Category: long story short

-The interim authority that was fashioned by the US and the Iraq Governing Council was to be headed by a triumvirate (Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish) that could act only when unanimous. This was intended to head off leadership by the Shiite majority (i.e., democracy). -Ayatollah Sistani allowed Shiites on the Council to vote for the plan,…

Any time you ask this guy a question, he tries to make you feel bad. Q: Is Iraq another Vietnam? A: The people posing that question are endangering our troops. And should feel bad. As should you. Q: Will there be greater international burden sharing in Iraq? A: That question is demeaning to the good…

If somebody had just given the White House the Gate Assignments and scheduled departure times of the 9/11 aircraft, they would definitely have kept a sharp eye out for action-plans that might have filtered up from subordinates. (OK. Now I’m sputtering.)

“There was not a time and place of an attack….” Let’s be fair. No one could have known to protect against hijacking at airports, before the planes even took off!

1. Until recently, the key assumption was that the number of jobs created between now and the election would determine the result. But the context was that, given the Republican edge on security and defense, only a very bad economic picture could turn the vote against them. With that security edge blunted, the Democrats’ advantage…

The National Academy of Sciences says we are currently in an ideal period for conducting experiments that test basic causal relationships. It is very common for a theory to maintain that a certain condition will produce the same effect with absolute consistency, “all other things being equal.” According to the Academy, all other things have…