Monday, May 2, 2011

"Mission Accomplished"

A look in the time-machine:


Now, I don't happen to think that Hillary or Dodd would have done anything differently. If you listen to Hillary, although she's criticizing him on the issue, what she really says is "of course, if we have actionable intelligence--" before casting the idea of intelligence into doubt, and also, "You may think that, but you can't always say what you think," which is a pretty bold statement of truth.

Anyways, I'm a little bit nauseated by the tone of triumphalism around Bin Laden's death; people continually quote Team America with no sense of irony. I think Obama hit the right tone: determined, acknowledging the progress that has been made, and acknowledging the pain and suffering that led to today. It's progress, but it's not a moment of joy. The moment of joy will come when something positive is built in the place of everyone that has died, everything that has been destroyed.