I realize this isn't a politics folder, but there is none, so this will have to work for now.
Mark Steyn's latest column is a must read. Given the rules for copyright, I am only taking a snippet from the beginning of the column as is permissible under "fair use" laws. Read the entire article, it's too important to miss.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pressure-222464-track-speech.html
If you happen to live in Kabul or Jalalabad, Ghurian or Kandahar, then a U.S. presidential speech about Afghanistan is, indeed, about Afghanistan. If you live anywhere else on the planet, a U.S. presidential speech about Afghanistan is really about America ? about American will, American purpose, American energy. How quickly the bright new dawn fades to the gray morning after. In Europe, the long-awaited unveiling of this most thoughtful of presidents' deliberations got mixed reviews ? some bad, some brutal. Der Spiegel called it "half-hearted," The Guardian called it "desperate." And those are his friends.
You could watch the great orator's listless, tentative performance with the sound down and get the basic message: I don't need this in my life right now. If you read the text, it made even less sense. There's something for everyone: A surge! ... and a withdrawal. He's agreed to surge for a bit, but only in preparation for a de-surge in 18 months' time. I said on the radio that the speech reminded me of the English nursery rhyme:
"The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again."
The Grand Young Duke of Hope has 30,000 men. He'll march them up the Khyber Pass but he'll march them down again in July 2011. If you're some village headman who's been making nice to the Americans, the Taliban have a whole new pitch for you: In a year and a half, the Yanks are going. But we'll still be here.
Mark Steyn's latest column is a must read. Given the rules for copyright, I am only taking a snippet from the beginning of the column as is permissible under "fair use" laws. Read the entire article, it's too important to miss.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pressure-222464-track-speech.html
If you happen to live in Kabul or Jalalabad, Ghurian or Kandahar, then a U.S. presidential speech about Afghanistan is, indeed, about Afghanistan. If you live anywhere else on the planet, a U.S. presidential speech about Afghanistan is really about America ? about American will, American purpose, American energy. How quickly the bright new dawn fades to the gray morning after. In Europe, the long-awaited unveiling of this most thoughtful of presidents' deliberations got mixed reviews ? some bad, some brutal. Der Spiegel called it "half-hearted," The Guardian called it "desperate." And those are his friends.
You could watch the great orator's listless, tentative performance with the sound down and get the basic message: I don't need this in my life right now. If you read the text, it made even less sense. There's something for everyone: A surge! ... and a withdrawal. He's agreed to surge for a bit, but only in preparation for a de-surge in 18 months' time. I said on the radio that the speech reminded me of the English nursery rhyme:
"The Grand Old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again."
The Grand Young Duke of Hope has 30,000 men. He'll march them up the Khyber Pass but he'll march them down again in July 2011. If you're some village headman who's been making nice to the Americans, the Taliban have a whole new pitch for you: In a year and a half, the Yanks are going. But we'll still be here.
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