Making Light :: They have met the enemy... :: comments http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#comments Language, fraud, folly, truth, history, and knitting. Et cetera. en Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:38:32 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.34-en They have met the enemy... Thomas E Ricks, writing for The Washington Post: CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — Senior military commanders here now portray the intransigence... Thomas E Ricks, writing for The Washington Post: CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — Senior military commanders here now portray the intransigence... http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html They have met the enemy... -- comment #1 from Fragano Ledgister comment from Fragano Ledgister on 17.Nov.07 There is no difference these days between reality and theatre of the absurd.

]]> <p>Posted November 17, 2007 7:38 PM by Fragano Ledgister</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228321 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228321 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:38:32 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #2 from Greg London comment from Greg London on 17.Nov.07 This is so F'ed up-

(chorus)how F'ed up is it?

This is so F'ed up, it makes Britney Spears look eligible for Mother of the Year award.

]]> <p>Posted November 17, 2007 7:56 PM by Greg London</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228327 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228327 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:56:04 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #3 from Patrick Nielsen Hayden comment from Patrick Nielsen Hayden on 17.Nov.07 That IOZ post that Avram links to is brilliant. Everyone should read it.

]]> <p>Posted November 17, 2007 8:57 PM by Patrick Nielsen Hayden</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228349 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228349 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:57:53 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #4 from John A Arkansawyer comment from John A Arkansawyer on 17.Nov.07 How much trust should I put in the Asia Times Online?

I ask because this post reminded me, for some reason, of this article:

"One of my buddies is in Baghdad right now and we email all the time," he explained, "He just told me that nearly each day they pull into a parking lot, drink soda and shoot at the cans. They pay Iraqi kids to bring them things and spread the word that they are not doing anything and to please just leave them alone."

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and that quote is, well, extraordinary.

Thus my question: Is this a reliable news source?

]]> <p>Posted November 17, 2007 9:55 PM by John A Arkansawyer</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228364 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228364 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:55:15 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #5 from Lizzy L comment from Lizzy L on 17.Nov.07 Yeah. I read that WaPo article, and thought, Wait a minute. The Americans are giving the Sunni militias weaponry in hopes that this will somehow lower the level of violence? Riiight.

Situation Normal, All F*cked Up. Again. And again.

]]> <p>Posted November 17, 2007 9:57 PM by Lizzy L</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228365 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228365 Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:57:47 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #6 from Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) comment from Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers) on 18.Nov.07 I think events in Iraq in the last few months are good evidence that the Bush administration has no plan for Iraq; they're just throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks. If something does, they'll take credit for it, of course. Just like they're taking credit for the reduction in violence in the south of Iraq*, and not talking about the fact that the north, which until the surge was quite secure, is becoming the primary battle ground.

* "The surge is working!"

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 12:04 AM by Bruce Cohen (SpeakerToManagers)</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228379 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228379 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:04:47 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #7 from Earl Cooley III comment from Earl Cooley III on 18.Nov.07 Yeah, once Turkey decides to solve the Kurdish Problem once and for all (using their Armenian tradition as a guide), things will get even messier than before. One wonders what it would take to get Turkey kicked out of NATO.

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 1:01 AM by Earl Cooley III</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228387 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228387 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:01:53 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #8 from Giacomo comment from Giacomo on 18.Nov.07 Earl @7: nobody gets kicked out of NATO, especially when they are as strategically placed as Turkey.

John @4: who cares about Asia Times Online? The post links to WaPo, which in the U.S. is still considered reliable (if anything, in these days of post-9/11 self-imposed "patriotic" censorship, pro-Bush most of the time).

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 2:30 AM by Giacomo</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228396 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228396 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:30:08 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #9 from John A Arkansawyer comment from John A Arkansawyer on 18.Nov.07 Giacomo,

The one post just brought the other to mind, and that reminded me I've never been able to get a read on how reliable Asia Times Online is, so I thought I'd ask here while bringing their story up.

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 7:28 AM by John A Arkansawyer</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228405 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228405 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 07:28:12 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #10 from Michael I comment from Michael I on 18.Nov.07 I thought Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government was an Iranian-backed militia

Of course not.

It's SEVERAL Iranian-backed militias...

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 9:22 AM by Michael I</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228419 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228419 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:22:47 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #11 from James D. Macdonald comment from James D. Macdonald on 18.Nov.07 And ... ethnic violence will go down in an area after the ethnic cleansing is complete. No matter how hard you try you can only kill a given person once.

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 9:54 AM by James D. Macdonald</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228425 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228425 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:54:46 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #12 from Fragano Ledgister comment from Fragano Ledgister on 18.Nov.07 Jim Macdonald #11: And will then turn into border conflict as each ethnic group seeks to maximise its exclusive territory.

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 10:28 AM by Fragano Ledgister</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228435 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228435 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:28:53 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #13 from Edward Oleander comment from Edward Oleander on 18.Nov.07 Fragano #12: Which will then require a temporary troop surge to contain...

]]> <p>Posted November 18, 2007 11:18 AM by Edward Oleander</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228447 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#228447 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 11:18:24 -0500 They have met the enemy... -- comment #14 from A.R.Yngve comment from A.R.Yngve on 20.Nov.07 Improper phrase: "Why do they hate us?"

Proper phrase: "Why do they pity us?"

]]> <p>Posted November 20, 2007 4:06 AM by A.R.Yngve</p> http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#229246 http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009602.html#229246 Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:06:32 -0500