Call It A Comeback
While one might question my quest to ever be cynical in light of my generally positive views on the war to date, let me assure you, the administrations little bullshit move to to take secret bids for the rebuilding of Iraq fully has my attention and has shocked and awed me in the level of gullibility they think the US public will tolerate. This is a campaign issue and war profiteering stinks to voters.
Some have suggested that our troops are meeting stronger resistance than expected. I’d suggest that anyone who thinks that this is
a) strong resistance is a bit loopy. In a few short days we have covered more ground than either side in the 8 year Iran-Iraq war.
b) an example of Generals underestimating the other side is wishing too hard. While all warplans have surprises, this is incredibly smoothly. War produces casualties and the casualties in this one are almost all on one side.
Daniel Drezner comes up with a good reason why we may be seeing different views:
"’If you’re the corporal in the lead vehicle that’s getting shot at, then you would call that stiff resistance. But if you’re the division commander and you’re moving 30, 50, 60 miles in one day, that’s no resistance,’ said Col Ben Hodges, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
‘At the moment, the main thing that’s slowing the forces is the ability of the fuel trucks to keep up with them.’"
Jim Capozzola is upset because TRR doesn’t get enough respect. He is right–Go Visit
If they guy is a Muslim, does that mean his actions are because he is Muslim?
I’m willing to wait to know something about the actual attack before making such a decision. Interesting Reynolds compares it to the D.C. Sniper in which John Muhammed was a Muslim, but that appears to have nothing to do with the actual reason for the crime.
If the soldier is guilty and a Muslim, it may well be that instability led to being a Muslim, especially in the case of the Nation of Islam, and the instability led to the attack.
But the most important thing to understand is that we just don’t know at this point. I’ve often argued law profs need classes in correlation and causation, this is especially true in Reynolds case.
As someone who supports military action in Iraq, albeit by a far different route than the one that got us here, if there is not significant evidence that Hussein was continuing his efforts to obtain nuclear weapon capability, this will be a huge mistake.
While chemical and biological weapons are pernicious and horrible, the only real reason to fear that we couldn’t contain and deter him is if he would obtain nuclear weapons. My standard is relatively low–I’m not looking for evidence he could have weapons in a year, but in the forseeable future.
I expect to find evidence of an ongoing nuclear program, but if not, I’ll be happy to admit this was an immoral exercise. At the same time, nuclear capability amongst rogue states is a legitimate reason for military intervention. The question in alternative cases such as North Korea or, say, Pakistan, is whether we can act effectively. In North Korea, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
It could be the case in Iran, but that would seem to be most effectively dealt with by an Osirik type raid.
News that a Marine from Bloomington was killed in action was a bit too close for me–one of the few people who may be in harms way and I know, is a Marine from Bloomington. My prayers to the family, and my friend.
Fox is claiming Scuds have been fired, but Centcom is claiming they haven’t? Or has Fox gone back on the claim? I can’t watch Fox for more than 5 minutes. I mean as annoying as Brown is and as smirky as Lester Holt, the clowns on Fox are like the 3rd rated newscast in a mid-sized market.
While we now know that is was probably an internal attack, it is not terrorism to attack uniformed soldiers. If someone could bludgeon Aaron Brown every time he or some other idiot at CNN said that it was an act of terrorism, the world would be a better place. Actually, if someone would just bludgeon Aaron and Wolf everytime they say Shock and Awe, we would definitely have a better world.
Terrorism is an act of political violence against civilians.
isn’t always bad. The problem with the Bush Administration ‘budgeting’ isn’t that they are arguing for a radical change, it is that they are trying to create radical change without arguing about it.
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