Moe, Larry, "Curly John" Warner

We have still further proof of the failure of neoconservativism: Afghanistan, once the "crown jewel" in our so-called war on terror is officially going to hell in a handbag.

From USA Today:

In their biggest show of strength in nearly five years, pro-Taliban fighters are terrorizing southern Afghanistan — ambushing military patrols, assassinating opponents and even enforcing the law in remote villages where they operate with near impunity.

"We are faced with a full-blown insurgency," says Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil & Fundamentalism in Central Asia

[…]

Even before fighting heated up this spring, Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, warned Congress that the insurgents "represent a greater threat" to the pro-U.S. government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai "than at any point since late 2001."

One has to wonder why General Maples bothered to tell Congress. They sure weren't going to do anything about it.

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The disaster in Iraq is so obvious that even conservative icon William F. Buckley admits that our excursion to that country "didn't work."

And yet as recently as Monday, young Mister Bush, in an address to the graduates of the Merchant Marine Academy, claimed that the U.S. and its allies have fostered an "historic transformation" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If this kind of self-delusion is what comes from not drinking, Mister Bush needs to jump off the wagon.

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Of North Korea's apparent preparations to test launch a missile that could conceivably reach the west coast of the continental United States, State Department Sean McCormack said, "Together, our diplomacy and that of our allies has made clear to North Korea that a missile launch would be a provocative act that is not in their interests and will further isolate them from the world."

How much further isolated from the world does McCormack think North Korea can get?

Next question: how on earth did a guy like McCormack get to be a spokesman for the State Department?

Oh. Yeah. Bush administration. Silly Question. Never mind.

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In a new global poll conducted by the BBC World Service, more than half the people surveyed said Bush's reelection has made the world a more dangerous place.

Most negative feelings were found in Western European, Latin American and Muslim countries.
They include traditional US allies such as Germany, France, Britain and Italy as well as neighbours Canada and Mexico.

[…]

Turkey topped the anti-Bush list, with 82% believing his re-election would be negative for global security.
The result is bad news for the president as Turkey is a US ally and the only Muslim member of Nato, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels.

[…]

Anti-Bush sentiments also appeared to be strong in Latin America. Argentina, with 79%, and Brazil, with 78%, follow Turkey in the list.

As I said in my column from Tuesday, during the Bush administration, we've gone from having no real enemies to having no real friends.

"My" Senator in Action

I'm watching John Warner (R Virginia) on the Senate floor, smacking down the Democrat's proposed defense appropriation bill amendment to conduct a phased redeployment from Iraq. The guy's a total administration echo chamberlain, giving the Polly Cracker treatment to all the Rovewellian talking points on "staying the course" that we've all come to know and love so well.

"We have the momentum," says Warner.

Brother. Somebody do me a favor and rake a cheese grater across that administration stooge's face.

As long as the likes of Warner maintain control of Congress--as proxies of Dick Cheney--America will continue to squander every gain made by the sacrifices and victories gained in the two world wars and the Cold War.