But you see, the US is/are the good guys who are thinking things through in a rational way in order to create a democratic and secure world. So if another power were really, you know, rational, then they would be forwarding the aims of the United States. So what they do cannot be rational, so there is no justification for it and we will just have to make an incredibly rational war on them.
The Other, as you are no doubt aware, cannot be rational.
the US is/are the good guys
This really is the mindset we're looking at here. It explains a lot.
I heard once that the grammar changed after the Civil War from "The United States are..." to "The United States is..."
The press leeches on to the power centers, and the people they think will be winners. They believe, and have believed for a long time, that we will go to war against Iran, and they believe on balance that the hawks will do more for them than the doves. Pollock and Ledeen get on TV, and Ritter doesn't. If the McCain/Lieberman War escalates an exponential notch, to millions instead of thousands, I don't know how it plays in America. Like Poland, dudes.
Gary F would imbed a link about diplomats in Iraq here. Bush will do everything possible to get the Iranians to shoot first. I think Iranians will win the war, and America will be destroyed (as we know it), but the Iranians probably care about people dying and suffering, so they may be restrained.
3: standard memory from AP US History, junior year.
Shelby Foote also said that in Ken Burns's Civil War documentary.
I got a lecture disguised as "just thinking out loud" from my dad this morning about how Al Jazeera is basically propaganda because they didn't talk about how the instability in Iraq could lead to interference from/instability in other countries. Mild attempts to point out that the extent to which that's a concern might just, you know, depend on one's point of view were rebuffed with the certainty that Al Jazeera's Saudi overlords are preventing them from reporting the Truth.
Sigh. Is Christmas over yet?
Presumably he has never actually watched Al Jazeera himself.
He reads it online, actually. Dad's weird. He has intellectual curiosity, but it often gets penned in by the brick walls of things he thinks he knows.
At least he seeks out alternative media. Too many people just stick with the information sources that flatter their own prejudices.
I know he could be worse, but dude, it's Xmas. Let me bitch about my family.
I find these customs strange. But then, it's not my religion.
5,7: I have many other well-known facts at my disposal. Did you know Eskimos have over four words for "snow"? The human head weighs six pounds.
over four words
You omitted "hundred".
six pounds
You omitted "thousand".
My cat's breath smells like cat food.
3, 5, 7: well, yes, it's about as elementary a cliche about the war as there is.
14 and 15 is one of the most famous urban legends, on the other hand.
I could link, or you could trust me. Or look it up.
Whom am I kidding? You won't trust me. Here.
In One Percent Solution, Ron Suskind tells how Al Jazeera's Qatari overlords did the US an amazing service in helping round up senior guys from AQ. Too bad more people aren't interested in winning the struggle with those guys, rather than in taking each and every opportunity to strut around chanting "We're Number One!"
NB: I'm visiting my folks, and that's a politics-free zone for me. Look for increasingly bitter comments through the week . . .
rebuffed with the certainty that Al Jazeera's Saudi overlords are preventing them from reporting the Truth.
Al Jazeera's overlords are actually Qatari, the Saudis hate al-Jazeera because members of the royal family own virtually all the other prominent Arabic-language news outlets.
24:The relationship between our Saudi Overlords and the Qatari freedom fighters is something I should study, but DeLong linked to John Scalzi's blog today, and the more pressing matter of whether peeing in the toilet after your dog has drunk from it is gauche alpha-male behavior has me pre-occupied.
10: Hmm, and I thought I only had one sister.
The Iranian actions are perfectly logical, just counter to the United States' interests in the region. If the powers that be would figure out a way to let the Mullahs step down while saving face, war can be avoided. Especially after the disaster in Iraq, Bush will not back down, though it may be in the best interest of the US in the long run. The other alternative can only be a much more destructive war than we have been fighting in Iraq.