Misc Commentary For May 2, 2006

— Europe’s attempts to negotiate with Iran have failed utterly and completely. Iran’s foreign minister has said that “Russia and China had officially informed Tehran they would not support sanctions or military action.” That means effective action via the UN is out. So, isn’t it fair to say that we have exhausted all diplomatic options at this point?

— Speaking of other options in Iran, the son of the Shah of Iran has long been agitating for Democracy in Iran, but I’ve never heard him talk this big before. From his interview with Human Events:

So what you see happening is a general strike, people going into the streets, refusing to work, calling for the overthrow of the regime, and then their being backed—

Sustained. Sustained.

And then being sustained by significant elements of the Revolutionary Guards who say, “You’re gone”?

And I’m talking about a blitzkrieg of media supporting, like the BBC did before the revolution, which was practically announcing the night before where there would be a demonstration the next day. This is not myth, it is fact.

Are you in contact with some of the commanders of these [elements]?

Absolutely. Absolutely. And in fact, they keep on saying that we are being under-utilized, we have a role to play, we know the time for it, but we cannot just take the initiative. They are in No Man’s Land. You have to understand.

Are you the person who puts together the master plan? Are you the commander-in-chief of this counteraction?

Look, I think I can be effective, and the reason I have stayed behind until now was because I wanted to exhaust every avenue of possibility so that the opposition can gather itself and collectively work on a common agenda. Within the next two or three months, we’ll know if the result of two or three years of intense effort is going to pay off.

Two or three months?

Two or three months. This summer.

So, he’s essentially saying that he’s in contact with part of the Iranian military and he thinks they’re going to help the Iranian people engage in a revolution this summer? Let’s hope that’s not just bluster.

— I tend to take any statements, pro or con, about the strength of the enemy in Iraq with a grain of salt. But, in the middle of last month, Lt. Gen. John R. Vines was saying that “Zarqawi, al Qaeda are heading out of Iraq. Now, Strategy Page is saying about the same thing:

Without much fanfare or publicity, American and British commandoes have taken apart al Qaeda’s operation in Iraq. About the only non-Iraqi al Qaeda leader left in Iraq is military leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, a Jordanian.

Add that to this headline

“Iraq’s President Meets With Representatives of 7 Insurgent Groups, Is Hopeful for Settlement”

…and we may be seeing much more progress in Iraq than most people realize.

— The lefties over at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Political Action Committee (IAVA PAC) sent out a huffy press release because this quote about Patrick Murphy, one of their candidates, hit a little too close to home:

Ginny Schrader, Warren’s campaign co-chair, wrote in the Sunday Bucks County Courier Times, “Murphy’s entire candidacy rests on seven months in Iraq. My husband’s granddaughter (and mine by love) has recently married a soldier who did two tours in Iraq. Under the present theory, would two tours in Iraq qualify him to run for the Senate?”

What Schrader said is absolutely true. Having served in the military doesn’t necessarily make you better qualified than someone who has never served to be in Congress or for that matter, qualified to serve at all. That doesn’t mean service to our country in the military isn’t admirable or a significant plus, because it is, but you need more than just a tour of duty to merit being elected to Congress. As far as I’m concerned, if you feature your military service as prominently as say John Kerry did in 2004, then you’re probably lagging in a lot of other areas. Politicians who genuinely believe they can win on the issues don’t need to go around reminding people they were in the military every 5 minutes or so.

— Are you looking to donate to some Republicans who actually have a chance to knock off an incumbent Democrat? Then you might want to consider chipping in to Lynn Swann, who’s trying to become the next governor of Pennsylvania and Van Taylor, who’s trying to win President Bush’s home Congressional district. Will they win? Don’t know yet, but they’re both definitely in the mix and your campaign contributions could help give them a chance to pull it out in the end.

— Via Instapundit, I note that there is a new book coming out called Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush.

If you ever needed proof that a lot of liberals out there are “I put a pumpkin on my head because it’s really a hat” level delusional, then you need look no further than their belief that the White House Press Corp, the New York Times, the LA Times, Chris Matthews, and the rest of the MSM are actually sucking up to George Bush.

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