Send the madman back?!

Now here's a crazy thought, probably brought on by excessive work hours....

What if we sent Saddam back? Do you think he could bring order to that madness?

I promise I'll post more on this later--just wanted to jot it down now. I'm not saying I favor this idea--but it might be crazy enough to work. I know robfurrball (a standing ovation to him--he's being deployed to the Middle East soon) will probably kick my @$$ for this idea...

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As promised, more on this one. But first, thanks to charles and queueball for posting comments! (queueball's is actually on this post here)

So here's what I think.

• POINT: Saddam Hussein is a despotic, genocidal, paranoid maniac who ruled his people with fear and an iron fist.
• POINT: Iraq is a mess. Militants are everywhere. Many innocent citizens are killed every day. The Iraqi leadership has no real control over Iraqi rebels--and neither does the US Army.

Derivation of these points: Saddam, while genocidal, did have control of his people--at least his army. If you read some historical info about him (like Wikipedia: Saddam Hussein) you'll notice that one of his major accomplishments during his rise to power was uniting (or, quite possibly, forcibly gluing together) the historically conflicting factions in the area. In addition, during Saddam's ruthless reign, Iraq's infrastructure developed at a fairly rapid clip. In short, Saddam Hussein probably understands the intricacies of managing Iraq better than anyone else--certainly better than any American.

So why not do this--why not bring him back as a consultant? Offer him a good deal--life in exile, rather than submitting himself to a trial that has no chance of being fair--in exchange for aiding us and the new Iraqi government. He wouldn't be given any real power--but we could certainly listen to his observations, and follow those we didn't consider to be too Machiavellian. Who knows? The despot who ran Iraq for 40 years could actually help us run it better, now. The knowledge of a former leader, combined with the somewhat benevolent intentions of a democratic invading army (that wants to get the hell out sometime soon) could just make for a better Iraq.

In reply to charles and queueball's comments:

• Yes, Saddam is being held by the Iraqi goverment. But please don't tell me anyone really believes that when the US says "jump," the Iraqis don't head for the nearest trampoline. If we wanted to offer this sort of a deal, we could certainly incentivize the Iraqis and their ruling party to allow us to do so.
• No, I don't think this is a panacea--it will certainly not allow us to get out tomorrow. But it might make our pullout able to happen a little sooner.

Thanks again for your comments--I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone says!

Reflecting on Prague

Reflecting on Prague
Originally uploaded by Bhoutros Bhoutros-Huevo.

Just testing the flickr blogging thing out...

Where in the....

As I was on a plane to Cincinnati late Tuesday afternoon, I realized I had the following itineraries in my Continental OnePass account:

 

OnePass reward: IAD - CVG (with a return, never to be used--but required by Continental), CVG-CLE-DCA.

...overlapping...

Continental ticket: CVG - IAH, returning to BWI

...overlapping...

OnePass reward: IAH - BRO, returning to IAH

 

OnePass reward: IAH - Honolulu - Tokyo - Singapore - Tokyo - San Francisco - IAH (more on this one later!)

 

...if my plane had crashed (heaven forbid!) or anyone wanted to find me, they would have had a HELL of a time looking.  Not a bad feeling for a nomad!

a new leenk

Howdy folks,

 

At robfurrball's request (and because my posts have been mildly infrequent), I've added a "subscribe" feature at the bottom of this page for anyone who wants to get an e-mail when posts are made through this site. 

 

I'm not entirely sure whether it's a daily status or an "on-post" email that gets sent out--but you all are welcome to try it!  It's powered by Bloglet, and I've checked--you can unsubscribe fairly easily.

 

Enjoy!

The Runway in the Rain

Sorry, no posting this week--I'll be responding to some old comments!  In the meantime, enjoy this illustration of my life (at the moment). 

Spelling Terror

So here I am, in a 737 that is apparently immune to all laws of physics. Somewhere between the Immelmanns and the barrel rolls, my Continental jet makes its way to the runway at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington. Yes, boys and girls--the process of getting me to the National Spelling Bee involves a barf bag.

All in the name of the war on terror(ism), of course.

By sheer virtue of the fact that our planes do loop-de-loops upon entering DC; because of the very fact that we incarcerate random Americans of Middle Eastern descent in Cuba; as a result of our continuing practice of cavity-searching brown travelers...we're letting the terror into our heads. We're on the defensive. We're losing the war.

How do I propose winning the war? We start with the first battle--in our minds. Let's not be afraid. Let's not keep pouring lots more money into slightly more effective airport scanners. Let's live as we always have. We can't forget about those lost on Sept. 11, but we can make Albert Qaeda believe we've done so. What happened when we didn't show any fear for 10 years after the first WTC bombing? Nothing, for a while. If the terrorists don't think we're afraid, they will realize they have to regroup to be effective. That gives us the high ground, and the chance to begin our first campaign.

That would be the "stop ticking people off" campaign. No more "preemptive invasions." No more propping up ANY regimes--including the Israelis and the Saudis. Let's recognize the authority of the United Nations in all our actions. Let's continue giving some jobs to people in other countries--but let's force our corporations to pay decent wages. Last but not least, if we're going to act as the world's police force, let's apply that force uniformly--with justice (not oil) in mind. I know these things are easier said than done, but all of them are absolutely critical to winning the war on terrorism.

For our main campaign of the war, let's go on the offensive. Let's promote our brand of freedom--while keeping in mind the idea that it may not be the best option for every country. Let's continue to embrace and export capitalism--and show other nations how they can enjoy it as well. Let's flex our military muscle--but reserve its use for social justice and homefront defense. Let's live free--as we always have--and stay vigilant.

Let's do all these things. I think we can--and to some degree we're already doing so. Let's spell al-Qaeda (and terrorism in general) E-N-D-A-N-G-E-R-E-D.