by CKR
The New York Times says today that Blackwater used CS gas (tear gas, not just like tear gas) to try to break up a traffic jam in Baghdad in 2005. They've even got a photo of the helicopter releasing it. This is just one more reason not to use mercenaries. Here's the Armchair Generalist's take.
Marc Lynch discusses the two-sided nature of President Bush's trip to the Middle East. I've been concerned about this: a peace treaty as cover for pulling together an alliance for war against Iran? Both sides have been covered in the MSM, although I haven't seen both in the same article, and since the president left American soil, the peace treaty side of the coverage has greatly predominated. And are the air strikes part of a campaign to convince the Middle East that the United States is strong enough to hit Iran too?
On the more positive side, the Obama campaign's successes are making me think that maybe, just maybe, the world is looking a lot more like the one some of us wanted back in the sixties. Our children (and their children?) are taking things for granted or passing things by that caused quite some struggles, even until recently. Their mental set transcends those old differences. Makes me feel like I can breathe easier.
