Here’s the link to my piece at Taki’s Magazine on nationalism and patriotism. There’s quite a bit of back-and-forth in the comments section.
In a nutshell, I say that patriotism has been taken to excess, particularly by conservatives, and nationalism (which is not simply excessive patriotism, but a distinct idea) is actually something that the United [...]
All of Stephen Walt’s 10 unpleasant truths about the Iraq War are important, but I’ll single out the tenth point for quoting:
10. The Iraq debacle reflects a broader pattern of failure among key American institutions. Although primary responsibility for the war rests with Bush, Cheney, and the neoconservatives who conceived and sold it, other [...]
Gee, guess who it is?
Then again, all of the top-tier Republicans are neocon favorites, as Bill Kristol says:
“I would say, as a card-carrying member of the neoconservative conspiracy,” said William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, “that I think Giuliani, McCain and Thompson are all getting really good advice — and Romney.” Mr. Kristol said [...]
It’s not quite ready for prime time — we’ll be increasing the posting volume eventually — but there’s no use in hiding lights under bushels, so here is a link to a new group blog I’m involved in, along with fellow TAC alum Jim Antle and current TAC assistant editor Richard Spencer. The blog looks [...]
The latest Russian vacuum bomb — as powerful as a mininuke and much more likely to be used against separatists and insurgents. We’re going to see much more of this kind of thing in the future.
WaPo: Democrats’ Struggle to Change Course in Iraq Has Produced Much Debate, Little Action.
Politico: Anti-war leaders stymied, frustrated.
Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher comments on George W. Bush’s rather surprising invocation of Graham Greene in his speech earlier this month to the VFW in Kansas City:
Greene’s novel, in any case, pits the cynical, apolitical newspaperman (who has a Vietnamese girlfriend and an opium habit) against the Pyle character, who seems to be [...]
Syria? Iran? Or Uncle Sam, who has lost “about 190,000″ pistols and AK-47s? From WaPo:
“They really have no idea where they are,” said Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information who has studied small-arms trade and received Pentagon briefings on the issue. “It likely means that the United States is unintentionally [...]
Well, it shouldn’t, but it does — at least for National Review. Take a look at the mag’s symposium on the Pollack/O’Hanlon New York Times op-ed. You might think that with the doubts about the war that have been expressed by NR founder William F. Buckley Jr., ex-NR board members Neal Freeman and Austin Bramwell, [...]
Bill Kauffman on secession and empire, from Orion. (And a hat tip to LRC.)
I’m blogging on the fly from a Starbucks in New Haven, Connecticut. I’m sure hipsters do this all the time, but it feels pretty strange to me — especially since my connection isn’t very reliable and I expect to get kicked [...]