One of the striking things about this episode was the instamatic lamestream media feeding frenzy, launched literally the same day as the editorial. That wasn't the work of roving reporters; it takes advance coordination to schedule televised interviews with high-profile media stars. And all this excitement was triggered by what, a war-rallying NYT op-ed from a couple of think-tank wonks?

What's exposed here is not simply another military-sponsored propaganda piece, but a widespread conspiracy to fabricate a "news" event out of nothing. In this case, Glenn had the insight to unravel it and identify the key players, and the opportunity to actually interview one of the leading actors in the production.

One of the standard dismissals of conspiracy theories is to speculate on the implausibility of coordinating the hundreds of people needed to pull off the staged event, while insuring they maintain confidentiality about how they participated in it. Presumably, there would be too many potential leaks to keep such a conspiracy concealed.

This production shows how such conspiracies are implemented, by integrating the details into the working routines of the participants in an unremarkable manner. None of the operations staff of the military or news media needed to be briefed on the overarching scheme; they simply had a job to do as usual. And none had to be admonished to maintain silence about their activities, as none of it was outside their job descriptions. All it takes to insure this type of complicity is a regularly scheduled paycheck.

It wasn't even necessary to brief O'Hanlon and Pollack ahead of time on the dimensions of the planned media blitz. They could be counted on to play their roles as serious foreign policy "scholars", flushed with the ego-stroking flattery of being thrust into the national news spotlight. And for the media stars who pimped them, nothing but business as usual, with their pre-digested talking points helpfully prepared by their staff.

One of the things I found notable about Glenn's work on this piece was his efforts to indentify two of the sponsors of this staged media event: the US Dept of Defense and the Saban Center for Middle East Studies. I'd be most interested in learning the identities of the agents on the news media side who helped coordinate the feeding frenzy.

On a cultural level, pit bulls are the SUV's of pet ownership. Something that looks menacing and intimidating, but is typically poorly managed and as much a hazard to its owner as to anyone else. Pit bulls and SUV's may not be to blame for what they are; it's Americans who have no excuse.

I really don't understand how "courage" relates to the job description of a Congressional politician. In the world of business, white collar professionals aren't expected to deliver milestones in courage or integrity. They are instead paid to say and do the things their corporate supervisors expect of them.

There is ample evidence that congressional representatives are generously compensated for the legislative access services they render. Crowd-pleasing political activism, on the other hand, is basically pro bono volunteer work, and often produces questionable public relations benefits. For a politician with significant campaign overhead and operating expenses, maintaining a low profile minimizes the risk of suffering the termination of vital sources of income.

GG: "And even the publication of [Goldsmith's] book is, in one way, commendable, one could even say brave. But he kept quiet about all of this for years. He could have resigned in protest and alerted the country, the way honorable DOJ lawyers during the Nixon administration did. The same is true with Comey - he "disclosed" what he disclosed only when forced by subpoena, not out of any sense of honor.

Glenn's assessment of Goldsmith brings to mind the career of Albert Speer, the German architect who, as Hitler's Minister of Armaments, commandeered prison slave labor to build up the Nazi war machine. For those war crimes, he was sentenced at Nuremberg to 20 years in prison.

Speer was one of the few Nazi officials to express remorse at his trial. After his release, he published in 1969 Inside the Third Reich, the definitive insider account of the Nazi regime.

From the Wikipedia article on Albert Speer:

"Speer's acknowledgement of guilt was nuanced. He acknowledges guilt for being a high official of a criminal government, without acknowledging guilt for any crimes committed by himself. His self-described crimes seem to be more acts of omission, including failure to make inquiry into the Holocaust, and failure to challenge Hitler. He paints himself as a nonpolitical technocrat."

It will interesting to observe how Goldsmith portrays his role in the Bush administration in his upcoming testimony to Congress.

"Poster Boys" would refer both to the actual occupation of these macho warriors (posting bloated opinion pieces in various media) and to the lavish photo spreads Glenn will no doubt provide for us to drool over. (Eww, gross!)

alden: "What are the relevant attributes you see in the picture? What virtues are embodied in this guy's image? I thought you had an argument to make, but apparently you're ashamed to post it in public.

I hope you never try this unworthy stunt again."

Maybe it's off-base or below the belt, but I've often observed straight men get extremely offended and outraged when negative attention is focused on their physical appearance. They seem to assume there's this unspoken rule that makes them exempt from the kind of personal scrutiny that women (and in many cases, gay men) are routinely subjected to. In short, these straight men love to dish it out but they can't take it in kind.

Of course, it's indulgent straight women who let them get away with it...