To counter bin Ladenism, the military is planning a two-stage war. The first is being fought in open battles in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere and looks a lot like the kind of war most Americans assumed we'd wage on al Qaeda and terror-sponsoring states after the Sept. 11 attacks. The second stage is what senior military planners -- including Mr. Rumsfeld -- call "the Long War." It involves countering one set of ideas with another.

Enter here the business plan for General Memetics.

Lisa: They can't seriously expect us to swallow that tripe.
Skinner: Now as a special treat courtesy of our friends at the Meat Council, please help yourself to this tripe.

Hmmm, tripe.

Getting back to that war thing ...

Djibouti is a success story that hasn't made it into the news because U.S. soldiers aren't getting killed there.

This is consistent with the story that Robert Kaplan tells.

They're not much, but here are two recent Washington Post stories on "The Long War":

Rumsfeld Offers Strategies for Current War
Ability to Wage 'Long War' Is Key To Pentagon Plan

Did you notice the not-so-subliminal message back there?)

The Western Front