I assumed the shooting in Afghanistan was not just a hunt for Bin Laden but also a pre-emptive strike against the mujahideen who've been waiting for spring (or some distraction like war) to destabilize Kabul, but it seems the mujahideen may have struck first. Anyway, the U.S. is taking to pre-emption pretty fast. A unit of the 82nd Airborne involved in Afghanistan is actually called the White Devils.
Some Marin County Iranians are already hoping -- with Richard Perle -- that the mullahs in Tehran will be next in line for pre-emptive regime change. What a fucked-up idea. I can't think of a better way to convince the Arab street that we hate their guts. But I may have spoken too soon about the probability of the War on Terrorism stopping in Baghdad. Yesterday Zbigniew Brzezinski brought up the danger of a brisk victory in Iraq (which of course we're hoping for around here) on the NewsHour:
If we win big this time, there could be rather dangerous hubris, kind of a feeling, gee, we can do anything we want so we go after Syria or we go after Iran next. And there may be pressures for us to do that.
posted by Michael Scott Moore |
6:04 PM
