Libertarian Leanings

Market Failure

George Will explains why Howard Dean supports a return to the "Fairness Doctrine."

"I believe we need to re-regulate the media," says Howard Dean. Such illiberals argue that the paucity of liberal successes in today's radio competition—and the success of Fox News—somehow represent "market failure." That is the regularly recurring, all-purpose rationale for government intervention in markets. Market failure is defined as consumers' not buying what liberals are selling.

Opposition in Iran

According to the Jerusalem Post, opposition factions within Iran will try to block President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from another term in office. 

The alliance aims to exploit the president's unpopularity, which is on the rise due to high unemployment, rising inflation and a looming crisis over petrol prices and possible rationing to win control of the Majlis in general elections which are due within 10 months.

Parliament last week voted to reduce Ahmadinejad's term by holding presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously next year.

However, the move is likely to be vetoed by the Guardian Council.

But opposition spokesmen said their broader objective was to bring down the fundamentalist regime by democratic means, transform Iran into a "normal country", and prevent the need for any military or other US and western intervention.

About that election

While Democrats and the media say the 2006 midterm election results mandate a withdrawal from what they now called George Bush's war in Iraq, the Republican base sees things a bit differently.

After Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) voted for a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush's troop increases, reaction in his district was so furious that local GOP officials all but invited a primary challenge to the reliable conservative. Inglis responded with multiple mailings to his constituents, fence-mending efforts and a video message on his House Web site pleading his case. On subsequent Iraq votes, he has not strayed from the Republican fold...

"It's pretty clear that an overwhelming majority of Republicans think it's a bad idea to have a surrender" withdrawal date, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday. Lots of Republicans may feel uneasy. "I certainly am not happy with where we are in Iraq," he said, but "simply announcing when you're going to leave is a stunningly bad idea."

Artistic license

George Tenet's new book is coming under continuous fire even though its official release is today, according to yesterday's Weekly Standard.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has now learned of a second, more stunning error in Tenet's book (which is due to appear in bookstores tomorrow). According to Michiko Kakutani's review in Saturday's Times,

On the day after 9/11, he [Tenet] adds, he ran into Richard Perle, a leading neoconservative and the head of the Defense Policy Board, coming out of the White House. He says Mr. Perle turned to him and said: "Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday. They bear responsibility."

Here's the problem: Richard Perle was in France on that day, unable to fly back after September 11. In fact Perle did not return to the United State until September 15.  Did Tenet perhaps merely get the date of this encounter wrong? Well, the quote Tenet ascribes to Perle hinges on the encounter taking place September 12: "Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday." And Perle in any case categorically denies to THE WEEKLY STANDARD ever having said any such thing to Tenet, while coming out of the White House or anywhere else.

According to Kakutani, Tenet concludes by paraphrasing Daniel Patrick Moynihan's comment: "Policymakers are entitled to their own opinions--but not to their own set of facts." How many other facts has George Tenet invented?

A book I don't need to read

George Tenet wrote a book and -- surprise! -- it attacks the Bush Administration.  Now isn't that novel.  According to New York Times reviewers, Tenet complains that there was never a serious debate about the imminence of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

The 549-page book, "At the Center of the Storm," is to be published by HarperCollins on Monday. By turns accusatory, defensive, and modestly self-critical, it is the first detailed account by a member of the president's inner circle of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the decision to invade Iraq and the failure to find the unconventional weapons that were a major justification for the war.

"There was never a serious debate that I know of within the administration about the imminence of the Iraqi threat," Mr. Tenet writes in a devastating judgment that is likely to be debated for many years. Nor, he adds, "was there ever a significant discussion" about the possibility of containing Iraq without an invasion.

Although accused of it by Democrats and the anti-war left, the administration never argued that Iraq posed an imminent threat.  In fact, Bush argued in his 2003 State of the Union speech that it would be folly to wait until Iraq became an imminent threat.

Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.

Bush conceded that Iraq was not an imminent threat.  Why debate it?  Is it just me, or does it seems odd that a former director of the CIA could miss that bit of intelligence.  The review closes with another revealing bit.

Mr. Tenet expresses puzzlement that, since 2001, Al Qaeda has not sent "suicide bombers to cause chaos in a half-dozen American shopping malls on any given day."

"I do know one thing in my gut," he writes. "Al Qaeda is here and waiting."

Here's a guess.  Maybe al Qaeda got more than they bargained for when America invaded first Afghanistan and then Iraq.  Here's Charles Krauthammer on the subject of Nancy Pelosi's bill to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq so that they can "focus more fully on the real war on terror, which is in Afghanistan."

Al-Qaeda has provided the answer many times. Osama bin Laden, the one whose presence in Afghanistan (or some cave on the border) presumably makes it the central front in the war on terror, has been explicit that "the most . . . serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War that is raging in Iraq." Al-Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman Zawahiri, has declared that Iraq "is now the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era."

And it's not just what al-Qaeda says, it's what al-Qaeda does. Where are they funneling the worldwide recruits for jihad? Where do all the deranged suicidists who want to die for Allah gravitate? It's no longer Afghanistan but Iraq. That's because they recognize the greater prize.

George Tenet is puzzled.  I'm puzzled.  How in hell did he manage to stay so long at the CIA?

Update:  Captain's Quarters has a Michael Scheuer's take on the book.  Scheuer has unkind things to say about Tenet and the Captain seems to feel they're justified.

The Journal gets it

An editorial column in the Wall Street Journal touches on some of the consequences if Senator Harry Reid's pronouncements are taken seriously.

As for Iran, Mr. Reid's strategy of defeat would guarantee that the radical mullahs of Tehran have more influence in Baghdad than the moderate Shiites of Najaf. It would also make the mullahs even more confident that they can build a bomb with impunity and no fear of any Western response.

The stakes in Iraq are about the future of the entire Middle East--and of our inevitable involvement in it.

I will be curious to see how this ultimately affects the Democratic party.  It's hard for me to imagine them gaining by their aggressive attacks against strengthening democracy in Iraq, but I think it depends mostly on how long the mainstream press are will to stay with the inevitability of defeat as their lede.  The Washington Post seems to have cracked on that count.  Today's front page has a story on Iraq in which defeat is not the foregone conclusion.

Through an interpreter, Cummings began to explain why they were there, that U.S. soldiers would soon be moving into the spaghetti factory, that a wall was going to be built.

I will leave, the man interrupted, shaking.

"No," Cummings said, asking the interpreter to explain again what he had said.

I will leave, the man said again, explaining that he and his family had come to this little bit of land because they had been uprooted, that they had been here two years, that they meant no harm, that they had nowhere else to go, and then, at last hearing the interpreter, he said, I don't have to leave?

"No," Cummings said.

I don't have to leave? the man said again, and then, as his shaking subsided, and his rush of words slowed, his family emerged from the shack. Child after child. An old woman. More children. And finally, a young woman, very pregnant, who stood in the doorway, trying to push her dirty hair off her dirty face with her dirty hands as she looked at the soldiers, at first breathing nervously, then easing into a slight smile as she heard the man saying thank you for saving them from the terrorists, for enclosing them in a wall, for allowing them to stay.

I'm almost stunned to find this in the Post.  Maybe they just don't have any books to sell.

Giuliani makes a stop in Nashua

Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani spoke at a Business and Industry Association breakfast in Nashua yesterday.

NASHUA – As the call went out for one final question for Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, Joseph Reisert of Amherst swiftly rose to his feet.

“What are we going to do about our policy in Iraq?” Reisert shouted out from the back of the ballroom, raising his hand but not waiting to be called upon.

“I was waiting for someone to ask me that,” Giuliani said, standing behind a podium at the front of the room.

The former mayor of New York City answered, saying that the conflict, now in its fifth year, must be viewed in the context of the overall war on terrorism. Democrats, he said, view the war in a vacuum.

If a Democrat is elected president, Giuliani said he feared the country would “go back on defense, like it was in the pre-9/11 era.”

Giuliani was speaking at a breakfast hosted by the Business and Industry Association, the state’s chamber of commerce, at the Sheraton Hotel.

Despite recent violence, any talk of pulling out troops or the creation of a timetable for withdrawal only aids those who want to attack the U.S., he said.

“It makes no sense to print out how and when you’re going to deplete your forces, then hand it to the enemy,” Giuliani said.

According to a poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center earlier this month, Giuliani is tied with Sen. John McCain at 29 percent in terms of support from Republicans. Coming in third at 17 percent was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

CENTCOM update

Three items of interest appeared in the United States Central Command newsletter that came this morning.  Up first is a rundown on coalition progress in the Diyala River Valley.

In Zaganiyah, Iraq, Saturday, citizens from the area approached members of the 5^th Iraqi Army Division and Soldiers from the 5^th Squadron, 73^rd Cavalry Regiment, assigned to the 3^rd Brigade Combat Team, 1^st Cavalry Division, to inform them of weapon caches and people responsible for placing improvised explosive devices.

The information provided by the citizens led to the discovery of two caches and the detention of two suspected terrorists who were still carrying the initiation systems for IEDs. Six anti-Iraqi forces were also killed in the area.

The caches included artillery rounds, an anti-tank mine, more than five rocket-propelled grenades and IED-making material.

Aside from the citizens providing information, the local tribal leaders have approached the patrol base in Zaganiyah to meet with the Iraqi army and Coalition leadership and discuss the way ahead.

“The willingness of these leaders to come to the patrol base demonstrates that the grip of al-Qaeda has loosened and the people no longer fear for their lives by talking with Americans,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Poppas, 5-73 Cav. commander...  Read more

The next item talks about the transition teams who embed with Iraqi Security as part of Operation Fard al-Qanun – Arabic for “enforcement of the law”.

Primarily a Multinational Division (MND) Baghdad mission, the Iraq Assistance Group supports Fard al-Qanun by providing transition teams to assist Iraqi Security Forces – whether they’re National Police or Iraqi Army – and their ability to grow, develop and take the lead in their battle space, said Moore.

Each embedded transition team brings a mix of combat and support specialties to include operations, intelligence, logistics, communications, engineering and security. Team members work one-on-one with their Iraqi counterparts, familiarizing them with each specialty and offering advice on how to streamline operations.

“My job as an adviser is to ensure that the force we bring to the fight is capable and is coordinating with the coalition forces to ensure they have what they need, advise-wise,” said Pollock. “We also help with many of the military enablers. For example, if they need air support, the MiTT teams are the guys they generally go to.”

A 6th Iraqi Army Division intelligence captain, who asked not to use his name for reasons of force protection, commented on how cooperative the transition team advisers have been in all departments.

“They’re always helping us and always guiding us,” he said. “They keep us informed of things that will help us, and I want to thank them for that. God willing, we will meet again under better circumstances...  Read more

And finally, Space -- the final frontier.

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Most people are familiar with the following opening line from a famous television show: “Space – the final frontier.” The series focused on the experiences and adventures of a group of service members traveling to parts unknown.

For Air Force Space Command professionals, Iraq can be likened to “the final frontier,” as some are boldly going where no other space professionals have gone before – deploying overseas from a career field filled with stateside assignments and, sometimes, working in positions not specifically related to their careers within AFSPC.

Maj. Charles Rice and Capt. Tonya Walters are two such space professionals, currently serving here with the Iraq Assistance Group.

Formed in 2005, the IAG is a subordinate command of Multi-National Corps – Iraq and consists of approximately 100 military members from all services. The IAG ensures that embedded transition teams, the 11-15 man units that advise, coach, teach and mentor Iraqi security forces, are provided all the support they require...  Read more

A message from the front

From a bunker in Ramadi, Marine Corporal Tyler Rock sends "a message for that douche Harry Reid."

i spent my christmas holidays covered in ash from the mortar fire and the IED’s, sleeping under a dirty rug i found in the house. everyone was sleeping way to close for comfort just to stay warm. anyways. a family was there and they obviously didnt want us there. atleast at first. the daughters were very sick so our corpsman treated them. they didnt have electricity so we got them a generator for power, they were cold so we got them gas heaters, we got them food and water and then we gave them $500. by the end of the week long visit with them we were drinking tea with them. when we left we cleaned their house better than it was when we got there. i even have pictures with the family. they told us that they liked marines and they would help us as much as they could and they gave us some information on the insurgents in the area. we ended up catching a HUGE target down the road from there house because of it.

yeah and i got a qoute for that douche harry reid. these families need us here. obviously he has never been in iraq. or atleast the area worth seeing. the parts where insurgency is rampant and the buildings are blown to pieces. we need to stay here and help rebuild. if iraq didnt want us here then why do we have IP’s voluntering everyday to rebuild their cities. and working directly with us too. same with the IA’s. it sucks that iraqi’s have more patriotism for a country that has turned to complete shit more than the people in america who drink starbucks everyday.  [bold in the original]

There was a time I would have thought it surprising that political leadership of any party would openly support the abandonment of al Qaeda's victims.  But that's what Harry Reid is doing.  Via Drudge.

A vote for defeat

Emboldened Democrats led my Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continue in their bid to assume the powers of Command-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces by approving language in legislation that will dictate when troops in Iraq will be withdrawn and how they will be employed in the meantime. 

Mr. Reid outlined the new strategy in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, saying that "despite the president's happy talk, no progress has been made."

"Our first step: immediately transitions the U.S. mission away from policing a civil war to training and equipping Iraqi security forces, protecting U.S. forces and conducting targeted counterterror operations," Mr. Reid said...

Mr. Reid detailed numerous setbacks in the war -- including the number of U.S. casualties, millions of Iraqi refugees and untold thousands of Iraqi civilian dead -- but avoided declaring defeat, as he did last week to stinging criticism.

"Winning the war is no longer the job of the American military," Mr. Reid said. "Our courageous troops have done everything asked of them and more. ... The failure has been political. It has been policy. It has been presidential."

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Mr. Reid, who said in his speech that the president is in "a state of denial" about Iraq, is himself suffering from illusionary visions.

"He's in denial about the conflict that we are in, how al Qaeda is inciting sectarian violence. He is in denial about the new Baghdad security plan and the new changes that we've implemented in al Anbar province. He's also in denial that a surrender date he thinks is a good idea. It is not a good idea. It is defeat," Mrs. Perino said.

Defeat for Amerca in Iraq is clearly a victory for al Qaeda in Iraq, but Reid believes it also means political victory for the Democrats.  Mr. Reid knows his priorities.