It's always amusing when historians attempt to reconstruct the present. In this case, they're attempting to say that the US and Britain didn't take the question of Saddam's weapons and possible diplomatic initiatives to disarmament seriously ( Read more... )

I pause briefly to note Victory in Iraq Day, and suggest that Zombietime was a bit behind me in noting it, but I'm glad that more people are aware of the situation.

Congratulations to our troops.

Time to go back and annotate the reasons we went in there in the first place to see if they have been accomplished.

Quoting:

October 27, 2008: The war is over. Most of the noise these days is from politicians arguing, not bombs going off. There are still bombs, but now they tend to be assassination attempts, as some political parties play dirty (not unknown in this part of the world).We're at the point where all we need is a security agreement with the ( Read more... )

But that's business as usual, right?

The operation of 20-20 hindsight is always illuminating. At least when bundled up and put in the fireplace, with a few matches.

The page omits the brilliant time-travel strategy in which Bush-Cheney corrupted the Clinton administration and suborned Congress, leading to a resolution supporting regime change in ( Read more... )

In response to a challenge by that rare bird, the thoughtful anti-war left, Jeff has restated the reasons for being and staying in Iraq until the job is done. Of course, for those of us who remember the original argument, this is not new, but I suppose it bears restating for those who weren't reading widely in foreign affairs at the time we went

The most interesting criticism has emerged from Congress: evidently the military, currently in operations in Iraq, has failed to corral members of the new Iraq parliament and beat them into submission. Personally, I wouldn't think this was an allowable criticism, but there are those who have confused the Defense Department with the State ( Read more... )

Casey At the Bat.... Redone by Pat Santy, referring to this article (free on the site, unlike all other articles in the "Diarist" section), that has been much refuted, despite some hilarious claims of "fact checking".

Tuesday, August 07, 2007 ( Read more... )

Torture: to threaten someone with death, severe pain, or mutilation either unless they tell you something you want to hear, or to punish them, or both: to assert that control over their bodies is control over them.

Waterboarding is threatening someone with death. Not verbally. By action. It is different than pointing a gun at them and saying "stay ( Read more... )

Here's how to think about it. And for those who want the current dope check out the usual suspects.

But now, a brief quote:

I understand the frustration, anger and exhaustion so many Americans feel about Iraq, the desire to throw up our hands and simply say, "Enough." And I am painfully aware of the enormous toll of this war in human life, and ( Read more... )

I know. You don't want to hear the policy prescriptions of a bunch of foreign policy bumblers who aren't very good at paying attention to reality.

But this time, we get the real goods. A report done by someone who cares, who tries to get the facts, and who goes to Iraq to get them.

I'm sure Peggy Noonan is appalled.