Regards — Cliff
And, someone sent me the following:
From Sen. Mccain's Twitter account:Those of us who remember back to the Viet-nam War tend to think of General Giap as the military leader of the other side. He was also the military leader when the Viet-namese ousted the French in 1954. He was the commander who defeated the French at Điện Biên Phủ.John McCain @SenJohnMcCain 22s
Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap has passed away - brilliant military strategist who once told me that we were an "honorable enemy" #Vietnam
On the other hand, during the years of war all was not easy sledding up in Hanoi, as this blog post from Reporter Tom Ricks (The Best Defense) points out.
The Tweet from Senator McCain shows that for many in the Service of their Nation it is important to be seen as "honorable".
Hat tip to Blogger Jack Mitchell.
Regards — Cliff
The Washington Post today provides fresh details about the anemic CIA program to train moderate Syrian rebels. Reporter Greg Miller writes that “the CIA program is so minuscule that it is expected to produce only a few hundred trained fighters each month even after it is enlarged, a level that officials said will do little to bolster rebel forces that are being eclipsed by radical Islamists in the fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”Why is this? Max Boot attributes it to the White House. He quotes The Washington Post as saying:
The CIA’s mission, officials said, has been defined by the White House’s desire to seek a political settlement, a scenario that relies on an eventual stalemate among the warring factions rather than a clear victor. As a result, officials said, limits on the agency’s authorities enable it to provide enough support to help ensure that politically moderate, U.S.-supported militias don’t lose but not enough for them to win.Not a very "George Patton" like objective.
This is not a win for the United States. It’s actually our nightmare scenario. And President Obama’s half-hearted policy of not really supporting the moderate rebels–or only supporting them enough to perpetuate the stalemate–is helping to bring it about. Incidentally, American apathy is also enabling the war to rage on and to kill thousands more people every month. This is neither moral nor strategically smart.The underlining is mine.
So much for "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P). Now it is Responsibility to Frustrate Everyone. The idea that there are to be no winners seems pretty pernicious.
Regards — Cliff
At any rate, when retired CRS Analyst Robert Goldich♠ takes you to the history woodshed, you know you need to brush up a little. Bob does just that on the blog War on the Rocks, with "Get Your History Right on America's Political System". Incidentally, I think our system is working just as it was designed.
He argues that shutdown is indicative of a degree of political polarization that could lead to the rise of authoritarian government in the United States, and that a central reason for this is the separation-of-powers system of government we have, rather than a parliamentary system. In a parliamentary system, there is a unity of executive and legislative branches and often only one legislative body rather than two, or only one truly decisive one. There are a host of theoretical arguments in favor of both systems. The problem with Matthews is that the historical examples he cites in support of his contention are nothing less than preposterous.After looking at some historical errors, Mr Goldich ends:
If Matthews wants to be an Aristotle and write about the vices and virtues of different systems of government, fine. But if he’s going to cite historical examples in support of a thesis, he should know his history better, and have a better understanding of the forces which affect a country’s political development.Regards — Cliff
♠ Robert L. Goldich retired from a 33-year career in the Congressional Research Service in 2005. He was the senior CRS military manpower analyst when he left. Bob is currently writing a book on conscription in history, from the first human civilizations to the present.
"Honor flight vets just knocked over the barriers at the WWII memorial to get inside, #shutdown or no."Works for me.
As an aside, a reporter just noted that politicians are now showing up. There are words to describe the politicians.
Regards — Cliff
It’s derided as a toothless, bloated debating society, an anachronism in 2013, a den of patronage and a political body that delivers nothing for its price tag.Here is one person's description of the Irish Seanad (Senate):And this week, the Senate could be killed.
Not here, of course, but in Ireland where voters can pronounce on the future of their Upper House in a Friday referendum.
The one-time home of William Butler Yeats is not expected to survive, continuing a trend worldwide of discredited upper houses being loudly retired.
The Senate of the 26-County Irish state was reinstituted, and improved, in Éamonn de Valera's 1937 "Éire" Constitution (which was republican in all but name, but, with an eye to the eventual re-unification of Ireland, which retained membership of the British Commonwealth). It is an advisory and consultative body, drawn from a variety of sources, and chosen by a variety of methods (including patronage). A new system of Vocational Panels used to nominate candidates for the Seanad was inspired by Roman Catholic social teaching of the 1930s, and in particular the 1931 papal encyclical Quadrogesimo Anno. In this document Pope Pius XI argued that the Marxist concept of class conflict should be replaced with a vision of social order based on the cooperation and interdependence of society's various vocational groups.For you Gaelic readers, this person closes with Is mise, le móir-mheas.
Do you think we could get Harry Reid's US Senate next?
Regards — Cliff
Changing the human heart and changing human society are not separate tasks, but are as interconnected as the two beams of the cross.I ripped this off of an EMail from Neal. Related, I am trying to work my way through Father Nouwen's book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, but school is interfering with my education. However, so far, so good in the story.
Regards — Cliff
