Seymour Hersh...

..the lodestone for those of us who seek proof of the madness of the Bush agenda, published another telling article in the NEW YORKER dated Nov 27. In it, Mr. Hersh detailed the likely scenario of the administration's attempt to redeem itself (and camouflage the Iraq debacle) by inventing another "threat", this time in Iran.

One of my friends says that Bush is one white man who is gangsta and saving face requires bravado moves. After all, in the words of an unnamed official in the Hersh article, Bush the son has been forced to "accept adult supervision", with the entry of the Iraq study group, a cadre dominated by friends of his father's. The familiar faces notwithstanding, it was a clear sign that something was going sour, and that damage control was being done, which cannot have been easy for a man of George W.'s towering ego.

Hersh's article makes it clear that planning for some sort of Iranian intervention has been a longrunning thread for this administration, one which has undoubtedly been brought into sharp, screeching relief with the costly excesses of Iraq. Yet no less a personage than Richard Armitage, former Secretary of State for Bush Jr: has indicated that such an offensive would be nothing short of a "fool's errand". The Iranians and their allies will not quietly accept a full-on bombing, especially with events in the region rousing people there to a dangerous boil.

The other interesting tidbit to come out of the Hersh article was the apparent, extant agenda for Condi Rice. Cleaning up the President's mess was therefore essential, to put a clean spin on things for the Republican party and pave the way for whatever plans they have in store for Condi...

My God. Plans for Condi..

I often lay awake at night trying to analyze why I, a black woman, so loathe Ms. Rice, the first ever black, the first ever woman, to hold the office of Secretary of State. I can't ever seem to get past her getting into bed with Bush, Rove, Cheney and Rumsfeld, who together have enacted/ colluded with legislation that narrows the lives of women, immigrants and minorities, rewarded big business and undermined environmental efforts.

Which makes her little more than the devil's spawn.

The Mess That Is Iraq

Anyone trying to make sense of Iraq as it now stands, anyone trying to formulate an exit policy with a semblance of coherence, should be obliged to read up on Gertrude Bell's experiences. Gertrude Bell was one of the architects of the modern Iraq after the fall of the Ottoman empire, but to achieve any sort of success she was forced to arduously seek consensus from tribe to tribe. Iraq is essentially a nation of tribes, which are further divided by religious association: Shia, Sunni etc. To think that any order can be achieved without an intimate, on-the-ground knowledge of what are the interests of the disparate groups, who are their leaders, what will truly bring them to the peace table is pure fantasy. Ms. Bell's success was won by the respect she gained through her forays into the desert to reach remote tribal leaders, her reverence for local customs. I really don't see the American commanders having that type of reach or influence.
Today's MEET THE PRESS, which featured military and foreign policy wonks like Eliot Cohen and Richard Haas, was notable in a few respects: how direly they painted the situation in Iraq- pretty much saying that that country was out to dry- and how they all seemed to think that any strategy at this point was doomed to failure. The country is far, far gone. What was disturbing was their collective desire to see that all efforts are exhausted to ensure that America comes out smelling like roses to the rest of the world. Above all America's image as protector of the free world must be maintained. I found it disgusting in the face of how many lives have been lost in this senseless conflict: 100 US lives a month, 100 Iraqi lives A DAY.

Something is indeed sad when the only cost that appears untenable is a loss of status.

Bloomberg Should Run in '08.

The best thing that has happened to New York politics is a Mayor who doesn't owe anybody shit and can therefore say what he likes, and execute decisions without fear. I increasingly think that this might also be a great tactic for the nation as a whole. Quite apart from having tons of money, which may prove to be practical for propping up the budget, he also seems to be genuinely interested in the welfare of the people of New York, as his forays into education and housing have shown.

Even though he has the drawback of being a Republican, I think that Mayor Mike's tenure has been effective and that his personal and professional ethic will be more than welcome after the dead years under George W.

Speaking of whom: I do often wonder if the first George Bush truly, honestly believes that his son has been a good president?