Month: July 2008

From Agnes Repplier’s 1916 article on "Americanism":

Of all the countries in the world, we and we only have any need to create artificially the patriotism which is the birthright of other nations. Into the hearts of six millions of foreign-born men—less than half of them naturalized—we must infuse that quality of devotion which will make them place the good of the state above their personal good, and the safety of the state above their personal safety. It is like pumping oxygen into six million pairs of lungs for which the common air is not sufficiently stimulating. We must also keep a watchful eye upon these men’s wives,—when they are so blessed,—and concentrate our supreme energy on uncounted millions of children, whose first step toward patriotism is the acquirement of a common tongue.

We are trying fitfully, but in good faith, to work this civic miracle.

The Mosul campaign is a final and critical one, and Marie Colvin, an excellent and seasoned reporter, has very encouraging news:

Operation Lion’s Roar, in which the Iraqi army combined forces with the Americans’ 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, has already resulted in the death of Abu Khalaf, the Al-Qaeda leader, and the capture of more than 1,000 suspects. The group has been reduced to hit-and-run attacks, including one that killed two off-duty policemen yesterday, and sporadic bombings aimed at killing large numbers of officials and civilians.

Last Friday I joined the 2nd Iraqi Division as it supported local police in a house-to-house search for one such bomb after intelligence pointed to a large explosion today.

Even in the district of Zanjali, previously a hotbed of the insurgency, it was possible to accompany an Iraqi colonel on foot through streets of breeze-block houses studded with bullet holes. Hundreds of houses were searched without resistance but no bomb was found, only 60kg of explosives.

The use of female suicide bombers – often the bereaved family members of, er, former suicide bombers – is another sign of the Jihadists’ desperation. Then we have the "fragile and reversible" but still encouraging development in Helsinki:

The Helsinki agreement, which was hammered out over meetings in September and April, was signed by 33 politicians from Sunni, Shiite, Kurdish, Turkmen, Communist and other parties.

The document consists of 17 principles, as well as strategies to ensure compliance with those goals. The principles included a commitment to eventually limit arms possession to the government, respect for minority rights and opposition to international and regional influence in Iraq’s internal affairs.

The agreement also included a pledge to integrate the so-called Awakening Councils, and others who have fought against extremists, into state institutions.

We need to add all the usual caveats. This is Iraq. But if someone had told me a year ago that fifteen of eighteen benchmarks had been reached, that all the parties were in negotiation over future politics, that al Qaeda was close to dead at the hands of the US and the Iraqis, and that oil contracts were being handed out amid four-year lows in violence, I wouldn’t have believed them.

Of course, this all makes Obama’s 16 month withdrawal timetable more and more feasible. It really now is a question of prudence and strategy in how best to withdraw troops. Do you trust McCain to get them all out swiftly and prudently? Or do you trust Obama to get them all out prudently and swiftly? It’s a judgment call. And the options are better than they were six months ago.

(Photo: Shwan Mohammed/AFP/Getty.)

"Every living soul on this planet has some highly-justified anger. Everyone. If you know anybody who was a P.O.W. for any time, they can be going on for years and all of a sudden something will happen that will trigger all those bad memories," – Bill Clinton, Aspen Ideas Festival, yesterday.

"His mission is that he has to be put to death by the Romans to suffer so his blood will be the sign for redemption to come. This is the sign of the son of Joseph. This is the conscious view of Jesus himself. This gives the Last Supper an absolutely different meaning. To shed blood is not for the sins of people but to bring redemption to Israel," – Israel Knohl, professor of Bible studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

I’m not expert enough to judge the scholarship but the piece is fascinating. Any evidence that the meme of a Jewish savior having to suffer for the sins of Israel and rise after three days pre-dated Jesus is a big deal.

Mike Murphy on the McCain campaign machinery.

Boris is just plain "mayor." My apologies for running a wire caption.

Gifts by Peter Davison

When I was a child, a heartstruck neighbor died
On her birthday. Dying was strange enough,
But what a way to choose to spend your birthday,
I thought, and what sort of a gift was this?

From time to time, people have done it since–
Dying in the environs of a celebration
As though they had picked out the day themselves.
Perhaps they had, one way or another,
Prayed for something to happen, and prayed wrong.
Sophocles, when old enough to die,
Suspected prayer and entered a caveat:
‘Zeus, act kindly whether or not I pray;
And, though I plead for it, turn harm away.’
I keep a wary silence on my birthdays,
Make up no lists at Christmas, lie low
When asked what I really want. How should I know?
Best ask for gifts as though I had none coming.

Lord Mayor Boris Johnson attends the Gay Pride parade on July 5, 2008 in London. The parade consists of celebrities, floats, and performers celebrating the UK’s largest gay and lesbian festival. By Mark Wieland/Getty Images.

James Poulos criticizes David Broder:

In his national greatness enthusiasm, Broder obscures a fundamental point: political participation — especially voting in one-off national elections — is not a reliable index of civic health or even vibrant citizenship. Broder thinks that enthusiasm about America — expressed by enthusiastically doing something America-themed — is patriotism. This is a seriously imbalanced view. Dormant citizens who rise from the grave of civic republicanism to cast a fevered ballot once every two or four years do not a healthy electorate make. Volunteering for a campaign is better, but ‘joining enthusiastically’ can mean, a bit lower down on the totem pole, sloganeering, attending rallies, and plastering bumper stickers, all without any reflection deeper than “My candidate cares about me“ or “My candidate’s a true patriot.” And community volunteering is great, but has no necessary connection to any knowledge of, or appreciation for, the American national identity. (Indeed this may be a good thing.)

Los Angeles, California, 4.09 pm.