Petraeus et alii

Thank goodness I have the luxury of waiting a bit before I utter opinions.
The Cable News people do not and we all see the baneful results of having the unperceptive lecture to the ill educated. There is something about Cable News, whether CNN or Fox or MSNBC, that strikes me as a bit like the old nostalgie be la boue: sort of "Hi, out there! I used to be a shlub like youse! Now me a celebrity!"
You sense they observe us as they would the old urban neighborhood from which they fled soon after college with a mixture of fond memory and repulsion...mostly the latter. Now, General Petraeus and MoveOn.org. Saving my own precious time, I shall let others speak for me.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II14Ak02.html  
Petraeus out of step with US top brass By Gareth Porter

 " WASHINGTON - In sharp contrast to the lionization of General David Petraeus by members of the US Congress during his testimony this week, Petraeus's superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (Centcom), derided Petraeus as a sycophant during their first meeting in Baghdad in March, according to Pentagon sources familiar with reports of the meeting. Fallon told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that," the sources say. {added emphasis mine; extra scorn Admiral Fallon's} That remark reportedly came after Petraeus began the meeting by making remarks that Fallon interpreted as trying to ingratiate himself with a superior. That extraordinarily contentious start of Fallon's mission to Baghdad led to more meetings marked by acute tension between the two commanders. Fallon went on to develop his own alternative to Petraeus's recommendation for continued high levels of US troops in Iraq during the summer. "

That's quite a quote. Forget about General Betray-us, I am going to run an ad in the New York Times that says: "General Ass-Kissing Little Chickenshit!" I am not sure what kind of picture I shall run with the ad. ( I mean no disrespect for General Petraeus. I do intend disrespect for the entire situation.)
If you read the article, you will get the sense that Admiral Fallon agrees with Sun Tzu that protracted operations do not benefit an army. The army is not a police force. The army is a strike force whose success is measured by striking hard, striking fast, and getting the job done with the least casualties.

If war is seen to be a last and ultimate option, Admiral Fallon's viewpoint holds sway. If war is seen to be an opening gambit or mid-game strategy - or just a what-the-heck type of lark- then you have the Bush Administration viewpoint.
Now the MoveOn.org advert shows why I shall be getting out of the political comments soon. I only started because I felt I had to express my condemnation of this war in the most obvious manner. I actually agree with Mr. Bush on somethings. However, the strain to create a long term state of war as shown by the War on Terror is an incredibly stupid act. So much is it inimical that it deluded its creators into thinking that they stood against an organization Hordes United Against USA-Stuff instead of approximately 3,000 to 6,000 Beards and Moustaches ( Lihyaat wa Shawaarib, Inc.). Once Sammy B. Laden had escaped, we turned to the dark side...and the rest is ongoing history. I believe one reason why the present President has placed long term restrictions of his papers after he leaves office is that these papers would make it clear that the Administration was not acting in a responsible manner.
 From the American Conservative: http://www.amconmag.com/2007/2007_09_10/cover.html The Once and Future Christendom  

From death of the West—to knights of the West by James P. Pinkerton An article that's very creative. It is formed within a vision of society that is based on the Shire from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Of course, I like the snarky parts best, so here is one: "...But Tolkien once confided, “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.” That is, Catholic in the sense that reality and history are complicated, that the world is rich in majesty and mystery, that human nature is but a poor vessel. In his world, the Shire is Christendom, and Christendom is the Shire. Yet more than three decades after Tolkien’s death, new universalisms—new all-encompassing ideologies—have gained prominence, vexing, once again, tradition and difference throughout the world. One such universalism is capitalist globalism. In the late ’80s, Francis Fukuyama published his legendarily misguided piece “The End of History?” suggesting that the West had found The Answer. Madeleine Albright expressed similar hubris when she declared that America was “the indispensable nation.” And Thomas Friedman has since argued that everyone has to submit to “golden handcuffs,” managed by planetary financiers, even as the wondrous force of capitalism “flattens” the world. But of course, it took Paul Wolfowitz to bring Rousseau to life in another century: Uncle Sam would force people to be free. And how are these bright bold visions working out, in the wake of 9/11, in a world that includes IEDs, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Al-Jazeera? " 

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HL12Aa02.html
BOOK REVIEW  
A new Jerusalem in sub-Saharan Africa  

The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South by Philip Jenkins Reviewed by Spengler "...Both Christian and Muslim sources, it appears, agree that Christianity is winning the battle for souls in Africa. David Barrett (in the World Christian Encyclopedia, 2001) projects that the count of African Christians will rise to 634 million in 2025 from 360 million in 2000, while the number of African Muslims will rise to 519 million from 283 million - increases, respectively, of 49% against 40%. One Muslim cleric asserts that 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity each year. [2]... "

This morning I have read an article that said that the Muslims are winning the conversion race, and then I have read this article which takes a slightly different tack. Good luck at trying to know what's going on. There is no surrogate for finding out yourself. I mean, how can any self respecting citizen of the USA in the 21st century actually hope to LEARN something from the NEWS Media? I need to know: I shall turn on Bill O'Reilly??!! I shall have recourse to Sean Hannity, the sage of sanity??!! I shall purchase a book written by Al Franken??!!

Anyhow, if we are to believe that the Christians tortoises are actually outstripping the Muslim hare in this footrace for the souls of humanity, the reasons put forth in the book appear to be a bit flimsy. I am quite certain that it is the Wahhabi type of Islam that is the turn-off. Bring back the influence of Sufism and it would be a whole new ball game. As we go into the last innings with Team Dar al-Islam a couple million runs behind, bringing in the retired Sufi influence as a new striker would reap incredible...benefits. This makes one wonder how Team Christianity would respond. It certainly wouldn't send in 23 South Koreans for an innings. It might remove the old Christian Zionist bowler from the game and send him to the New Jerusalem showers...who knows? man yar'if?