Tomorrow's News Today
As television news departments pick up more and more of their stories from the web, the game of predicting tomorrow's news becomes ever more fun to play.
Fact one - the Afghan war against the Taliban is failing. Ground is being lost. What to do, what to do...
Fact two - the war in Iraq is also failing in that it is failing to succeed. There is no end in sight. The troops are worn. Elections could not be held today.
While we wait for Saddam to be demised (for we dare not pull out before that happens) our sword is frozen in the ground. Our unwelcomeness becomes ever more apparent.
Hopes of a controllingly close relationship with our protege government have dwindled to encouraging them to tell their citizens that the oil belongs to them, in hope that the people will start to discuss how the oil revenue can help their society and maybe they will begin to see their government as worthy of support.
Both battleground failures can be dealt with by one decision: "The terrorists have moved the war to Afghanistan. So we must follow them there. "
The logic is unassailable. After all, we are at war in Iraq to fight the terrorists. That was the script. This logic follows the script. We are over there to fight terrorists, not to prop up oil companies while they make their dirty deals, as some would think. We fight the terrorists, we move on. If we liberate a country from its dictator in the process, well, we were glad to be of help.
Consider how various parties will be impacted if we follow the terrorists to Afghanistan.
Middle Easterners in general would much rather see us bogged down in Afghanistan than in Iraq. It's a much trickier bog, as the Russians learned.
For the portion of the economy whose business it is to support the military, it should provide untold opportunities for consulting contracts, richer than Iraq, and more continuing.
Members of the Iraq insurgency will either dissolve into the normal political sphere like Black Panthers of the 60's or join the pirates.
The piratic terrorists intent on the snagging the oil are now placed at odds with the citizens. Suddenly they no longer are useful in controlling foreign armies. They can go. Or be turned in.
The Iraqi militias will only have themselves to fight. The Oil Ministry will recruit them, if it hasn't already. They will become nationalized in a year or two. Better retirement plan.
Europeans will be delighted to see our brazen bullying be rationalized back into goodness again.
Americans will once again be heroes.
Fact one - the Afghan war against the Taliban is failing. Ground is being lost. What to do, what to do...
Fact two - the war in Iraq is also failing in that it is failing to succeed. There is no end in sight. The troops are worn. Elections could not be held today.
While we wait for Saddam to be demised (for we dare not pull out before that happens) our sword is frozen in the ground. Our unwelcomeness becomes ever more apparent.
Hopes of a controllingly close relationship with our protege government have dwindled to encouraging them to tell their citizens that the oil belongs to them, in hope that the people will start to discuss how the oil revenue can help their society and maybe they will begin to see their government as worthy of support.
Both battleground failures can be dealt with by one decision: "The terrorists have moved the war to Afghanistan. So we must follow them there. "
The logic is unassailable. After all, we are at war in Iraq to fight the terrorists. That was the script. This logic follows the script. We are over there to fight terrorists, not to prop up oil companies while they make their dirty deals, as some would think. We fight the terrorists, we move on. If we liberate a country from its dictator in the process, well, we were glad to be of help.
Consider how various parties will be impacted if we follow the terrorists to Afghanistan.
Middle Easterners in general would much rather see us bogged down in Afghanistan than in Iraq. It's a much trickier bog, as the Russians learned.
For the portion of the economy whose business it is to support the military, it should provide untold opportunities for consulting contracts, richer than Iraq, and more continuing.
Members of the Iraq insurgency will either dissolve into the normal political sphere like Black Panthers of the 60's or join the pirates.
The piratic terrorists intent on the snagging the oil are now placed at odds with the citizens. Suddenly they no longer are useful in controlling foreign armies. They can go. Or be turned in.
The Iraqi militias will only have themselves to fight. The Oil Ministry will recruit them, if it hasn't already. They will become nationalized in a year or two. Better retirement plan.
Europeans will be delighted to see our brazen bullying be rationalized back into goodness again.
Americans will once again be heroes.
posted by Dan McIntyre at 11:15 AM
1 Comments:
Senator McCain, formerly known for his status as the conscience of the Senate , increasingly appears to be being groomed for the vice presidency.
He has been visiting the White House for consultations several times a week. Last month he did his best to appeal to possible ultra-conservative voters by giving the commencement address at a capital-c Christian university. He may be marketed as one who stands for essential conservatism, as compared to the current crop of conservatives who believe in an authoritarian conservatism, the results of which dismay most Americans.
It has been known for some time that Cheney hopes to step down after the mid-term elections. Perhaps he will stump the country explaining to true conservatives just what happened on his watch. So McCain would appear to be his probable replacement.
With a true man of conscience in the Vice President spot, the question of possible failures of conscience at the very top can only come to the fore. McCain could well succeed a tiring, battered President.
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