…you listen. He’s a smart man.
Twice now I’ve heard something that resonates, in re: the war. Once from Kaus, and twice from an op-ed in today’s Post by retired military brass. They both pointed out that in Afghanistan and Kosova, things didn’t look like they were going too well until all of a sudden, they looked just fine. So in case the war ends before Sunday, I wanted to put in my acknowledgement that I am less than 100 percent certain we are in quagmire territory. Of course, it still depends on how you define victory. As far as I can tell, Afghanistan is still in the toilet. The U.S. killed a bunch of bad guys, but excepting Kabul the country is run by the older set of bad guys. I don’t say there’s no marginal improvement. I do say the Afghani people still await their liberation, and despite the military developments, there may be more bad guys now than two years ago.
My one comment on the threads (concerning alternatives to the present invasion) is that criticism and protest should proceed on the assumption that Iraq is the first battle in a longer war. No matter what the disposition of forces on the ground, the war won’t be over, even after it ends.