Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Remember When ...

... Jon Voight used to be a semi-likable guy? Not any more.

(h/t: Patrick Appel)

Posted by bjkeefe at 2:03 AM
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It appears that the majority of primates appear to be itching for a global religious war. I wonder if this is being driven at some unconscious level, some uber-need to mix 'n match the DNA? We may just be riding the back of a tiger, hapless containers of a life form with its own goals.

9:02 AM, July 30, 2008
bjkeefe said...

Unless by "majority" you meant only to exaggerate for effect, I'd say, nah. People talk tough and/or apocalyptically all the time, especially when they're living in comfort and are casting about for things to get worked up about. It's sort of the same principle as has been said about academic disputes -- they're that vicious because the stakes are so low.

10:26 AM, July 30, 2008
Anonymous said...

In some strange way we're still fighting the Vietnam War and the first gulf war. The hawks thought we should have increased the bombing and destruction of Vietnam, missing the point that it was a war for the minds of the people who opposed the re-colonization of Indo China by the French and wanted self rule for their country. In the first gulf war the hawks wanted to press on and take Baghdad once again thinking that it's a matter of who wins the land battles rather than a war for ideas.

The scary part is that Obama wants to end the war in Iraq, but only to pump up the war in Afghanistan as Chris Hedges pointed out on Cspan last weekend. In fact all the candidates are pro war in Afghanistan, and McSame is pro war in Iran as well. Once again we don't have an anti-war candidate running.

I think there is at least a grain of truth in what Don says. True that people talk tough and apocalyptically all the time, but they also go to war all the time. It's not like they talk tough and then don't go to war but sit around in comfort and just spout tough talk because they need something to get worked up about. At least some of the time for some of the people they talk tough and mean it and are all too eager to go to war.

1:55 PM, July 30, 2008
bjkeefe said...

Not a lot to disagree with there, TC, although I don't really think Obama wants to "pump up" the war in Afghanistan. I think he'd like to send adequate forces there to have some hope of restoring stability, but my sense is that this is all about pragmatism, and not about ideology.

Or so I hope.

1:21 AM, August 01, 2008
bjkeefe said...

Again, not much to dispute, as far as worries go. A lot will depend on which counterinsurgency tactics are used, whether the strategic goals are well-chosen, and how much non-military aspects can be brought to bear. I guess I always think that in the end, the majority of any country would prefer not to live in constant strife, so as long as the US efforts against those few who do like the strife don't piss off the rest of the people too much, there's is reason to think that we won't be looking at another Vietnam. Or, more to the point, a repeat of what happened to the USSR.

I think there's something to your thought/hope that Obama is emphasizing some aspects of his thinking over others in the spirit of doing what he has to do to get elected in this country. However, I also think he truly sees the current situation in Afghanistan as something that can't just be walked away from as it now stands. It's impossible for me to be sure how correct this view is, but at the moment, I mostly see it that way, too.

Thanks for the reference to Paterson's one-liners. Good way to lighten up the day.

2:47 PM, August 01, 2008

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