Things Fall Apart; the Center Cannot Hold

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
-------Yeats, the second coming.

the best lack all conviction:

Bush and Blair speed up their exit strategy

CATHERINE MacLEOD May 17 2004

TONY Blair and George W Bush have speeded up their work on a new plan to ensure the new Iraqi administration to be set up on June 30 is a sovereign government supported by a new UN resolution, according to the prime minister's spokesman last night.
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Yesterday, Mr Cook demanded the government find a quick exit strategy for British troops once the elections are held next January since they were now so unpopular, but Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, gave his remarks short shrift. Expressing disappointment in his former cabinet colleague, Mr Hoon said: "I worked with him when he was foreign secretary. He knows these decisions have to be taken in light of events on the ground . . . events for the moment certainly require the presence of British troops on the ground."
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While The Worst Are Full of Passionate Intensity

Iraq Insurgents Drive Italians From Base

Sun May 16, 7:13 PM ET

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr drove Italian forces from a base in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Sunday and attacked coalition headquarters there with grenade and mortar fire as tensions in the Shiite region escalated. Two U.S. soldiers died elsewhere.

Gunmen also killed three Iraqi women working for the U.S.-led coalition.

Two Iraqi fighters were killed and 20 were wounded in battles in Nasiriyah, mostly at two bridges crossing the Euphrates River, residents said.

The Italian troops evacuated as their base came under repeated attack. Portuguese police were called out to support the Italians, seeing action for the first time since the force of 128 deployed to Nasiriyah in November, a Portuguese duty officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

At least 10 Italians were wounded, one of the critically, contingent spokesman Lt. Col. Giuseppe Perrone told The Associated Press by phone. He said the Italians relocated to the nearby Tallil air base.
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yikes, we can't even pretend we have this thing 'in hand'. the media fights its never ending attack on the administration, while the admin is apologizing to other arab countries for the horrid abuse of iraqi insurgents. why does he bother? he should apologize to the iraqis. no one else. if a US soldier dies under hostile conditions in iraq, would chalabi apologize to canada?

anyways, it looks like its going to get worse before it gets better. i have no doubt in the coalitions', or the worlds' ability to turn it around in iraq, i do question the will, however. and i question the media's defeatism and constant ill informed comparisons to vietnam.

every major conflict since vietnam has been a quagmire and (surprise!)a 'new vietnam'. can we find a new comparison? isn't history littered with multitudes of interesting parallels? i know victor davis hanson has got the greek examples down pat...i imagine that irish, indian, canadian, american experiences can be readily applied here. does anyone imagine that our british 'occupation' was bad for canada? while the irish have a beef with the brits historically (ditto india) these historic episodes in colonialism provide a radical departure from the vietnam paradigm that the US media sees in all major conflict.