The top of the newsgeist today is the realization that Iraq is a powder keg, and it was only waiting for the temperature to get high enough. The attacks across Iraq, by different groups, indicate that the US occupation has failed to secure that all important quality in an invasion - legitimacy. We don't look like we are there to stay.
The great indication is the ability of guerillas to work inside the civilians - to shoot from crowds, fade into the general population, and recruit fighters, not just suicide bombers. This level of organization indicates that we have gone from tactical reasoning - which appeared last fall and lead to Bloody November - to operational integration. The next level up is, of course, logisitical fluidity. After that, strategy becomes possible.
We are still some distance away from a "Tet" style "everywhere at once" attack, but the distance is narrowing.
So tell us where the Liberal Zeitgeist is today, and how the election will turn out.
Yes, it's been busy over at bop - but the bigger picture beckons, as pressure in Europe grows for a renewed focus on NATO's war with terrorism, rather than the American war in Iraq. The failures of the spring offensive in Afgahnistan to make progress in neutralizing core AlQaeda leadership, and the appearant metastisizing of the "AlQaeda idea", are creating increasing pressure for Europe to push back on an American regime that has taken its eye off of the global security and stability ball.
Note to the Executive Branch - the world is round. We'll catch up on more handy geopolitical tips tomorrow including "ground wars in Asia, cons, cons and cons" and "there is no word in a colonial power's lexicon that translates to 'exit strategy'"