The word "surge" keeps cropping up, as if we were fighting the war with electricity and not human beings. --Garrison Keillor
The Bush administration tells us the surge is designed to give cover to the al-Maliki government -- enough cover to allow it to get its act together and take control of the country. But it can't be possible, can it, that anyone actually believes that al-Maliki has the wherewithal to do this? He' s a weak puppet, with Moqtada al-Sadr pulling the strings. How is al-Maliki supposed to "rein in" Shiite death squads when al-Sadar, the leader of the death squads, is more powerful than he? (It's like asking George Bush to rein in Dick Cheney. He can't and wouldn't if he could. )
Maybe in reality the surge is a desperate attempt to bring enough order to Baghdad to allow us to withdraw our troops in a calm and dignified fashion, rather than the fashion of our withdrawal from Saigon, with someone blowing a whistle and crying "Every man for himself!"
"Surge." Why do the closing words of Flann O'Brien's "The Hard Life" keep popping into my mind: "a tidal surge of vomit."
Friday, January 05, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
saddam's hanging
Just viewed the video of Saddam's hanging--the full hanging, from life to death. What a sordid, chaotic affair it was. As brutal as the man's life.
To what end this execution? To teach others not to be dictators? Something tells me the deterrence effect somewhat lacking . To teach our children that Justice will be done? Should the video of the hanging be played in grade school classrooms? How edifying!
Let's call it what it is, what it always is: revenge. Blood for blood. The animal satisfaction derived from the snapped neck, the upturned face, the glassy eyes. The very scene that an advanced system of justice is designed to eliminate. To break the bloody cycle of vengeance, that is the point and end of modern jurisprudence.
Does anyone believe that this execution accomplishes anything at all in terms of solving the problem(s) of Iraq? That it will hasten the return home of our troops? The effect I predict is further inflamation of the Sunni insurgency, which will result in even more deaths among American soldiers, particularly if we decide to "surge" their numbers.
Who, then, benefits most from Saddam's execution? The Grim Reaper rubs his bony palms together in gleeful anticipation.
Read Robert Fisk's lucid take on the hanging at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16086.htm
To what end this execution? To teach others not to be dictators? Something tells me the deterrence effect somewhat lacking . To teach our children that Justice will be done? Should the video of the hanging be played in grade school classrooms? How edifying!
Let's call it what it is, what it always is: revenge. Blood for blood. The animal satisfaction derived from the snapped neck, the upturned face, the glassy eyes. The very scene that an advanced system of justice is designed to eliminate. To break the bloody cycle of vengeance, that is the point and end of modern jurisprudence.
Does anyone believe that this execution accomplishes anything at all in terms of solving the problem(s) of Iraq? That it will hasten the return home of our troops? The effect I predict is further inflamation of the Sunni insurgency, which will result in even more deaths among American soldiers, particularly if we decide to "surge" their numbers.
Who, then, benefits most from Saddam's execution? The Grim Reaper rubs his bony palms together in gleeful anticipation.
Read Robert Fisk's lucid take on the hanging at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16086.htm
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