38 Comments

1. Lola:

Hmm . . . an effort to spell it out for Assad? Plus an offer to help him reestablish his opthamologist practice elsewhere? One can only hope.

Mar 15, 2005 - 7:42 am 2. Rick Ballard:

So, Bashar, the wife and I are thinking of Marseilles – Paris is just too cold in the winter. Not Marseilles proper – too many Arabs – perhaps a villa on Le Cap, Antibes. Any place on the Cote d’Azur would work. What do you think?

Well, Hosni, we’re actually looking in the Carribean. I’d like to stay a bit closer to my favorite banks. Just in case we have to move again, suddenly. There’s always that niggling worry that the new government may want some of the money back.

Mar 15, 2005 - 8:08 am 3. BigFire:

Well, everything that could’ve been move by itself (Mercedes) have already been evacuated back to Syria (and you wonder why Syria Military Intelligence have so many luxury cars?). Now they just have to move the furniture.

Mar 15, 2005 - 8:18 am 4. triticale:

Just wait till they start pulling the tractor-trailers out of the earthed-over sheds in the Bekaa Valley. That’s when the real fun starts.

Mar 15, 2005 - 8:35 am 5. yama-arashi:

Like to be a fly on the wall at that meeting, though I think the Israelis have that angle covered.

[ off topic: Is there hope for the academy? Listen to clip 8. ]

Mar 15, 2005 - 8:44 am 6. thibaud:

Well, Hosni, we’re actually looking in the Carribean. I’d like to stay a bit closer to my favorite banks

Think Lugano, Switzerland, or perhaps Geneva. The african or middle eastern kleptocrat’s money laundry of choice. I’d love to see a list of all the african and middle eastern butchers who’ve ended up in either Lugano, Geneva or the Rhone and Provence regions.

Mar 15, 2005 - 9:03 am 7. Katherine:

In the meantime, here is this little article by Mark Steyn on the subject of Irish terrorist and their treatment by the White House.

ìHappy St. Patrick’s Day to my fellow hyphenated Irishmen. And the good news about this St. Paddy’s Day is that for the first time in a decade the official observances will not be disfigured by the presence at the White House of Gerry Adams.î

http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn131.html

Bush turns out to be quite consistent. If this man pulls half of what it looks he might, he will deserve his place on Mount Rushmore. Though I am not exactly into defacing mountainsÖ.

Mar 15, 2005 - 9:35 am 8. OJ:

The US government needs to move quickly on the newfound freedom of expression in Lebanon. Washington should use this to quell any misguided anti-american sentiments in the Middle East and elsewhere. Karen Hughes’ contributions will go a long way in this effort.

Here is what we have to say about the problem in general and what has unjustly driven the anti-american conjecture:

http://www.rightviews.com/article.php?id=293

http://www.RightViews.com

Mar 15, 2005 - 9:36 am 9. neo-neocon:

There are those pesky old Syrian pickup trucks again. I guess they’ve been lying fallow since they trucked those WMDs out of Iraq before the war. Nice to see them being put to a better use.

Mar 15, 2005 - 9:56 am 10. PDS:

Katherine: this apparently is no room left on Rushmore, unless one of the others gets the boot–no small task there. I see nothing wrong with a monument for him in Sturgis.

Mar 15, 2005 - 10:48 am 11. augolden:

On that CNN link there is also a great picture of Syrian intel officers standing around, armed.

Notice that they are wearing black leather jackets!

hmmmm……KGB training.

There is something so fitting about black leather jackets and the employees of facist regimes. How does that song go? “They go together like a horse and carraige, horse and carraige….

Mar 15, 2005 - 10:56 am 12. Rick Ballard:

“Bush turns out to be quite consistent.”

Katherine,

What do you think of Hughes appointment as undersecretary for public diplomacy? I tend to think that W’s reputation for consistency is nurtured by discipline throughout the administration concerning staying “on message”. Hughes has a great and deserved reputation for staying on message and for enforcing the type of discipline necessary to provide a consistent “message” to her intended audience. State is well noted for being full people who delight in sending contradictory messages. It will be very interesting to see if Karen is up to the job there. She makes a formidable addition to Condi’s team and an excellent tutor for Condi concerning electoral politics.

I think I’ll move Ridge/Rice to the top of my ‘08 picks.

Mar 15, 2005 - 11:42 am 13. utron:

Back in 1989 the protesters in East Germany had a slogan: “10 Years, 10 Weeks, 10 Days!” In other words: First Poland, then Czechoslovakia, and now it’s our turn. Bashar is crumbling faster than I would have thought possible. All the same, it’s nice to know we’ve got troops in Iraq’s West Desert and carrier groups in the neighborhood, just in case there is a need for a U.S. show of force. [sarc]What a fortunate coincidence! That McSmirky idiot, is he lucky or what?[/OK, sarc off]

Mar 15, 2005 - 11:49 am 14. richard mcenroe:

pds — Nah, I say a big ole statue overlooking Berkeley. Just because.

Mar 15, 2005 - 12:04 pm 15. Rick Ballard:

Richard,

Cut the roof off of Sather Tower and begin the pedestal there. Just a modest statue – nothing over fifty feet. It’s a bell tower to begin with so an electronic carillion playing a medley of his favorite hymns 24/7 would be a nice touch.

Mar 15, 2005 - 12:34 pm 16. AlanC:

No Richard not overlooking Berkeley. Youse guys had Ronnie to venerate.

I say that since the “Old Man” fell off the mountain that New England should get it. There’s a nice hill just south of Boston that provides a great vista over the JFK Library all the way to the PRC (Peoples Republic of Cambridge)

And if we aim it just a trifle to the west he can look right toward Vermont too.

Mar 15, 2005 - 12:37 pm 17. Steven Mitchell:

I say a Rushmore-like carving in the desert and/or mountains somewhere. Or maybe a geometric design representing liberty. The Afghans and Iraqis may want to put up duplicates, and they have that thing against idols. Just inscribe the caption, “Let Freedom Reign,” and I think everyone will get the point.

Mar 15, 2005 - 12:55 pm 18. Katherine:

Rick,

From my distant point of view Karen Hughes seems to be an excellent choice for a practically impossible mission. (Though if she is to focus mainly on ME it might work better than expected ñ lately, people of Iran, Lebanon and Iraq give impression of having somewhat positive image of the US) The Prez acts as if he has a policy plan and is focused on implementing it, with the right people at key positions. Imagine that !

But I am curious about your choice of Tom Ridge as the next presidential candidate. I would think that he would get slaughtered for his performance as a head of Homeland Security Dept. Imagine the jokes about color coded days of the campaign. I think he would do poorly against Hillary, especially if she presses the immigration issue. Even if he was an excellent governor, and her proposed solutions were ineffective but sounding good.

Incidentally, I think that putting 50 feet statue of W right over Berkeley is fantastic idea. Perhaps in the pose of the old kings of Numenor, guarding off evil.

But I suggest that instead of song medley the statue should be broadcasting Bushís speeches, the ones in which he uses words : ìfreedomî and ìlibertyî most often.

Mar 15, 2005 - 1:23 pm 19. Lola:

About the statue . . . let’s not all get too confident. We have 4 more years to go through and things can still go wrong.

As for Karen Hughes . . . it’ll be really interesting to see what she comes up with. Certainly a lot better than that other woman, a PR flack who got appointed to do something similiar and made a reall mess of it all.

Mar 15, 2005 - 1:31 pm 20. Baron Bodissey:

I wonder if those boxes are only being hauled as far as the Bekaa, or all the way to Damascus…

Mar 15, 2005 - 1:34 pm 21. Katherine:

Lola, the way I see it that statue over Berkeley would have almost nothing to do with the next 4 years. I just relish imagining the reaction it would get from residents of the campus and surrounding areas.

But now that you bring me back to earth I will return to the best thing that I do i.e. being worried over things.

Mar 15, 2005 - 1:41 pm 22. Rick Ballard:

Katherine,

By ‘08 the main thing remembered about the first four years of Homeland Security will be that no attacks occured. Yes, the color codes will be brought up but they weren’t that big a deal. He had a good record as governor of Pennsylvania, he’s Catholic (which will be of some use in holding the moderate Catholic and Latino pickups of ‘04), he’s slightly more moderate than W on social issues and he’s got a good personal story. He has also paid his political dues within the party and has no real enemies.

If Jeb stays out, he’s definitely in the top 5 for the nomination. He’d beat Hillary with ease. Not necessarily because he would be that much better a candidate (although I believe that he would be) but because she won’t be able to dump the negative baggage. Think “Travel Office Vets – Unfit for Command” for beginners and go from there. She would do well in the blue castles surrounded by the Section 8 moats tended by union bureaucrats but she won’t turn any red states blue.

Mar 15, 2005 - 1:54 pm 23. Katherine:

I hope you are right about Hillary, Rick. I entirely agree about the record that will be difficult for her to disown. My main worry is that if things will continue going the way they are by í08 vast numbers of national security Democrats who voted for Bush will decide that it is time to take another break from history, a la Mikey Kaus. One already hears noises among some people that Hillary is a centrist and how moderate she is becoming, and how she supports the troops. I am afraid that people are too willing to trade their ideological comfort for facing hard reality. In 4 years, even if we manage to change couple of regimes in the ME the world will still not be a safe place and, as we painfully learned, there is never good time for those much-vaunted ìbreathersî.

I am not trying to say that I would never vote for Democrat for a President again (though in todayís political landscape I would have to be really, really hard pressed), but Hillary displays one of the most disqualifying traits as a politician i.e. naked desire for power. Al Goreís feeling of entitlement for Presidency was nothing compared to that womanís conviction of her Destiny and Inviolability. Keeping her in Senate seems to be a safest and best place; if she misses ë08 I think that the New York will have the privilege of paying her salary and expenses for decades to come. Or so I hope.

(And if any of you New Yorkers think I wish you ill, I would like to remind you that here in CA we are graced by the ìserviceî of Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, giants all.)

Re Ridge: I need to read on this guy in some depth. Slightly more moderate than W can actually be an asset in national election. But how a politician could have no real enemies? That sounds like a real talent. I probably misunderestimated him.

Mar 15, 2005 - 2:50 pm 24. yama-arashi:

Living abroad I am not so sure one can ever get ahead of the vast left wing conspiracy. Or if it really matters. First, by trying to figure out how to sway world opinion in favor of America you tacitly approve the “whole world hates America” meme. Something that is far from true. Better to ignore the chattering class as a whole and get things done. Avoid altogether the opinion poll, social science game. Big stick, soft voice. Let the elite media chirp away, the longer the rope they make, the more enjoyable the hanging. In every country that is free there is a newspaper and always a few commentators, who support Reagan and Bush and though they get only a small fraction of the time the constant hate America crowd gets, facts prove them right, eventually, and they are more than capable of taking care of the job. The government of the U.S. crowding them would make their job more difficult, not less. Though support in the private sphere is always welcome. In tyrannies the people are decidedly pro-American when America is boldly anti-tyranny. By definition. No worries there. What is needed most is for Americans abroad, who aren’t part of the Pelosi/Dean wing of the Democratic party, to do things in the private sphere. A little assistance would be appreciated. I don’t know how much time my friend Mongai has spent writing letters and phoning television stations trying to clear up misstatements of facts or biased translations. His pay: an ulcer and graying hair. An embassy official often doesn’t have the language skill to get this done, and I don’t think this should be their job. But expatriots, and their friends, have a certain amount of freedom. I’ve talked to a few people whose job it was to line up American commentators. Rather than bias, they just didn’t know anybody who could present a different view. If one didn’t know better one would think America has two cities, Berkeley and New York and one party–the Democrats sans Lieberman. This and the lack of proper translations are the biggest problem. American opinion is on the tube and in print all the time, but the vast majority of it is created by anti-American Americans. What is needed most in most countries is a talent agency which represents conservative/liberal (in the original sense of the word) experts and pundits and a media watch which pressures the media to get simple facts right. The worst of the anti-American lot, are always the elites who went to America to learn about America, and only learned to hate America. Thanks Columbia. (I pick on Columbia, but she is especially good at this.) The last thing needed is to get books translated and in print as fast as the far-left does. After 9.11 within a few months the shelves were filled with hundreds of anti-American tracts. To sum, I think this is better handled in the private sphere, and with the view to making money. But the State Dept. could help get the ball rolling.

Mar 15, 2005 - 3:33 pm 25. yama-arashi:

Sorry, but someone mentioned Karen Hughes.

Mar 15, 2005 - 3:48 pm 26. richard mcenroe:

Rick Ballard ó “Yellow Rose of Texas”? Every hour, even hours, alternating with ” Halvah Negila” for the Muslim studients?

Mar 15, 2005 - 4:42 pm 27. Rick Ballard:

Richard,

They could probably fit a two-pounder in the bell tower. How ’bout Reveille at dawn (w/salute), Yellow Rose of Texas for the breakfast call, a different Sousa march to mark each class change, Halvah Nagila for dinner call, retreat – ‘To the Colors’ (w/salute) at sunset and Taps (full volume) at about 1AM. Oh, and the Service hymns intemittently throughout the evening between Retreat and Taps.

Just to remind them who really won ‘free speech’.

Mar 15, 2005 - 5:08 pm 28. Katherine:

Richard and Rick,

You guys are absolutely impossible! LOL

Mar 15, 2005 - 5:15 pm 29. Katherine:

Coming back to Karen Hughes, one continent that she would do well to give a pass is Europe. Just check out this little gem from Spiegel Online via Davids Medienkritik.

http://medienkritik.typepad.com/

Trying to presents any facts to Europeans that are contrary to their cherished anti-American beliefs is a hopeless business.

Mar 15, 2005 - 5:46 pm 30. yama-arashi:

Katherine,

Nice link. Talk about an echo-chamber. We got the same little argument, i.e. the vast left wing conspiracy’s newest talking point regarding evil Bush two weeks ago.

IMHO, pretending you care what the echo-chamber thinks, just feeds the beast. I hate all this “why do they hate us so, we need to get our message out” talk. Give it a rest. You’re playing right into their hands. The best thing Hughes could do to help our standing in the world is get Dr. Rice up to speed for 2008.

Mar 15, 2005 - 5:58 pm 31. Rick Ballard:

Yama,

My interpretation of Hughes responsibility is that she will be trying to get the State Department to stay on message regarding delivering administration policy points in all public fora. I don’t expect her to pay much attention at all to trying to “win hearts and minds”. It’s more of a ‘herding cats’ function that will depend on her willingness to shoot the odd stray. She has shown that willingness in the past so I have rather high expectations. We can expect some rather sudden transfers of State people to places like Togo and Malawi (or to liaison positions with Homeland or Justice).

I doubt very much that you’ll see much handwringing about “why do they hate us”. That’s just not W’s style – and Hughes reflects W about 120%.

Mar 15, 2005 - 6:13 pm 32. yama-arashi:

Rick,

That is good news. If it is message discipline I am all for an enforcer. If it is about everyone at State being required to support the President’s policies, great. But the lady who came before Hughes, and the little fiefdom that was created, at least the impression I got, was all about this “hearts and minds” stuff, and let’s do p.r. and make ads. Yuck. And the person before Hughes was also a Bush appointment. If this is a way of shutting down the experiment, or under cover of darkness getting something else done, yea!!

Mar 15, 2005 - 6:20 pm 33. JFarreast:

I’m a little late reading this discussion – forgive me, I live on the other side of the world.

On the black leather jackets the Syrian secret service guys wear – I remember one of the brothers at Iraq the Model, I think it was – mentioning that every Arab man has to have a black leather jacket.

So maybe they wear the black leather to blend in.

Mar 15, 2005 - 6:33 pm 34. Katherine:

Yama,

ìBut the lady who came before Hughes, and the little fiefdom that was created, at least the impression I got, was all about this “hearts and minds” stuff, and let’s do p.r. and make ads.î

And she stayed on a job for less than a year, during which Powell ran the State Department. Karen Hughes is one of the Bushís key players, in fact, if one is to believe WaPo, Bush made his decision to run for a president in 2000 contingent on her willingness to come with him to Washington. I was frankly surprised to see her go before, but she is back with the team. We can assume from all those latest moves that Bush knows his mind and the way to achieve his goals.

My only regret is that he keeps this creep Norm Mineta. Maybe he is trying to demonstrate his bipartisanship. I donít see any value in it ñ he will be reviled by his enemies no matter what he does, and we desperately need some reasonable transportation and air travel policy. PC ainít gonna cut it in the age of terror, and ancestral memories of injustice cannot justify suicidal policies today.

Mar 15, 2005 - 8:24 pm 35. Knucklehead:

Yama,

Just wanted to quickly thank you for your posts above re: dealing with the anti-American and BDS crowd. I vacillate from being impatiently cross with such people to the other extreme of completely ignoring them. Between those extremes I suffer the frustration of trying to find some way to have civil discourse and counter or question their vulgar pronouncements about all things American and/or Bush. It is interminably tedious and sometimes strikes me as very similar to dealing with children between the ages of, say, six and sixteen. Nice to know one is not alone with such tedium and frustrations.

On another topic… somewhere in a recent thread I teased you about the “women and democracy” thing. I was, however, serious about you having given some thought to the topic. You suggested that I have also. That is not the least bit true in my case. I grew up, and remain (to my never ending joy and consternation) surrounded by females. It never really occurred to me that people have thought about the possibility that women play a special role within “democracy” (I just assumed the Tyranny of the Fair Sex was an existential fact). By fortuitous coincidence, however, I’ve been reading, in a very “background project” sort of way, James Buchan’s Crowded With Genious. The Scottish Enlightenment: Edinburgh’s Moment of the Mind. It’s taken me a while to connect with Mr. Buchan’s sense of humor. If the British sense of humor is understated and dry, the Scottish is ethereal and downright arrid. But just as I was making this connection and happened onto your interesting thoughts on the topic, I began reading chapter six, “The Art of Dancing” where Buchan relates some of the “enlightenment” ideas of womenfolk and their role in society. Facinating and downright funny. Well worth further exploration.

Mar 16, 2005 - 6:19 am 36. richard mcenroe:

Katherine, Rick ó No. no. The statue has got to be in the form of a Frederic Remington bronze, perhaps of Bush riding a bucking Ted Kennedy.

And we gotta work “Garryowen” into the playlist somewhere…

When I was taking my officer’s basic course, one of the instructors had compiled his own motivational music video remixing Shostakovich’s Third (iirc) with Beethoven’s Eroica and a symphonis rendition of Garryowen. It kicked ass.

Mar 16, 2005 - 6:42 am 37. Katherine:

“motivational music video remixing Shostakovich’s Third (iirc) with Beethoven’s Eroica and a symphonis rendition of Garryowen.”

Wow!

Mar 16, 2005 - 8:53 am 38. yama-arashi:

Knucklehead,

Thanks for your post. How to even begin thinking about the relationship between democracy and the fairer sex, and the role women have in ending tyrannical regimes is way, way above my pay level. But the book you mention sounds fascinating. In any case, I hope your progress on the subjects continue, I too will give it my best, and in the meantime, per such research, and if Roger doesn’t object, important photographic documentation should proceed. In my humble opinion.

Mar 16, 2005 - 10:30 pm

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