... because shooter will be back soon to tell us that he heard "Al Sistani" on Sunni radio so how was he to know he wasn't a Sunni.

Whenever shooter posts anything, I am forcefully reminded of the United Negro College Fund's longstanding campaign slogan. His latest is simply more forceful than usual.

videlicet:

I'd say this is a classic example of how two compulsive idiots like yourselves can completely cut yourself off from the possibility of a favorable outcome in Iraq. While I have an advantage over you by being able to read the whole article, that certainly doesn't excuse such a negatively kneejerk reaction. You are truly invested in defeat.

I would like nothing better than a favorable outcome in Iraq. To me a favorable outcome is to give Iraq back to the Iraqis and let them make of it what they will. The US is not willing to do that, however, until the Iraqis at least agree to give their oil to us. Not give it actually, we intend to pay them a good price, say, 20 cents on the dollar, but the US can't leave Iraq until an oil deal is finalized. Of course, they could just renege on such a deal, but then we'd just have to invade again.

I am not invested in defeat — I am invested in not rewarding aggression. If leaving Iraq before a deal giving Iraqi oil to US companies is finalized is defeat, then so be it. But in case you didn't realize it shooter, the war was over four and a half years ago. President Bush said so. How could the US possibly lose a war that it has already won.

I think it's a near universal that people who overcome an obstacle do so by positive attitude and determination.

Or, alternatively by having lots of money and/or friends in high places. Actually, that's a bit of a tautology since people with lots of money tend to have friends in high places and people with friends in high places tend to have lots of money.

But there was a great documentary about overcoming obstacles by positive attitude and determination by Leni Riefenstahl. It's called Triumph des Willens.

Glenn says: Do you have any evidence at all that Juan Cole is paid anything in order to give his views on Iraq? I highly doubt, to put it mildly, that anyone in the Bush administration is paying Juan Cole for advice on Iraq. If you have evidence that they are, point to it.

If Juan Cole is giving advice on Iraq to the Bush administration they sure as hell aren't taking it. And if the government is paying Juan Cole for advice that they are ignoring then that is a bigger waste of taxpayer money than spending $998,798.36 to ship two 19-cent lock washers (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200708/NAT20070817e.html).

You agree that we are spending 12 billion dollars a month, do you not? You agree that we have lost 4000 soldiers, and countless more injured. For what?

Interestingly enough, this is exactly the same question that Cindy Sheehan tried to ask president Bush. She never got an answer. So why don't your write to her and tell her that her son died so the US could say who gets to be the prime minister of Iraq. She'll no doubt be glad to know.

Q: Are you telling me that all those purple fingers we had stuck in our faces for months meant nothing? — Jebbie

A: Yes.

This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.

It is menschlich of you to apologize for your error.

However, it would have been more menschlich to have tried to get a statement from Cole before making your accusations. That is the difference between reporting and scandal-mongering. When lawyers like Glenn start throwing out words like "irresponsible" there is an implicit warning that you may be incurring legal liability through your actions. But you have followed up and acted appropriately. I hope it can be put in the category of "lessons learned."

"T'is well thou mayst be acquitted
 T'were better thou wast never tried."

Since you don't seem to be familiar with the back-story on Moon of Alabama and since it is a story worth knowing, here is a summary:

Billmon ran a blog called "Whiskey Bar" from early 2003 until the end of 2006. Billmon was a great analyst and an insightful, if often irreverent, commentator. Sometime around the 2004 election, Billmon turned off comments at his blog. Moon of Alabama took up the task of reposting Billmon's posts and providing a venue for comments. Hence the layout of the Moon of Alabama site, which mirrors the original Whiskey Bar, and the references to barflies and whiskey.

To get an idea of how insightful Billmon's commentary was, have a look at his Iraq Retrospective, one of his very last posts, at <http://whiskeybar.org/archives/002969.html>.

1) Use Firefox.

2) Get the browser extension Repagination <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2099>.

3) On the first "Letters" page right-click the "next page >>" link.

4) On the context menu that appears select "Repagination" and then select "all" or a limited number of pages in increments of 5.

5) Use the browser search (Ctrl-f) to search the comment thread.

shooter: Or how 11 Democrat[sic] politicians are nailed in the latest NJ cleanup

Come on shooter, this is New Jersey you're talking about. Corruption in New Jersey, be it by Democrats or Republics, is not news, and hardly worth comment. Saying there is corruption in New Jersey is sort of like saying it gets cold in Minnesota in the winter. Apparently, everyone in New Jersey either works for law enforcement or for the mob (and a good few, like Bernie Kerik, do both). But corruption is not the prerogative of any particular party — corruption goes with power. Whoever has the power has the means and opportunity for corruption. Those without power do not.