March 24, 2006

Mani is the Mortal Foe of Nuance

Hard to believe this woman was actually Secretary of State:

THE BUSH administration's newly unveiled National Security Strategy might well be subtitled "The Irony of Iran." Three years after the invasion of Iraq and the invention of the phrase "axis of evil," the administration now highlights the threat posed by Iran — whose radical government has been vastly strengthened by the invasion of Iraq. This is more tragedy than strategy, and it reflects the Manichean approach this administration has taken to the world.

And then Ms. Albright shows just how much more superior nuance is to Manichean dichotomies:

For years, the president has acted as if Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein's followers and Iran's mullahs were parts of the same problem. Yet, in the 1980s, Hussein's Iraq and Iran fought a brutal war. In the 1990s, Al Qaeda's allies murdered a group of Iranian diplomats. For years, Osama bin Laden ridiculed Hussein, who persecuted Sunni and Shiite religious leaders alike. When Al Qaeda struck the U.S. on 9/11, Iran condemned the attacks and later participated constructively in talks on Afghanistan. The top leaders in the new Iraq — chosen in elections that George W. Bush called "a magic moment in the history of liberty" — are friends of Iran. When the U.S. invaded Iraq, Bush may have thought he was striking a blow for good over evil, but the forces unleashed were considerably more complex.

The administration is now divided between those who understand this complexity and those who do not.

Never mind.

Posted by Charles Austin at March 24, 2006 03:21 PM
Comments

I read that whole thing completely slack-jawed. Sometimes, I think they do it just to show off for their insider buddies and none of it is serious.

Posted by: Scott Chaffin at 09:48 PM

Every time I see the name "Madeline Albright" I see again that video of her dancing with the North Korean children. Not too deep inside that woman is a bimbo trying to get out.

Posted by: Andrea Harris at 02:19 AM