Petrified Truth

True lies

Faulty memories of Vietnam are prevalent these days as defeatist Democrats and weak-kneed Republicans alike try to pretend we can slide out of Iraq without catastrophe.

Savvy foreign policy veteran Max Boot knows better and dissects one particular notion: that the negotiations leading to the fall of South Vietnam, led by the amoral Henry Kissinger, somehow offer a model for today.

As Congress debates the war in Iraq, it's becoming clear that many lawmakers want to bring the troops home while avoiding the likely consequences — a ruinous civil war and a calamitous victory for Iran and al-Qaida. This has led to much pining for some kind of negotiated solution — what the Iraq Study Group called a "new diplomatic offensive" — that might allow us a graceful exit.

Enter Henry Kissinger, the octogenarian "wise man" who is an adviser to President Bush. While rightly stressing that a "precipitate withdrawal" of U.S. forces would result in a "geopolitical calamity," he suggested in a recent syndicated column that "a sustainable political end to the conflict" can be achieved not through military action but through "wise and determined American diplomacy" that engages everyone from internal Iraqi players to Iran and Indonesia. [...]

Kissinger can plausibly argue that the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia was inevitable, given the turn of public opinion against the war. But he cannot at the same time claim, as he does in his memoirs, that his diplomacy was a "dazzling success." His machinations, however brilliant, made little difference in the end. All they did was provide the Nixon administration a "reasonable interval" and Kissinger a Nobel Peace Prize. If anything, the peace accords accelerated the fall of South Vietnam by giving Congress the illusion that the war was over and that it was safe to cut off aid.

There is a lesson here for the present day: Skilled diplomacy can consolidate the results of military success but can seldom make up for its lack. In Iraq, there is scant chance that any American legerdemain can convince internal factions like the Jaish al-Mahdi or al-Qaida in Iraq, or outside actors such as Iran and Syria, that their interests are congruent with ours. While the United States pursues stability and democracy, our enemies are merrily capitalizing on mayhem to carve out spheres of influence and bleed us dry.

The only thing that could conceivably alter their calculations is a change in the balance of power on the ground. That is what Army Gen. David Petraeus is trying to achieve. But he is being undermined by incessant withdrawal demands from home, which are convincing our enemies that they can wait us out. Only if the other side faces the probability of defeat — or at least stalemate — can negotiations produce a durable accord.

Millions died after Kissinger's cynical brand of "realism" was implemented. It was dishonest nonsense then, and it is again today. We owe ourselves and the world more.

The Godfather in Russia

Russian Garry Kasparov, formerly world chess champion and now staunch pro-democracy activist, says his country under Vladimir Putin has become a mafia state.

Mr. Putin's government is unique in history. This Kremlin is part oligarchy, with a small, tightly connected gang of wealthy rulers. It is partly a feudal system, broken down into semi-autonomous fiefdoms in which payments are collected from the serfs, who have no rights. Over this there is a democratic coat of paint, just thick enough to gain entry into the G-8 and keep the oligarchy's money safe in Western banks.

But if you really wish to understand the Putin regime in depth, I can recommend some reading. No Karl Marx or Adam Smith. Nothing by Montesquieu or Machiavelli, although the author you are looking for is of Italian descent. But skip Mussolini's "The Doctrine of Fascism," for now, and the entire political science section. Instead, go directly to the fiction department and take home everything you can find by Mario Puzo. If you are in a real hurry to become an expert on the Russian government, you may prefer the DVD section, where you can find Mr. Puzo's works on film. "The Godfather" trilogy is a good place to start, but do not leave out "The Last Don," "Omerta" and "The Sicilian."

The web of betrayals, the secrecy, the blurred lines between what is business, what is government, and what is criminal--it's all there in Mr. Puzo's books. A historian looks at the Kremlin today and sees elements of Mussolini's "corporate state," Latin American juntas and Mexico's pseudo-democratic PRI machine. A Puzo fan sees the Putin government more accurately: the strict hierarchy, the extortion, the intimidation, the code of secrecy and, above all, the mandate to keep the revenue flowing. In other words, a mafia.

Unfortunately, Putin isn't content to oppress just his own country. He's meddling in world affairs on the same corrupt basis.

Harry Potter - The Reading Completed

Finished the book, to the great relief of others in the household, because it means they can discuss openly. They showed great restraint.

All in all, a splendid achievement.

Harry Potter - The Reading Begins

So, last night the long vigil for the final Harry Potter volume ended. Wife and daughter, both devotees, were pleasantly giddy at the prospect after all these years of waiting to find out how the story ends.

• Camille at Book Moot says, "Thanks for the ride!"
• Captain Ed live-blogged his local Harry Potter party.
• Frank J already knows the ending - naturally, it involves Fred Thompson.

UPDATE: 7:00 p.m. Saturday, they are both finished. Now it's my turn.

Climbing off the ledge

Well, our new school superintendent has some sense and doesn't want to go overboard with zero-tolerance discipline.

This is good news for the neighborhood.

Katy Superintendent Alton Frailey announced Wednesday night that a sixth grader will not have to attend four months in an alternative school for writing "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall with a baby blue Sharpie.

Instead, the parents and the principal Rick Hull will discuss reasonable discipline options for the offense that will not include out of school suspension or placement in an alternative school, Frailey said.

Damage Report

The venerable Columbia Journalism Review has a devastating critique of the Dallas Morning News and its downsizing/turnaround strategy. It's a case study of a destructive industry trend, not just a gossip piece.

Two outside observers are not optimistic.

Philip Meyer has been a reporter, editor, corporate officeholder, and pioneer in computer-assisted reporting, and is one of the country’s most respected journalism scholars. Meyer understands why managers at The Dallas Morning News eliminated two hundred newsroom jobs. He only wishes they would look at the long-term implications.

“It seems to me that papers that do what Dallas just did have decided to liquidate the business and get as much money out of it as they can,” says Meyer, who holds the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina. “That’s not crazy. It’s a rational strategy if you only care about what happens on your watch as a manager because it takes a long time for a newspaper to die, and, while it’s in its death throes, it can still be a pretty good cash cow. But it’s really bad for the community and for the business in the long run.”

Meyer and other researchers have published more than a dozen studies over the past ten years exploring newsroom staffing, journalistic quality, and profitability. A recent study by Esther Thorson, an associate dean at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, examined four years of financial data from hundreds of newspapers. Thorson, who has studied media for twenty years, says those who try to cut the newsroom to maintain profitability are doomed to failure. “That’s not a business model,” she says. “That’s a death model.” Thorson found that larger newsroom investments would translate into greater profits. “A newspaper is a rich environment of information and entertainment,” she said. “That makes it a fabulous locale for advertising. But if your product is degraded and circulation plummets, why would advertisers want to invest in that?”

Perhaps CJR could conduct the same kind of analysis of our local Houston Chronicle. Like Dallas, there's no real competition in journalism here and the implications for citizens are severe.

Dumb and dumber

Oh boy, our local school district makes the front-page news again, in yet another example of bureaucratic overreaction in a student discipline case.

Shelby Sendelbach, a sixth-grader in the Katy Independent School District, was read her rights, ticketed and punished with a mandatory four-month assignment to an alternative school because she wrote "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall with a baby blue Sharpie.

The graffiti offense is a Level 4 infraction in the district's discipline plan, along with making terroristic threats, possessing dangerous drugs, and assaulting with bodily injury. Only a Level 5 — for murder, possessing firearms, committing aggravated or sexual assault, arson or other felonies — is more severe.

Shelby's parents, Lisa and Stu Sendelbach, say they do not condone what their daughter did. Nevertheless, they are fighting to get her punishment reduced because they believe it is too harsh. [...]

The Harris County district attorney's office declined to prosecute the case as a felony. But school district spokesman Steve Stanford said the district is following a state law that requires mandatory removal to a disciplinary alternative education school for such an offense.

The notion that no discretion is allowed and therefore the harsh decision is really someone else's fault is so typical, but so wrong. And so damaging to the district's reputation.

Front row Joe

Here's Sen. Joe Lieberman on Iran's increasingly open proxy war against the U.S. (and the nascent democracies in the Middle East, not to mention Israel):

Earlier this week, the U.S. military made public new and disturbing information about the proxy war that Iran is waging against American soldiers and our allies in Iraq. [...]

No responsible leader in Washington desires conflict with Iran. But every leader has a responsibility to acknowledge the evidence that the U.S. military has now put before us: The Iranian government, by its actions, has all but declared war on us and our allies in the Middle East.

America now has a solemn responsibility to utilize the instruments of our national power to convince Tehran to change its behavior, including the immediate cessation of its training and equipping extremists who are killing our troops.

Most of this work must be done by our diplomats, military and intelligence operatives in the field. But Iran's increasingly brazen behavior also presents a test of our political leadership here at home. When Congress reconvenes next week, all of us who are privileged to serve there should set aside whatever partisan or ideological differences divide us to send a clear, strong and unified message to Tehran that it must stop everything it is doing to bring about the death of American service members in Iraq.

It's no surprise that we don't hear such clear thinking from the defeatist Democrats or the growing number of weak-kneed, surrender monkey Republicans, but why is the Bush administration showing less leadership than a lone senator?

One thing is sure: Iran will keeping pushing and raising the stakes until the point of no return. The more enfeebled our responses now, the harsher the consequences will be down the road.

Rising storm

As noted earlier, there's big controversy at the National Hurricane Center over leadership and a failing weather satellite.

Now we learn more of the story, including rebellion among the scientific staff. And then comes a bold statement from well-known meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters.

It greatly troubles me that the most visible and admired member of my profession has failed to use good science in his arguments for funding a replacement of the QuikSCAT satellite. The Director of the National Hurricane Center needs to be an able politician and good communicator, but being truthful with the science is a fundamental requirement of the job as well. Mr. Proenza has misrepresented the science on the QuikSCAT issue, and no longer has my support as director of the National Hurricane Center.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix review

Here's a first review of the new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, from Great Britain.

Born American, but in the wrong place

An alert reader writes to recommend Fourth of July thoughts from "citizen-by-choice" Kim du Toit. Excerpt:

As I once told a fellow immigrant who was yet to settle here: “The central promise of this nation has been achieved. Everyone can vote; everyone has the same opportunities to live free and make something of themselves, and is bounded only by his talent and application. We’re only arguing over the details, now.”

And this is where the problems start. People often laugh at me when I refer to America as “Paradise”. How can that be, they ask, when there is so much wrong with this country?

Here’s the newsflash: There isn’t much wrong with this country.

In fact, the biggest problem we face is that a tremendous number of people either do not believe this, or are intent on subverting it for a variety of motives, or both.

Of course, you should read the whole thing.

Independence Day 2007

On our Independence Day, William J. Bennett examines the almost pathological neglect of history that erodes our sense of national purpose.

Tens of millions of Americans are about to celebrate our nation’s Founding. The worrisome question is, will future generations take to this celebration the way we have for the past 231 years if they do not know the first, second, or third thing about their country?

Two years ago, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough told the U.S. Senate that American History was our nation’s worst subject in school. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (a.k.a., “our Nation’s Report Card”), released last month, bears that out again. Our children do worse in American history than they do in reading or math. McCullough testified we were facing the prospect of national amnesia, saying, “Amnesia of society is just as detrimental as amnesia for the individual. We are running a terrible risk. Our very freedom depends on education, and we are failing our children in not providing that education.”

McCullough is right, and it is a double tragedy: a) our children no longer know their country’s history and b) the story they do not know is the greatest political story ever told.

It is not our children’s fault. Our country’s adults are expected to instill a love of country in its children, but the greatness and purpose of that country are mocked by the chattering classes: Newspaper columns and television reports drip with a constant cynicism about America while doubts about her motives on the world stage are the coin of the realm. Too many commentators are too ready to believe the worst about our leaders and our country, and our children’s history books — and even some of the teachers — close off any remaining possibility of helping children learn about their country.

Many of our history books are either too tendentious — disseminating a one-sided, politically correct view of the history of the greatest nation that ever existed; or, worse, they are boring — providing a watered down, anemic version of a people who have fought wars at home and abroad for the purposes of liberty and equality, conquered deadly diseases, and placed men on the moon.

Lynne Cheney is doing her part. Since 2003, the James Madison Book Award is being given each year to "the book that best represents excellence in bringing knowledge and understanding of American history to children in elementary school and to middle-schoolers."

Beverly Sills, RIP

Here's sad news: uniquely talented Beverly Sills has died.

Beverly Sills, the acclaimed Brooklyn-born coloratura soprano who was more popular with the American public than any opera singer since Enrico Caruso, even among people who never set foot in an opera house, died Monday night at her home in Manhattan. She was 78. The cause was inoperable lung cancer, said her personal manager, Edgar Vincent.

Ms. Sills was America’s idea of a prima donna. Her plain-spoken manner and telegenic vitality made her a genuine celebrity and an invaluable advocate for the fine arts. Her life embodied an archetypal American story of humble origins, years of struggle, family tragedy and artistic triumph. [...]

Along with Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland, she was an acknowledged exponent of the bel canto Italian repertory during the period of its post-World War II revival. Though she essentially had a light soprano voice, her sound was robust and enveloping. In her prime her technique was exemplary. She could dispatch coloratura roulades and embellishments, capped by radiant high D’s and E-flat’s, with seemingly effortless agility. She sang with scrupulous musicianship, rhythmic incisiveness and a vivid sense of text.

Moreover, she brought unerring acting instincts to her portrayals of tragic leading roles in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Anna Bolena,” Bellini’s “Sonnambula” and “Puritani,” Massenet’s “Manon” and many other operas in her large repertory. And few singers matched her deadpan comic timing and physical nimbleness in lighter roles like Rosina in Rossini’s “Barbiere di Siviglia,” whom Ms. Sills portrayed as a ditsy yet determined young woman, and Marie, the tomboylike heroine raised by a military regiment in Donizetti’s “Fille du Régiment.”

This ebullient performance with Danny Kaye sums up her wide appeal as well as any: