War of Shadows
[posted by Callimachus]
Stories like this won't get as much ink as ones that feature dead Americans, but they're devastating:
I don't think I have to tell you the name of the organization that likely pulled this one off. (If you shouted "CIA/Mossad!" you're on the wrong blog).
Al Qaida understands perfectly something we Americans still don't get -- our political leaders and wanna-be leaders least of all: Prestige. Prestige is a curious word, but the roots of it mean "to bind in advance." Prestige is the shadow cast by your power. Right now, America has enormous power with a short shadow. Al Qaida knows how to make its shadow as long as the world.
Stories like this won't get as much ink as ones that feature dead Americans, but they're devastating:
A stealthy suicide bomber slipped into a busy Baghdad hotel Monday and blew himself up in the midst of a gathering of U.S.-allied tribal sheiks — a blow to efforts to forge a front against the extremists of al-Qaida in Iraq. Four of the tribal chiefs were among the 13 victims, police said.
I don't think I have to tell you the name of the organization that likely pulled this one off. (If you shouted "CIA/Mossad!" you're on the wrong blog).
Al Qaida understands perfectly something we Americans still don't get -- our political leaders and wanna-be leaders least of all: Prestige. Prestige is a curious word, but the roots of it mean "to bind in advance." Prestige is the shadow cast by your power. Right now, America has enormous power with a short shadow. Al Qaida knows how to make its shadow as long as the world.
