Bush no Lie

McLellan to the contrary, the case that George Bush lied prior to the invasion of Iraq cannot be substantiated with the evidence at hand. Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post elaborates at the WaPo's website.

Protection for the Protectors?

Michael Yon posted an interesting and disappointing notice on his blog. It is from the Dept of Transportation Federal Transit Administration:

Here are a few friendly reminders of personal protective measures that can help you to stay safe:
-If possible, do not commute in uniform (military members) -Do not display DoD building passes, "hot cards", or personal identification in open view outside of the workplace -Do not discuss specifics about your occupation to outside solicitors
-Always try to remain in well lit, well populated train cars if traveling via metro -Be vigilant at all times!

Where do you think this advice applies? Washington D.C.! It seems absurd, but military personnel have been the subjects of harassment while on the Metro. Not cool.

Awesome Video Saturday XXXXI

These are two funny videos. The first one is a nice commentary on the silly way that many people get up-in-arms about book-to-film (or comic-to-film) adaptations.



I almost didn't post this one because it may cross the line into poor taste. Still, I laughed, so here goes.

Good News from Iraq

Check out this post from Michael Barone on the Kagan report.

Saddam & Terror

It appears that Saddam Hussein DID have extensive ties to terror and terror networks.

Iraq, 5 Years hence

More than 5 years have passed since the U.S. invasion of Iraq. I remain convinced that going to war was the right thing to do and that long-term success is both possible and likely.

Slate is an online magazine that is predictably left-leaning. Notwithstanding those tendencies, several of their writers supported the decision to invade. Like many erstwhile supporters of the war, many have changed their mind. Like me, Christopher Hitchens has held fast. I think that his column to that effect is an excellent one. His conclusion:

There is, however, one position that nobody can honestly hold but that many people try their best to hold. And that is what I call the Bishop Berkeley theory of Iraq, whereby if a country collapses and succumbs to trauma, and it's not our immediate fault or direct responsibility, then it doesn't count, and we are not involved. Nonetheless, the very thing that most repels people when they contemplate Iraq, which is the chaos and misery and fragmentation (and the deliberate intensification and augmentation of all this by the jihadists), invites the inescapable question: What would post-Saddam Iraq have looked like without a coalition presence?
The past years have seen us both shamed and threatened by the implications of the Berkeleyan attitude, from Burma to Rwanda to Darfur. Had we decided to attempt the right thing in those cases (you will notice that I say "attempt" rather than "do," which cannot be known in advance), we could as glibly have been accused of embarking on "a war of choice." But the thing to remember about Iraq is that all or most choice had already been forfeited. We were already deeply involved in the life-and-death struggle of that country, and March 2003 happens to mark the only time that we ever decided to intervene, after a protracted and open public debate, on the right side and for the right reasons. This must, and still does, count for something.

Invading Iraq was just the right thing to do.

No truck for Huck

Mike Huckabee wrote an article in the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs. He makes some points that are basura, to the point of meriting a direct letter from Bob Dole. This is from the Des Moines Register:

The Foreign Affairs piece is a perfect example of 20-20 hindsight, and wishful thinking in most instances. You make knotty foreign policy issues sound so easy if we would just change our ways. I never was a foreign policy expert though I followed it closely for nearly three decades under Democrat and Republican Presidents.

It is an appropriate and direct response. I find myself increasingly uncomfortable with Huckabee, and the FA article is one example of why.

The Great White Fleet

So was named the 16 battleships of the U.S. Atlantic forces on their 43,000 mile trip around the world. This historical event took place 100 years ago, and as was noted by the Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens, its centennial was noticed by few Americans. He explains the significance of that journey, both in its historical context and its ramifications for today. An excerpt:

There is an enduring, bipartisan strain in American politics (think Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich) that wishes to forgo the military role. As wonderfully recounted by Jim Rasenberger in "America 1908," the voyage of the Great White Fleet, as it was popularly known, was energetically opposed by members of Congress, who sought to cut off its funding when it was halfway around the world. Sound familiar? Mark Twain considered the venture as further evidence that TR was "clearly insane . . . and insanest upon war and its supreme glories."

Despite the objections the voyage continued and was a huge success. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, it did not endure:

Yet if there was a lesson here, it was lost to the U.S. during the interwar period. Just 13 years after the Great White Fleet returned to the U.S., it was physically scrapped under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, which set strict limits on the number and size of battleships the major powers could build and deploy. Only after Pearl Harbor and World War II did Americans really seem to learn the lesson that their position as a maritime power could not be wished away, and that their maritime interests could only be defended by a powerful Navy.

Our "supremely powerful Navy" is indeed essential.

Good news

This is a pretty fascinating account of a major Allied victory over the Taliban in Afghanistan. Some background on the battle for Musa Qala:

In a controversial move, Musa Qala had been abandoned the previous year after British troops lost seven lives defending a base in the town from waves of Taliban attacks. Although handed over, in theory, to the elders of the town last October, it was taken over by the Taliban by February and became one of the few major places in Afghanistan where the Taliban could operate in the open, trying to set up their own local government and courts.

Our victory was decisive, the only Coalition casualties resulting from mine detonations, likely dating back to the Soviet occupation of decades ago.

Good reporting.

Preparing for the Future

I often wonder what kind of impact the War on Terror will have on our domestic future. What I mean by this is wondering how the thousands of returning veterans will integrate into our society as we move forward.

Just as interesting is how the U.S. Military will approach its future with regard to the officers that have served in these conflicts. This is addressed in an interesting post from The National Review's The Corner. A summation:

It is often said that the military is worn out from the near continuous deployments to Iraq. Perhaps. But one way we can partially rectify that terrible burden, and gain advantage from that sacrifice, is to ensure over the next few years, that we promote to generals a cohort that proved itself repeatedly in battle in Iraq. We can ill afford to lose thousands of aggregate days of combat experience that may guide us in the future. That way the United States military for a generation will have sober, experienced, and savvy generals, who have served in the worst sorts of circumstances, to advise how and how not to approach any future conflicts. This is critical as we reach these do-or-die moments of juncture in dozens of careers between colonel and brigadier general.

Fiction that Fits- A Follow-up

Having made this post the other day, I was especially interested in the dispatch from Michael Yon about Scott Beauchamp and The New Republic. Despite his fraudulent reporting from the Middle East, Beauchamp continues to serve in the Army and his commander is happy to have him:

Lapses of judgment are bound to happen, and accountability is critical, but that’s not the same thing as pulling out the hanging rope every time a soldier makes a mistake.
Beauchamp is young; under pressure he made a dumb mistake. In fact, he has not always been an ideal soldier. But to his credit, the young soldier decided to stay, and he is serving tonight in a dangerous part of Baghdad. He might well be seriously injured or killed here, and he knows it. He could have quit, but he did not. He faced his peers. I can only imagine the cold shoulders, and worse, he must have gotten. He could have left the unit, but LTC Glaze told me that Beauchamp wanted to stay and make it right. Whatever price he has to pay, he is paying it.

Having never served in the military, I'll defer to Beauchamp's commander as to the best course to pursue. Yon is less charitable towards Beauchamp's enablers at The New Republic:

As for The New Republic, some on the staff may feel like they’ve been hounded and treed, but it’s hard to feel the same sympathy for a group of cowards who won’t ’fess up and can’t face the scorn of American combat soldiers who were injured by their collective lapse of judgment. It’s up to their readers to decide the ultimate fate.

Somehow I don't think their readers will care too much. That's too bad.

Awesome Video Saturday XIX (Early Edition)

AweVidSat comes early this week. I'm making a pilgrimage to the Orange Bowl to watch the Hurricanes play there one last time. Here goes:

This is an amazing video. There is some brief profanity, but it seems justified. A commenter on this video's YouTube page said the following:
Seems a little big for an land mine, we called these "sub surfaced IEDs" -- my guess is probally 3 to 4, 155mm shells buried too deep for any possible effect.



This is a very emotional video about a father surprising his son at school after returning from a long deployment. It tugs at the heart strings, big time.

Progress

U.S. military deaths continue to decline in Iraq, hitting a 14 month low. That is good news. More good news comes from the World Tribune:

The U.S. military is eliminating Al Qaida's chain of command in Iraq.
Officials said several leading aides to Al Qaida network chief Abu Ayoub Al Masri have been killed by the U.S.-led coalition. They said two out of the four foreign aides of Al Masri remain alive.
Shortly before he died, [aide] Al Tunisi wrote a letter that warned of a threat to Al Qaida operations in Karkh. The lettter, found by the U.S. military, sought guidance from Al Qaida leaders amid coalition operations that hampered Al Tunisi's network.
"We are so desperate for your help," the letter read.

That's what I like to hear.

How little we've learned

9/11 was a seminal event in my life. I remember watching the Challenger explode. I remember watching Tienanmen Square protests and subsequent crackdown. I remember watching the Berlin Wall be torn down. And I remember watching the second plan hit the Tower and the resulting horrific catastrophe. 9/11 will always be a tragic day to me.

I was so inspired by much of what happened in the days and weeks following the attack. I was optimistic about the future. I still am, but not in the way that I thought I would be. Now my optimism comes in spite of what I see in the news every day. It comes despite the idiocy of people like Russ Feingold and Dick Durbin and Nancy Pelosi.

Norman Podhoretz has a great article in today's WSJ. You can read it for free at Opinion Journal. He explains how the Left is using the lessons of Vietnam (the lessons they learned) today.

I wish I had time for more. Instapundit has a good roundup.

Food for Thought

It is almost universally accepted that the decision to disband the Iraqi Army following the 2003 invasion was a mistake. Paul Bremer says it was not, and he makes some compelling arguments:
By the time Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003, the Iraqi Army had simply dissolved. On April 17 Gen. John Abizaid, the deputy commander of the Army’s Central Command, reported in a video briefing to officials in Washington that “there are no organized Iraqi military units left.” The disappearance of Saddam Hussein’s old army rendered irrelevant any prewar plans to use that army. So the question was whether the Coalition Provisional Authority should try to recall it or to build a new one open to both vetted members of the old army and new recruits. General Abizaid favored the second approach.

In the weeks after General Abizaid’s recommendation, the coalition’s national security adviser, Walter Slocombe, discussed options with top officials in the Pentagon, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. They recognized that to recall the former army was a practical impossibility because postwar looting had destroyed all the bases.

Moreover, the largely Shiite draftees of the army were not going to respond to a recall plea from their former commanders, who were primarily Sunnis. It was also agreed that recalling the army would be a political disaster because to the vast majority of Iraqis it was a symbol of the old Baathist-led Sunni ascendancy.

His points are worth reading. We have to understand that sometimes there are no easy options, no fool-proof plans.

Quick Hits

There are a lot of things I want to bring to your attention today:

• A major terrorist plot was disrupted in Germany. The individuals in question were in possession of large amounts of explosive ingredients and military-grade detonators. The NYT has more. I'm sure more information will come out regarding this successful intervention.
• The surge in Iraq is bearing fruit. I maintain that entering Iraq was the right thing to do and that persisting in that effort is essential. Some Democratic congressmen, such as Washington's Brian Baird, have witnessed the surge-borne improvements and expressed that to the public. These honest assessments are not without cost, as leftist groups like MoveOn.org have moved against Baird and others.
  The anti-war element makes a grave misjudgement by criticizing Baird. Baird was opposed to the war and the surge, yet he sees the progress being made, as well as the concern in other states at what a US withdrawl would mean. He said the following:
  I believe I must speak and act based on what I believe is in the best interest of our nation regardless of political advertisements or partisan interests. Based on personal visits to the region, I believe the dynamics on the ground in Iraq are changing for the better and, while there are still multiple and serious challenges, and while the course is uncertain and dangerous, the changes I have seen warrant continued support of current actions through next spring.
• President Bush went to Australia in support of embattled ally John Howard. Howard's support for our country has earned my admiration. I hope he is able to retain his position in the next election.
• There was a Republican Presidential Debate last night. Meh.
• Democratic Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson thinks it is God's will that Iowa have the first say in the presidential primaries. Seems a little weird to me. I think there are more important things on the Divine Agenda. All this business of the various states jockeying for preferred order in the primaries is tiresome. I don't think their movement forward is a big issue, as it may allow more time to vet the real candidate. Some disagree.
• Ted Kennedy is catching flack for his opposition to an offshore wind farm near his Nantucket sailing grounds. He and some of his pals in the Senate have made a serious miscalculation in opposing this initiative. Follow the link for more.

Finally, Luciano Pavarotti has died. The linked article has some good information about the tenor. It is a sad day, as Pavarotti found acceptance among opera lovers and those indifferent to the discipline. Enjoy a performance of Nessun Dorma, appropriately subtitled in Spanish.

The Peace Racket

City Journal has an interesting article by Bruce Bawer entitled "The Peace Racket." Truth be told, I saw it last week and didn't have time to read it then and don't have time now. From what I gather in my perusal, Bowen's contention is that many "peace" programs are doomed to fail. His introduction:

If you want peace, prepare for war.” Thus counseled Roman general Flavius Vegetius Renatus over 1,600 years ago. Nine centuries before that, Sun Tzu offered essentially the same advice, and it’s to him that Vegetius’s line is attributed at the beginning of a film that I saw recently at Oslo’s Nobel Peace Center. Yet the film cites this ancient wisdom only to reject it. After serving up a perverse potted history of the cold war, the thrust of which is that the peace movement brought down the Berlin Wall, the movie ends with words that turn Vegetius’s insight on its head: “If you want peace, prepare for peace.”
This purports to be wise counsel, a motto for the millennium. In reality, it’s wishful thinking that doesn’t follow logically from the history of the cold war, or of any war. For the cold war’s real lesson is the same one that Sun Tzu and Vegetius taught: conflict happens; power matters. It’s better to be strong than to be weak; you’re safer if others know that you’re ready to stand up for yourself than if you’re proudly outspoken about your defenselessness or your unwillingness to fight. There’s nothing mysterious about this truth. Yet it’s denied not only by the Peace Center film but also by the fast-growing, troubling movement that the center symbolizes and promotes.
Call it the Peace Racket.

I should mention that I am a proud Rotarian. Rotary International has programs that are focused on peaceful conflict resolution. Rotary is funded primarily by the efforts of business people. I don't think that there has to be a conflict between strength and peace. The problem is that some entities have crossed the line into an unrealistic and dangerous territory, espousing the idea that peace at all costs is a virtue. As Bawer mentions, history tells us that it is not.

SPOTD #129

I wanted to cover some things quickly in today's SPOTD. Fantasy Football is due to start soon. We may have a slot or two open and I will send an e-mail if that is the case.

Today's phrase:
From Aristotle.

Actual:
En las adversidades sale a la luz la virtud.

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
Enn lahs add-ver-see-dah-days sah-lay ah lah loose lah veer-tude.

Translation:
In adversity virtue comes to life.

From the Blog
It's been a slow few weeks.
-It was my birthday and Lacy made me a very nice video. I'm a lucky guy.
-We can win the war.

Close Call
My friend and old roommate Dave Carlson didn't realize that a quick trip to his neighborhood Supercuts would lead to him being forced to the floor and locked in a room in the course of a burglary. Read the article for more.

Petraeus
Peggy Noonan has a nice feature on General David Petraeus, the very effective U.S. Commander in the Middle East.

Hold the Cheese
If you don't, I'll sue you for $10 million! So says a man who supposedly had a severe allegic reaction to the cheese on his burgers. This story is ridiculous.

Iran & Terror
Only the terror they are inflicting this time is on their own citizens.

17...and counting!
There is a couple in Arkansas that just had their 17th (17TH!) child. And they may have more.

'Look, you didn't kill me. You'll never win.'
This is a great story about a young man from Gainesville who was badly injured while deployed in Afghanistan. What he has done since then is an example of determination trumping adversity.
Link of the Day
Shane Lewis is an artist with a video game developer. He shares some of his art on his blog along with various thoughts. I like the art.

Winning the War

The New York Times has an editorial by Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack on the state of the Iraq War. The opening paragraph:

VIEWED from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.
Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

As we enter a period where political heavyweights (and moral lightweights) view opinion polls for their direction on the War, it is important to listen to voices like these. The commander in Iraq, General Petraeus, has asked for time to allow his methods to bear fruit. Beneath the din of partisan posturing lies the truth about the war (or maybe it lies above it). Let the troops fight. Let the Iraqis know that we support them. We can win. Read the whole piece.

Quick Hits

These are some great links that are worth your time. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to write so my part will be brief:

• Michael Yon continues to provide outstanding reporting from Iraq. He is completely reader-supported, and his insights are far better than what the mainstream media is providing. His most recent dispatch deals with the Arrowhead Ripper offensive, specifically in the city of Baqubah. Read and donate if you can.
• Corn-based ethanol is not the answer to an energy crunch. Beyond the questionable economic considerations lies the unintended consequence of higher food prices for the world's poor. I was especially concerned about the projected rise in the price of cassava, sometimes called yucca. Fry it for some fantastic eating!
• Michael Barone talks immigration with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. He makes some interesting points. I favor the National ID card plan and can see where Chertoff is coming from on the other issues. I just don't see the need for this massive and "comprehensive" reform. That is usually a recipe for confusing and ineffective law.
• My preferred presidential aspirant is Mitt Romney. I think that is work as governor of Massachusetts was very impressive. I do have to admit being intrigued by Fred Thompson. This was an interesting article about how he has managed to keep most of his bridges "fire-free."
• READ THIS: Joshua Muravchik has an article in today's Wall Street Journal that examines the danger of Iranian & Syrian aggression in the Middle East. Very thought-provoking, and very possible.