Antiwar.com Blog

Via Timothy Noah, this alumnus chatter from the Yale Daily News:

Though [John] Bolton supported the Vietnam War, he declined to enter combat duty, instead enlisting in the National Guard and attending law school after his 1970 graduation. “I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy,” Bolton wrote of his decision in the 25th reunion book. “I considered the war in Vietnam already lost.”

Now I don’t believe that anyone – even a bloodthirsty cretin – owes his life to the state. But Bolton’s got some ‘splaining to do. First off, John Bolton (b. 1948) was enlistment age in 1966. Did he think the war was “already lost” in ’66? If so, then far from being a hawk, he was in the vanguard of the doves. When did young Bolton have this epiphany? After Dien Bien Phu?

Second, the National Guard route seems out of character for a man of such legendary testicular girth. If he thought the war was already lost, why didn’t he stand up on the bar, fire his pistol in the air to get everybody’s attention, and say so – you know, like tough guys do? I’m not saying he had to become some kinda antiwar pinko or nothin’. He coulda just said, “Well, fellas, this here war in Viet NAM is a helluva good thing, and we’ve killed a bunch of reds and little gooks who woulda grown up to be reds, and if it were up to ME, Hanoi – hell, Moscow‘d be glowin’ by now, but them damned lily-livered queers in Washington ain’t gonna let us, so… Might as well end this thing ‘fore any more of our boys come back D.O.A. or missin’ extremities.”

Seems to me that’s what a real tough guy would’ve done. But I’ll yield to the judgment of other tough guys.

I haven’t done this in some time, so here’s a mini-blog tour:

An interesting post on the use of napalm in Iraq by lenin. Added bonus: proof once again that Ann Clwyd is a pathetic tool of the state.

Special Police Commandos militia=Death Squads? swopa thinks so. Helena Cobban sees the same similarities.

And Riverbend explains how in “liberated Iraq” carrots can save a life.

Amelia Field of Human Rights First sends along this short flash film about torture at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. A good introduction for friends who may not know how little has been done to address the problem. A form letter to your senators and representatives is also available.

Aw shucks, Michelle. Thanks for the link. And for lumping us in your demonology with, um, Silvio Berlusconi (who we now learn doesn’t “care a whit about our soldiers’ safety.”) Oh well, love ’em and leave ’em.

UPDATE: Malkin links at the bottom to some people questioning the authenticity of the infamous Sgrena PDF. Even stopped clocks are right twice a day. Unless they’re digital. Check it out for yourself.

In addition to our regulars, Justin Raimondo and Gordon Prather, we have two special treats for Monday. Ran HaCohen returns with his analysis of this unbelievable story from Ha’aretz. Hint: read the 5th and final paragraphs. And read Ran HaCohen.

Our spotlight is by first-time contributor Thérèse Taylor, author of Bernadette of Lourdes: Her Life, Death and Visions. Hint: Rigoberta Menchu, Norma Khouri … Souad? You don’t want to miss this one.

I had to laugh at Andrew Card’s preposterous reaction to the news that North Korea has test-fired a missile which may or may not one day be armed with some sort of nuclear warhead. Card was actually heard to say “I think they’re looking to kind of be bullies in the world. And they’re causing others to stand up and take notice.”
Wait. Was Andy talking about Pyongyang or Washington D.C.? What do you call it when the bullies accuse the bullies?
To put this in perspective, the United States government, of which Card is a high ranking official (White House Chief of Staff), has a rather more impressive nuclear arsenal. According to a story in Newsweek on June 25, 2001:

The U.S. nuclear arsenal today includes 5,400 warheads loaded on intercontinental ballistic missiles at land and sea; an additional 1,750 nuclear bombs and cruise missiles ready to be launched from B-2 and B-52 bombers; a further 1,670 nuclear weapons classified as “tactical.” And just in case, an additional 10,000 or so nuclear warheads held in bunkers around the United States as a “hedge” against future surprises.

In case you were wondering, the total of those figures is 18820. The same Newsweek story quotes George W. Bush, newly elected president at the time, as saying “I had no idea we had so many weapons.” If Mr. Card, who may or may not know how many weapons there are, but certainly doesn’t seem to care, is curious about why Pyongyang might (or might not) be developing nukes of its own, I have just provided 18,000 of them.