Sunday, July 13, 2008
Take the deal
So the Bush administration is looking at troop cuts in Iraq. It makes sense -- and I agree that McCain could politically benefit from the reductions. One of the concerns about McCain has been that he's too stubbornly wedded to the stick-it-out plan. The cuts will show that Republicans know how to wind down a war as well as start a war, assuming the cuts aren't transparently geared toward the general election. Never underestimate the electorate's ability to detect cynicism. ... I liked Glenn's reaction last week to the Iraq government's demand for a U.S. withdrawal timetable: 'Sure.' And why not? It's a no-brainer. Glenn thinks we'd leave victorious. I think we'd leave somewhere in that messy and murky area in between victory and defeat. But we'd be leaving. And I think we can thank the surge for it. ...
Speaking of the war, I haven't seen HBO's new 'Generation Kill' series. I doubt I will, partially because I already have an idea in my head how they'll treat the book on which it's based -- a fear confirmed in this Slate review. I initially liked Generation Kill when it was published. I was hungry then for any information on Iraq beyond scattered and confused news accounts. Yet, in retrospect, the book by Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright was, well, a Rolling Stone version of war, ultimately, complete with GIs in Humvees (instead of Vietnam-era helicopters) and pop music (instead of the Doors) and Hunter S. Thompson zaniness etc., etc. ...
So the Bush administration is looking at troop cuts in Iraq. It makes sense -- and I agree that McCain could politically benefit from the reductions. One of the concerns about McCain has been that he's too stubbornly wedded to the stick-it-out plan. The cuts will show that Republicans know how to wind down a war as well as start a war, assuming the cuts aren't transparently geared toward the general election. Never underestimate the electorate's ability to detect cynicism. ... I liked Glenn's reaction last week to the Iraq government's demand for a U.S. withdrawal timetable: 'Sure.' And why not? It's a no-brainer. Glenn thinks we'd leave victorious. I think we'd leave somewhere in that messy and murky area in between victory and defeat. But we'd be leaving. And I think we can thank the surge for it. ...
Speaking of the war, I haven't seen HBO's new 'Generation Kill' series. I doubt I will, partially because I already have an idea in my head how they'll treat the book on which it's based -- a fear confirmed in this Slate review. I initially liked Generation Kill when it was published. I was hungry then for any information on Iraq beyond scattered and confused news accounts. Yet, in retrospect, the book by Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright was, well, a Rolling Stone version of war, ultimately, complete with GIs in Humvees (instead of Vietnam-era helicopters) and pop music (instead of the Doors) and Hunter S. Thompson zaniness etc., etc. ...
