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June 29, 2004
Vol. 7 No. 26
In this
issue:
1. Last Hurrah or First Wave?
2. F-Bombing the Club
3. Money for Anything
4. Quick Hits
5. New at Reason Online - That Old New Economy
6. News and
Events
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With the Coalition Provisional Authority handing over day-to-day administration to the Iraqi interim government, the issue of how to characterize the current violence comes to the fore. Is this the last chance for "dead-enders" and jihadis to make war on the despised oppressor? Or is it the beginning of continued blows against whatever form of civil society follows the American-applied and -directed version? Either view makes some sense right now.
There can be little doubt that the anti-Coalition forces will be hard-pressed to claim that the Coalition and the interim government are one and the same. Ultimate security, of course, will continue to rest with U.S. forces, but if Iraqi-manned and commanded units bear the brunt of insurgent attacks, the claim that war is being made on the hated superpower will be harder to sustain.
However, it also true that the interim government will provide an inviting target. No more than 60,000 members of the planned 120,000-strong security force – consisting of Iraq's army, civil defense troops, and police forces – are sufficiently trained to be considered combat ready. Perhaps continued pressure on one or two regions could trigger a complete collapse of Iraqi units, forcing Coalition forces to fill the gap and again putting a bulls- eye on American backs.
U.S. efforts certainly seem to indicate that Abu Musab Zarqawi is the top target of current Coalition efforts. Zarqawi certainly merits neutralization, but as was the case with Saddam and his sons, the Jordanian jihadi seems to be accorded an inordinate amount of power by Coalition officials. Nabbing a handful of top-tier targets alone will not stop anti- Coalition -- now interim government -- efforts in their tracks. For that only widespread acceptance of the new Iraqi government will do.
The impressive attention garnered by Vice President Dick Cheney's singular "fuck yourself" exposes the massive disconnect between professional and amateur politics. The profanity itself is nothing now. Ever since Nixon's expletive-filled Watergate tapes the public has had some knowledge of how profanity and slurs are part of the rough and tumble of high-level politics.
What is new is the belief that the way politicians appear on TV really represents their inner selves. Cheney's folksy Sunday-morning verbal fencing suggests a gruff but kind grandfather. In reality, Cheney has always been viewed by insiders as a steely partisan who would not tolerate Democratic insolence.
It's interesting that Cheney regards Sen. Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) Halliburton attacks as so utterly below the belt. To professional politicians, questioning motives and incentives is the equivalent of going nuclear. That's what animates the bipartisan effort to trade in the First Amendment for a series of campaign finance regs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A3699-2004Jun24?language=printer
A new General Accounting Office report confirms that post-9/11 civil defense funding has been spent more or less indiscriminately. The GAO found that some $340 million expended on securing the Washington, D.C. region went to duplicate such things as command cars for units with overlapping missions.
The mindset is revealed by comments from George W. Foresman, homeland security adviser to Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), who said the overarching goal was to "get something out the door." In other words, much anti-terror spending has been motivated by the desire to "do something."
This equates action with security, a dangerous confusion. Thus, spending more money will always lead to more security. In fact, only a prioritization of vulnerabilities can reveal where and how security improvements should be made. Without that ranking of needs, a great many bio-attack suits for fire departments will be the fallout shelters for future generations.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A765-2004Jun23?language=printer
Quote of the Week
"We lied our way into the war. It's a terrible mistake, a terrible foreign policy error." -- Ron Reagan on CNN's "Larry King Live" on the Iraq war.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/06/24/national0353EDT0452 .DTL
Rates on the Up and Up
The only question about the Fed this week is whether it will go for a 25 or 50 basis-point rate increase. More likely is a series of quarter-point hikes over the next few quarters.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reutersEdge&storyID=5522661
Gaza Tunnel
Israel retaliates for an unusually involved terrorist attack, one that required a tunnel dug underneath a military base.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/international/middleeast/27CND-MIDE.html
Tales of Chalabi
Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie, Iraq's former interior minister, says the May raid on the home and offices of Ahmed Chalabi was not an offshoot of Washington-based grudge against the former U.S.-supported leader.http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040623-100109-7859r.htm
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