Welcome, one and all to the most intense nightly reads on the sphere…The BitsBlog Nightly Ramble
[1]This is the Friday Night Pizza Edition
- ABANDON SHIP!!! Byron York says the rats are abandoning the good ship ACORN. [2] ALl this outrage is interesting, but ya know there’s an interesting question that none of the pols have bothered to ask: How many Democrats are in office right now because of the criminal activities of ACORN? Funny how we’re not seeing Democrat outrage about that, huh?
- MISSILE DEFENSE: Tom Nichols makes a spirited , but in the end unpersuasive defense [3] of Obama’s actions vis’a’vie the missile shield in Eastern Europe. What I said yesterday stands. Does anyone think that the Russian Bear isn’t licking his chops at the prospect of marching back into Eastern Europe unchallenged? And let’s recall, please that Iran is also a serious threat. That point alone makes this move by Obama serious breech of trust to Eastern Europe. He gave our word back in that speech in Prague, that the shield would proceed so long as Iran remained a threat. The WSJ speaks to this today. [4] Joyner comments on statements by Brent Scowcroft today at the Atlantic Council. [5]
As for myself, I remain agnostic on the technical and strategic merits of the move to sea-based systems vice the previous land-based plan. Nathan Hodge [6] and Robert Haddick [7] do a good job lining up the pros and cons and there are just too many variables and unknowns. And, frankly, I’m rather dubious of the threat of either a Russian or an Iranian nuclear attack, which strike me as woefully overplayed.
So, were we simply starting anew with two options, the Bush plan and the Obama plan, it would be a coin flip. And General Scowcroft’s weighing in on the side of the latter might well tip the scales for me.
[8]Obama sets sail
My concern, however, is that we weren’t starting from scratch but rather from a status quo where the United States has quite recently promised two allies that we’d put a system in their country that the extant governments considered a significant boost in their security (although, as noted in my earlier roundup, this is not a view universally shared [9] in those states). Further, the Russians have been both demanding that we rescind that deal and behaving badly toward its neighbors. In my view, the optics very much matter in this case.
With General Scowcroft on the other side, though, I hold that opinion with rather more unease and less confidence than I did this morning.
I’m with James, here.This withdrawal is a dangerously stupid move. Indeed, I’ll go one step father.
- CRASHTEST? Reynolds: [10]
2009 Chevy Malibu vs. 1959 Chevy Bel Air. [11] Conclusion: “the driver of the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air would have been killed instantly while the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu’s driver would walk away with a minor knee injury.”…
Great. Now try it with a Prius, or a “Smart” car. You know.. the kid of car the government wants to cram us all into. You know, the greener “American” version of the Ziguli [12]