Pardon my language, but that pithy, Vietnam-era expression that is the title of this post is the first and only thing that came to mind today when I saw the news about President Bush's picks for the Medal of Freedom: Bremmer, Franks, and...ta da...Mr. SlamDunk Tenet!! I wonder if Mr. Wolfowitz was miffed that he didn't get the bauble, but he is a sort of backroom, low profile guy, perhaps.
Well, the image above of the old parable, The Blind Leading the Blind (Breughel) seems apt here. Perhaps they were not so much the blind leading our non-sightful leader, as the willing-to-see-nothing leading the blind. Does it matter in the end?
I find it hard to understand how people can think that this Iraq 'adventure' is going well. Even if you supported the policy in the beginning - why? I dunno. - it seems pretty obvious that these guys are making it up as they blunder along. Are the Iranians laughing into their sleeves as they view the prospect of turning their arch enemy, the Iraqi state, into a satellite via the mechanism of US sponsored elections in which the Shiites dominate? They couldn't defeat Saddam in a throwback to WWI slaughter, but they just might help to dismember Iraq 'peacefully' and then gobble up a good bit of it. Did anyone in the Administration consider this possibility during their 'planning?' Is this what they want?
Man, if you're going to play Rex Imperator, you'd better be ready for the long haul. Not that I support that, but at least I'd know they were thinking.
Well, the image above of the old parable, The Blind Leading the Blind (Breughel) seems apt here. Perhaps they were not so much the blind leading our non-sightful leader, as the willing-to-see-nothing leading the blind. Does it matter in the end?
I find it hard to understand how people can think that this Iraq 'adventure' is going well. Even if you supported the policy in the beginning - why? I dunno. - it seems pretty obvious that these guys are making it up as they blunder along. Are the Iranians laughing into their sleeves as they view the prospect of turning their arch enemy, the Iraqi state, into a satellite via the mechanism of US sponsored elections in which the Shiites dominate? They couldn't defeat Saddam in a throwback to WWI slaughter, but they just might help to dismember Iraq 'peacefully' and then gobble up a good bit of it. Did anyone in the Administration consider this possibility during their 'planning?' Is this what they want?
Man, if you're going to play Rex Imperator, you'd better be ready for the long haul. Not that I support that, but at least I'd know they were thinking.
1 comment:
It reminds me of Richard Feynman's comments about honors. Here's an example:
"I had trouble when I became a member of the National Academy of Science, and I had ultimately to resign. Because there was another organization, most of whose time was spent in choosing who was illustrious enough to be allowed to join us in our organization."
So let them award each other medals. I don't give a damn.
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