Michael Gordon’s interview is a must-hear. The summary? We need more troops on the ground and we’ll be there for years if we don’t do something irresponsible like bolt in a Democratic panic. Recent events like the daylight kidnapping of Ministry of Higher Ed employees demonstrate the scarcity and competency of police resources. Most or…
Category: Iraq
NeoCon Visions
I read Polimom’s blog every day thanks to the miracle of RSS. Yesterday she wrote a bit of a rant against the so-called NeoCons’ vision of “democracy in unlikely places” that bothers me. After years of being angry at the neocons, I finally understand them. I’m still afraid of their hands in our government (and…
Tortured Suspects Not to be Allowed to Talk
According to the Washington Post: The Bush administration has told a federal judge that terrorism suspects held in secret CIA prisons should not be allowed to reveal details of the “alternative interrogation methods” that their captors used to get them to talk. … Kathleen Blomquist, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said yesterday that details of the…
Iraqis To Stand On Their Own?
It’s time for Iraqis to “do more”, the White House says. But can the Iraqis maintain their own civilization? Not likely. Granted, I was 7 when the U.S. bailed out of Vietnam, but doesn’t this situation parallel that one very closely? There’s about as much chance of the Iraqi army restoring order on their own…
1/3 Say Torture OK
The BBC says that 29% of 27,000 respondents from 25 countries think some amount of torture is OK when used to combat terrorism. The percentage is 36% in the U.S., making us more amenable than average to inflicting pain on our enemies. Is this wrong? I say that it is not, given that the people…
News from Iraq
The U.S Army is planning to maintain present troop levels for at least 3-4 more years. To me this indicates that they have little confidence in the Iraqis being able to take care of themselves in that timeframe. It also means that the Army is going to have to convince a new batch of recruits…
The Nature of the Islamic Enemy
Who are our troops fighting in Iraq? Men who are little more than rabid dogs, judging from their recent “activities”. As I’ve said before and as David B. stated in a comment last week, the issue isn’t whether how this scum should be dealt with – there is only one way – it’s the fact…
Ideas: Disagree and Die
What is it about people and their ideas that makes rejection so impossible to accept? We can’t touch an idea, hold it in our hands, or kiss it goodnight. What is so important that they are worth killing for? It seems to me that there’s a fundamental failure in people’s thought processes that stems from…
Where Would We Be?
Great Question, Dick… Dick Cheney says that “the fact is, the world is better off today with Saddam Hussein out of power” and that we should be grateful and “Think where we’d be if he was still there.” Polimom, a Houston-area blogger of some note called gives an him answer I can’t take issue with….
3 Years Ago This Week…
I wrote this about the war in Iraq. Choice quote: “What I wonder is how long it will be before we’re training and turning out respectable numbers of Iraqis capable of defending their own country? Will this in fact ever be possible?” I still wonder. And I doubt it.