 in Iraq, and the forecasts are lengthening. On Meet the Press this morning, retired Marine General James Jones, head of a commission studying the readiness of Iraqis to take over their own security, predicted “it’s probably a three to four year project for them.”
Today’s Washington Post, describing Bush Administration in-fighting over the war, reports one plan that calls for “slashing U.S. combat forces in Iraq by three-quarters by 2010” and Gen. Petraeus “making the case to keep as many troops as long as possible to cement any security progress.”
A New York Times blog reports that a poll “which contained an oversample of members of the United States military and their families, found that Americans say the Iraqi government is not doing all it can realistically be expected to do to establish order. Sixty-two percent of those polled said the United States made a mistake getting involved in Iraq.”
This week, the Washington air will be filled talk of “progress” in Iraq, and the questioning of what we are doing there will be branded defeatist by those who are planning to replicate the whole enterprise in Iran before American voters throw them out of power.
At how many points in the Hundred Years’ War did the English and French talk about progress, patience and persistence? And they were fighting for their national existence, not in a far-off hellhole for the misbegotten theories of armchair strategists named Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Libby.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
A Bipartisan Push for Peace in Iraq
In a moment out of distant American history when politics was supposed to stop at the water’s edge, the Bush Administration’s Ambassador to Iraq and a Democratic candidate for President in ’08 joined this week in prodding Shiites and Sunnis to stop squabbling and make peace.
Ryan Crocker and Sen. Joe Biden accompanied top deputies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on a trip to the Sunni bastion of Anbar Province to pledge more than $120 million in reconstruction money as a step toward political reconciliation.
Crocker pointed out that “Anbaris, the Iraqis, and the coalition have [pushed] Al Qaeda out to the extent that a conference [can be] held that doesn't even talk about security...That's really significant."
Biden was less enthusiastic but encouraged reconciliation. "If you continue,” he said, “we will continue to send you our sons and our daughters to shed their blood with you and for you...If you decide you cannot live together, let us know.... we can say goodbye now."
Perhaps as significant as the meeting of Iraqi factions was the joint effort by a Republican official and a Democratic critic. If that spirit is contagious, it may even be possible for Congress to agree on how to end the war. But then again they are on this side of the water’s edge.
Ryan Crocker and Sen. Joe Biden accompanied top deputies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on a trip to the Sunni bastion of Anbar Province to pledge more than $120 million in reconstruction money as a step toward political reconciliation.
Crocker pointed out that “Anbaris, the Iraqis, and the coalition have [pushed] Al Qaeda out to the extent that a conference [can be] held that doesn't even talk about security...That's really significant."
Biden was less enthusiastic but encouraged reconciliation. "If you continue,” he said, “we will continue to send you our sons and our daughters to shed their blood with you and for you...If you decide you cannot live together, let us know.... we can say goodbye now."
Perhaps as significant as the meeting of Iraqi factions was the joint effort by a Republican official and a Democratic critic. If that spirit is contagious, it may even be possible for Congress to agree on how to end the war. But then again they are on this side of the water’s edge.
Bush's Barrel of Laughs
The good news is that the President will be out of the U.S. more next year. The scary news is he will be spending the time with foreign leaders.
In Australia yesterday, the Decider gave us a sample of his face-to-face diplomacy, flubbing the name of the group he was addressing (calling APEC OPEC), the country he was in (Austria, not Australia) and then striding away from the lectern toward a steep drop off the stage until he was stopped and redirected to steps leading down to the floor.
More and more, Bush is looking like Chevy Chase’s old “Saturday Night Live” pratfall impression of President Gerald Ford, who couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time. The only difference is that Ford talked less and didn’t start any wars.
Maybe Bush can turn it all into a comedy act to regale his peers in Beijing, Bucharest, Lima and northern Japan next year. He has given us enough laughs back here.
In Australia yesterday, the Decider gave us a sample of his face-to-face diplomacy, flubbing the name of the group he was addressing (calling APEC OPEC), the country he was in (Austria, not Australia) and then striding away from the lectern toward a steep drop off the stage until he was stopped and redirected to steps leading down to the floor.
More and more, Bush is looking like Chevy Chase’s old “Saturday Night Live” pratfall impression of President Gerald Ford, who couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time. The only difference is that Ford talked less and didn’t start any wars.
Maybe Bush can turn it all into a comedy act to regale his peers in Beijing, Bucharest, Lima and northern Japan next year. He has given us enough laughs back here.
Osama Has Jumped the Shark
There is something weird about Osama bin Laden’s new tape, an old-timer with dyed facial hair or, even worse, a chin rug, trying to be “with it” by snappy remarks about Bush, the Democrats and Iraq, the mortgage crisis, the new British and French leaders, whatever. He and/or his ghost writer must watch the Daily Show in a bad translation.
Al Qaeda may well be planning new terror attacks on the U.S., but it’s not likely that the garrulous elderly man in this new Islamic infomercial is in charge of them. He is too busy reading Michael Scheuer and Noam Chomsky.
Six weeks ago, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell pointed out “it’s been a year” since there was a confirmed sighting of bin Laden: “There are rumors about his illness...I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan, and...only speaking to a courier, staying completely removed from anything we could exploit to find him.”
Trotting out bin Laden on the anniversary of 9/11 may be a boost for jihadist morale, a reminder of the good old days of terrorism, but the next step would be a roast on Comedy Central.
Al Qaeda may well be planning new terror attacks on the U.S., but it’s not likely that the garrulous elderly man in this new Islamic infomercial is in charge of them. He is too busy reading Michael Scheuer and Noam Chomsky.
Six weeks ago, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell pointed out “it’s been a year” since there was a confirmed sighting of bin Laden: “There are rumors about his illness...I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan, and...only speaking to a courier, staying completely removed from anything we could exploit to find him.”
Trotting out bin Laden on the anniversary of 9/11 may be a boost for jihadist morale, a reminder of the good old days of terrorism, but the next step would be a roast on Comedy Central.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Obama Is the Hottest Candidate
After taking the temperature of American voters about possible Presidents, Gallup announces that “only one--Barack Obama--stirs up warm feelings in a majority of Americans. However, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and John McCain are all close to Obama in favorability.”
Although nearly a third of Americans have never heard of Fred Thompson, among those who have, the plurality (30 percent) feels warmly toward him. Sadly Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee, and Sam Brownback leave them cold.
Gallup seems to have invented the “feeling thermometer,” but it is not clear on which medical prototype it has been modeled, oral or rectal.
Although nearly a third of Americans have never heard of Fred Thompson, among those who have, the plurality (30 percent) feels warmly toward him. Sadly Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Mike Huckabee, and Sam Brownback leave them cold.
Gallup seems to have invented the “feeling thermometer,” but it is not clear on which medical prototype it has been modeled, oral or rectal.
Murder, He Wrote
In 1992, Joe Eszterhaus, the Mr. Sleaze of Hollywood scriptwriters (a very competitive category) gave us “Basic Instinct,” in which a best-selling author is suspected of committing the ice-pick murders described in her novels.
Now Life has outdone Awful Art in Poland (no joke) where an “author, travel writer and intellectual whose best-selling novel described a grisly murder has been jailed for 25 years for committing the crime he had so vividly portrayed.”
Krystian Bala makes the movie’s Sharon Stone character look tame. His victim was “humiliated, starved and tortured, before having his hands bound with a rope that was looped around his neck in a noose.”
In addition to writing “Amok,” with details about the killing that had never been publicized, Bala kept taunting Polish police with e-mails and finally clinched their case by selling the victim’s cell phone on the Internet.
Bala claims he was framed.
Now Life has outdone Awful Art in Poland (no joke) where an “author, travel writer and intellectual whose best-selling novel described a grisly murder has been jailed for 25 years for committing the crime he had so vividly portrayed.”
Krystian Bala makes the movie’s Sharon Stone character look tame. His victim was “humiliated, starved and tortured, before having his hands bound with a rope that was looped around his neck in a noose.”
In addition to writing “Amok,” with details about the killing that had never been publicized, Bala kept taunting Polish police with e-mails and finally clinched their case by selling the victim’s cell phone on the Internet.
Bala claims he was framed.
Iraq Death Watch Numbers Game
After the Civil War, Gen. Robert E. Lee turned down all offers to write his memoirs, saying that to do so would “be trading on the blood of my men.” That delicacy of feeling is long gone.
Now Washington bureaucrats are not at all squeamish about using soldiers’ blood for political profit. Case in point is the claim that American combat deaths have gone down since the Surge started and, as the McClatchy Newspapers reported, “Military officials and observers are wondering whether the lower U.S. casualties are a sign of success...”
A recent post questioning this “sign of success” has drawn a rebuttal of what McClatchy calls “vitriolic criticism...from liberal web sites.”
This “vitriolic” retired journalist has long been an admirer of the reporting by McClatchy, formerly Knight Ridder, particularly in the selling of the Iraq war by the Bush Administration, and the criticism of the numbers story was clearly aimed at the Pentagon source rather than the messenger.
Readers can judge for themselves, but there is a new kind of callous ingenuity in stressing certain kinds of deaths over others, particularly when one source of the numbers--an August helicopter crash that killed 14 U.S. troops--is officially an accident but an Air Force spokesman “could not rule out a strike by a surface to air missile.”
But it’s saddening to be arguing about how our young people are dying rather than why.
Now Washington bureaucrats are not at all squeamish about using soldiers’ blood for political profit. Case in point is the claim that American combat deaths have gone down since the Surge started and, as the McClatchy Newspapers reported, “Military officials and observers are wondering whether the lower U.S. casualties are a sign of success...”
A recent post questioning this “sign of success” has drawn a rebuttal of what McClatchy calls “vitriolic criticism...from liberal web sites.”
This “vitriolic” retired journalist has long been an admirer of the reporting by McClatchy, formerly Knight Ridder, particularly in the selling of the Iraq war by the Bush Administration, and the criticism of the numbers story was clearly aimed at the Pentagon source rather than the messenger.
Readers can judge for themselves, but there is a new kind of callous ingenuity in stressing certain kinds of deaths over others, particularly when one source of the numbers--an August helicopter crash that killed 14 U.S. troops--is officially an accident but an Air Force spokesman “could not rule out a strike by a surface to air missile.”
But it’s saddening to be arguing about how our young people are dying rather than why.
Our Fortune Tellers: Petraeus & bin Laden
Does the word “impotent” ring a bell? While George Bush boasts about “kicking ass” in Iraq during his Australian stay, Americans and their Congress are in a state of suspense awaiting word from one of our own generals and a man who lives in a cave.
Today’s New York Times reflects the waiting-for-Petraeus bind with an anonymously sourced story that relies on “White House officials” and “a senior military officer” to tells us “Petraeus, Seeing Gains in Iraq as Fragile, Is Wary of Cuts” while columnist Paul Krugman predicts:
“Democrats will look at Gen. Petraeus’s uniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe. They won’t ask hard questions out of fear that someone might accuse them of attacking the military. After the testimony, they’ll desperately try to get Republicans to agree to a resolution that politely asks President Bush to maybe, possibly, withdraw some troops, if he feels like it.”
If the Washington spin is not enough to make us feel queasy, there are anonymous sources in the Middle East to promote a 9/11 anniversary TV special that promises a "soon, God willing, video message by the Lion Sheik Osama bin laden, may God protect him."
In the promo, the Lion Sheik appears to have had a makeover, complete with beard dye job, by an Al Qaeda stylist.
When he appears in Washington, Gen. Petraeus will no doubt be his usual trim self and his message more reassuring than bin Laden’s, but the bottom line will be essentially the same: Our safety and peace of mind depend largely on ragged zealots in a part of the world where the richest, most powerful nation in history does not control events.
When Bush gets back from bragging Down Under, maybe he can explain how that happened, but don’t hold your already bated breath.
Today’s New York Times reflects the waiting-for-Petraeus bind with an anonymously sourced story that relies on “White House officials” and “a senior military officer” to tells us “Petraeus, Seeing Gains in Iraq as Fragile, Is Wary of Cuts” while columnist Paul Krugman predicts:
“Democrats will look at Gen. Petraeus’s uniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe. They won’t ask hard questions out of fear that someone might accuse them of attacking the military. After the testimony, they’ll desperately try to get Republicans to agree to a resolution that politely asks President Bush to maybe, possibly, withdraw some troops, if he feels like it.”
If the Washington spin is not enough to make us feel queasy, there are anonymous sources in the Middle East to promote a 9/11 anniversary TV special that promises a "soon, God willing, video message by the Lion Sheik Osama bin laden, may God protect him."
In the promo, the Lion Sheik appears to have had a makeover, complete with beard dye job, by an Al Qaeda stylist.
When he appears in Washington, Gen. Petraeus will no doubt be his usual trim self and his message more reassuring than bin Laden’s, but the bottom line will be essentially the same: Our safety and peace of mind depend largely on ragged zealots in a part of the world where the richest, most powerful nation in history does not control events.
When Bush gets back from bragging Down Under, maybe he can explain how that happened, but don’t hold your already bated breath.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Obama, Up Close and Very Personal
It started in 1994 when Bill Clinton went on MTV and answered a question about his underwear, “Boxers or briefs?” With only the slightest pause, the President of the United States answered, “Usually briefs.”
Now, in a Glamour Magazine interview, Michelle Obama is taking Presidential personalizing to a new level. Talking about her daughters, she told Tonya Lewis Lee, who is married to filmmaker Spike Lee:
“We have this ritual in the morning. They come in my bed, and Dad isn’t there--because he’s too snore-y and stinky, they don’t want to ever get into bed with him. But we cuddle up and we talk about everything from what is a period to the big topic of when we get a dog: what kind?”
Mrs. Obama has talked this way before, about her husband’s not picking up his socks or putting the butter back in the refrigerator, and she offers a philosophical reason for it:
“Barack is very much human. So let’s not deify him, because what we do is we deify, and then we’re ready to chop it down. People have notions of what a wife’s role should be in this process, and it’s been a traditional one of blind adoration. My model is a little different--I think most real marriages are.”
When Richard Nixon was running for President, reporters would talk about a life-sized inflatable Pat Nixon doll that was brought out to stare adoringly during every speech, but only half-inflated for whistle stops.
They won’t be making jokes like that about Michelle Obama.
Now, in a Glamour Magazine interview, Michelle Obama is taking Presidential personalizing to a new level. Talking about her daughters, she told Tonya Lewis Lee, who is married to filmmaker Spike Lee:
“We have this ritual in the morning. They come in my bed, and Dad isn’t there--because he’s too snore-y and stinky, they don’t want to ever get into bed with him. But we cuddle up and we talk about everything from what is a period to the big topic of when we get a dog: what kind?”
Mrs. Obama has talked this way before, about her husband’s not picking up his socks or putting the butter back in the refrigerator, and she offers a philosophical reason for it:
“Barack is very much human. So let’s not deify him, because what we do is we deify, and then we’re ready to chop it down. People have notions of what a wife’s role should be in this process, and it’s been a traditional one of blind adoration. My model is a little different--I think most real marriages are.”
When Richard Nixon was running for President, reporters would talk about a life-sized inflatable Pat Nixon doll that was brought out to stare adoringly during every speech, but only half-inflated for whistle stops.
They won’t be making jokes like that about Michelle Obama.
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