Not even trying anymore

The U.S. military says troops found no signs of a wedding in the wreckage left at the remote hamlet of Mogr al-Deeb. But a spokesman, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, conceded Saturday that six women were killed in the strike and a celebration may have been taking place: "Bad people have parties too," he said.

[full article]

we're creating a failed state in the center of the most voliatile region of the world.


it is as if we said to the Saudi's... "hey, want to keep oil prices high and an excuse to remain a repressive regime? we'll knock out your major competitor and leave chaos. no more oil from iraq and enough fear that you can arrest whomever whenever. just consider it a thank you for killing 3000 of our citizens"

From Thomas Friedman's column today....

"What we could do — and this was the only legitimate rationale for this war — was try to help Iraqis create a progressive context in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world where that war of ideas could be fought out."

Excuse me, but how is that a legitimate rationale for this war? We are not going to invade Georgia to create a progressive democracy in the heart of Central Asia are we? Or Gabon. Or Columbia? Hell, maybe we will. But it doesn't make it legit. The only legit reason for this war would have been that Saddam Hussein was actively producing weapons of mass destruction and was actively giving them or planning to give them to terrorists who were to use them to attack the United States. But that was not the case. Frankly that was never the case and way too many people still believe it to have been the case. Which is scary.

We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.

The actions of the [President] have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it -- and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Replace "President" with "junior Senator from Wisconsin" and you have the text of Murrow's closing from his report on McCarthy. But history repeats. So speaking of replacing "President" -- let's make sure we do so this November.