'This war of ideas is no less bloody'
Here's a must-read piece by George Packer called 'Planning for Defeat.' It challenges the views of both the pro-surge and withdraw-now crowds. The most important thing is to start planning now. ... The crux of the various arguments starts here. ... Norman Podhoretz pulls a Mitt Romney: “In its own way this war of ideas is no less bloody than the one being fought by our troops in the Middle East.” Sons on campaign trails. Intellectuals in front of computer screens. Pundits on talk shows. They're the same as GIs slugging it out in Iraq. Podhoretz is truly bordering on the repugnant these days. ... BTW: Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft are part of a 'domestic insurgency.' Finally, the word 'insurgency' spills out of Norm's mouth. ... Peter talks to a former Massachusetts State Trooper about his time training Iraqi police. Jerry Burke is one blunt guy. ... Jeff Jacoby rightly notes the successes in the war on terrorism. But see if you can identify the missing word. Hint: It starts with the letter "I." ... Photo above right is of GIs in Iraq, not Commentary magazine writers on patrol against domestic insurgents. Photo via of A Soldier's Blog.  ¶ 8:22 AM