Hood Winked

Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea (2004)

The purpose of the law is not to prevent a future offense,
but to punish the one actually committed
--Ayn Rand

There must be a happy medium somewhere between
being totally informed and blissfully unaware
--Doug Larsen
_________________

What amazing insensitivity, arrogance and ignorance to proffer Major General Hood, he of Gitmo prison command, to the top defense liaison post in Pakistan. While U.S. commanders scrapped the move Friday following protest, Hood is now being considered for a position in Centcom Headquarters.

It seems with every administration move they are determined to turn the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) into our next Salton Sea.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Friday his government had asked for the appointment to be withdrawn, and had the U.S. not rescinded the appointment Pakistan would block General Hood "and other people sharing his thinking from entering the country," according to Voice of America News.

Pakistan is a key ally, yet we insult them by sending a prison warden to act as our chief military officer?

"The New York Times reported General Hood is now being considered for a job in the headquarters of U.S. Central Command. Centcom oversees U.S. security interests in 25 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia - including Pakistan (Pakistan FM Criticises Proposed US Defense Appointment.)"

Can the U.S. leadership be this thick, or is it aggressive hubris? Gen. Petraeus writes his new COIN manual, which gives us the good old news that we must secure hearts and minds, but has anyone read it?

If the U.S. wants to win against the al-Qaeda threat, there should be an understanding that illegal prisons are not winning any friendlies, either in the West or the East. It seems the West Wing alone remains a sheltered holdout of belief in the correctness the past five years' actions.

The soul of America is evaporating, and like the Salton Sea it smells fishy, like an empire dissolving.