'Brains, not bullets'
Something very positive is definitely happening in Iraq. No one there -- including tribal and U.S. military leaders -- is predicting it will last. Still ... One thing I know for sure: It would have never happened under Donald Rumsfeld. Not to harp on the points made below in 'Keep elevating the threat,' but I noticed yesterday that the recent cover story by the Economist was about the 'counter-revolution' under way in the Pentagon since Rums got the boot. I hope the pendulum doesn't swing too far away from some of Rumsfeld's ideas. But at least Gates is letting the pendulum swing. ... P.S. - Score another one for the Economist, the best news weekly out there by far. I was initially worried that my Rummy post yesterday was too military-wonkish. Seeing the Economist issue with the 'Brains, not bullets' on the cover made me feel a little less wonkish. It's an important issue. ... P.S. P.S. -- I've noticed the fanatical happy-talk pro-war types are crowing about recent successes in Iraq. But they're the last ones who should be crowing. They spent the Rumsfeld years cheerleading, not critically analyzing. They're merely still cheerleading, not critically analyzing. ...  ¶ 5:04 AM