I am not sure to make of this rambling and incoherent piece by Richard Cohen other than to let the WaPo front office know that Oliver Willis would love to write for them.
Sully Nails It
Many times, Sully’s rhetoric is over the top, but he nails it here:
For some it’s about “war” in general – a newly empowered new age pacifism. For France, it’s about … France, and its eclipse as a power of any significance. France’s crisis is deepened by the fact that a successful war against Saddam could also accelerate the end of the Franco-German bloc as the power-house of the European Union. For Russia, it’s about money. For the Germans, it’s about a new national identity. The Germans have never been able to sustain a moderate polity on their own. They veer from extreme romantic militarism to romantic pacifism. Their current abdication of all strategic responsibility for Europe or the wider world is just another all-too-familiar spasm from German history. For the broader anti-war forces in Europe, it’s about American uni-polar power – and the need to counteract it, even if it’s being put to good use. For still others, especially in the Vatican and France, it’s the old Jew-hatred again. For the Democrats, it’s about getting back to prescription drugs. For the anti-war left in America, it’s really about Bush. The pent-up fury they felt after Florida never found expression or even validation in the wider culture. It was repressed in the first months of a new presidency – and then made irrelevant by 9/11. Finally, they have a chance to demonstrate their hate – which is why so much of the demonstrations’ focus has not been on Saddam, Iraq or even war, but on Bush. The anti-Bush left knows that a successful war will only strengthen the president further and marginalize them even more – hence their utter desperation and viciousness today. This is their moment; and the demonstrations are their therapy.
Mmmhmm.
Life Imitates Art
Via Rantburg, we note this story:
Afghan authorities have arrested a Pakistani man in eastern Afghanistan, accusing him of spying for his country, officials said Sunday. The man, Sayed Wali, was arrested Wednesday by border guards on charges of illegally entering Afghanistan in eastern Nangarhar province.
Sayed Wali- Why does that name sound so familiar?
Is Sayed Wali the same man as the notorious Syed Ali, terrorist mastermind in the hit show 24? Does Mr. Wali know where the bomb is located? Should Jack Bauer and President Palmer be notified? And how did he get from the mosque in LA to the Pakistan border this quickly?
Questions…
The Saudis- Middle East Cowboys
When George Bush says he is going to hunt down Osama or dis-arm Saddam, he is portrayed as a cowboy. Do the Saudis have to fear the same characterization after badmouthing another tyrant/lunatic (to be fair, he is the UN Chair for Human Rights):
Libya
Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge
I am getting really tried of reading this story, over and over and over again:
France and Germany have called for more cooperation from Iraq with UN weapons inspectors. French President Jacques Chirac said Baghdad should do more but he emphasised that U.N. arms inspections were “still the way to go”, Chirac said during a trip to Algiers.
Blah, blah, blah…
Turkey’s Financial Woes
The fall-out from the Turkish vote to not allow American troops base there for any war with Iraq included a substantial hit to the Turkish market.
Does anyone have any decent information on the Turkish economy?
Stupid and Cowardly
The ragtag collectioon of nitwits that deployed themselves to Iraq to act as human shields seem to be coming to their senses:
A dozen peace activists who went to Iraq to serve as human shields in the event of war returned home amid fears for their safety, a spokesman said Sunday.
One wonders if they ever looked up the word shield– the whole point of them going was for them to take the blow- not to stop anyone from attacking military targets. It was such a stupid concept that it was widely ridiculed, because there was absolutely no point to it, and in the end, all they were doing was aiding and abetting a tyrant.
This about sums it up:
The eccentric, eclectic group, none of whom fitted the “peacenik” stereotype, may have been drawn from all ages, backgrounds and experience, but they all shared one trait: naivety. Beset by problems on the road, lack of sufficient funds or a clear, universally-shared agenda, most had been tested beyond their limits before they even arrived in Iraq.
Their entire mission was to soak up bombs and bullets, so I am not sure how they did not have a ‘universally shared agenda.’
Bruce, a 24-year-old Canadian wearing a T-shirt saying “I don’t want to die”, was one of a group of tanned young men who were drafted into protect a grain store. Initially, he, like others, had concerns about the sites, which included an oil refinery, a water purification plant and electricity stations. He was won over when the Iraqis provided televisions, VCRs, telephones and a Play Station.
“Dr Hashimi has explained that we help the population more by staying in the ‘strategic sites’,” he explained. His friend added: “We play football in the afternoons and the Iraqis bring us cartons of cigarettes. It’s just like summer camp.”
My head hurts. If there are any more of these nitwits in Baghdad when we finally attack, I am going to suggest targeting them. They have earned it.