Monday, May 24, 2004

Posted here Monday, May 24, 2004 at 11:42:17 PM     http://www.agonist.org/archives/015938.html#015938 Passionate writing. I am  envious of his conclusions. I have tried to maintain an openness to the logic on all sides, to rub against the idea that Iraq was a mistake the view that it may have been the only way to deal with Pakistan. I knew it was the wrong approach to terrorism in the bin laden style, but also thought that the nuclear Pakistan may be the real strategic concern. I have also felt that Iraq and the war on terror were bad examples of leadership in a world that wants multilateral cooperation in the context of what America really stands for. When Bush uses "democracy and freedom" I know he does not mean by it what I mean, and my colleagues mean by it. So on the one hand, with Sterling Newbury, I feel sullied. But I also feel weakened by the inability to engage enough people in the larger strategic questions. It all reminds me of why Y2K was so interesting: everyone had an opinion and almost no one was seeking enough facts to really know. opinions, like now In Iraq, and about this administration are enough. What i am sure of is that Bush is a weak ignorant bully president with hacks for advisers, and have said so for two years. What I have also known is that there is no coherent opposition that also has a plan for taking on the declining economy (which would have happened without Bush), and the deteriorating world situation, which is deeper than the mistakes of this incompetent (incompetence rooted more in lack of interest than in lack of IQ) president. So I also know that getting rid of Bush is half the hard work, and the rest will be based on what he has not had: thinking, historical perspective, anthropological imagination, sense of fairness, and above all, reading, talking, listening, and being present. All we need to do is recall how such a people person of such brilliance, Clinton, was not able to engage these issues sufficiently. I think that will be the judgment of history. Just as the prison stuff is not six bad apples, neither is the Washington stuff six bad apples in the whitehouse. It is much worse, much harder. ********

Posted here Monday, May 24, 2004 at 8:13:00 PM     A long worthwhile history of the ME in terms of the brits and france starting beginning of the 20th century. http://logosonline.home.igc.org/watenpaugh_iraq.htm ********

Posted here Monday, May 24, 2004 at 7:34:09 PM     Not much wisdom today, hard to digest it all. The weak Bush speech, the increasing trail of prisoner issues, the wedding, Chalabi, falling Bush poll results, the failing of Afghanistan http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=524675 The question on my mind: how badly does the admin fall apart, how Shakespearian is this? Does Bush himself fold, what of the drama among the inner circle, will it burst into public? How long will it take the US, the US military, to recover - fifty years? And we recovered from Vietnam in the rising US economy throughout the period. Now we can expect continual slow decline because of the increasing economic health of the rest of the world. This will redefine our own lives. ********

Posted here Monday, May 24, 2004 at 2:05:32 PM     History changes by one side getting ahead of the other side's position. Nixon going to China would be an example. Her is a surprise. James Lovelock: Nuclear power is the only green solution We have no time to experiment with visionary energy sources; civilization is in imminent danger 24 May 2004 http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=524230 Sir David King, the Government's chief scientist, was far-sighted to say that global warming is a more serious threat than terrorism. He may even have underestimated, because, since he spoke, new evidence of climate change suggests it could be even more serious, and the greatest danger that civilization has faced so far. The basing of society on nuclear power probably requires a security centered state. That helps the move toward a soft - or hard - fascist solution. I deeply worry about this argument. It may even be "true." But we need to really think through the potential consequences. Of course this is why his statement is news. People are sensitive to these contradictions and implications. ********

Posted here Monday, May 24, 2004 at 9:00:15 AM     "A small group of neo-cons took the process away from the professionals in the interagency process.." Anthony Cordesman, reminding us of "the best and the brightest" in the senate foreign affairs committee this morning (c-span). ********