| Latest Commentary: | Volume V, Number 150 |
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Joint Chiefs Split with White House over Iraq-Nam Troop “Surge” -- The Bush administration dismissed the Iraq Study Group’s report before the ink was dry and announced that other reviews were underway. The White House has been kicking ideas around for a month, and sources say that it rather likes the idea of boosting troop levels by 15,000 to 30,000 for six to eight months to pacify Baghdad. The only trouble is the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top warriors in America, unanimously think this is a bad idea. The Vietnam parallel continues, with military expertise being over-ruled by the armchair generals around the president.
Opposition Gains in Iran Local Electionske” -- The Royal Institute of International Affairs, known more affectionately as “Chatham House,” has issued a report by its director Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas OBE, called, “Blair’s Foreign Policy and its Possible Successor(s).” It is both a fair assessment of Mr. Blair’s foreign policy, and a damning critique of his Iraq-Nam policy. More troubling, though, is the damage that the good professor says has been done to the Anglo-American special relationship. Delta Spurns US Airways’ $8.4 Billion Bid -- For a company in Chapter 11, Delta Air Lines has a lot of nerve. US Airways had offered $8.4 billion to takeover Delta. Yesterday, Delta’s board formally rejected the idea. Instead, Delta has a plan that will have it out of bankruptcy as a standalone company next spring. On top of that, Delta claims it will be profitable in 2007. Six months from now, this will either be proved an inspired self-confidence or self-deception on a colossal scale. Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Declines the Honor -- Around the end of every December, the news magazines start to run out of fodder. The Economist sensibly prints an edition that covers a fortnight rather than the usual week. The others tend to rely on puffery to fill out the book. Time has named a Person of the Year for decades to pad their December offerings. This year, the magazine named “You” the Person of the Year. Thanks, but no thanks. One respectfully declines. © Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.
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