ZenPundit
Saturday, June 28, 2003
SIGNALLING THE NEED FOR A " DEMOCRATIC EISENHOWER " ?
Former President Bill Clinton points Democrats toward former NATO commander General Wesley Clark, currently poised to enter the race for the Democratic nomination. Why ? As a political tactician and behind the scenes power-broker, the former president is indicating to his party that establishing national security credentials in the eyes of swing voters is an absolute must, regardless of what President Bush does or how the economy performs. Put Clark on the official Democratic Veep short list for 2004. ¶ 3:13 PM 0 comments
Former President Bill Clinton points Democrats toward former NATO commander General Wesley Clark, currently poised to enter the race for the Democratic nomination. Why ? As a political tactician and behind the scenes power-broker, the former president is indicating to his party that establishing national security credentials in the eyes of swing voters is an absolute must, regardless of what President Bush does or how the economy performs. Put Clark on the official Democratic Veep short list for 2004. ¶ 3:13 PM 0 comments
AYATOLLAHS ON THE ROAD TO RUIN - CRUEL ENOUGH TO BE HATED, TOO WEAK TO KEEP POWER
The Khameini-Rafsanjani-Pasdaran clique arrests 4000 students as students remain defiant. ¶ 3:05 PM 0 comments
The Khameini-Rafsanjani-Pasdaran clique arrests 4000 students as students remain defiant. ¶ 3:05 PM 0 comments
" OLD EUROPE " - LITERALLY
Go here. Can nations in retirement be partners in managing the world ? Will the Europeans continue admitting Muslim immigrants with Islamist politics in a quest for population growth to pay for overly generous welfare states until they risk what remains of their democratic and liberal values ? ¶ 2:58 PM 0 comments
Go here. Can nations in retirement be partners in managing the world ? Will the Europeans continue admitting Muslim immigrants with Islamist politics in a quest for population growth to pay for overly generous welfare states until they risk what remains of their democratic and liberal values ? ¶ 2:58 PM 0 comments
THE '' PINOCHET OF THE EAST '' ON TRIAL FOR MASS-MURDER
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the ex-Communist dictator of Poland who declared martial law to crush Solidarity at the behest of the Soviet Union is on trial for mass murder - specifically, his earlier actions as Defense Minister in 1970 when security troops shot and killed 44 striking workers and injured up to 1000 others.
The old East bloc has a very sketchy record for dealing with ex-Communist human-rights violators. On one extreme the Ceaucescus were shot by a firing squad when their neo-Stalinist regime was toppled by a coup during mass-protests and on the other you have aged despots like Erich Honecker being allowed to flee abroad to escape trial or original Stalinist monsters like Lazar Kaganovich dying peacefully at home. Or GRU chief Peter Ivashutin living to ripe old age in retirement. Jaruzelski was far from the worst of the lot but unlike some of the others he carried out his efforts at repression despite having once been a tortured zek in the hands of Beria's NKVD ( he had been deported to Siberia as a Polish P.O.W. - Stalin did not honor the Geneva accords so the Poles were treated as counterrevolutionary political criminals and spies). If anything, Jaruzelski had greater moral responsibility to resist repressive policies; the trial is merited. ¶ 2:35 PM 0 comments
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the ex-Communist dictator of Poland who declared martial law to crush Solidarity at the behest of the Soviet Union is on trial for mass murder - specifically, his earlier actions as Defense Minister in 1970 when security troops shot and killed 44 striking workers and injured up to 1000 others.
The old East bloc has a very sketchy record for dealing with ex-Communist human-rights violators. On one extreme the Ceaucescus were shot by a firing squad when their neo-Stalinist regime was toppled by a coup during mass-protests and on the other you have aged despots like Erich Honecker being allowed to flee abroad to escape trial or original Stalinist monsters like Lazar Kaganovich dying peacefully at home. Or GRU chief Peter Ivashutin living to ripe old age in retirement. Jaruzelski was far from the worst of the lot but unlike some of the others he carried out his efforts at repression despite having once been a tortured zek in the hands of Beria's NKVD ( he had been deported to Siberia as a Polish P.O.W. - Stalin did not honor the Geneva accords so the Poles were treated as counterrevolutionary political criminals and spies). If anything, Jaruzelski had greater moral responsibility to resist repressive policies; the trial is merited. ¶ 2:35 PM 0 comments
Thursday, June 26, 2003
FORGIVE THE POSTING DELAY
Blogger was not allowing me to log on until today and now that I can get on, " real world " priorities have impinged on blogging until Saturday. I will return with some interesting links and pointed opinions.
In the meantime, the administration has finally begun moving toward putting some of the al Qaida war criminals before a military tribunal - a position I have advocated here and on H-Diplo. Wolfowitz is repotedly the one who will make the call ( watch the" neocon cabal " theorists on the Left go bonkers on this one) ¶ 2:14 PM 0 comments
Blogger was not allowing me to log on until today and now that I can get on, " real world " priorities have impinged on blogging until Saturday. I will return with some interesting links and pointed opinions.
In the meantime, the administration has finally begun moving toward putting some of the al Qaida war criminals before a military tribunal - a position I have advocated here and on H-Diplo. Wolfowitz is repotedly the one who will make the call ( watch the" neocon cabal " theorists on the Left go bonkers on this one) ¶ 2:14 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
AL CAPONE WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD RULER OF NORTH KOREA
This makes the money collected by U.S. politicians look like chump change ¶ 11:08 PM 0 comments
This makes the money collected by U.S. politicians look like chump change ¶ 11:08 PM 0 comments
MY BRIEF COMMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT DECISION
My focus here at Zenpundit is primarily foreign policy but since affirmative action is so strident an issue I have the following observation on yesterday's ruling. The High Court demonstrated longstanding continuity, starting with Bakke by issuing another ambiguous decision that whittles down the allowable parameters of using race in public policy decisions. My sense is that the Court is trying to say " not yet " in regards to definitively ruling on affirmative action's inherent logical conflict with the text of the 14th Amendment. Constitutionally, affirmative action is pretty much doomed but politically the Court seems to be wary of the possibly explosive electoral effects of an across the board sweep like the Hopwood decision in Texas prior to an election year. Affirmative action will probably continue to muddle along in this fashion for another decade or two until it is undone by the demographic changes of the electorate.
In higher education at selective schools affirmative action has been used to redress the continuing lag between the mean standardized test scores between white and black applicants ( Harvard excepted where the gap is less significant statistically). As a remedy, setting aside moral and constitutional questions, this back-end solution has not been terribly effective in terms of minority graduation rates while having the added negative of being politically and racially polarizing. What affirmative action programs in elite universities have done well however, and this is the real issue seldom discussed, is act as a networking gateway to the American power structure for promising minority students. If you want pure intellectual stimulation you go to the University of Chicago; if you aim to probe the reaches of science you head for Caltech - but if you want to run the world you fight to get into the Ivy league.
When we want to get serious as a society about closing the educational gap for minority students we will put our money, effort and political capital into longitudinal, comprehensive, programs that work from the bottom up k-12, if not earlier. There are no shortcuts. ¶ 9:44 AM 0 comments
My focus here at Zenpundit is primarily foreign policy but since affirmative action is so strident an issue I have the following observation on yesterday's ruling. The High Court demonstrated longstanding continuity, starting with Bakke by issuing another ambiguous decision that whittles down the allowable parameters of using race in public policy decisions. My sense is that the Court is trying to say " not yet " in regards to definitively ruling on affirmative action's inherent logical conflict with the text of the 14th Amendment. Constitutionally, affirmative action is pretty much doomed but politically the Court seems to be wary of the possibly explosive electoral effects of an across the board sweep like the Hopwood decision in Texas prior to an election year. Affirmative action will probably continue to muddle along in this fashion for another decade or two until it is undone by the demographic changes of the electorate.
In higher education at selective schools affirmative action has been used to redress the continuing lag between the mean standardized test scores between white and black applicants ( Harvard excepted where the gap is less significant statistically). As a remedy, setting aside moral and constitutional questions, this back-end solution has not been terribly effective in terms of minority graduation rates while having the added negative of being politically and racially polarizing. What affirmative action programs in elite universities have done well however, and this is the real issue seldom discussed, is act as a networking gateway to the American power structure for promising minority students. If you want pure intellectual stimulation you go to the University of Chicago; if you aim to probe the reaches of science you head for Caltech - but if you want to run the world you fight to get into the Ivy league.
When we want to get serious as a society about closing the educational gap for minority students we will put our money, effort and political capital into longitudinal, comprehensive, programs that work from the bottom up k-12, if not earlier. There are no shortcuts. ¶ 9:44 AM 0 comments
EMPIREWATCH: ANATOL LIEVEN
The Nation online has a lengthy essay by leftist scholar Anatol Lieven ( whose ideological sympathies may be read in his warm endorsement for the discredited ideas of Immanuel Wallerstein, who bet his academic career on the decline of America and lost) on " empire ". As usual, Lieven gets most things wrong but aside from this article being one of his less shrill efforts he does manage to hone in on a critical truth:
" This is indeed likely to be seen by future historians as the central tragic irony of the Bush Administration's world policy: that the United States, which of all states today should feel like a satisfied power, is instead behaving like a revolutionary one, kicking to pieces the hill of which it is king. "
The Bush foreign policy is indeed a revolutionary one - to rewrite the rules of the international world order to better comport with the advancement of liberal democracy, capitalism, and individualism and contain the threats posed by powerful technologies in unsafe hands and outlaw regimes. Most of those lining up against the Bush doctrine want a world organized around Social Democratic statism managed by transnational bodies that will contain, direct and " legitimize " American power for elite purposes. ¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
The Nation online has a lengthy essay by leftist scholar Anatol Lieven ( whose ideological sympathies may be read in his warm endorsement for the discredited ideas of Immanuel Wallerstein, who bet his academic career on the decline of America and lost) on " empire ". As usual, Lieven gets most things wrong but aside from this article being one of his less shrill efforts he does manage to hone in on a critical truth:
" This is indeed likely to be seen by future historians as the central tragic irony of the Bush Administration's world policy: that the United States, which of all states today should feel like a satisfied power, is instead behaving like a revolutionary one, kicking to pieces the hill of which it is king. "
The Bush foreign policy is indeed a revolutionary one - to rewrite the rules of the international world order to better comport with the advancement of liberal democracy, capitalism, and individualism and contain the threats posed by powerful technologies in unsafe hands and outlaw regimes. Most of those lining up against the Bush doctrine want a world organized around Social Democratic statism managed by transnational bodies that will contain, direct and " legitimize " American power for elite purposes. ¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
Monday, June 23, 2003
IS AL QAIDA REALLY FINISHED ?
A paper from RAND assesses al Qaida's parameters and potential.
Another question is - where is al Qaida ? The organization flourishes where it is indulged and feared by weak authorities or where there is no authority whatsoever. There are obvious locations where al Qaida is known to be active - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Gaza, the frontier Pathan provinces of Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan, most likely now Iraq and in Daghestan with the Chechen rebels. However, American intelligence is probably checking less obvious locations - the outlying rim of islands in Indonesia and the Philippines, FARC countrolled regions of Colombia, northern Nigeria and the No-Man's land borders of Central Africa. ¶ 9:34 PM 0 comments
A paper from RAND assesses al Qaida's parameters and potential.
Another question is - where is al Qaida ? The organization flourishes where it is indulged and feared by weak authorities or where there is no authority whatsoever. There are obvious locations where al Qaida is known to be active - Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, Gaza, the frontier Pathan provinces of Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan, most likely now Iraq and in Daghestan with the Chechen rebels. However, American intelligence is probably checking less obvious locations - the outlying rim of islands in Indonesia and the Philippines, FARC countrolled regions of Colombia, northern Nigeria and the No-Man's land borders of Central Africa. ¶ 9:34 PM 0 comments
IRAN, BURMA, ZIMBABWE RATED " NOT FREE "
See what other barbarian regimes earned Freedom House's lowest rating on their 2003 Map of Freedom ¶ 9:13 PM 0 comments
See what other barbarian regimes earned Freedom House's lowest rating on their 2003 Map of Freedom ¶ 9:13 PM 0 comments
AIR FORCE PILOTS WITH LASERS, NAZI BOATS WITH CHEMICAL WEAPONS AND THE LINK BETWEEN IRAQ AND EVERQUEST
Why I enjoy reading Defensetech.org. ¶ 9:02 PM 0 comments
Why I enjoy reading Defensetech.org. ¶ 9:02 PM 0 comments
LIEBERMAN ON HOMELAND SECURITY
From the Progressive Policy Institute.
Joe Lieberman is at present, with the possible exception of Richard Gephardt, the only Democratic primary contender with some degree of realism about the state of the threat the Islamist terror movement represents to the United States; his views could even be described as moderately hawkish. Unfortunately, reading this paper was a disapointment because Lieberman eschewed any bold proposals, even obvious ones like drastically expanding the National Guard to meet the increased national security missions that Lieberman envisions. ¶ 8:55 PM 0 comments
From the Progressive Policy Institute.
Joe Lieberman is at present, with the possible exception of Richard Gephardt, the only Democratic primary contender with some degree of realism about the state of the threat the Islamist terror movement represents to the United States; his views could even be described as moderately hawkish. Unfortunately, reading this paper was a disapointment because Lieberman eschewed any bold proposals, even obvious ones like drastically expanding the National Guard to meet the increased national security missions that Lieberman envisions. ¶ 8:55 PM 0 comments
A NOD TO THE CLASSICS
Website featuring the ideas of Polybius, the Roman historian whose theory of a cyclical pattern of governments influenced the founding fathers, notably James Madison. I figured since Leo Strauss is all the rage these days among the pundits, why not ? ¶ 8:33 PM 0 comments
Website featuring the ideas of Polybius, the Roman historian whose theory of a cyclical pattern of governments influenced the founding fathers, notably James Madison. I figured since Leo Strauss is all the rage these days among the pundits, why not ? ¶ 8:33 PM 0 comments
Sunday, June 22, 2003
GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ
According to Juan Cole, Paul Bremer the de facto occupational governor of Iraq is going to adopt the Alaska model of making dividend payments on oil sales directly to Iraqi citizens. This move would be revolutionary in the Middle-East which is stultified by corrupt and heavily statist economies and will inject much needed private capital into Iraq's shattered economy ( The " Alaska Policy " will also be politically difficult for any future Iraqi government to reverse, giving a fledgling market economy a flow of resources). Bremer should follow this announcement with an outline for a process for electing a Constituent Assmbly to write a democratic constitution for Iraq - not only would this action badly undercut critics of Bush administration policy and reassure Iraqis as to their future, it is the right thing to do. ¶ 11:20 PM 0 comments
According to Juan Cole, Paul Bremer the de facto occupational governor of Iraq is going to adopt the Alaska model of making dividend payments on oil sales directly to Iraqi citizens. This move would be revolutionary in the Middle-East which is stultified by corrupt and heavily statist economies and will inject much needed private capital into Iraq's shattered economy ( The " Alaska Policy " will also be politically difficult for any future Iraqi government to reverse, giving a fledgling market economy a flow of resources). Bremer should follow this announcement with an outline for a process for electing a Constituent Assmbly to write a democratic constitution for Iraq - not only would this action badly undercut critics of Bush administration policy and reassure Iraqis as to their future, it is the right thing to do. ¶ 11:20 PM 0 comments
HOW 9/11 IS AFFECTING THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY
An analysis from AEI ¶ 11:09 PM 0 comments
An analysis from AEI ¶ 11:09 PM 0 comments
CLINTON NSC ADVISER BERGER ON IRAQ
Thinks invading was the right thing to do. From Brookings ¶ 11:04 PM 0 comments
Thinks invading was the right thing to do. From Brookings ¶ 11:04 PM 0 comments
THE SUNDAY MORNING FISKING OF DR. HOWARD DEAN
Rare but deserved " props " to the far-Left posters and bloggers on the subject of Democratic candidate Dr. Howard Dean - they have been correct all along about two things: First, Dean while is ( judging from today's performance on Russert's show) a complete ignoramus on foreign policy and defense matters he is not actually the McGovernite kook he has been alleged to be and secondly, the elite Democratic party establishment is obviously scared to death of his candidacy. It's been years since I have seen Tim Russert give a fellow liberal Democrat such an unrestrained mauling on national television. Now Republicans faced that sort of elite liberal media " attack interviews " on a regular basis for years but it was exceptionally weird to see this format directed at a Democrat for being too "pro-choice " of all things. Russert often asks tough questions of his guests as he should but his pursuit of Dean on the numbers of soldiers in the armed forces bordered on badgering.
Actually, from my Libertarian to " radical " Neocon perspective Dean's relatively dangerous ignorance of how the world operates actually makes him preferable as a presidential candidate to Kerry who is a transnational elitist ideologue by conviction. If elected president, Dean who buys into the post-Vietnam/New Left assumptions of the world in a vague, platitudinous sort of way will probably initially select as Carter and Clinton did before him, dovish transnationalist advisors in the mold of Anthony Lake, Strobe Talbott, Warren Christopher, Cyrus Vance. Then after several years of causing humiliation and foreign policy disasters Dean would like Carter and Clinton, chuck them in favor of more serious and realistic Democratic foreign policy specialists. There is a difference between a Strobe Talbott who sees American preeminence as a huge problem to be managed away by intentionally declinist policies and a Madeleine Albright who regards America as " an indispensible nation ". Kerry is to the Left of Talbott on foreign policy and these views animate his political being but he is seldom upfront about them because in the post-9/11 climate to do so is political suicide.
I would never vote for Dean or any of the current crop of Democratic candidates ( though I'd sleep better at night if Joe Lieberman was their nominee) but the man is being attacked unfairly by a group of ruthless, power-hungry Democratic insiders who think the natural order of things is their " right " to stay in power forever. It isn't and any one who bothers them unduly wins a salute from me. ¶ 9:51 AM 0 comments
Rare but deserved " props " to the far-Left posters and bloggers on the subject of Democratic candidate Dr. Howard Dean - they have been correct all along about two things: First, Dean while is ( judging from today's performance on Russert's show) a complete ignoramus on foreign policy and defense matters he is not actually the McGovernite kook he has been alleged to be and secondly, the elite Democratic party establishment is obviously scared to death of his candidacy. It's been years since I have seen Tim Russert give a fellow liberal Democrat such an unrestrained mauling on national television. Now Republicans faced that sort of elite liberal media " attack interviews " on a regular basis for years but it was exceptionally weird to see this format directed at a Democrat for being too "pro-choice " of all things. Russert often asks tough questions of his guests as he should but his pursuit of Dean on the numbers of soldiers in the armed forces bordered on badgering.
Actually, from my Libertarian to " radical " Neocon perspective Dean's relatively dangerous ignorance of how the world operates actually makes him preferable as a presidential candidate to Kerry who is a transnational elitist ideologue by conviction. If elected president, Dean who buys into the post-Vietnam/New Left assumptions of the world in a vague, platitudinous sort of way will probably initially select as Carter and Clinton did before him, dovish transnationalist advisors in the mold of Anthony Lake, Strobe Talbott, Warren Christopher, Cyrus Vance. Then after several years of causing humiliation and foreign policy disasters Dean would like Carter and Clinton, chuck them in favor of more serious and realistic Democratic foreign policy specialists. There is a difference between a Strobe Talbott who sees American preeminence as a huge problem to be managed away by intentionally declinist policies and a Madeleine Albright who regards America as " an indispensible nation ". Kerry is to the Left of Talbott on foreign policy and these views animate his political being but he is seldom upfront about them because in the post-9/11 climate to do so is political suicide.
I would never vote for Dean or any of the current crop of Democratic candidates ( though I'd sleep better at night if Joe Lieberman was their nominee) but the man is being attacked unfairly by a group of ruthless, power-hungry Democratic insiders who think the natural order of things is their " right " to stay in power forever. It isn't and any one who bothers them unduly wins a salute from me. ¶ 9:51 AM 0 comments
Saturday, June 21, 2003
SOME INTERESTING WORLD NEWS BITS ON PROMETHEUS 6
Go here. Prometheus was also cleverly lured into a blogfight over decontextualization ¶ 4:42 PM 0 comments
Go here. Prometheus was also cleverly lured into a blogfight over decontextualization ¶ 4:42 PM 0 comments
AUNG SAN SUU KYI NOW DETAINED UNDER " DRACONIAN PROVISIONS " OF BURMESE LAW
From the Times of India ¶ 2:11 PM 0 comments
From the Times of India ¶ 2:11 PM 0 comments
IN CASE THE MULLAHS WERE NOT LISTENING
From Undersecretary Bolton via IranExpert.com ¶ 1:54 PM 0 comments
From Undersecretary Bolton via IranExpert.com ¶ 1:54 PM 0 comments
ARTHUR SILBER JOINS THE BLOGROLL
Strong opinions clearly expressed and a militant friend of liberty to boot.
I don't have a litmus test for my blogroll but I do have an IQ test ¶ 1:50 PM 0 comments
Strong opinions clearly expressed and a militant friend of liberty to boot.
I don't have a litmus test for my blogroll but I do have an IQ test ¶ 1:50 PM 0 comments
Thursday, June 19, 2003
AYN RAND, OBJECTIVISM AND THE BLOGOSPHERE
There has been a weird surge of Ayn Rand and Objectivism discussion lately out on the blogosphere. First, Tacitus posted an excerpt from the famous Whittaker Chambers review of Atlas Shrugged, then I saw a " Mocking Objectivism " post by JB that led me to Weasal Manor and Matt Yglesias. Meanwhile, Busness Pundit referenced a John Galt type strike by corporate America in response to class-action looting by trial lawyers. There may have been more that I've missed but it's interesting that two decades after her death, Ayn Rand and Objectivism are still attracting attention and her novels are now the focus of mainstream scholarly research.
Why the impact ? I believe the impact of Ayn Rand on the popular culture has a lot to do with her ability to teach logical thinking through a powerful narrative structure -i.e. a good story. Most of us who take the trouble to learn logic do so through expository writing - the dreaded textbook with syllogisms where " If X, then Y..."which has put countless generations of students to rest on their desks. What eludes in dry explanation often erupts in sudden comprehension when illustrated by a demonstration or an analogy. This " awakening effect" of philosophy via a story probably accounts for both the cultural influence of Ayn Rand's ideas and the annoyingly humorless and dogmatic judgementalism of some of her more immature admirers.
Philosophical novels ( at least successful ones) are notoriously difficult to write because incarnating abstract principles as flesh and blood characters requires some sacrifice of realism, even for romantic epics like The Fountainhead. While critics have complained about some of Rand's characters appearing wooden or shrill overall the public has disagreed as her books are durable sellers and frequently appear on lists of " must-read " books for gifted students and the college bound. Several of Rand's original followers, Nathaniel Branden ( the father of " Self-Esteem " psychology) and Alan Greenspan have significantly impacted American culture and politics in their own right.
For those interested in a serious look at the intellectual origin's of Ayn Rand's ideas, I highly recommend Ayn Rand:The Russian Radical by Chris Matthew Sciabarra who managed a nice background on the philosophical climate of late Tsarist Russia under Nicholas II in the process of explaining Rand. I'd also recommend reading Dostoyevskii's The Possessed ( sometimes mistranslated as" The Devils") as a comparison for how the two Russian authors treated villains ( Peter Verkhovensky and Ellsworth Toohey) with similar philosophical motivations.
" Always check your premises "
Ayn Rand ¶ 2:20 PM 0 comments
There has been a weird surge of Ayn Rand and Objectivism discussion lately out on the blogosphere. First, Tacitus posted an excerpt from the famous Whittaker Chambers review of Atlas Shrugged, then I saw a " Mocking Objectivism " post by JB that led me to Weasal Manor and Matt Yglesias. Meanwhile, Busness Pundit referenced a John Galt type strike by corporate America in response to class-action looting by trial lawyers. There may have been more that I've missed but it's interesting that two decades after her death, Ayn Rand and Objectivism are still attracting attention and her novels are now the focus of mainstream scholarly research.
Why the impact ? I believe the impact of Ayn Rand on the popular culture has a lot to do with her ability to teach logical thinking through a powerful narrative structure -i.e. a good story. Most of us who take the trouble to learn logic do so through expository writing - the dreaded textbook with syllogisms where " If X, then Y..."which has put countless generations of students to rest on their desks. What eludes in dry explanation often erupts in sudden comprehension when illustrated by a demonstration or an analogy. This " awakening effect" of philosophy via a story probably accounts for both the cultural influence of Ayn Rand's ideas and the annoyingly humorless and dogmatic judgementalism of some of her more immature admirers.
Philosophical novels ( at least successful ones) are notoriously difficult to write because incarnating abstract principles as flesh and blood characters requires some sacrifice of realism, even for romantic epics like The Fountainhead. While critics have complained about some of Rand's characters appearing wooden or shrill overall the public has disagreed as her books are durable sellers and frequently appear on lists of " must-read " books for gifted students and the college bound. Several of Rand's original followers, Nathaniel Branden ( the father of " Self-Esteem " psychology) and Alan Greenspan have significantly impacted American culture and politics in their own right.
For those interested in a serious look at the intellectual origin's of Ayn Rand's ideas, I highly recommend Ayn Rand:The Russian Radical by Chris Matthew Sciabarra who managed a nice background on the philosophical climate of late Tsarist Russia under Nicholas II in the process of explaining Rand. I'd also recommend reading Dostoyevskii's The Possessed ( sometimes mistranslated as" The Devils") as a comparison for how the two Russian authors treated villains ( Peter Verkhovensky and Ellsworth Toohey) with similar philosophical motivations.
" Always check your premises "
Ayn Rand ¶ 2:20 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
THE EU CONSTITUTION
Did we really lose all those Americans in two world wars and spend trillions warding off the Soviets to watch these elitist jackasses lay the foundations of yet another European experiment with statist Autocracy ? Geitner Simmons and Samizdata have good posts up. ¶ 10:24 PM 0 comments
Did we really lose all those Americans in two world wars and spend trillions warding off the Soviets to watch these elitist jackasses lay the foundations of yet another European experiment with statist Autocracy ? Geitner Simmons and Samizdata have good posts up. ¶ 10:24 PM 0 comments
QUOTE OF THE DAY
" Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must,like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it "
Tom Paine ¶ 9:28 PM 0 comments
" Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must,like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it "
Tom Paine ¶ 9:28 PM 0 comments
THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION - IRANIAN DEMOCRATS STRUGGLE AGAINST THE ISLAMIST DICTATORSHIP
The Iranian protestors are beginning to catch the eye of the world even as the President of the United States issued an ominous warning to Iran's autocratic Pasdaran clique regarding Iran's not so secret nuclear program. Iran's hardline rulers centered around Supreme Guide Ayatollah Khameini have increased the profile of extremist militants known as Ansar Hezbollah. This may be a good sign in that the reliability of of the Pasdaran, if ordered to crush the student demonstrations, is now itself in question. A similar phenomenon happened in the waning days of the USSR when clashes in the Baltics and Tblisi led the Politburo to form new " Black Beret " units because the ultimate loyalty of the MVD Internal troops and even the elite Spetsnz and Osnaz were in doubt.
Andrew Sullivan issued a call for bloggers to unite on July 9th behind Democracy protestors in Iran and Zenpundit will be joining that effort. The Iranians will be facing guns and steel from a desperate, cornered, theo-fascist regime - moral support is the least we can do.
LINKS to blogs and articles that concern Iran: Micheal Ledeen, Juan Cole,Pedram Moallemian, William J. Daugherty, The CIA, FAS, NTI, The State Department, CBS News, IranExpert.com, The BBC, The Iranian Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy ¶ 8:19 PM 0 comments
The Iranian protestors are beginning to catch the eye of the world even as the President of the United States issued an ominous warning to Iran's autocratic Pasdaran clique regarding Iran's not so secret nuclear program. Iran's hardline rulers centered around Supreme Guide Ayatollah Khameini have increased the profile of extremist militants known as Ansar Hezbollah. This may be a good sign in that the reliability of of the Pasdaran, if ordered to crush the student demonstrations, is now itself in question. A similar phenomenon happened in the waning days of the USSR when clashes in the Baltics and Tblisi led the Politburo to form new " Black Beret " units because the ultimate loyalty of the MVD Internal troops and even the elite Spetsnz and Osnaz were in doubt.
Andrew Sullivan issued a call for bloggers to unite on July 9th behind Democracy protestors in Iran and Zenpundit will be joining that effort. The Iranians will be facing guns and steel from a desperate, cornered, theo-fascist regime - moral support is the least we can do.
LINKS to blogs and articles that concern Iran: Micheal Ledeen, Juan Cole,Pedram Moallemian, William J. Daugherty, The CIA, FAS, NTI, The State Department, CBS News, IranExpert.com, The BBC, The Iranian Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy ¶ 8:19 PM 0 comments
Sunday, June 15, 2003
A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF LINKS ABOUT TERRORIST GROUPS
From the Federation of American Scientists. ¶ 8:59 PM 0 comments
From the Federation of American Scientists. ¶ 8:59 PM 0 comments
CAN AL QAIDA BE DETERRED ?
Some interesting but lengthy reading from RAND. I haven't finished it myself yet but this study has useful information and conceptual strategies for dealing with international terrorism, particularly al Qaida. ¶ 8:48 PM 0 comments
Some interesting but lengthy reading from RAND. I haven't finished it myself yet but this study has useful information and conceptual strategies for dealing with international terrorism, particularly al Qaida. ¶ 8:48 PM 0 comments
Saturday, June 14, 2003
A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES
The United States is in the midst of a dangerous war to destroy an apocalyptic and transnational Islamist political movement that is bending most of its energies to engineer our destruction and to remove from power the outlaw regimes that sponsor the " Terror Masters ". As a result, deficits are rising, military resources are stretched to the brink and other programs are on the chopping block. At such a time can we really afford to continue as well, to the tune of ( at least) tens of billions, the war on drugs ? If this law enforcement program has been the moral equivalent of a war then that analagous war is Vietnam.
The results of the drug war have been a massive ( statistically speaking) demographic and economic disruption to our society, the ballooning of prison populations and the enrichment of foreign criminal syndicates to the point where narcotics traffickers can field armies to battle allied governments. Al Qaida drew funds from drug trafficking. North Korea funds its nuclear bomb program from drug trafficking. Drug trafficking yields untold billions in revenue primarily because it is illegal and these billions represent deadly armaments aimed at the heads of us all.
We are now engaged in a real war, not a political one, where if we falter for a moment, thousands of Americans could again die on a single day. Is this really all that difficult of a choice to make ? Pardon the nonviolent offenders who otherwise lack violent criminal records in a sensible, orderly way and put the vast sums and personnel devoted to the drug war toward securing our borders and killing terrorists. The drug war has eroded liberty, property, privacy and safety while expanding government power at home and destablizing friendly governments abroad. It was in every sense of the word a failure. Social pressure, taxation and medical treatment could achieve the same reductions in addicts at a fraction of the cost.
One would think this is an outcome conservatives would welcome.
¶ 6:23 PM 0 comments
The United States is in the midst of a dangerous war to destroy an apocalyptic and transnational Islamist political movement that is bending most of its energies to engineer our destruction and to remove from power the outlaw regimes that sponsor the " Terror Masters ". As a result, deficits are rising, military resources are stretched to the brink and other programs are on the chopping block. At such a time can we really afford to continue as well, to the tune of ( at least) tens of billions, the war on drugs ? If this law enforcement program has been the moral equivalent of a war then that analagous war is Vietnam.
The results of the drug war have been a massive ( statistically speaking) demographic and economic disruption to our society, the ballooning of prison populations and the enrichment of foreign criminal syndicates to the point where narcotics traffickers can field armies to battle allied governments. Al Qaida drew funds from drug trafficking. North Korea funds its nuclear bomb program from drug trafficking. Drug trafficking yields untold billions in revenue primarily because it is illegal and these billions represent deadly armaments aimed at the heads of us all.
We are now engaged in a real war, not a political one, where if we falter for a moment, thousands of Americans could again die on a single day. Is this really all that difficult of a choice to make ? Pardon the nonviolent offenders who otherwise lack violent criminal records in a sensible, orderly way and put the vast sums and personnel devoted to the drug war toward securing our borders and killing terrorists. The drug war has eroded liberty, property, privacy and safety while expanding government power at home and destablizing friendly governments abroad. It was in every sense of the word a failure. Social pressure, taxation and medical treatment could achieve the same reductions in addicts at a fraction of the cost.
One would think this is an outcome conservatives would welcome.
¶ 6:23 PM 0 comments
FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY AND PERHAPS THEIR LIVES
Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe and Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. They need the support of the United States and so do their followers who are fighting for their liberty. President Bush needs to speak out. So does the Congress. So does every man and woman running for president.
If not us, who ? If not now, when ? ¶ 5:48 PM 0 comments
Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe and Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. They need the support of the United States and so do their followers who are fighting for their liberty. President Bush needs to speak out. So does the Congress. So does every man and woman running for president.
If not us, who ? If not now, when ? ¶ 5:48 PM 0 comments
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas"
George Santayana ¶ 5:37 PM 0 comments
"The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas"
George Santayana ¶ 5:37 PM 0 comments
Thursday, June 12, 2003
LATE NIGHT REBUTTAL TIME
Prometheus 6 responded to my reluctant ( I hate jumping on bandwagons) Hillary! posting:
"The idea of a Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy is much like the idea of a unicorn. Such a creature could exists… it just doesn't. A Clinton candidacy would do more to energize the Republican base than the return of the Gipper himself. And a Clinton win would likely signal the start of the four year period that culminates in the Second War of Secession.
Not that I'd mind if she won. It would bring the day we see a Black president that much closer. But if you want to gain power you don't set up your own obstacles. Sen. Clinton would be just as useful and convincing as Majority Leader and far less of an obstacle to regaining and leeping the presidency.
She's due for a major increase in influence, and yeah, the book is probably part of setting the stage for that. But not as POTUS
I would have to admit Hillary drives some folks on my side bannanas in a psychologically visceral way that " W " does to some kinds of liberals. The idea of Hillary as Senate minority leader is an intriguing one though I'm not certain if she's a clubby enough personality for that difficult a role - getting senators to go along with something is a lot like herding cats. On the other hand HRC could represent her party with total message discipline and raise a lot of cash so if Daschle departs she could easily vie to replace him. Walking away from a presidential run where she could win at least the nomination would torment her to the end of her days - people who live and breathe politics like LBJ or Hillary or Nixon suffer terribly when they end up " out of the loop " so I'm betting she goes for the brass ring.
¶ 10:20 PM 0 comments
Prometheus 6 responded to my reluctant ( I hate jumping on bandwagons) Hillary! posting:
"The idea of a Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy is much like the idea of a unicorn. Such a creature could exists… it just doesn't. A Clinton candidacy would do more to energize the Republican base than the return of the Gipper himself. And a Clinton win would likely signal the start of the four year period that culminates in the Second War of Secession.
Not that I'd mind if she won. It would bring the day we see a Black president that much closer. But if you want to gain power you don't set up your own obstacles. Sen. Clinton would be just as useful and convincing as Majority Leader and far less of an obstacle to regaining and leeping the presidency.
She's due for a major increase in influence, and yeah, the book is probably part of setting the stage for that. But not as POTUS
I would have to admit Hillary drives some folks on my side bannanas in a psychologically visceral way that " W " does to some kinds of liberals. The idea of Hillary as Senate minority leader is an intriguing one though I'm not certain if she's a clubby enough personality for that difficult a role - getting senators to go along with something is a lot like herding cats. On the other hand HRC could represent her party with total message discipline and raise a lot of cash so if Daschle departs she could easily vie to replace him. Walking away from a presidential run where she could win at least the nomination would torment her to the end of her days - people who live and breathe politics like LBJ or Hillary or Nixon suffer terribly when they end up " out of the loop " so I'm betting she goes for the brass ring.
¶ 10:20 PM 0 comments
SPOTLIGHT ON A BLOG - MILT'S FILE
University of Chicago's Dr. Milt Rosenberg of Extension720 radio fame is probably the most erudite talk radio host in the nation whose program airs on AM 720 at 9-11 pm CST ( barring a Cubs game broadcast) and is simulcast on the internet. ¶ 3:25 PM 0 comments
University of Chicago's Dr. Milt Rosenberg of Extension720 radio fame is probably the most erudite talk radio host in the nation whose program airs on AM 720 at 9-11 pm CST ( barring a Cubs game broadcast) and is simulcast on the internet. ¶ 3:25 PM 0 comments
THE UNITED STATES PRESSURES MYANMAR
Good. Go here. How about some similar pressure on Mugabe ? ¶ 3:06 PM 0 comments
Good. Go here. How about some similar pressure on Mugabe ? ¶ 3:06 PM 0 comments
" ARE YOU ON DRUGS ? " DEPARTMENT
Tom Spencer, noted HNN blogger made the following statement on his daily blog George Bush, Evil Incarnate - sorry, I mean Thinking it Through, on Iraq:
"In the case of Iraq, we took a relatively stable Middle Eastern state and have, through our own efforts, destabilized it and made life worse for the average Iraqi. Heck, at least the Iraqi people had electricity, sewer systems, and clean water under Saddam's rule.
Really. What's a few fingernails being popped out by the Mukhabarat, a couple of Toddler Prisons and the occasional act of genocide compared to cheap kilowatt hours ? This was not one of Dr. Spencer's more intelligent swipes at the Bush administration. I wonder if he could scrape up some live non-Baathist Iraqis who would agree to take Saddam back under any conditions. Stability in a ruthless, tyrannical regime is highly overrated. Better they be made to wobble a bit before they can contemplate killing their next 100,000 victims.
¶ 2:59 PM 0 comments
Tom Spencer, noted HNN blogger made the following statement on his daily blog George Bush, Evil Incarnate - sorry, I mean Thinking it Through, on Iraq:
"In the case of Iraq, we took a relatively stable Middle Eastern state and have, through our own efforts, destabilized it and made life worse for the average Iraqi. Heck, at least the Iraqi people had electricity, sewer systems, and clean water under Saddam's rule.
Really. What's a few fingernails being popped out by the Mukhabarat, a couple of Toddler Prisons and the occasional act of genocide compared to cheap kilowatt hours ? This was not one of Dr. Spencer's more intelligent swipes at the Bush administration. I wonder if he could scrape up some live non-Baathist Iraqis who would agree to take Saddam back under any conditions. Stability in a ruthless, tyrannical regime is highly overrated. Better they be made to wobble a bit before they can contemplate killing their next 100,000 victims.
¶ 2:59 PM 0 comments
MORE ON THE SITUATION IN IRAN FROM TWO SCHOLARS
Juan Cole and Micheal Ledeen .
My view of the Iranian regime is that they are now the Islamist equivalent of Erich Honecker and the Stasi in the late 1980's. Unlike Honecker and his Communist cronies however, there is no fallback position for Khameini, Rafsanjani and the torturers of the Pasdaran. If they fall from power their bodies could well be swinging from lamposts and construction cranes in Teheran the way democrats, monarchists and communists once did under Ayatollah Khomeini. Unfortunately, these people are up to their ears in international terrorism and have been at war with the United States and killing Americans sporadically since 1979 and will never stop. The regime must go, preferably at the hands of the Iranian people and if not, then with some help from the United States.
I see Riting on the Wall is posting on Shiites today as well. ¶ 2:33 PM 0 comments
Juan Cole and Micheal Ledeen .
My view of the Iranian regime is that they are now the Islamist equivalent of Erich Honecker and the Stasi in the late 1980's. Unlike Honecker and his Communist cronies however, there is no fallback position for Khameini, Rafsanjani and the torturers of the Pasdaran. If they fall from power their bodies could well be swinging from lamposts and construction cranes in Teheran the way democrats, monarchists and communists once did under Ayatollah Khomeini. Unfortunately, these people are up to their ears in international terrorism and have been at war with the United States and killing Americans sporadically since 1979 and will never stop. The regime must go, preferably at the hands of the Iranian people and if not, then with some help from the United States.
I see Riting on the Wall is posting on Shiites today as well. ¶ 2:33 PM 0 comments
THE GIFT OF FIRE
Much thanks to Prometheus 6 for the link and the kind words- he has one of the blogs " on the other side " that I've taken to reading, intelligently written and feisty and I encourage everyone to check it out. Since Prometheus 6 is " a member of the VLWC " it will be interesting to see as time goes by how we come down on our analysis of the issues. The parameters of a problem often depends on the vantage point from which you view it so it is always helpful to look at the world throught the perspective of another ( it can often be a useful corrective). Those who move through the world insulating themselves from all conflicting opinions, grope blindly and are easily led astray. ¶ 2:06 PM 0 comments
Much thanks to Prometheus 6 for the link and the kind words- he has one of the blogs " on the other side " that I've taken to reading, intelligently written and feisty and I encourage everyone to check it out. Since Prometheus 6 is " a member of the VLWC " it will be interesting to see as time goes by how we come down on our analysis of the issues. The parameters of a problem often depends on the vantage point from which you view it so it is always helpful to look at the world throught the perspective of another ( it can often be a useful corrective). Those who move through the world insulating themselves from all conflicting opinions, grope blindly and are easily led astray. ¶ 2:06 PM 0 comments
AS MUCH AS I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS
I will make a few comments on Hillary Clinton ( or Hillary ! as she was known during her senate campaign). She will run for president next year or in 2008 under the constraints of being a known quantity. Opinions on her character are essentially set in the public mind, the oft-used phrase is " polarizing figure" applies and she will follow a Nixonian strategy in that race. Richard Nixon, another basically unpopular candidate with a paranoid personality that caused viscerally hostile reactions, overcame tremendous odds to win the presidency with a minority of the vote. It's a pattern Hillary needs to follow because for every true-believer behind her there's another person in the electorate who simply hates her guts and a vast middle ground that is bone-weary of the scandals and Clinton-wars of the 1990's. Her room for political manuvering is limited by her high and enduring negatives.
First we will get a " New Hillary " - we are seeing some of that now with her book promotion - older, wiser and more capable of poking fun at her own foibles who will chuckle about her days as the lightning rod of 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. Then the campaign will emphasize HRC's statesmanship as a senator and first lady while pushing proposals that sound bold but politically speaking will be surprisingly middle-of-the road in tone. When the crazies on the Right come out with predictably frantic and excessive personal attacks, she'll be taking the high road. Even so, barring a three-way race or an exceptionally weak GOP opponent, I don't believe that Hillary Clinton is all that electable so look for liberal donors to be quietly throwing some big money ( and the media a large spotlight) at any political figure who seems capable of splitting the Republican vote.
¶ 1:28 PM 0 comments
I will make a few comments on Hillary Clinton ( or Hillary ! as she was known during her senate campaign). She will run for president next year or in 2008 under the constraints of being a known quantity. Opinions on her character are essentially set in the public mind, the oft-used phrase is " polarizing figure" applies and she will follow a Nixonian strategy in that race. Richard Nixon, another basically unpopular candidate with a paranoid personality that caused viscerally hostile reactions, overcame tremendous odds to win the presidency with a minority of the vote. It's a pattern Hillary needs to follow because for every true-believer behind her there's another person in the electorate who simply hates her guts and a vast middle ground that is bone-weary of the scandals and Clinton-wars of the 1990's. Her room for political manuvering is limited by her high and enduring negatives.
First we will get a " New Hillary " - we are seeing some of that now with her book promotion - older, wiser and more capable of poking fun at her own foibles who will chuckle about her days as the lightning rod of 1600 Pennsylvania avenue. Then the campaign will emphasize HRC's statesmanship as a senator and first lady while pushing proposals that sound bold but politically speaking will be surprisingly middle-of-the road in tone. When the crazies on the Right come out with predictably frantic and excessive personal attacks, she'll be taking the high road. Even so, barring a three-way race or an exceptionally weak GOP opponent, I don't believe that Hillary Clinton is all that electable so look for liberal donors to be quietly throwing some big money ( and the media a large spotlight) at any political figure who seems capable of splitting the Republican vote.
¶ 1:28 PM 0 comments
REGIONS OF MIND
Has relocated to a new, spiffier site as be fits Geitner Simmons upwardly mobile blog. I enjoy Regions because it isn't just another blow-by-blow, politics by the minute blog but one that also takes it's time to examine aspects of the culture and history routinely ignored by the bicoastal big media. Aside from being informative, this kind of commentary is a useful corrective to the heavily upper-middle class, yuppie, urban perspective of the nation seen on television and cable news. There's a whole lot of country out there with distinctive subcultures and regional flavors that seldom get mentioned and their absence is a lacuna in the national mind. ¶ 1:00 PM 0 comments
Has relocated to a new, spiffier site as be fits Geitner Simmons upwardly mobile blog. I enjoy Regions because it isn't just another blow-by-blow, politics by the minute blog but one that also takes it's time to examine aspects of the culture and history routinely ignored by the bicoastal big media. Aside from being informative, this kind of commentary is a useful corrective to the heavily upper-middle class, yuppie, urban perspective of the nation seen on television and cable news. There's a whole lot of country out there with distinctive subcultures and regional flavors that seldom get mentioned and their absence is a lacuna in the national mind. ¶ 1:00 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
IAEA FINDS THAT IRAN SECRETLY IMPORTED URANIUM FROM CHINA
As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty the only reason to important uranium secretly is to have an unaccounted stockpile from which to process bomb-grade uranium or plutonium. IAEA inspectors maintain a watch on overtly acquired stockpiles of uranium to prevent diversion to nuclear weapons programs. For the story go here.
In a related story, the same hardline Pasdaran clique that controls the Iranian government has been accused of harboring a key operational planner of Islamist terrorism who works with ( but is not a member of) al Qaida. ¶ 3:13 PM 0 comments
As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty the only reason to important uranium secretly is to have an unaccounted stockpile from which to process bomb-grade uranium or plutonium. IAEA inspectors maintain a watch on overtly acquired stockpiles of uranium to prevent diversion to nuclear weapons programs. For the story go here.
In a related story, the same hardline Pasdaran clique that controls the Iranian government has been accused of harboring a key operational planner of Islamist terrorism who works with ( but is not a member of) al Qaida. ¶ 3:13 PM 0 comments
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When
you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours that's
relativity."
-Albert Einstein ¶ 3:00 PM 0 comments
"When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When
you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours that's
relativity."
-Albert Einstein ¶ 3:00 PM 0 comments
MORE ON THE NYE COMMITTEE - MISSING IRAQI WMD ANALOGY
Some additional information on the Nye Committee being stacked with leftist ideologues in order to propagate the anti-war, anti-capitalist " Merchants of Death " myth from historian Richard Jensen in today's H-Diplo post
¶ 2:55 PM 0 comments
Some additional information on the Nye Committee being stacked with leftist ideologues in order to propagate the anti-war, anti-capitalist " Merchants of Death " myth from historian Richard Jensen in today's H-Diplo post
¶ 2:55 PM 0 comments
Monday, June 09, 2003
" SOCIALISTS OF ALL PARTIES " THE EU ATTEMPTS TO TAX AMERICANS
From the Washington Post:
If the EU is successful in requiring VAT collection by American firms, observers say it could set an important precedent for taxing Internet commerce in the United States.
"Governments from South America to China are looking to Europe as the source of the latest in regulatory innovations," said Gary Litman, vice president for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "I can see a lot of countries looking abroad and saying, 'If Brussels can regulate this, why can't we?'"
Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Commission, agreed. "Some of the opposition to this measure appears to be driven by the fear that it could serve as a precedent for taxing e-commerce within the U.S.," he said. "
Exactly. The EU has been transmogrified by European socialists from a classical liberal dream of freedom to a relentlessly mestastisizing engine for injecting statism into international law. One of the long term objectives, manifested in the Kyoto Treaty for example, is to put international controls and constraints upon the American economy so that key decisions affecting the future of Americans and their well-being become progressively more transnational in nature, where American presidents, treasury secretaries and Fed chairmen would need European support to enact basic changes in policy. This of course suits NGO activists on the Left side of the Democratic party who relish an extraconstitutional check on such things as immigration, tax, welfare or labor reform that runs counter to their big government agenda.
¶ 11:30 PM 0 comments
From the Washington Post:
If the EU is successful in requiring VAT collection by American firms, observers say it could set an important precedent for taxing Internet commerce in the United States.
"Governments from South America to China are looking to Europe as the source of the latest in regulatory innovations," said Gary Litman, vice president for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "I can see a lot of countries looking abroad and saying, 'If Brussels can regulate this, why can't we?'"
Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Commission, agreed. "Some of the opposition to this measure appears to be driven by the fear that it could serve as a precedent for taxing e-commerce within the U.S.," he said. "
Exactly. The EU has been transmogrified by European socialists from a classical liberal dream of freedom to a relentlessly mestastisizing engine for injecting statism into international law. One of the long term objectives, manifested in the Kyoto Treaty for example, is to put international controls and constraints upon the American economy so that key decisions affecting the future of Americans and their well-being become progressively more transnational in nature, where American presidents, treasury secretaries and Fed chairmen would need European support to enact basic changes in policy. This of course suits NGO activists on the Left side of the Democratic party who relish an extraconstitutional check on such things as immigration, tax, welfare or labor reform that runs counter to their big government agenda.
¶ 11:30 PM 0 comments
BUT GEITNER, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF VIKING REENACTORS CRASHED A REENACTMENT OF GETTYSBURG ?
Geitner Simmons on the newest custom of the midwestern Scandinavian-Americans ¶ 11:15 PM 0 comments
Geitner Simmons on the newest custom of the midwestern Scandinavian-Americans ¶ 11:15 PM 0 comments
NO BLOOD FOR OIL ?
Instapundit links to an article on the misdoings of the French oil giant TotalFinaElf in Africa. This is the company that was also currying favor with Saddam and had signed "precontracts " to gain concessions in the Iraqi oil fields at Majnoon and Nahar Umar despite UN sanctions. It seems that in it's Elf Acquitaine incarnation ( the corporation has gone through a number of buy-outs,reorganizations and changes of name) it was controlled by French intelligence.
¶ 11:09 PM 0 comments
Instapundit links to an article on the misdoings of the French oil giant TotalFinaElf in Africa. This is the company that was also currying favor with Saddam and had signed "precontracts " to gain concessions in the Iraqi oil fields at Majnoon and Nahar Umar despite UN sanctions. It seems that in it's Elf Acquitaine incarnation ( the corporation has gone through a number of buy-outs,reorganizations and changes of name) it was controlled by French intelligence.
¶ 11:09 PM 0 comments
FINALLY....A BLOGROLL FOR ZENPUNDIT
Gee...it only took me since last February. Someday I'll even get a comment board running.
¶ 5:53 PM 0 comments
Gee...it only took me since last February. Someday I'll even get a comment board running.
¶ 5:53 PM 0 comments
LIBERALS AND THE MISSING WMD'S
I've been highly skeptical since the " Bush lied " WMD frenzy has been whipped up that this whole controversy would amount to much in the long run - much like the last Liberal Iraq frenzy where they called for the Head of Rumsfeld because of the " looting " of the national museum the Bush administration " callously allowed ". Turns out most of the looting was a hoax to cover the secret removal of ancient treasures by Baathist loyalists to secret vaults and coalition forces have recovered most of them. In the case of WMD I've been on other sites asking simply why, if WMD's were a fiction that Putin, Chirac and Schroeder didn't denounce it and demand Iraq be certified as being free of WMD ? I've gotten no takers as of yet and frankly I don't expect any because the SVK and French intelligence were saying the same things to their officials that the CIA/DIA/NSA/NRO reports said to Bush - that Iraq had illegal WMD programs to some extent.
( Apparently, even in the midst of this new Liberal meme campaign, Hans Blix refuses to state that Iraq did not have WMD in his new report.)
So why the hard spin on the interpretation the Bush administration took from the evidence ? It has a great deal to do with internal polling - the Democratic position on national security with the public is ( rightly so) essentially hopeless, not just with the average voter but even with moderate Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Here is a recent media poll giving the same results as what Democratic insiders already know.This appears to be a make-or-break issue in the voting booth for swing voters in a narrowly divided electorate and right now Bush has a lock on the issue of national security. The Left does not need to prove this case that Bush allegedly " lied " about Iraqi WMD but they do need to chip away at Bush's lead in this area and create enough of a reasonable doubt in the minds of independents that this issue doesn't loom so large over 2004 swing voters as it does presently. ( This argument will not affect partisans - finding nuclear bomb components in Kirkuk tomorrow won't switch a single hard-core Democrat to the Bush column. No WMD's turning up won't cause conservative types to vote for Al Sharpton) The Democratic Party is about as trusted in their ability to prosecute the War on Terror with vigor as the GOP is trusted to safeguard a woman's right to an abortion.
And in both cases, the voters have good reason for their qualms
¶ 12:18 PM 0 comments
I've been highly skeptical since the " Bush lied " WMD frenzy has been whipped up that this whole controversy would amount to much in the long run - much like the last Liberal Iraq frenzy where they called for the Head of Rumsfeld because of the " looting " of the national museum the Bush administration " callously allowed ". Turns out most of the looting was a hoax to cover the secret removal of ancient treasures by Baathist loyalists to secret vaults and coalition forces have recovered most of them. In the case of WMD I've been on other sites asking simply why, if WMD's were a fiction that Putin, Chirac and Schroeder didn't denounce it and demand Iraq be certified as being free of WMD ? I've gotten no takers as of yet and frankly I don't expect any because the SVK and French intelligence were saying the same things to their officials that the CIA/DIA/NSA/NRO reports said to Bush - that Iraq had illegal WMD programs to some extent.
( Apparently, even in the midst of this new Liberal meme campaign, Hans Blix refuses to state that Iraq did not have WMD in his new report.)
So why the hard spin on the interpretation the Bush administration took from the evidence ? It has a great deal to do with internal polling - the Democratic position on national security with the public is ( rightly so) essentially hopeless, not just with the average voter but even with moderate Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Here is a recent media poll giving the same results as what Democratic insiders already know.This appears to be a make-or-break issue in the voting booth for swing voters in a narrowly divided electorate and right now Bush has a lock on the issue of national security. The Left does not need to prove this case that Bush allegedly " lied " about Iraqi WMD but they do need to chip away at Bush's lead in this area and create enough of a reasonable doubt in the minds of independents that this issue doesn't loom so large over 2004 swing voters as it does presently. ( This argument will not affect partisans - finding nuclear bomb components in Kirkuk tomorrow won't switch a single hard-core Democrat to the Bush column. No WMD's turning up won't cause conservative types to vote for Al Sharpton) The Democratic Party is about as trusted in their ability to prosecute the War on Terror with vigor as the GOP is trusted to safeguard a woman's right to an abortion.
And in both cases, the voters have good reason for their qualms
¶ 12:18 PM 0 comments
Sunday, June 08, 2003
THE SILICON SPEAR - SUN-TZU,CYBERWAR AND THE REVOLUTION IN MILITARY AFFAIRS
If you have the stomach to do a little more reading than the typical blog link the " Silicon Spear " is a conceptually-rich, fast-moving paper on the future of strategic military power and the implications for American foreign policy. The use of jargon is limited and the writing is accessible to most well-informed readers even if they are not military specialists.
¶ 10:54 PM 0 comments
If you have the stomach to do a little more reading than the typical blog link the " Silicon Spear " is a conceptually-rich, fast-moving paper on the future of strategic military power and the implications for American foreign policy. The use of jargon is limited and the writing is accessible to most well-informed readers even if they are not military specialists.
¶ 10:54 PM 0 comments
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The multitude is wiser and more constant than a Prince "
- Machiavelli ¶ 10:23 PM 0 comments
"The multitude is wiser and more constant than a Prince "
- Machiavelli ¶ 10:23 PM 0 comments
IRAN AND THEIR QUEST FOR NUKES
From the Associated Press: If after you read the article below and you still feel sanguine, like this might be mere exaggeration, scroll back up and click the link to an article to the Iran Press Service and see what Teheran's second highest ranking theocratic nut has to say on the topic
Iran Admits Not Reporting Uranium to U.N.
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran admitted Sunday it failed to inform U.N. authorities that it imported a small quantity of uranium 12 years ago but said that failure did not violate the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iran's nuclear energy chief, also urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to widely publish the report it released to member nations last week on Iran's nuclear program.
The Bush administration accuses Iran of wanting to build a nuclear bomb and wants the U.N. agency to declare Iran in breach of the treaty. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Aghazadeh said the IAEA report did not back up U.S. claims that Iran was violating international atomic protocols.
"There is no mention of the word 'violation,'" he told state-run television. "The report only mentions 'failure,' which is still a legal debate between us. And these are normal differences."
On Friday, a diplomat from an IAEA member state said the report indicated Iran had imported some nuclear material and processed it without declaring it to the Vienna, Austria-based agency.
Aghazadeh said the report notes that in 1991 Iran imported a small quantity of uranium hexofluoride, the chemical form of uranium used for the enrichment process.
IAEA regulations at the time did not require Tehran to inform the agency of the acquisition, he said.
Aghazadeh did not say why Iran imported the uranium but acknowledged that the report says Iran "should have informed" it of the acquisition.
Iran has since identified the materials to the IAEA, which now has them under "safeguard," he said.
The report will be discussed publicly when the agency's board meets June 16.
Three IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran on Saturday to assess the country's nuclear activities. The visit is widely seen as a chance for Iran to counter U.S. accusations of a nuclear weapons program and show it is eager to cooperate with the agency.
In February, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, visited the incomplete Natanz nuclear plant about 200 miles south of Tehran. Diplomats accompanying him said he was taken aback by the advanced stage of a project there using hundreds of centrifuges to enrich uranium.
Also Sunday, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Washington's outcry over Iran's nuclear capabilities is an attempt to block Iran's economic progress.
"By making accusation against Iran, the United States wants to play down the social progress the Iranian nation has achieved in the past 24 years," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted him as saying.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday that Washington was not seeking regime change in Iran but said many young Iranians were dissatisfied with Tehran's political leadership.
"What we have to do is keep showing to the Iranian people that there is a better world out there waiting for you, and you can become a more responsible member of the international community if you stop supporting terrorist activity and if you stop trying to develop weapons of mass destruction," Powell said.
Washington accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorist groups and recently claimed Tehran was harboring members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Iran rejects the claims, but admits to holding unidentified al-Qaida members in custody and says it will deport them to their home countries once their identities are confirmed "
¶ 10:19 PM 0 comments
From the Associated Press: If after you read the article below and you still feel sanguine, like this might be mere exaggeration, scroll back up and click the link to an article to the Iran Press Service and see what Teheran's second highest ranking theocratic nut has to say on the topic
Iran Admits Not Reporting Uranium to U.N.
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran admitted Sunday it failed to inform U.N. authorities that it imported a small quantity of uranium 12 years ago but said that failure did not violate the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Gholamreza Aghazadeh, Iran's nuclear energy chief, also urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to widely publish the report it released to member nations last week on Iran's nuclear program.
The Bush administration accuses Iran of wanting to build a nuclear bomb and wants the U.N. agency to declare Iran in breach of the treaty. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Aghazadeh said the IAEA report did not back up U.S. claims that Iran was violating international atomic protocols.
"There is no mention of the word 'violation,'" he told state-run television. "The report only mentions 'failure,' which is still a legal debate between us. And these are normal differences."
On Friday, a diplomat from an IAEA member state said the report indicated Iran had imported some nuclear material and processed it without declaring it to the Vienna, Austria-based agency.
Aghazadeh said the report notes that in 1991 Iran imported a small quantity of uranium hexofluoride, the chemical form of uranium used for the enrichment process.
IAEA regulations at the time did not require Tehran to inform the agency of the acquisition, he said.
Aghazadeh did not say why Iran imported the uranium but acknowledged that the report says Iran "should have informed" it of the acquisition.
Iran has since identified the materials to the IAEA, which now has them under "safeguard," he said.
The report will be discussed publicly when the agency's board meets June 16.
Three IAEA inspectors arrived in Iran on Saturday to assess the country's nuclear activities. The visit is widely seen as a chance for Iran to counter U.S. accusations of a nuclear weapons program and show it is eager to cooperate with the agency.
In February, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, visited the incomplete Natanz nuclear plant about 200 miles south of Tehran. Diplomats accompanying him said he was taken aback by the advanced stage of a project there using hundreds of centrifuges to enrich uranium.
Also Sunday, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Washington's outcry over Iran's nuclear capabilities is an attempt to block Iran's economic progress.
"By making accusation against Iran, the United States wants to play down the social progress the Iranian nation has achieved in the past 24 years," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted him as saying.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday that Washington was not seeking regime change in Iran but said many young Iranians were dissatisfied with Tehran's political leadership.
"What we have to do is keep showing to the Iranian people that there is a better world out there waiting for you, and you can become a more responsible member of the international community if you stop supporting terrorist activity and if you stop trying to develop weapons of mass destruction," Powell said.
Washington accuses Iran of sponsoring terrorist groups and recently claimed Tehran was harboring members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. Iran rejects the claims, but admits to holding unidentified al-Qaida members in custody and says it will deport them to their home countries once their identities are confirmed "
¶ 10:19 PM 0 comments
Saturday, June 07, 2003
QUOTE OF THE DAY
" A DECLINE IN COURAGE
A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, in each government, in each political party and of course, in the United Nations. Such a decline is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elites, causing an impression of a loss of courage by the entire society....And the decline in courage, at times attaining what could be termed a lack of manhood, is ironically emphasized by occasional bursts of boldness and inflexibility on the part of those same functionaries when dealing with weak governments and countries that lack support...But they get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international terrorists. "
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Written as part of his Harvard commencement address in 1978, Solzhenitsyn described what today could rightly be termed the " spirit of the elites " that still exists today in the EU, the Social Democratic parties, France as a whole, in the State Department, among the transnational NGO's, the Georgetown sophisticates and other intellectuals who excoriate Bush for daring to fight back against Islamo-fascism, terrorism and rogue state dictatorships. These experts urged appeasement of the Soviets when they were strong and tried to rescue the evil empire when it was weak ( and now try to rewrite history with self-congratulatory articles in liberal newsmagazines to argue that Reagan had absolutely nothing to do with the Soviet collapse). In the U.S. they inhabit both major political parties but read the same journals, graduate from the same schools and offer the same self-referential opinions that prescribe, for any foreign policy crisis, little better than a world-weary muddling through where ultimate solutions are impossible.
These folks are out of power now and they are hopping mad about it. The vitriol hurled by the Paul Krugmans and the Robert Scheer's at Bush and Tony Blair is a measure of their desperation to regain the reins of power to resume their declinist, transnationalist and anti-democratic agenda. ¶ 10:27 AM 0 comments
" A DECLINE IN COURAGE
A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, in each government, in each political party and of course, in the United Nations. Such a decline is particularly noticeable among the ruling and intellectual elites, causing an impression of a loss of courage by the entire society....And the decline in courage, at times attaining what could be termed a lack of manhood, is ironically emphasized by occasional bursts of boldness and inflexibility on the part of those same functionaries when dealing with weak governments and countries that lack support...But they get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international terrorists. "
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Written as part of his Harvard commencement address in 1978, Solzhenitsyn described what today could rightly be termed the " spirit of the elites " that still exists today in the EU, the Social Democratic parties, France as a whole, in the State Department, among the transnational NGO's, the Georgetown sophisticates and other intellectuals who excoriate Bush for daring to fight back against Islamo-fascism, terrorism and rogue state dictatorships. These experts urged appeasement of the Soviets when they were strong and tried to rescue the evil empire when it was weak ( and now try to rewrite history with self-congratulatory articles in liberal newsmagazines to argue that Reagan had absolutely nothing to do with the Soviet collapse). In the U.S. they inhabit both major political parties but read the same journals, graduate from the same schools and offer the same self-referential opinions that prescribe, for any foreign policy crisis, little better than a world-weary muddling through where ultimate solutions are impossible.
These folks are out of power now and they are hopping mad about it. The vitriol hurled by the Paul Krugmans and the Robert Scheer's at Bush and Tony Blair is a measure of their desperation to regain the reins of power to resume their declinist, transnationalist and anti-democratic agenda. ¶ 10:27 AM 0 comments
DID THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION LIE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN ?
I am most concerned about the Bush administration's obvious lie about the existence of prohibited Husseins in Iraq. Iraq has been scoured for Saddam, Uday and Qusay class Husseins since the war ended but not a trace of Husseins have been found. Nor have UN diplomats been allowed into Iraq to talk to any potentially existing Husseins.
Instead the administration has offered us feeble examples of "palaces " where the Husseins were alleged to have lived; questionable eyewitness reports from defecting Iraqis who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of a Hussein. Iraqi reports of fake Saddams have been recklessly discounted by this administration in their quest for a war for oil.
As we know, this war was justified by the Bush administration that claimed to have ironclad proof that Iraq had Saddam Hussein. Well, the war has been over for months and there is not a scintilla of evidence that Saddam or any other Hussein ever existed
I demand an investigation
I posted this on Brad De Long's comment board the other night but my sarcasm was unfortunately roundly ignored by those people offering the WMD conspiracy argument. Oh well. ¶ 8:43 AM 0 comments
I am most concerned about the Bush administration's obvious lie about the existence of prohibited Husseins in Iraq. Iraq has been scoured for Saddam, Uday and Qusay class Husseins since the war ended but not a trace of Husseins have been found. Nor have UN diplomats been allowed into Iraq to talk to any potentially existing Husseins.
Instead the administration has offered us feeble examples of "palaces " where the Husseins were alleged to have lived; questionable eyewitness reports from defecting Iraqis who claimed to have firsthand knowledge of a Hussein. Iraqi reports of fake Saddams have been recklessly discounted by this administration in their quest for a war for oil.
As we know, this war was justified by the Bush administration that claimed to have ironclad proof that Iraq had Saddam Hussein. Well, the war has been over for months and there is not a scintilla of evidence that Saddam or any other Hussein ever existed
I demand an investigation
I posted this on Brad De Long's comment board the other night but my sarcasm was unfortunately roundly ignored by those people offering the WMD conspiracy argument. Oh well. ¶ 8:43 AM 0 comments
ARCHIVES ARE NOW WORKING
Thanks to the alert from Caerdroia. Something was wrong with blogger because it was not responding to my attempts to fix the problem but sudenly, this morning the thing worked. I'm not sure if the problem is me or blogger or both. Attempts at creating a blogroll have likewise failed so if anyone out there has some advice please contact me 'cause I'd like to get a blogroll going sometime. ¶ 8:35 AM 0 comments
Thanks to the alert from Caerdroia. Something was wrong with blogger because it was not responding to my attempts to fix the problem but sudenly, this morning the thing worked. I'm not sure if the problem is me or blogger or both. Attempts at creating a blogroll have likewise failed so if anyone out there has some advice please contact me 'cause I'd like to get a blogroll going sometime. ¶ 8:35 AM 0 comments
Friday, June 06, 2003
QUOTE OF THE DAY
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
¶ 1:10 PM 0 comments
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
¶ 1:10 PM 0 comments
IN MEMORY
Of William Dunlap who 59 years ago today, like many other young American men, did what had to be done. ¶ 1:02 PM 0 comments
Of William Dunlap who 59 years ago today, like many other young American men, did what had to be done. ¶ 1:02 PM 0 comments
OUR 1000TH VISITOR !
I wasn't intending to blog today but I noticed that at 2:16 pm EST Zenpundit had it's 1000th visitor. Come on down and collect your free toaster oven ! Thanks for reading my brand of drivel and thanks in particular to Geitner, JB and the Medcalfs for the links and their many plugs in the last few months.
Before you run, you must walk, before you walk, you must crawl. ¶ 12:54 PM 0 comments
I wasn't intending to blog today but I noticed that at 2:16 pm EST Zenpundit had it's 1000th visitor. Come on down and collect your free toaster oven ! Thanks for reading my brand of drivel and thanks in particular to Geitner, JB and the Medcalfs for the links and their many plugs in the last few months.
Before you run, you must walk, before you walk, you must crawl. ¶ 12:54 PM 0 comments
Thursday, June 05, 2003
WILL ARNOLD TERMINATE THE DEMOCRATIC LOCK ON CALIFORNIA ?
From SFGate.com
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, long mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for governor, told Esquire magazine for its July issue: "Yes, I would love to be governor of California ... If the state needs me, and if there's no one I think is better, then I will run."
With Democratic Gov. Gray Davis facing a recall campaign that could result in a special gubernatorial election as early as fall, Schwarzenegger's political ambitions could be speeded up.
But Schwarzenegger's political adviser, George Gorton, said the statement did not represent a change in the Austrian-born actor's thinking.
"The bottom line fact is he hasn't decided whether he's going to run or not if the recall qualifies, and he's so terribly busy right now," Gorton said.
He said Schwarzenegger, 55, would decide whether to run after the July 2 release of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," and only if it becomes clear the recall will qualify for the ballot. Supporters need to collect nearly 900,000 valid signatures to make that happen.
He'll be back.
¶ 7:39 PM 0 comments
From SFGate.com
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, long mentioned as a potential Republican candidate for governor, told Esquire magazine for its July issue: "Yes, I would love to be governor of California ... If the state needs me, and if there's no one I think is better, then I will run."
With Democratic Gov. Gray Davis facing a recall campaign that could result in a special gubernatorial election as early as fall, Schwarzenegger's political ambitions could be speeded up.
But Schwarzenegger's political adviser, George Gorton, said the statement did not represent a change in the Austrian-born actor's thinking.
"The bottom line fact is he hasn't decided whether he's going to run or not if the recall qualifies, and he's so terribly busy right now," Gorton said.
He said Schwarzenegger, 55, would decide whether to run after the July 2 release of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," and only if it becomes clear the recall will qualify for the ballot. Supporters need to collect nearly 900,000 valid signatures to make that happen.
He'll be back.
¶ 7:39 PM 0 comments
FOR INTELLIGENCE JUNKIES, HISTORIANS AND POLITICAL SCIENTISTS
A marvelous online journal brought to my attention by the excellent Winds of Change blog. This one is now on my " must read " list. The monographs and articles touch on many issues debated daily on H-Net and in the blogosphere and the quality is high. ¶ 7:33 PM 0 comments
A marvelous online journal brought to my attention by the excellent Winds of Change blog. This one is now on my " must read " list. The monographs and articles touch on many issues debated daily on H-Net and in the blogosphere and the quality is high. ¶ 7:33 PM 0 comments
IN EVERY LIFE A LITTLE RAINES MUST FALL
Howell Raines and his campaign to make the New York Times the keystone of political and cultural opposition to the Bush administration is at an end. Undone by arrogance, slipshod standards, adherence to ideology over journalistic ethics and frustration that the blogosphere stripped Raines of the power to set the standard for " legitimate news " that the Times once possessed as the paper of record. Andrew Sullivan in particular deserves credit for hammering at the unreality and reflexive liberal orthodoxy that prevailed under Raines.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. ¶ 7:26 PM 0 comments
Howell Raines and his campaign to make the New York Times the keystone of political and cultural opposition to the Bush administration is at an end. Undone by arrogance, slipshod standards, adherence to ideology over journalistic ethics and frustration that the blogosphere stripped Raines of the power to set the standard for " legitimate news " that the Times once possessed as the paper of record. Andrew Sullivan in particular deserves credit for hammering at the unreality and reflexive liberal orthodoxy that prevailed under Raines.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. ¶ 7:26 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
A LITTLE HISTORICAL CAUTION FOR BUSH CRITICS
In the aftermath of WWI and a spirit of public disillusionment with the failure of the United States to secure a European peace, the American public turned very strongly against war and anything that smacked of militarism, to the point of destroying the United States army - a good description can be found in the recent Eisenhower biography by Carlo D'Este.
One of the causes of the hardening of public opinion against national security policies and favoring isolationism was the work of the Nye Committee led by Senator Gerald Nye, a Republican from North Dakota. The committee report charged essentially a conspiracy among arms manufaturers - big business - the so-called " merchants-of-death " to start WWI for their own profit margins. This highly effective piece of propaganda was largely put together by a key committee staffer, an ambitious young lawyer named Alger Hiss. It has taken approximately fifty years, the declassification of the Venona decrypts and the opening of Soviet archives but today most informed people on the Left will admit that Hiss was a communist spy. His mythology however lives on in the cry " no blood for oil ".
Let's take the charges of " Bush lied about Iraqi WMD " for the political spin and myth-making that it is from an opposition party that is intellectually bankrupt. ¶ 11:21 AM 0 comments
In the aftermath of WWI and a spirit of public disillusionment with the failure of the United States to secure a European peace, the American public turned very strongly against war and anything that smacked of militarism, to the point of destroying the United States army - a good description can be found in the recent Eisenhower biography by Carlo D'Este.
One of the causes of the hardening of public opinion against national security policies and favoring isolationism was the work of the Nye Committee led by Senator Gerald Nye, a Republican from North Dakota. The committee report charged essentially a conspiracy among arms manufaturers - big business - the so-called " merchants-of-death " to start WWI for their own profit margins. This highly effective piece of propaganda was largely put together by a key committee staffer, an ambitious young lawyer named Alger Hiss. It has taken approximately fifty years, the declassification of the Venona decrypts and the opening of Soviet archives but today most informed people on the Left will admit that Hiss was a communist spy. His mythology however lives on in the cry " no blood for oil ".
Let's take the charges of " Bush lied about Iraqi WMD " for the political spin and myth-making that it is from an opposition party that is intellectually bankrupt. ¶ 11:21 AM 0 comments
A VERY NICE BOOST FOR ZENPUNDIT
From Caerdroia - a Strange Loop. My Thanks ! Readers go visit them and read their post on Iraq becoming the 51st state ¶ 10:47 AM 0 comments
From Caerdroia - a Strange Loop. My Thanks ! Readers go visit them and read their post on Iraq becoming the 51st state ¶ 10:47 AM 0 comments
QUOTE OF THE DAY - REMEMBERING WHO OUR ENEMY IS:
" The author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, are sentenced to death. I ask all Muslims to execute them wherever they find them "
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
We can live in our world or in his. There is no compromise.
¶ 10:01 AM 0 comments
" The author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, are sentenced to death. I ask all Muslims to execute them wherever they find them "
- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
We can live in our world or in his. There is no compromise.
¶ 10:01 AM 0 comments
FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER AND GEORGE W. BUSH
There has been an undercurrent of debate since the destruction visited upon the United States on 9/11 and the war with Iraq whether we as Americans have chosen or been forced to assume the role of a new world-dominating empire. I am not sympathetic to that viewpoint but it is a growing and popular one and I recognize that the comparisons drawn by scholars like Donald Kagan between the magnitude of American power today and that of Rome of the ancient world have validity. At a minimum there seems to be a great popular consensus that the nation hovers on the brink of a great turning point in our history, one that could change the character of our Republic for good or ill. This brought me back to the first modern American historian to think in these terms, Frederick Jackson Turner whose paper on the end of the American frontier had an electrifying effect on the history profession and influenced men like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson who themselves went on to shape history itself. It occurred to me that while the " Frontier thesis " is part of what E.D Hirsch might call Cultural Literacy, outside of history seminars few intelligent people have actual read Turner firsthand. Therefore, here it is, a historian's examination of America at a turning point - Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis
¶ 8:27 AM 0 comments
There has been an undercurrent of debate since the destruction visited upon the United States on 9/11 and the war with Iraq whether we as Americans have chosen or been forced to assume the role of a new world-dominating empire. I am not sympathetic to that viewpoint but it is a growing and popular one and I recognize that the comparisons drawn by scholars like Donald Kagan between the magnitude of American power today and that of Rome of the ancient world have validity. At a minimum there seems to be a great popular consensus that the nation hovers on the brink of a great turning point in our history, one that could change the character of our Republic for good or ill. This brought me back to the first modern American historian to think in these terms, Frederick Jackson Turner whose paper on the end of the American frontier had an electrifying effect on the history profession and influenced men like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson who themselves went on to shape history itself. It occurred to me that while the " Frontier thesis " is part of what E.D Hirsch might call Cultural Literacy, outside of history seminars few intelligent people have actual read Turner firsthand. Therefore, here it is, a historian's examination of America at a turning point - Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis
¶ 8:27 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF MEMETICS
Probably the cutting edge of our psychological warfare operations today. Here's a site, Meme Central, that gives an introductory look into the field of Memetics. If you have an interest in the intellectual history behind the origins of psychological warfare, multiculturalism, the manipulation of public opinion and what all this has to do with Moby Dick, consult Hunting Captain Ahab: Psychological warfare and the Melville Revival by Clare Spark, Ph.d. Spark is also a recovering commentator for Radio Pacifica and an active contributor to many Listserv's on h-Net. She did some real digging on this book and it is worth the investment of time to digest.
¶ 12:21 PM 0 comments
Probably the cutting edge of our psychological warfare operations today. Here's a site, Meme Central, that gives an introductory look into the field of Memetics. If you have an interest in the intellectual history behind the origins of psychological warfare, multiculturalism, the manipulation of public opinion and what all this has to do with Moby Dick, consult Hunting Captain Ahab: Psychological warfare and the Melville Revival by Clare Spark, Ph.d. Spark is also a recovering commentator for Radio Pacifica and an active contributor to many Listserv's on h-Net. She did some real digging on this book and it is worth the investment of time to digest.
¶ 12:21 PM 0 comments
VIKING PUNDIT KICKS THE LIVING HELL OUT OF PAUL KRUGMAN
A masterpiece of de-legitimizing America's walking, talking liberal echo chamber. ¶ 12:03 PM 0 comments
A masterpiece of de-legitimizing America's walking, talking liberal echo chamber. ¶ 12:03 PM 0 comments
Monday, June 02, 2003
A BRILLIANT ESSAY ON THE U.S. AND AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
The author is noted historian Eric Bergerud who posted this on the H-Diplo Listserv in response to criticism from a Japanese historian regarding Bush administration foreign policy.
" I think Sashi Akuniyo expresses the perception of many in the industrial
world that distrust American foreign policy. I also think that the ideas
proposed by Akuniyo are based on some dubious assumptions and actually
illustrate why the U.S. and much of the industrial world are so widely
divided and are likely to remain so.
Akuniyo describes American policy as "paranoia-based." Perhaps the future
will validate this description. Most Americans, however, to one degree or
another agree with Bush's assumption that the U.S. is engaged in a war with
clandestine groups and a small number of "rogue states." The major fear is
that these two might get together and deliver a devestating strike on the
United States.
Is this paranoia? In the past twenty years hundreds of American servicemen,
diplomats, agents, businessmen, tourists and bystanders have been killed or
maimed by the forces of what Christopher Hitchins so accurately calls
"theocratic fascism." In the past decade there has been a serious attempt to
bring this violence directly to U.S. The attacks of 9/11 were preceeded by
an earlier bombing of the World Trade Center. American agents confinscated a
van filled with explosives crossing the Canadian border prior to New Years
2000. And to sweeten the mood in the U.S., North Korea has recently
suggested that it might export atomic weapons.
Other nations in the industrial world can hope that conventional
deterrence and better police work can prevent or greatly limit further
terrorist catastrophes. Washington must look at the situation differently
because American leaders believe that if deterrence fails it will be the
citizens of an American city that will pay the price. This perception
makes "risk assessment" a much more complex enterprise in Washington than
in, say, Brussels.
Akuniyo also argues that Americans should have "an intelligent loyalty to
the same moral code that states expect their own citizens to live by." With
all due respect this exactly what American citizens do not want. In the
pursuit of terrorist groups, most Americans fully support the Bush
administration's policy of "gloves off." In practice this means a massive
and expensive clandestine operation headed by CIA in collaboration (often
through bribes) with any government that wants to help out. We have
assassinated small numbers of bin Laden's group and no doubt would kill more
given the chance. The police powers of the FBI and others have been
increased in the U.S., and American police agencies previously discouraged
from working abroad now do so very openly. Civil libertarians in America may
complain bitterly about all of this (perhaps with reason), but these actions
appear to be broadly supported by the American population. The blows
seemingly given to bin Laden's operations in the past year are viewed as a
vindication of this approach. Now, if one views the U.S. as in a war, the
government's response is understandable, even laudable. If the struggle
against terror is viewed as an exercise in normal diplomacy then America,
not bin Laden (or Kim Jong Il) is the threat to world peace.
We must also consider the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first
received more governmental support than the second, but was fiercely
opposed by "progressives" throughout the West. (This fact has been
conveniently forgotten by many when the Taliban fell with so little
effort.) Recent hostilities in Iraq found the U.S. nearly isolated in the
world public. I have recently argued that it is far too early to judge the
impact of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. However, although the violence
of that war was far less than many of its opponents predicted, and the
fall of Saddam appears to be little mourned in Iraq (regardless of how
Iraqis view the U.S.), the moral ambiguities inherent in war were well
illustrated. Akuniyo notes that "It is understandable and obvious why the
leader/ general/ soldier/ industrialist don't want to live by any code -
particularly ones that could hang them tomorrow for what they do today."
In general I suppose this is true. It certainly explains why no American
Senate is going to ratify the ICC. There are already attempts in Belgium
to indict Rumsfeld, Franks and others. The Pentagon believes that the
"higher moral standards that are naturally emerging in a connected world",
observed by Akuniyo, and embraced by many in the industrial world, cannot
be made to suit a fierce world.
It seems to me that many citizens of the industrial world would like the
U.S. to be the friendly cop on the block that will do nothing unless called
upon to redress some obvious wrong that the remainder of the industrial
world is too weak to deal with. Have trouble with "ethnic cleansing" in the
middle of Europe? Call Washington. If North Korea begins to act the thug,
nations in the region know that American forces are there to keep things
from getting out of hand. In other words, American power is useful if it
accords with the interests of other nations. If Washington dares to employ
its power in what it perceives to be self-defense, and by doing so raises
risks to other countries, then the U.S. is viewed as "power-drunk."
I do hope that America's opponents in the democratic world have no illusions
about some great change of perception taking place inside the U.S. Even
Bush's opponents on Iraq fully support the "war" against terrorism. The
prestige of U.S. military is sky high and will stay there. The sense of
threat against the American homeland will remain for a very long time.
Another major attack within America will cause a furious reaction.
There are obvious ways to deal with this problem. If the world is genuinely
evolving toward a golden age of universal morality, I would strongly urge
nations now affiliated with America to end their security associations with
Washington. If the peoples of Belgium, or France, genuinely think the U.S.
is a threat to world peace, then NATO should be abolished. If North Korea
(or China) is no threat to Japan, then end the defense treaty with the U.S.
Or, if countries are not so sure that military power has lost all utility,
and if these same nations view America as "immature and selfish" in its
exercise of power, then perhaps these nations should create an independent
ability to project military power. The industrial world outside the U.S.
certainly has the wealth and technology to match fully the Pentagon's
arsenal in a very short time. All that is lacking is the will. Then perhaps
other, more enlightened governments, can determine how to fit liberal values
and an increasingly expansive interpretation of international law with the
brutal reality of modern war. "
Eric Bergerud
Hear ! Hear ! I could not have said it better.
¶ 9:04 PM 0 comments
The author is noted historian Eric Bergerud who posted this on the H-Diplo Listserv in response to criticism from a Japanese historian regarding Bush administration foreign policy.
" I think Sashi Akuniyo expresses the perception of many in the industrial
world that distrust American foreign policy. I also think that the ideas
proposed by Akuniyo are based on some dubious assumptions and actually
illustrate why the U.S. and much of the industrial world are so widely
divided and are likely to remain so.
Akuniyo describes American policy as "paranoia-based." Perhaps the future
will validate this description. Most Americans, however, to one degree or
another agree with Bush's assumption that the U.S. is engaged in a war with
clandestine groups and a small number of "rogue states." The major fear is
that these two might get together and deliver a devestating strike on the
United States.
Is this paranoia? In the past twenty years hundreds of American servicemen,
diplomats, agents, businessmen, tourists and bystanders have been killed or
maimed by the forces of what Christopher Hitchins so accurately calls
"theocratic fascism." In the past decade there has been a serious attempt to
bring this violence directly to U.S. The attacks of 9/11 were preceeded by
an earlier bombing of the World Trade Center. American agents confinscated a
van filled with explosives crossing the Canadian border prior to New Years
2000. And to sweeten the mood in the U.S., North Korea has recently
suggested that it might export atomic weapons.
Other nations in the industrial world can hope that conventional
deterrence and better police work can prevent or greatly limit further
terrorist catastrophes. Washington must look at the situation differently
because American leaders believe that if deterrence fails it will be the
citizens of an American city that will pay the price. This perception
makes "risk assessment" a much more complex enterprise in Washington than
in, say, Brussels.
Akuniyo also argues that Americans should have "an intelligent loyalty to
the same moral code that states expect their own citizens to live by." With
all due respect this exactly what American citizens do not want. In the
pursuit of terrorist groups, most Americans fully support the Bush
administration's policy of "gloves off." In practice this means a massive
and expensive clandestine operation headed by CIA in collaboration (often
through bribes) with any government that wants to help out. We have
assassinated small numbers of bin Laden's group and no doubt would kill more
given the chance. The police powers of the FBI and others have been
increased in the U.S., and American police agencies previously discouraged
from working abroad now do so very openly. Civil libertarians in America may
complain bitterly about all of this (perhaps with reason), but these actions
appear to be broadly supported by the American population. The blows
seemingly given to bin Laden's operations in the past year are viewed as a
vindication of this approach. Now, if one views the U.S. as in a war, the
government's response is understandable, even laudable. If the struggle
against terror is viewed as an exercise in normal diplomacy then America,
not bin Laden (or Kim Jong Il) is the threat to world peace.
We must also consider the wars fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first
received more governmental support than the second, but was fiercely
opposed by "progressives" throughout the West. (This fact has been
conveniently forgotten by many when the Taliban fell with so little
effort.) Recent hostilities in Iraq found the U.S. nearly isolated in the
world public. I have recently argued that it is far too early to judge the
impact of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. However, although the violence
of that war was far less than many of its opponents predicted, and the
fall of Saddam appears to be little mourned in Iraq (regardless of how
Iraqis view the U.S.), the moral ambiguities inherent in war were well
illustrated. Akuniyo notes that "It is understandable and obvious why the
leader/ general/ soldier/ industrialist don't want to live by any code -
particularly ones that could hang them tomorrow for what they do today."
In general I suppose this is true. It certainly explains why no American
Senate is going to ratify the ICC. There are already attempts in Belgium
to indict Rumsfeld, Franks and others. The Pentagon believes that the
"higher moral standards that are naturally emerging in a connected world",
observed by Akuniyo, and embraced by many in the industrial world, cannot
be made to suit a fierce world.
It seems to me that many citizens of the industrial world would like the
U.S. to be the friendly cop on the block that will do nothing unless called
upon to redress some obvious wrong that the remainder of the industrial
world is too weak to deal with. Have trouble with "ethnic cleansing" in the
middle of Europe? Call Washington. If North Korea begins to act the thug,
nations in the region know that American forces are there to keep things
from getting out of hand. In other words, American power is useful if it
accords with the interests of other nations. If Washington dares to employ
its power in what it perceives to be self-defense, and by doing so raises
risks to other countries, then the U.S. is viewed as "power-drunk."
I do hope that America's opponents in the democratic world have no illusions
about some great change of perception taking place inside the U.S. Even
Bush's opponents on Iraq fully support the "war" against terrorism. The
prestige of U.S. military is sky high and will stay there. The sense of
threat against the American homeland will remain for a very long time.
Another major attack within America will cause a furious reaction.
There are obvious ways to deal with this problem. If the world is genuinely
evolving toward a golden age of universal morality, I would strongly urge
nations now affiliated with America to end their security associations with
Washington. If the peoples of Belgium, or France, genuinely think the U.S.
is a threat to world peace, then NATO should be abolished. If North Korea
(or China) is no threat to Japan, then end the defense treaty with the U.S.
Or, if countries are not so sure that military power has lost all utility,
and if these same nations view America as "immature and selfish" in its
exercise of power, then perhaps these nations should create an independent
ability to project military power. The industrial world outside the U.S.
certainly has the wealth and technology to match fully the Pentagon's
arsenal in a very short time. All that is lacking is the will. Then perhaps
other, more enlightened governments, can determine how to fit liberal values
and an increasingly expansive interpretation of international law with the
brutal reality of modern war. "
Eric Bergerud
Hear ! Hear ! I could not have said it better.
¶ 9:04 PM 0 comments
A WORD FROM MR. BLIX
In light of the WMD issue, here's an excerpt from FT
"The new report by Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, revealed that Baghdad supplied information on its illicit weapons programmes up to the eve of military hostilities. But, even at the end, Iraq failed to alleviate fundamental suspicions that it had something to hide.
Unmovic, the UN inspection commission, has continued to analyse data in spite of its sidelining from the weapons hunt. In its latest quarterly report, it said Iraq proffered information on unmanned aircraft and its claimed destruction of anthrax as late as 19 March, hours before the first air strikes.
But while "inspections, declarations and documents submitted by Iraq contributed to a better understanding of past weapons programmes, the long list of proscribed items unaccounted for was (not) shortened", the report says.
The report says new data on the Al Hakam dump site, where Iraq claimed to have disposed of anthrax, indicated traces of biological material "consistent with Iraqi declarations". But the analysis did not "provide a quantification of the anthrax dumped in 1991 with the necessary degree of certainty" and "does not resolve the question regarding the total quantity of anthrax produced and destroyed by Iraq".
¶ 8:57 PM 0 comments
In light of the WMD issue, here's an excerpt from FT
"The new report by Hans Blix, chief UN weapons inspector, revealed that Baghdad supplied information on its illicit weapons programmes up to the eve of military hostilities. But, even at the end, Iraq failed to alleviate fundamental suspicions that it had something to hide.
Unmovic, the UN inspection commission, has continued to analyse data in spite of its sidelining from the weapons hunt. In its latest quarterly report, it said Iraq proffered information on unmanned aircraft and its claimed destruction of anthrax as late as 19 March, hours before the first air strikes.
But while "inspections, declarations and documents submitted by Iraq contributed to a better understanding of past weapons programmes, the long list of proscribed items unaccounted for was (not) shortened", the report says.
The report says new data on the Al Hakam dump site, where Iraq claimed to have disposed of anthrax, indicated traces of biological material "consistent with Iraqi declarations". But the analysis did not "provide a quantification of the anthrax dumped in 1991 with the necessary degree of certainty" and "does not resolve the question regarding the total quantity of anthrax produced and destroyed by Iraq".
¶ 8:57 PM 0 comments
LIBERALS AND IRAQ
Lately there has been a dual theme running hot and heavy through the media and liberal blogs. It is:
a) The Bush administration " lied " about Iraqi WMD.
and
b) The occupation of Iraq has been an utter disaster.
Point A relies on studiously ignoring the history of Iraq since 1990, especially the policies of the Clinton administration and the contents of UNSCOM reports and the sacrifices made by Saddam ( $ 180 billion dollars) in order not to comply with inspections. Basically, critics repeatedly do not address these points or will say that Saddam had weapons in 1998 but not 2003, skipping over the origin of this amazing insight into Iraqi governmental operations - like when and where exactly these items were destroyed or the larger question of why Saddam would kick out the inspectors and then, secretly, dismantle his weapons. They rely on the mysterious absence of large WMD stockpiles to argue they did not exist - though logically you could make the exact same argument about Saddam with an equal amount of validity.
Where are the WMD's ? My guess is that what remains are deeply and securely hidden inside Iraq, in locations known only to Saddam, Qusay and a handful of their key aides who disappeared with them. As like as not, you would find Saddam and several missing top officials in the same locations with the most critical elements of Saddam's programs - computer disks, plans, diagrams related to nuclear bomb design, samples of smallpox and other bioweapons. I'm highly skeptical of any significant quantities of WMD's being shipped to Syria. For one thing, Damascus would not want satellite photos of trucks unloading degrading toxins or have its agents being interdicted at the border. Syria has chemical weapons of their own and would only value Iraq's critical nuclear expertise. Secondly, I have trouble seeing a man like Saddam Hussein giving up the crown jewels of his WMD program for free if he still harbors any hope of returning to power someday or buying himself a secure and secret exile.
On point B, the critics have a better case. It was obvious that an official outside the chain of command of the American military would have little or no power to accomplish anything significant in Iraq. The brigade commanders ignored some of the chaos because reconstruction was Garner's responsibility and Garner had no young men with guns to accomplish any of his orders. Bremer, who has " juice" due to close ties to Rumsfeld and Powell will get more cooperation but Iraq simply needs a military occupational government with General Tommy Franks or his most senior field commander as governor. The critics however, vastly exaggerate the scope of the problem. Iraq is in far, far better shape than Western Europe was in the first few years ( yes, that's right YEARS ) after WWII. It's a testament to the success of American policy that the cities of rubble, looting, widespread reprisals, hunger and mortality rates that devastated Germany and France 1945-48 are largely forgotten but the hyperbolic liberals need to check out a few old newsreels on the History channel before they start proclaiming the occupation a failure. Iraq has suffered few of these problems and none on a similar scale to what we experienced after past conflicts. ¶ 1:43 PM 0 comments
Lately there has been a dual theme running hot and heavy through the media and liberal blogs. It is:
a) The Bush administration " lied " about Iraqi WMD.
and
b) The occupation of Iraq has been an utter disaster.
Point A relies on studiously ignoring the history of Iraq since 1990, especially the policies of the Clinton administration and the contents of UNSCOM reports and the sacrifices made by Saddam ( $ 180 billion dollars) in order not to comply with inspections. Basically, critics repeatedly do not address these points or will say that Saddam had weapons in 1998 but not 2003, skipping over the origin of this amazing insight into Iraqi governmental operations - like when and where exactly these items were destroyed or the larger question of why Saddam would kick out the inspectors and then, secretly, dismantle his weapons. They rely on the mysterious absence of large WMD stockpiles to argue they did not exist - though logically you could make the exact same argument about Saddam with an equal amount of validity.
Where are the WMD's ? My guess is that what remains are deeply and securely hidden inside Iraq, in locations known only to Saddam, Qusay and a handful of their key aides who disappeared with them. As like as not, you would find Saddam and several missing top officials in the same locations with the most critical elements of Saddam's programs - computer disks, plans, diagrams related to nuclear bomb design, samples of smallpox and other bioweapons. I'm highly skeptical of any significant quantities of WMD's being shipped to Syria. For one thing, Damascus would not want satellite photos of trucks unloading degrading toxins or have its agents being interdicted at the border. Syria has chemical weapons of their own and would only value Iraq's critical nuclear expertise. Secondly, I have trouble seeing a man like Saddam Hussein giving up the crown jewels of his WMD program for free if he still harbors any hope of returning to power someday or buying himself a secure and secret exile.
On point B, the critics have a better case. It was obvious that an official outside the chain of command of the American military would have little or no power to accomplish anything significant in Iraq. The brigade commanders ignored some of the chaos because reconstruction was Garner's responsibility and Garner had no young men with guns to accomplish any of his orders. Bremer, who has " juice" due to close ties to Rumsfeld and Powell will get more cooperation but Iraq simply needs a military occupational government with General Tommy Franks or his most senior field commander as governor. The critics however, vastly exaggerate the scope of the problem. Iraq is in far, far better shape than Western Europe was in the first few years ( yes, that's right YEARS ) after WWII. It's a testament to the success of American policy that the cities of rubble, looting, widespread reprisals, hunger and mortality rates that devastated Germany and France 1945-48 are largely forgotten but the hyperbolic liberals need to check out a few old newsreels on the History channel before they start proclaiming the occupation a failure. Iraq has suffered few of these problems and none on a similar scale to what we experienced after past conflicts. ¶ 1:43 PM 0 comments
AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE ON THE PEACE PROCESS
By Arnaud DeBorchgrave. The Washington Times is generally credited by leftists as being a neocon mouthpiece but DeBorchgrave's views of Israel and Sharon are a lot closer to Pat Buchanan's than Richard Perle's. I'm linking because of the good information about the Palestinian security services.
¶ 9:21 AM 0 comments
By Arnaud DeBorchgrave. The Washington Times is generally credited by leftists as being a neocon mouthpiece but DeBorchgrave's views of Israel and Sharon are a lot closer to Pat Buchanan's than Richard Perle's. I'm linking because of the good information about the Palestinian security services.
¶ 9:21 AM 0 comments
EXCELLENT CONSTITUTIONAL SITE II
Dedicated to the Federalist Papers. The search function is worth it's weight in gold.
¶ 6:46 AM 0 comments
Dedicated to the Federalist Papers. The search function is worth it's weight in gold.
¶ 6:46 AM 0 comments
CALPUNDIT AND MUGABE
Kevin Drum joins Nat Hentoff on the left in coming out against the increasingly appalling regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Kevin has links to let your voice be heard agaionst Mugabe's imminent crushing of all democratic opposition
¶ 6:36 AM 0 comments
Kevin Drum joins Nat Hentoff on the left in coming out against the increasingly appalling regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Kevin has links to let your voice be heard agaionst Mugabe's imminent crushing of all democratic opposition
¶ 6:36 AM 0 comments
