Today was long; it’s not even over (my typical workday is something like 8 AM - 11:30 PM, right now), but it’s been very busy and very productive already.

Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt, said today, “When it is over, if it is over, this war will have horrible consequences… Instead of having one (Osama) bin Laden, we will have 100 bin Ladens” (source: CNN). Generally, Mubarak’s one of the good guys and a voice for sanity in a region where most heads of state seem to be short a few marbles. In this case, though I disagree with his opposition to the war, I think he’s right in his assessment of the consequences. The USA faces a real dilemma: (a) expel Saddam, settle things, and pull back out of Iraq, creating a 100 Osamas, or (b) stay in the area to contain Saddam, which is the same reason we have any Osama’s - American interventionism. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. The catch? No matter what happens, no matter how few civilians are hurt and how quickly the Allies set up a new, autonomous government in Iraq, the Arab world will never see it. I’ve lived there: the press over there is less honest than most compulsive liars - because at least compulsive liars are usually trying to tell the truth. I think we’re on the right track; I just hope we can find a way to show the world - especially the Muslim world - why we’re fighting and that we’re not the ones killing and raping…

Now, this is just weird… You want to claim that Joe Camel wrongfully targets minors, I’ll agree with you, but if you want to claim that an Army ad campaign is not only racist, but a “racist poverty draft,” well, let’s just say I’m not tracking with you.

Back to work!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2003 at 9:05 am and is filed under Miscellanea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.