2006.11.10
O.K., one purely political item. A memory trip through my blog links.
First, I think I was always at least skeptical of our invasion of Iraq. I knew it would be harder than the Bush administration imagined, and I objected to justifying the invasion with obviously dishonest rationalizations.
However, I also believed that the Bush administration sincerely had good intentions -- and I continue to believe this.
My main objection was that no one in our government was smart enough to do a valid cost-benefit analysis and make an informed judgement about the wisdom of this course of action. Even if everything had gone perfectly, I still don't believe the benefits would have been worth the cost of winning -- not without the support of the international community.
Of course, our situation in Iraq is now unsalvageable, and there is only one more point to be made: however costly, the Iraq war was *not* unwinnable from the beginning. It was bungled through monumental incompetence.
Slate:
A Catalog of Failure.
"These were not tactical failures, made by subordinate military officers. Rather, these were strategic errors of epic proportions that no amount of good soldiering could undo."
And now a word from the new Senate Majority Leader --
NYT:
Harry Reid, an Infighter With a Sharp Jab.
"‘Britney Spears,’ Mr. Reid said, shaking
his head. ‘She loses a little weight, and now
she's getting all cocky about things.’ He added,
‘Britney has gotten her mojo back.’"
2006.11.08
Really big news today --
CNN:
After two years, Britney has had enough.
"In July, she won an apology from the British edition of The National Enquirer, which had reported that Spears was ready to divorce Federline."
> I guess they can take that apology back now.
Also --
The Onion:
Politicians Sweep Midterm Elections.
"After months of aggressive campaigning and with nearly 99 percent of ballots counted, politicians were the big winners in Tuesday's midterm election...."
2006.11.01
Checking in on Kazakhstan --
The UK Observer:
The real face of Boratstan.
"We head to Soho, alleged to be the [Almaty]'s most casual, Western-style bar, but by 11pm Jay, an American oilman, informs me ‘there's only two women here who aren't prostitutes and you're one of them’."
