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Ramblings From the Ragged Crumbling Edge Of The Reality-Based Community

Thursday, November 15, 2007

On Winning The Battle And Losing The War 

...it’s hard not to believe that there is some sort of guiding hand behind the sudden proliferation of statements by military leaders that the current greatest risk of failure in Iraq lies with the failure of the Iraqi government to get off the dime and actually start doing something that looks like governing. Given that unnamed State Department minions are claiming that all this is a bunch of cheap CYA chitter, it’s also probably reasonable to conclude that the comments by various commanders and ‘unnamed sources’ in Iraq have not gone through any sort of complete vetting process at the White House level (although one never can be too sure about that bit)…

It is sufficient to say that what we are seeing in Iraq is another in a long string of grim, deadly examples of the failures of planning and intellect that have characterized Bushco’s handling of Iraq for most of this decade. The idea that a government could be crafted on short notice out of three disparate populations that don’t particularly like each other at the aggregate level was one that you would think was more likely to come out a Friday-night cowboy bar than out of the minds of some gaggle of self-styled internationalists. Even that fool’s errand, however, was stomped into a mudhole by the complete and utter failure of those simple souls to understand the societal and cultural facts on the ground and plan for the occupation and power-transfer accordingly,. Any further idea that sending a ‘surge’ of American troops into the region around Baghdad to reduce the daily violence would suddenly make a Dr. Pepper commercial break out in the Iraqi legislature of its own natural accord simply reinforces the assurance that no definitive account of the 43rd presidency will have the words “Best And Brightest” anywhere in the title, unless it’s something done by Jon Stewart…

From the time of its announcement, we are 11 months into that process called ‘the surge’ and the political scene in Iraq is really no further along than it was at this time last year. A few hundred more Americans have died and at least hundreds more injured; no one knows – or will admit to actually knowing – how many Iraqis have been maimed, killed, or dislocated over the same period. Thousands of Americans have been repeatedly rotated into Iraq, racking up a personal toll that this nation will never be able to properly compensate and may never fully understand in any case. There aren’t enough purple fingers in the whole of the continent to make up for the fact that all the happy White House talk about ‘success’ in Iraq is a tactical reference at best. More to the point, it is a subterfuge that hides the fact that the direct aim of the surge is not being met and doesn’t look like it’s going to be met any time soon. The generals understand the cost of that failure, even if the neo-con whiz kids so eager to build their shining beacon of democracy clear don’t…
Posted by: Jack K. / 8:29 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Another Darwin Award Also-Ran 

...as any shade-tree mechanic knows, there are times when you just have to stop, step back for a moment, and reflect on the choices that are confronting you...
SOUTHWORTH, Wash. (AP) - A man trying to loosen a stubborn lug nut blasted the wheel with a 12-gauge shotgun, injuring himself badly in both legs, sheriff's deputies said.

...

From about arm's length, the man fired the shotgun at the wheel and was "peppered" in both legs with buckshot and debris, with some injuries as high as his chin, according to a sheriff's office report.

OK, admit it: who amongst us hasn't been gripped with the urge to render serious physical damage to some balky, uncooperative piece of an automobile at least once in our lives? I know I have boosted the automotive industry's profit margin more than once by purchasing replacement parts for those that I destroyed. An acquaintance who claimed some expertise in (and, more importantly, a vast array of tools for) the repair of British cars once offered to rebuild a failing master cylinder on my old MG Midget, an exercise which ended with him firmly grasping a ball peen hammer and pounding the offending piece into an unrecognizable hunk of metal. These things happen...

On the other hand, firearms may well cross some ill-defined line etched on the "tool" continuum and it's probably a sound general policiy to avoid working out one's frustrations with things that aren't sold at the auto parts store down the street...

...unless you are seriously interesting in competing for the Darwin Award...
Posted by: Jack K. / 8:12 AM 0 comments

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