Down to business

first things first… my hat’s off to all the steady bloggers out there who update every hour on the hour. yes, some are professionals, but still it’s a handful for anyone. QUITE A HANDFUL. thus, my unsteady output up to now.

next… the name, Rule 308. seen “breaker morant”? if so, you’ll know the title, with the caliber updated for modern times. now of course I don’t (and can’t) advocate the sorts of measures that “leftenants” morant, hancock and witten went down for, but i can (and will) echo the sentiment. the vigorous application of Rule 308 would solve a lot of our problems. war is an ugly business, and it’s not for the faint of heart. we are in a war we didn’t ask for, and half-measures will cost us dear. the imperative is to win it, and win it decisively. this is going to take both time and some nasty measures. do we have the heart for the long fight? we’ll see. (and if you haven’t seen the movie, well, maybe you can guess. if not, email me and i’ll explain it.)

in that vein, let’s discuss the bombings in London. bad news, very bad news. the worst thing that can happen is that the actions will cleave us from the Brits. when i first saw the reports (on Fox, of course), i said to myself, “i bet they cave in.” then i thought the better of it, as i think they’re made of sterner stuff. what i say now is this: i don’t think they’ll cave, but i won’t be surprised if they do.” not exactly a ringing endorsement and i hate to say it, but i think Old Europe is so far down the path to self-immolation that only a cataclysmic strike will knock them back into reality. a smaller action like last week’s bombings might be enough to get al-qaeda’s point across but not enough to swing them to the other side. and no one wants to see a massive strike on the UK, or anywhere else.

for further discussion i would turn your attention to National Review Online, specifically to a John Derbyshire article from last friday: “Britain will do a Spain. I am sure of it.” in that article there is also a link to one of his old articles about an alternate universe where the US is actually vigorously prosecuting a war against al-qaeda. as opposed to what we’re doing now, according to JD. very amusing.

don’t get me wrong, i love the Brits, the best allies we’ve ever had. i would gladly fight in any task force under their command. i know their soldiers and Marines will fight. i’m not so sure about their populace, enervated by decades of cradle-to-grave welfare and a strong pacifist socialist movement. stranger things have happened.

and i hope i'm right, that they'll stick it out.