The Matt Report
Okay, now it really does look like Matt Welch is "back." Hell of back, as the East Bay kids used to say-- lots of great posts on Steve Earle, Monrovia, the filthy streets of San Francisco, Iraq invasion leaks, the "dissent myth," Coulter/Krugman and much, much more. Excellent!
He sure is right about the open sewer otherwise known as downtown SF: we were there yesterday and the stench was more than we could handle. Maybe this sort of "third world charm" is why Europeans find the city so appealing; but you'd be hard-pressed to find another city in the civilized western world that is as disgusting. When I was a kid the Tenderloin was confined to a few blocks. Since then it has "spilled over" and swelled far beyond its former boundaries. Half of San Francisco is now "tenderloin." (Accordingly, the word "tenderloin" has become my wife's new preferred term for anything unpleasant or threatening, as in "hmm, I don't know-- that's a bit tenderloin if you ask me...") I'm sure Matt's right that this situation affects tourism. I doubt if they get many return customers these days. And you really have to wonder about parents who would allow their kids to walk down these streets without some kind of protective gear.
As for the Iraq leaks, I, like many others, have noticed and commented on the remarkable quantity (and dubious quality) of such leaks. I've always believed the leaks had to be deliberate. The question is, what are they trying to accomplish with them? Are they part of a coordinated plan of disinformation designed to keep the enemy guessing and to hide "the real plan" which is already in place? Maybe. When and if Bush makes the decision to act, such leaks might come in handy. But just because the leaks are deliberate doesn't necessarily mean that the decision to act has been taken and the process underway. It's entirely possible that the apparent confusion over how to handle Iraq remains a genuine reflection of the fact that the Bush administration hasn't yet figured out what it's going to do and is trying to keep as many options open as possible. In fact, I think that's the more likely possibility. That's how it has looked for the last few months, and neither the leaks, nor the fact that time is running out, nor any amount of hawkish wishful thinking necessarily mean that there has been any change.
Or perhaps, as Matt hopes, the administration is betting that repeated random acts of saber-rattling will alone suffice to scare Saddam into making enough concessions to give the US an "out." That's much less likely, if only because Bush has in effect made his political future contingent upon removing Saddam from power. No amount of saber-rattling or inspections programs, or sanctions, or what have you will induce him to step down voluntarily, as the administration is well aware. I suppose it would be theoretically possible to spin such a climb-down as something other than a craven, irresponsible, and dangerous failure of nerve, but I doubt it. Whether or not his case that Iraq poses a serious threat to the US and its allies has any merit (and I think it does) he has made it emphatically and unequivocally; if he fails to deliver on his numerous pledges to take action against Saddam, he's finished. And he will deserve to be. The wobble watch continues. Time to make some decisions, buddy.
Posted by Dr. Frank at July 29, 2002 12:26 PM | TrackBack