Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. - Cyril Connolly
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Reality Check
I had the extreme pleasure of having a casual week night supper with Ambassador Bob and his wife Alison this evening. They are back in the states for a little summer R&R and to get some State Dept. work done in Washington. Getting to hear the real scoop on Iraq from someone who was on the ground in Baghdad for the last month (after spending 2.5 years there at the beginning of the war), and from someone who is in regular meetings with General Petraeus, Ambassador Cocker, and video conferences with Dubya, is quite a reality check. And it's not good news folks.
The emperor has no clothes, and all the King's horses and all the King's men, can't put Humpty back together again.
I've never seen him quite this discouraged or hopeless about the future (or lack thereof) of Iraq as a nation, and of our efforts in trying to put a finger in the dyke of civil war.
My trip to North Africa next spring to visit them at the Algerian Embassy is looking bleak as well. Al Quaeda activity in Algeria and Morocco show no sign of diminishing, and threats against US diplomats are increasing. Oddly enough - Libya is a safer bet for travel these days.
