tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post8014898817747897608..comments2023-11-17T03:55:40.736-05:00Comments on Ink Spots: Andrew Exum on the Charlie Rose show (UPDATED)Lilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373158801523577733noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-13769211637429292812009-08-01T12:53:35.664-04:002009-08-01T12:53:35.664-04:00Soldier no longer in Iraq
watches the summer endin...Soldier no longer in Iraq<br />watches the summer ending<br />flexes his fingers<br />and mourns his dead<br /> <br /> no mere kerfluffle this<br />a charge of prostitutes<br />the gigolo light brigade<br />Mc Chrystals rent boys<br />drinking his friends blood<br />Dolchstosse for a place<br />on the cock-tail circuit.<br /><br />All that is left is rage<br />rage and unending sorrow<br />watching the leaves fall<br />outside his DC bunkerfnordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-47386358450595840352009-07-30T00:24:45.828-04:002009-07-30T00:24:45.828-04:00Ex has a very nicely groomed head of hair. VERY GQ...Ex has a very nicely groomed head of hair. VERY GQ. Is that in preparation for his trip to the Mideast or is that just part of being in a think tank? I only ask because this because an <a href="http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2008/02/kips-reader-caption-contest.html" rel="nofollow">odd image that was posted here</a> is burned into my brain and won't go away (though it appears to have disappeared from the internet). Trendy grooming might be part of the benefits package.Schmedlaphttp://www.schmedlap.com/weblog/Latest.aspxnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-13533527781888179482009-07-28T19:25:37.268-04:002009-07-28T19:25:37.268-04:00The Gamble should be set to dance,
The Fiasco, wel...The Gamble should be set to dance,<br />The Fiasco, well, why not romance?<br />If we're really going to make a mint,<br />We should sell what works in Tashket,<br />And Bollywood should pay in advance.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-65678054402489029292009-07-28T18:53:38.966-04:002009-07-28T18:53:38.966-04:00Tom Ricks does bollywood?
okay, i'm really go...Tom Ricks does bollywood?<br /><br />okay, i'm really going now.Madhuhttp://onparkstreet.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-75825175299182076762009-07-28T18:51:57.236-04:002009-07-28T18:51:57.236-04:00aargh, i have to go, abstract writing time which i...aargh, i have to go, abstract writing time which is why i'm online all the time<br /><br />bollywood gets on my nerves, i like old school a lot, but the new stuff irritates. except for saif ali khan. he's supposedly a filmi prima donna - but i don't care.Madhuhttp://onparkstreet.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-36624324392342125582009-07-28T18:45:16.382-04:002009-07-28T18:45:16.382-04:00Because I think this poetry really sizzles,
Withou...Because I think this poetry really sizzles,<br />Without choreography and song, it fizzles,<br />And in Bollywood I want to cash in,<br />Like that bastard Tom Ricks, my friend,<br />Many thanks, etc, fo shizzle.<br /><br />SNLIIzzleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-17914396902683367912009-07-28T18:41:42.201-04:002009-07-28T18:41:42.201-04:00But there's a favor I'll ask if I could --...But there's a favor I'll ask if I could --<br />Madhu, I was wondering if you could<br />Find me a Mumbai agent or two,<br />Maybe an entire agency's crew,<br />With connections in Bollywood?<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-13141838001066732622009-07-28T18:38:26.151-04:002009-07-28T18:38:26.151-04:00Pardon me if I don't disclose my vocation,
But...Pardon me if I don't disclose my vocation,<br />But Dick Cheney and I are at a safe location,<br />Buried many stories below DC,<br />Our prime concerns? My safety!<br />Oh, yeah, and, of course, our nation.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-43703632871808473562009-07-28T18:23:08.742-04:002009-07-28T18:23:08.742-04:00oh jeez, just correct what you need to correct in ...oh jeez, just correct what you need to correct in the above. you know what i mean.Madhuhttp://onparkstreet.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-66908722294666703642009-07-28T18:13:32.724-04:002009-07-28T18:13:32.724-04:00OMG.
I don't have time to process all these ...OMG. <br /><br />I don't have time to process all these right now!<br /><br />My skepticism is something different from your poetically expressed skepticism - if we do this 'hold, clear, and build' thing, because we want to disrupt, dismantle and destroy Al Q, then we better have a realistic idea of what comes after build, how long build takes, and what build means. <br /><br />Also, the I diaspora papers are rumbling. Two sequential administrations worked so hard to improve relations with both Pakistan and India! Although, we still had 9-11! Confusion reigns in Dr. M land. I don't know how you people do it - studying discrete tumors is a whole lot easier.<br /><br /><br />*Are you some sort of computer in the basement of the Pentagon? Goodness.Madhuhttp://onparkstreet.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-40155183456336927052009-07-28T17:50:28.854-04:002009-07-28T17:50:28.854-04:00OK, OK, I'm sure you got your fill,
Of SNLII t...OK, OK, I'm sure you got your fill,<br />Of SNLII tallying the butcher's bill,<br />But mark my words: We haven't seen the cost<br />Of all the lives -- them and ours -- to be lost,<br />Or the civilians we'll lead to the kill.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-68701997800608908822009-07-28T17:48:17.292-04:002009-07-28T17:48:17.292-04:00Exum won't give advice he wouldn't take,
B...Exum won't give advice he wouldn't take,<br />But why should we give him a break?<br />His words should stand on their own,<br />Not at PBS but in a war zone<br />Or some dead private's wake.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-84590454106410085282009-07-28T17:46:37.832-04:002009-07-28T17:46:37.832-04:00And does his DD214 mask,
The questions that we sho...And does his DD214 mask,<br />The questions that we should ask:<br />What cost do we pay in blood and treasure?<br />What metrics we borrow for the blood's measure?<br />Shouldn't that be our task?<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-29524982997493620212009-07-28T17:44:39.712-04:002009-07-28T17:44:39.712-04:00Did he, just once, call out a name,
Of some poor b...Did he, just once, call out a name,<br />Of some poor bastard sent to tame<br />A Taliban foe we barely understand,<br />In Kabul or even in Pakistan?<br />And ain't that the real shame?<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-73481709960739770512009-07-28T17:42:54.591-04:002009-07-28T17:42:54.591-04:00If he wants to go on Charlies Rose,
Unbobbing his ...If he wants to go on Charlies Rose,<br />Unbobbing his head and sporting new clothes,<br />That's cool and I give him props,<br />He's got some serious policy chops,<br />But what about the boby bags lined in rows?<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-61000875025545277222009-07-28T17:41:02.668-04:002009-07-28T17:41:02.668-04:00Now, for Exum I have great affection,
He's hon...Now, for Exum I have great affection,<br />He's honorable and beyond objection;<br />But I have my doubts about the war we fight,<br />Its goals, and my quibbles that it might<br />Be prolonged just for the midterm election.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-7043095120254598212009-07-28T17:37:35.966-04:002009-07-28T17:37:35.966-04:00The real problem with the OEF mission,
Is that for...The real problem with the OEF mission,<br />Is that for strategy we seem to be fishin'<br />And no one should have to die for a hope,<br />Even if his orders came from "The Pope" <br />Or a think tank that's known more for ambition.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-23867601030842327992009-07-28T17:35:30.921-04:002009-07-28T17:35:30.921-04:00But what does it matter, in the end?
The expert an...But what does it matter, in the end?<br />The expert and the novice, alike my friend.<br />What matters is the argument they make,<br />Not the lies Tom Friedman likes to bake<br />Into a column anyone can comprehend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-63770378254609979312009-07-28T17:31:02.468-04:002009-07-28T17:31:02.468-04:00It's true that service can't substitute
Fo...It's true that service can't substitute<br />For expertise or a million dollar suit,<br />But if you've been with ripped apart,<br />You understand the mind and the heart<br />That's taken belongs to a former recruit.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-81018979420111873832009-07-28T17:28:31.797-04:002009-07-28T17:28:31.797-04:00Notice that at Exum's place,
Lots of COIN but ...Notice that at Exum's place,<br />Lots of COIN but a human face?<br />Spreading ink spots across his map,<br />Stan the man and hagiographic crap,<br />But what about lives we can't replace?<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-78745613886405655902009-07-28T17:25:36.088-04:002009-07-28T17:25:36.088-04:00On policy sites, what's often lost,
Is the pri...On policy sites, what's often lost,<br />Is the price that's paid --the human cost.<br />That's the nature, I guess, of blogs,<br />They don't consider the bodies, like logs<br />Stacked as high as the roofs of Khost.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-291033401686854642009-07-28T17:23:48.238-04:002009-07-28T17:23:48.238-04:00Sorry, I guess I should be more specific then: you...Sorry, I guess I should be more specific then: your kind, the cynics (or realists), aren't they going to be similarly cynical about any mission?<br /><br />What I mean to say is that grunt poetry may be an effective criticism of <em>all</em> war more than <em>this</em> war. Maybe that's what you're going for; Service was.Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-26111724231057353382009-07-28T17:20:20.331-04:002009-07-28T17:20:20.331-04:00Oh, no! I knew those who bought every line,
Sold b...Oh, no! I knew those who bought every line,<br />Sold by Bush, CNAS and similar swine,<br />Duty, honor and lots of country, too,<br />They'd have different answers for Madhu,<br />But I guess I wasn't one of their kind.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-88802163413191273762009-07-28T17:17:00.092-04:002009-07-28T17:17:00.092-04:00Detect a little anger?
SNLII -- I appreciate the ...<em>Detect a little anger?</em><br /><br />SNLII -- I appreciate the theme, and the question that's implied in all of these poems. That said, do you think the Joe (or Tommy, or Digger, or whoever) gives a shit if he's bleeding on the Marne or in (to use your inimitable phrasing) NW Goatfuckistan? The guy on the pointy end always thinks that the real (non-rhetoric) rationale for war is a waste, whether it's a "vital national interest" or not. Just as true in Afghanistan, but probably no more true than Iraq or Somalia or Vietnam or the Bulge.Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-29040786199263773332009-07-28T17:10:55.009-04:002009-07-28T17:10:55.009-04:00An Afghan's IED is one hungry beast.
She makes...An Afghan's IED is one hungry beast.<br />She makes your blood into a feast.<br />Well, I didn't die to make Karzai rich,<br />Bleeding out inside a ditch,<br />Last Rites mumbled by the priest.<br /><br />SNLII<br /><br />Detect a little anger?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com