Sunday, November 19, 2006

Is Democracy Good for the Middle East?

* glenn:
"It is worth reminding ourselves -- as the Vice President just made quite clear again-- that the pathological individuals who occupy the White House do not recognize the power of the law or the power of the courts to limit what they can do. Therefore, the fact that Democrats now control the Congress will be of little concern to them, because the most the Democrats can do is enact little laws or issue cute, little Subpoenas --- but, as the Vice President just said, they think that nothing can "tie the hands of the President of the United States in the conduct of a war." And he means that.

I hope Democrats in Congress recognize that and are prepared to do something about it. This constitutional crisis will exist until it's confronted."

* Part 2 of Pen's "Usual Suspect" series: "The Usual Suspects Pt 2: Michael Ledeen"

* meanwhile, here's Ledeen from Thursday:
"Instead of trapping themselves in an imaginary quagmire, the (Baker/ISG) commissioners can help us face the real war. What’s going on in Iraq is not “the war,” which is raging over the entire world. The real question — the life and death question — is: How can we win the war in the Middle East, which now extends from Afghanistan to Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, and Somalia?

That question forces us to devise a strategy to deal with multiple enemies instead of limiting our strategic thinking to the Iraqi insurgency alone. It forces us to confront the terror masters in Tehran and Syria as well as the killers in Iraq. If we ask how to win in Iraq alone, we are led into a fool’s errand of trying to convince our sworn enemies–Iran has been at war with us for twenty-seven years—to act like friends. But if we ask how to win the war, we can see that we have many good cards to play, and many real allies, from the Iranian and Syrian people to the millions of Kurds in Iran, Iraq and Syria, to several other oppressed groups throughout the region, and even to leaders who today denounce us.
[]
We have many options in the war, so long as we decide we really want to win it. Baker/Hamilton can help us see the real war, and free us from the error of strategic vision that has blinkered our strategic debate ever since 2002. Let’s hope."

* the Hudson Institute has an event: "Is Democracy Good for the Middle East?"
Clemons and freaky Josh Muravchik will discuss (or probably 'shriek' in Muravchik's case ).

3 comments:

profmarcus said...

cheney is expounding some very, very serious shit, my friends... anyone, myself included, who breathed sighs of relief following last week's elections, had better gird their loins for the battles to come, which may make the battles we've been fighting seem pale by comparison...

lukery said...

cheney is indeed a freak. bring it on, sunshine. i can't imagine the 'constitutional crisis' being lessened if we wait, and wait and wait till it is confronted.

lukery said...

Muravchik is popping up everywhere these days. no-one (except starroute - but she knows everything) had ever heard of him till his FP article. apparently he's the newly annointed crazy-mouthpiece. egads.