war times

Lots of good stuff in the New York Times today, and I haven't even made it to the Week in Review or Arts and Leisure sections yet. I'm not that interested in the war itself; these articles are mostly about the politics surrounding it.

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Clear Channel's PR problem.

Professor Kedrosky said many of the arguments voiced within "that wonderful echo chamber that is the `I hate Clear Channel' community" are a kind of liberal nostalgia. A lot seems to be "wouldn't it be wonderful if the future looked more like the past?" he said.

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The front page of the San Francisco Chronicle today said: WAR TURNS TO TERROR. The story was about the guy who drove a taxi into a U.S. Army checkpoint and blew it up, killing four soldiers and himself.

Listen, every life is precious. I hate that four of our soldiers died trying to help a presumed civilian . I hate that one of their soldiers died, too, even though he was clearly, how do I say this, not a good guy.

But what does "turns to terror" mean? There's no universal agreement on what terrorism is, but it usually seems to involve non-state actors, civilian targets, intent to coerce through fear, that sort of thing. Driving a bomb into an invading nation's military installation is a guerrilla tactic, but it's not terrorism. It's just war. Stupid, bloody, dirty, awful, awful war.

the benevolent invasion

Cheer up, Erik: Some U.S. Troops Meet Iraqis Peacefully. "Thirsty and bedraggled, they said they had decided to test the American assurance that their invasion is a benevolent one." And benevolent, on this day, in this place, it was.

( Long, personal rambling about the war. )