Sometimes, The Best Things Are Left Unsaid

Well, yesterday was the 6th anniversary of 9/11, otherwise known as the 6th anniversary of the day my lovely sister's birthday because infamously known to everyone around the world. When I was growing up, Yom Kippur would happen on my birthday every few years, which meant that on the day of my birthday, I didn't get to eat until sundown, and I had to spend the whole day in temple, pretending to pray to a god I didn't believe existed. This used to give me vast amounts of self-pity, but I definitely don't feel so bad compared to Lisa, who now has to spend every birthday hearing about how horrible of a day it was back in 2001.

I don't really think that there's a whole lot to say about the anniversary. At the least, whatever I feel should be said, I am wise enough to know I can't say right.

So, whatever I wanted to say, for good or ill, I left unsaid.

However, one day later, there are a few things I think bear saying. One is that the rather , umm, fortuitous timing of General Petraeus' testimony in front of Congress, on the day before and the day of the anniversary, was nothing less than disgusting. I assume that the White House made the final call on that, all the better to make the same old barely subconscious Iraq! 9/11! Iraq! 9/11! argument.

As for the testimony itself, it seems like there was not a whole lot of meat to it. Basically, he said about what was expected. The surge has improved things in some places. Some places are more questionable. We need more time.

I do have to say that a remarkable proportion of the back-and-forths I've seen that were really interesting involved the Pride of Delaware, Joe Biden. He did a really good job of asking skeptical but reasonably nonpartisan questions. Say what you want about his bloviating and his tendency to say too much, and too often. But Biden is a smart, serious dude who really knows much more about what's going on in the world than just about everyone else. Just the kind of guy who would make a really excellent Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

In particular, I liked that he asked Petraeus if, come time for the next report in March, conditions in Iraq are pretty much the same as they are now, is he going to be able to recommend continuing along the current course? Petraeus tried to dodge by hemming and hawing, along with utilizing the most dispicable strategy used by politicians of 'refusing to answer a hypothetical'. Eventually, however, he was basically forced to admit that he would not really be able to recommend a continuation of the strategy in those circumstances.

It's not much, considering that there's roughly a 0% chance that the Dems aren't going to vote to continue the funding this time around. They might be able to repeat the karaoke of voting for a timetable, having it vetoed, then voting to simply continue the funding, which I think is a fine strategy. And really, there's roughly a 0% chance that Bush won't continue to do whatever the hell he wants until the day he leaves office. But there does seem to be a legitimate hope that the Dems can really tie the disaster of Iraq around the neck of every single Republican in '08, and while I hate to use the death of America's finest as a political sword against anyone, it appears to be the only way that any serious changes in this disastrous policy are going to be made.