17 Replies to “Grey Lady Alzheimer's [Dan Collins]”

1. Pablo says:

   July 7, 2007 at 10:05 pm

   Not for the first time, the Americans learned a basic lesson of warfare here: that Iraqis, bludgeoned for 24 years by Saddam Hussein’s terror, are wary of rising against any force, however brutal, until it is in retreat. In Anbar, Sunni extremists were the dominant force, with near-total popular support or acquiescence, until the offensive broke their power.

   Oh, if only we had run away, instead of pursuing the end game that has been obvious from the start…

   Wait, it would still be a bloody fucking mess, wouldn’t it?

2. Spiny Norman says:

   July 7, 2007 at 10:24 pm

   The cognitive dissonance at the New Duranty Times must be excruciating.

3. ThomasD says:

   July 7, 2007 at 11:09 pm

   It’s not dementia, it’s a learnt reflex.

   A reflex action or reflex is a biological control system linking stimulus to response and mediated by a reflex arc. Reflexes can be built-in or learnt. For example, a person stepping on a sharp object would initiate the reflex action through the creation of a stimulus, (pain) within specialized sense receptors located in the skin tissue of the foot. The resulting stimulus would be transmitted through afferent, or sensory neurons to the spinal cord. This stimulus is usually processed by an interneuron to create an immediate response to pain by initiating a motor (muscular) response which is acted upon by muscles of the leg, retracting the foot away from the object. This retraction would occur as the pain sensation is arriving in the brain which would process a more cognitive evaluation of the situation.

   Not coincidentally reflex actions occur regardless of the brain’s awareness of, or indifference to the stimulus.

4. happyfeet says:

   July 7, 2007 at 11:17 pm

   Americans must be clear that Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave.
   There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide. Potentially destabilizing refugee flows could hit Jordan and Syria. Iran and Turkey could be tempted to make power grabs. Perhaps most important, the invasion has created a new stronghold from which terrorist activity could proliferate.

   But it’s a strategic genocide, see?

5. happyfeet says:

   July 7, 2007 at 11:19 pm

   I’m just going to do that again.

6. happyfeet says:

   July 7, 2007 at 11:20 pm

   Americans must be clear that Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave. There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide. Potentially destabilizing refugee flows could hit Jordan and Syria. Iran and Turkey could be tempted to make power grabs. Perhaps most important, the invasion has created a new stronghold from which terrorist activity could proliferate.

   But it’s a strategic genocide, see?

7. ahem says:

   July 8, 2007 at 5:58 am

   These people would gag a goat. They have their $100k/year job in Manhattan and their Prius and their Cole-Haan loafers and their Starbucks and they just don’t give a fuck about anyone else. God, I hate them.

8. shine says:

   July 8, 2007 at 7:06 am

   Who can afford a car in manhattan on just 100K?

9. McGehee says:

   July 8, 2007 at 8:20 am

   Who can afford a car in manhattan on just 100K?

   Who says they live in Manhattan?

   And for those who do, who can call that living?

10. shine says:

    July 8, 2007 at 10:01 am

    I’ve got friends that live in manhattan, on a bit more than 100. Seems good living, other than the work hours. Nice people too.

11. ronaldo says:

    July 8, 2007 at 10:20 am

    Two factors that have led to the astonishing success in Anbar — the Sunnis’ dominance of the province and the nature of their foe here — could have the opposite effect elsewhere, especially in Baghdad. There the population is an explosive mix of sects, rather than largely Sunni. And the Sunnis’ fight — explicitly so, in the case of many of the new volunteers — is not just against Al Qaeda-linked extremists, but ultimately against the American presence here, and beyond the Americans, the new power of the majority Shiites.

    That’s from the NYT’s piece, hardly a ringing endorsement for our overall effort in Iraq. Today’s Le Figaro reports a car bomb in Amarli north of Baghdad that killed 144 people and wounded another 270. It jut seems that no matter what we do there will be a certain significant element in Iraq that will do anything to thwart U.S. efforts at creating stability. I’ll say it again, if we leave, Iraq and its neighbors will be forced to stabilize things.

12. maggie katzen says:

    July 8, 2007 at 10:43 am

    IOW, the trains would run on time.

13. happyfeet says:

    July 8, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    As a contrarian indicator, its a sure sign that something positive might be happening in Iraq, perhaps Petreus’ strategy may even be working just a little tiny bit, because the Times has chosen this very moment to fire its own IED (Improvised Editorial Device) – as opposed to two months ago, or four months ago.*

    nice

14. happyfeet says:

    July 8, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    I would note the mention of Afghanistan:

    This war diverted Pentagon resources from Afghanistan, where the military had a real chance to hunt down Al Qaeda’s leaders.

    Note the past tense. Once we have followed the Times’ sage advice and brought all our troops home from Iraq, we can expect them to advise withdrawal from Afghanistan, too.*

    I sure didn’t catch that. Reading really is fundamental.

15. maggie katzen says:

    July 8, 2007 at 2:19 pm

    I sure didn’t catch that.

    I did, but only because RTO is always carping about it, so I didn’t point it out. ;D

    The thing is it really didn’t take anything away from ops in Afghanistan and we even have more of an international coalition there too. Not that it always works too well.

16. B Moe says:

    July 8, 2007 at 6:03 pm

    “It jut seems that no matter what we do there will be a certain significant element in Iraq that will do anything to thwart U.S. efforts at creating stability.”

    There will always be a certain significant element in the US that will do anything to thwart efforts at creating stability, should we give up here too?

17. happyfeet says:

    July 8, 2007 at 8:24 pm

    I would bet Lieberman finds this editorial particularly thought-provoking.

Comments are closed.