Arms and influence

General outrage

At first, I was skeptical about Glenn Greenwald's post describing the "general in your pocket" controversy. If you want to get people to feel outraged, focus on Iraq, not Guantanamo Bay. The "independent" retired military commentariat that wasn't so independent was giving its thumbs up to a great deal more destruction in Iraq than Guantanamo Bay. Plus, Americans die in Iraq, but not on the tip of Cuba.

(I really hate having to make these sorts of comparisons at all. Which unjustified, self-destructive policy is worse? Anyway, onwards.)

However, Greenwald's target seems to be the media more than the generals themselves. Therefore, the willingness to swallow what the retired officers were saying about Guantanamo Bay is no worse or better than any of their claims about Iraq or Afghanistan. It's the gullibility and cowardice of the media that's the real topic of Greenwald's post.

I'll add one tiny detail to Greenwald's already detailed analysis: you'll note that, in spite of watching only one interrogation, Shepperd implies that he observed multiple interrogations.

Hello from the cave

No, I'm not dead. I haven't joined up (though Pentagon standards may be low enough for me to do so). I've just taken an unexpected vacation from writing.

To some degree, my absence from blogging was necessary. I had some big writing projects in my new job that consumed my time. I couldn't justify writing anything else until these were done.

However, I can't blame work completely. I had a bad case of blogging fatigue, which happens when you worry that your effort is largely wasted.

Anyway, I'll try to get back on a regular schedule of posts. I hope someone is still reading.