MOGADISHU MOMENTS

In the comment thread from the Fallujah atrocity post-it note I slapped up in between server compiles:

If by \’e2\’80\’9cMogadishu Moment\’e2\’80\’9d all that is meant is that both events provided a rather gruesome TV moment that shocked and unsettled a lot of people, then this clearly was that. If instead \’e2\’80\’9cMogadishu Moment\’e2\’80\’9d is meant to suggest a watershed moment when policies are re-examined and the commitment to the campaign is seriously reconsidered, then the analogy largely fails.

Well, the thing is, gruesome TV moments DO shock and unsettle people, and that DOES cause policies to be re-examined. Considering the fact that our military has apparently started Operation Not Taking Any More Goddamned Crap in the past couple of days, a policy was in fact re-examined – the policy of benign neglect. Instead of whistling quietly and hoping no one notices as we disengage from Iraq, people are starting to talk in terms of “America at war” again. Whoops.

Now, some might claim this all to be more electioneering and political posturing, but unless you somehow think Mullah al-Sadr is working for John Kerry or something equally bizarre, it’s more a case of things continuing to fall apart and the center continuing to not hold. Empire building is HARD.