Reading the Papers . . .

by bert

On one page, the Journal Sentinel's lead editorial nails it:

In plain English: While we've been creating terrorists and a dandy cause for terrorist recruitment in Iraq, we forwent the knockout punch to al-Qaida in Afghanistan - where the Taliban is resurgent and the central government still ineffectual - and have seen the terrorists rebuild in Pakistan, a U.S. ally.

Meanwhile, about eight pages previous, our vice president surveys the complexity of our world and comes up with this nuanced assessment of our government's role in it, according to AP:

"Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, President Bush has 'made the right decisions for the right reasons,' Cheney said. 'And would I support those same decisions again today? You're damn right I would.' "

Here's a brand of analysis that sounds closer to Isaac Hayes than George Kennan. Has the strategy of this war's defenders become so desperate that their last hope is to just gobsmack us all into stunned silence with their mendacious hutzpah? Could Patton or U.S. Grant claim such blemish-free success, as praiseworthy as their efforts were?