Watching Europe implode

The U.S. can sit back and watch Europe implode, says Mark Steyn. You can read his fine column both for insight and for entertainment — only Mr. Steyn could weave "decolletage" into this topic so artfully and amusingly. Here's the heart of his observations:

Most of the so-called constitution isn't in the least bit constitutional. That's to say, it's not content, as the U.S. Constitution is, to define the distribution and limitation of powers. Instead, it reads like a U.S. defense spending bill that's got porked up with a ton of miscellaneous expenditures for the ''mohair subsidy'' and other notorious Congressional boondoggles. President Ronald Reagan liked to say, ''We are a nation that has a government -- not the other way around.'' If you want to know what it looks like the other way round, read Monsieur Giscard's constitution.

But the fact is it's going to be ratified, and Washington is hardly in a position to prevent it. Plus there's something to be said for the theory that, as the EU constitution is a disaster waiting to happen, you might as well cut down the waiting and let it happen. CIA analysts predict the collapse of the EU within 15 years. I'd say, as predictions of doom go, that's a little on the cautious side.

But either way the notion that it's a superpower in the making is preposterous. Most administration officials subscribe to one of two views: a) Europe is a smugly irritating but irrelevant backwater; or b) Europe is a smugly irritating but irrelevant backwater where the whole powder keg's about to go up.

I wonder what it means, to the world and to the U.S., if Mark is right and the European Union "implodes"? I need a glass of wine and a few hours of ponder for that one...

All but won

Jack Kelly is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and I've often enjoyed his relatively (for the MSM) clear-eyed commentary. But he outdid himself today with an excellent column that says very straightforwardly what the MSM has claimed all along was impossible: that the war in Iraq is "all but won." Amongst the gems:

It will be some months before the news media recognize it, and a few months more before they acknowledge it, but the war in Iraq is all but won. The situation is roughly analogous to the battle of Iwo Jima, which took place 60 years ago this month. It took 35 days before the island was declared secure, but the outcome was clear after day five, with the capture of Mt. Suribachi.

And this conclusion:

Those who get their news from the "mainstream" media are surprised by developments in Iraq, as they were surprised by our swift victory in Afghanistan, the sudden fall of Saddam Hussein, the success of the Afghan election and the success of the Iraqi election.

Journalists demand accountability from political leaders for "quagmires" which exist chiefly in the imagination of journalists. But when will journalists be held to account for getting every major development in the war on terror wrong?

Jack Kelly is my MSM hero for the day...

Captured: Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan

This upstanding citizen was also very much wanted for his support of the Iraqi insurgency.

The news reports I read all either imply or state directly that al-Hassan's capture was an operation run entirely by the Iraqi security forces. If this is true, it's yet another positive indication about their increasing effectiveness. The past couple of weeks have been full of these indications — very good news, as this is the prerequisite to bringing our troops home.

Buried in the AP news report on this story is this:

Iraqi authorities on Saturday said they were close to capturing the country's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida in Iraq mastermind believed to be behind much of the insurgent violence in Iraq. One of al-Zarqawi's key aides and a man who served as his driver were arrested Feb. 20.

"Al-Zarqawi is very close to falling into the hands of justice and there will be good news in the coming days," Dawoud said Saturday.

Even better news, if true — and yet another positive indicator about the performance of the Iraqi security forces.

The full AP story is here..

Perfect innocence

There was a much married woman who walked into a bridal shop one day and told the sales clerk that she was looking for a wedding gown for her fourth wedding.

"Well", replied the sales clerk, "exactly what type of dress are you looking for?"

The bride to be said: "A long frilly white dress with a veil."

The sales clerk didn't know quite what to say but she finally said, "Frankly, madam, gowns of that nature are considered more appropriate for brides who are being married the first time -- for those who are a bit more innocent, if you know what I mean?"

"Well", replied the customer, more than a little put out. "I can assure you that I am as innocent as the rest of them.Believe it or not, despite all my marriages, I remain as innocent as any first time bride."

"You see, my first husband was so excited about our wedding he died as we were checking into our hotel. My second husband and I got into a terrible fight in the limo on our way to the reception and have not spoken since. We had that wedding annulled immediately."

"What about your third husband?" asked the sales clerk.

"Well", said the woman, "he was a Democrat and every night for four years he just sat on the edge of the bed and told me how good it was going to be."

Quote for the day

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

   Erica Jong