Samantha Power is worth your time.

As Cheney put it, "old doctrines of security do not apply."

As Bush put it, "No nation can be neutral."

But Bush’s premises have proved flawed, and the war-on-terror frame has obscured more than it has clarified.

You could sum it up like this:

"Sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction."

Remember Rumsfeld's snowflake?

"Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"

Hello. I'm Leonard Nimoy.

The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false.

It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies.

And in the end, isn't that the real truth?

The answer ... is: No.

A few question-nuggets, from Power, Petraeus, and Shapiro:

One question in particular hangs over this discussion: Are the American and international publics so disenchanted with Bush’s effort to curb terrorism the wrong way that they will deprive his successor of the resources he or she needs to change course?

"What have you done for the people of Iraq today?"

"You can’t beat something with nothing."

Wrapping up on a down beat:

The American public, with little faith in the credibility of the government’s claims, may deny even cleareyed leaders the resources they need to meet the complex demands of neutralizing modern threats.

Wrapping up on a down beat:

The American public, with little faith in the credibility of the government’s claims, may deny even cleareyed leaders the resources they need to meet the complex demands of neutralizing modern threats.

[ Which I begin to think was the entire point. In 6 years our faith in Government, not just *this* government, but the whole institution, has been shaken to it's core. Before long, it might well be capable of being drowned in a bathtub, as a certain movement would have. It's frightening. -k]