Quote of the Day

"The biggest role [in the war on terror] -- assuming we actually want to win, that is -- will be played by programs and policies that work to convince the Muslim world that we're not at war with them. Policies and programs aimed at winning them over and persuading them to stop supporting or tolerating terrorism in their midst. In the long run, short of turning the Middle East into a glassy plain, it's simply the only way to win.

But money talks, and judging by the money it spends the Bush administration couldn't care less about that stuff. Instead, Bush is all military all the time. It's the fastest way imaginable to lose the war on terror and mortgage our country's future to the Bank of China at the same time. Quite a legacy, no?"
--Washington Monthly's Kevin Drum on how we've spent alot of $$ to lose the war on terror.

For future generations wondering what we were thinking, I impart this important lesson... a fearful population + elected leaders with dubious intentions and gross incompetence = failure. Avoid both ingredients.

[PS- Related note: Here's the no-shit headline of the day, one that should nailed to the door of every idiot Republican/Lieberman who repeats the 'fighting them there so we don't fight them here' talking point: 'Al-Qaeda in Iraq May Not Be Threat Here' (via Washington Post).

Also, a money quote from terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman- "The lesson of Iraq," he said, is that "a bunch of guys with garage-door openers and cordless phones can stymie the most advanced military in the history of mankind." I'm sure that's the Democrats fault, though, for not clapping hard enough.]