Pied Type
Nothing he said
Last night President Obama tried mightily, in the loftiest of terms, to defend U.S. involvement in Libya. Yet the soaring ideals he espoused seemed no more applicable to Libya than to any other nation facing a rebellion. His reasoning seemed to justify intervention whenever someone violates not our security, not our economic interests, but our … Continue reading
Nothing he can say
President Obama will address the nation tomorrow night to explain U.S. involvement in Libya. Or at least, attempt to explain. How many times has he already tried to explain — first why he was keeping us out of Libya, then why we were going in. It made sense for us to stay out and let … Continue reading
Leave Libya to the U.N.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has explained clearly that establishing a no-fly zone over Libya means bombing Libyan air defenses. Enforcing a no-fly zone could also mean bombing airfields and/or shooting down Libyan aircraft. That’s war, folks. Bombing another country is tantamount to declaring war. The US doesn’t need and cannot afford another war. Remember Afghanistan? … Continue reading
Nine years in Afghanistan is too long
Today is the 9th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Nine years of spending U.S. blood and treasure in an unwinnable war. 1,200 American lives have been lost. We should pause today to remember those men and women for their service. They didn’t choose this war; our leaders did. And those … Continue reading
Attacking America
In today’s Washington Post, Ted Koppell writes convincingly that it’s time we stop playing into bin Laden’s hands. We have, in so many ways, exceeded what would have been an appropriate response to the 9/11 terror attacks. And nine years later, we continue to do so. A group of terrorists based in Afghanistan managed to … Continue reading
Michael Steele: So wrong and yet so right
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele put his foot in his mouth last week at a fundraiser in Connecticut. He was caught on video making some oddly contradictory comments: “Keep in mind again, for our federal candidates, this was a war of Obama’s choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted … Continue reading
Helen Thomas: Gone in 60 seconds
Helen Thomas made my jaw drop with her recent comment that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to Poland and Germany. Her bias in favor of Palestinians has never bothered me because I tend to agree that Israelis are running roughshod over the West Bank and Gaza. And while I’ve … Continue reading
June 1 brain dump
Lots of stuff going on in the world, almost everywhere but here. * * * BP today is going to be cutting off and removing the collapsed, kinked riser pipe from its leaking well in preparation for the installation of a cap on the blowout preventer, which should significantly reduce the amount of oil escaping … Continue reading
Leave Afghanistan to the warlords
I doubt there’s anything President Obama can say tonight to convince me we should be sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. We went into Afghanistan to get Bin Laden. We screwed up and he got away. End of story. There’s no further reason for us to be there unless Bin Laden is sighted. If a … Continue reading
Obama fiddles, Afghanistan burns
Okay, what’s the delay with Obama’s decision about troops in Afghanistan? He’s been getting his Afghani ducks in a row for months. I’m all for careful consideration, a gathering of facts, a seeking of advice, and all that. But enough is enough. While we’ve waited and he’s cogitated, Americans have continued to die in Afghanistan. … Continue reading
Those who ignore history …
There’s been lots of talk the last few weeks about the US military presence in Afghanistan. Frankly, I haven’t paid much attention. History tells us no outside power has succeeded in Afghanistan, and the past is prologue We went into Afghanistan for one reason — to get Bin Laden, the author of the 9/11 attacks. … Continue reading
Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami — nice guy
Iran’s Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami, at Friday “prayers” in Tehran, showed the sort of mentality the Iranian protesters are up against. He called for the arrest and punishment of protesters, treating them “strongly and with cruelty” according to some sources, or executing them, according to other sources. None of that silly “let the punishment fit the … Continue reading
Is the Iranian theocracy doomed?
In the June 29 issue of Newsweek, Jon Meacham wrote of religion and politics in “Theocracies Are Doomed. Thank God.” Any time you put religion and politics in the same sentence, you’re going to come up with some controversy, so an opinion piece on the two was bound to get my attention. Most notably the … Continue reading
The lionesses of Iran
Like others around the world, I’ve been watching events unfold in Iran since the contested election more than a week ago. The pictures have been much like those we’ve seen from other protests, demonstrations, riots, and revolts — but with one notable difference. This time it hasn’t been just groups of young men in the … Continue reading
Help the Iranians using Twitter
Update, June 21: Either I forgot to save it after I changed my Twitter time and loc to Tehran, or somebody subsequently deleted the settings. Couldn’t hurt to check yours again if you made similar changes. ____________ I don’t tweet, or follow Twitter, or even have a phone with a keyboard on it. But late … Continue reading
