During an interview with pool reporters today aboard the Straight Talk express, American foreign policy expert and presidential candidate Senator John McCain warned of increasing tensions in the Balkans he attributed to the dynastic ambitions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

"We need to closely monitor the situation in Serbia and Montenegro," the senator said, noting that America "would not stand idly by" if the Austro-Hungarians "threatened the march of democracy across southern Europe."

Asked if he could name the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Senator McCain demurred, indicating he needed to check with his staff.

A press spokesman indicated that the senator would have "strong words" for the Ottoman Empire in a speech in Akron later this week.

Please forgive me if this has been linked already - I was out-of-town for a couple of days, and just saw this article this morning.

Iraqi Troops Dismissed After Basra Attack

More below the fold.

Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before.

A Federal prosecutor resigns following pressure from his supervisors to aggressively prosecute cases of "strategic political value" to the Administration over the prosecutor's objections on the basis of fairness and legality.

Only this time, it's not the DOJ - it's the DOD.

One of the Republican talking points in the USA firings is really pissing me off.

It's even worse when Democrats repeat it.

I caught the first few minutes of Hardball today, and Mr. Matthews repeated the assertion that even if the USA replacements were handled badly, there is no evidence that any laws were broken. Both the "left" and "right" talking heads agreed.

My question is, so what?

At a news conference last month, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, observed that, "[A]ny student of history recognizes there is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq, to the insurgency in Iraq."

A principal author of the U.S. Army’s counterinsurgency manual, Gen. Petraeus continued:

"Military action is necessary to help improve security ... but it is not sufficient," Petraeus said. "A political resolution of various differences ... of various senses that people do not have a stake in the successes of Iraq and so forth that is crucial. That is what will determine, in the long run, the success of this effort."

More after the fold . . .

Christopher Hitchens put his peculiar brand of arrogance and disdain on Bill Maher's HBO program Friday night, leading once again to the critical question, Why is this man employed?