Letters to the Editor
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Lots to say, but much of it has already been said
You're right, Bill, but there were pages and pages of this back -- when was it -- last winter or spring, I think, when Seymour Hersh was warning that an attack on Iran might be imminent. Some of us, Glenn included, thought it very likely. Others, including me, doubted it.
To summarize, those who expected it did so on the basis that a) GWB, et al., were crazy enough, and b) what they were saying and doing at the time was virtually identical to what they had said and done during the run-up to the war in Iraq. Those who thought it unlikely thought so because, as you imply, it would be just about the craziest geopolitical gambit anyone had pulled since Hitler launched Unternehmen Barbarossa.
Since last year, the attention paid to this possible assault has waxed and waned with the noises coming out of Washington, but everyone, in my opinion, is still reading tea leaves. One thing that is certain is that such an attack will remain a possibility, if not a probability, right up until the time that GWB leaves office. AFter that, no matter who is elected, it will remain a possibility, but one which, in my judgment, will be much diminished, except, perhaps, if McCain is the new President.
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Noise
Could you all just quit this insipid squabbling? These ridiculous ongoing feuds between regular commenters are as boring as they are pointless.
There isn't enough going on in the world to debate substantively?
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A plea!
BTW, I use the same handle everywhere- guess I'm not part of the "cool" group...
Dave, the point is: you can't do it. Yes. you can have more than one account, no, you cannot have an account under a name already registered. Get it. Besides, do you want to get your analysis from guys who do that, and would youlike it if someone used your handle.
It can't be done. Now, what does that make out of Bucky's accusations?
If it can, please do it! Register and post under my name. I want to be your sockpuppet!
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@kitt
Thank you, my friend. I thought I was going nuts. Apparently bucky's proclivities are so well known they excite no opposition.
I'm always the last to know, like about my wife and the shooting.
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McCain's Endorsements
Three videos released by (allegedly) Al Qaida in one week.
Are they campaigning for the GOP again?
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DCLAW1
Matthews...I've actually got him set for regular tivoing, but haven't watched in weeks...it had just become a parade of campaign insiders volleying the same tired crap back and forth, with, of course, Matthews' insane gibberish as relish. For all of his bad qualities--which I would say take up about 95% of his show--he has regularly aired issues that get very little cable-play, especially around Iraq. Which is why I tivoed him in the first place...
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WT @ UT history
You're right, Bill, but there were pages and pages of this back -- when was it -- last winter or spring, I think, when Seymour Hersh was warning that an attack on Iran might be imminent. Some of us, Glenn included, thought it very likely. Others, including me, doubted it.
Yep. Hersh said we were already in Iran--as far as I know never conclusively proven or disproven. People tracking the carriers to see when two got into the gulf (so round the clock operations could commence), the admin claiming that the 240 mm rockets were clearly Iranian, in spite of zero evidence, the copper disk workshops discovered in downtown bagdad--and the admin and Odierno still claiming disks came from Iran (and getting caught in the lie). On and on and on.
And yet the same persistence from the same people, including Odierno just recently, seems to suggest they really want to start something with Iran. Why the heck would they continue with this stuff on an indefinate loop if they didn't mean to do it?
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il concorso del pisciatoio
There isn't enough going on in the world to debate substantively?
There is, DC... but this is argument, not debate. Think of it as like sports, if it helps.
If we attend to the course of conversation in mixed companies consisting not merely of scholars and subtle reasoners but also of business people or women, we notice that besides storytelling and jesting they have another entertainment, namely, arguing. --Immanuel Kant
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McCain's faux policy experience
He [John McCain] just completed his eighth visit to Iraq.--Howard Kurtz
How does strolling through a Pentagon staged movie set in Iraq while being protected by a billions dollars worth of military hardware and personal qualify John McCain as an experienced foreign policy expert? He's a Senator. That means that if he wants to play the lead roll in a Pentagon propaganda video, the Pentagon and the Bush Administration are more than happy to be equal partners in the sham.
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On insipidity
There isn't enough going on in the world to debate substantively? -- DCLaw1
That's a rhetorical question, right? Substantive debate is fine before the bar, but sometimes it needs to be embellished a bit. If, for example, we talk about the horrors of war, or the reasons why peace is desirable, don't GC!'s contributions make our reasons all the more palpable? And yet, some have said some very nasty and uncalled-for things about Mr. James. Given human nature, avoiding personal interactions of the kind which impress you as insipid is not as easy as you suppose.
For example, I've noticed that your more recent posts have been steeped in a righteous anger which was completely absent back in the day when you were debating the intricacies of FISA law here. Forgive me for saying so, but I don't think that diminishes them in any way -- you are still one of the best, and most thoughtful contributors here.
On the other hand, that changed tone might very well attract the attentions of others who lack either your skill or your probity. What then? Will you ignore them utterly, or risk a quick lash at them with the back of your hand? And what will you do if one of them sinks his teeth in that hand and not having much of a life, refuses to let go, even unto the end of UT?