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Glass Warfare
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07/12/07 07:35 AM ET
Let's look at the latest report card:
First of all, we had the White House assessment of the Iraq war. It's clearly a case of the glass that's half-empty or half-full. And that's the White House glass.
At the same time, a top official with the National Intelligence Council was telling Congress that there have been "Few appreciable gains" in Iraq. So maybe the glass is one-eighth full.
But which glass? Doesn't the administration always insist that Iraq and al Qaeda are all part of the same struggle? Well, then, what should we think about the the Homeland Security secretary's "gut feeling" we are facing threat of attack and the assessment that al Qaeda has managed to build itself back to pre-Sept. 11 strength? Remember, we are nearly six years into a Global War on Terror that has consumed thousands of lives, billions of dollar and uncounted civil liberties (uncounted, that is, because so many of the details are classified).
So any discussion over how full the glass is is probably pretty empty. It's a debate over a national glass that has been shattered ... broken because it was handled so carelessly by those chosen to handle it. The real question is, Will it be possible to to put it back together?
First of all, we had the White House assessment of the Iraq war. It's clearly a case of the glass that's half-empty or half-full. And that's the White House glass.
At the same time, a top official with the National Intelligence Council was telling Congress that there have been "Few appreciable gains" in Iraq. So maybe the glass is one-eighth full.
But which glass? Doesn't the administration always insist that Iraq and al Qaeda are all part of the same struggle? Well, then, what should we think about the the Homeland Security secretary's "gut feeling" we are facing threat of attack and the assessment that al Qaeda has managed to build itself back to pre-Sept. 11 strength? Remember, we are nearly six years into a Global War on Terror that has consumed thousands of lives, billions of dollar and uncounted civil liberties (uncounted, that is, because so many of the details are classified).
So any discussion over how full the glass is is probably pretty empty. It's a debate over a national glass that has been shattered ... broken because it was handled so carelessly by those chosen to handle it. The real question is, Will it be possible to to put it back together?
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