Three years have elapsed without another terrorism attack. This is either the result of skill and planning if you support Bush and Ashcroft, or blind luck if you do not. The second answer becomes more implausible the longer we appear to be safe.
The real answer may be a combination of the two, but the precise mix is unknowable due to intelligence concerns and the logical difficulty of proving a negative.
I have a strong suspicion that the true reason for our safety lies in the hard work that is being done by everyday people in law enforcement; nonpolitical, cup-of-coffee Americans who are just making it difficult for terrorists to gin up a plan.
Here’s my question: Now that Ashcroft is leaving, will the Spirit of Justice be restored to her former glory?
Space Tropic
John Perry Barlow is a proud liberal and product of the 1960s, but he’s never stopped looking forward. His work and commentary is always generous, honest, and optimistic.
His latest column is worth reading. He manages to rein back his anger, survey the situation, and do a little soul-searching without devolving into name-calling or bitterness. He even admits that he was made uncomfortable by being obliged to hope for defeat in Iraq, or a lousy economy. No political party should succeed by hoping for it’s country’s failure.
By pointing this out I am not engaging in schadenfreund. I just think Barlow is, as usual, a couple of steps ahead of everyone.
Space Tropic
Speaking of Warren County, David Brooks today underscores the seismic importance of the exurbs in election demographics.
Here’s the latest group that doesn’t get this, and deliberately mischaracterizes it by perpetuating the myth that America splits cleanly into fundamentalist hayseeds and inclusion-minded city folks.
Maybe ‘Retro Vs. Metro’ will become a new home to activists, now that MoveOn.org has become so ironically named.
Space Tropic
I can’t seem to discover very much frontline coverage about Falluja, but here’s one article which makes the Marines sound more vicious than the insurgents. It also mentions LRAS (Long Range Aquisition Systems), which allow troops to target the enemy almost 1000 meters away, at night. This technology lends a fearsome advantage to the coalition.
On a related note, this article describes the infantry regiment that has been tasked with guarding the perimeter of the town, and hunting down any Zarqawi followers that might be slipping away. I wouldn’t want to be up against a group of heavily armed Scotsmen with a name like ‘The Black Watch’. I don’t know if they’ve got LRAS too, but you can be certain they’ve got dirks, and they’ve been using them on their enemies since the Napoleonic Wars.
Space Tropic
Republican arch-villain Karl Rove was on TV last night, and he named Warren County, in Ohio, as the key bellwether political district in the country. It’s just up the road from Cincinnati, and it’s the place to which you relocate when you are tired of the city, and you want to live in a safe, spacious locale with new construction. Demographic gurus call these the “ex-urbs”. Warren County is not my cup of tea, being a city mouse, but it’s a fine place to live.
Perhaps teams of scientists can be assembled from east-coast universities, the DNC, the New York Times, and broadcast news outlets. They could live amongst these people and learn their customs, language, and lore. I have a mental picture of Paul Krugman eating a Blizzard at the Dairy Queen off Rt. 48, while a pudgy kid in a soccer uniform stares at him for a few minutes before telling him he’s got toppings in his beard.
Space Tropic