Ink Spots rips into what sounds like a truly dreadful TV belch, as well as one where the Stiftung’s opinion would be worth having. Ackerman also has a go, specifically at former SACEUR Wesley Clark’s role in it.
Which reminded me. Back in 2004, in the circles of my MSc International Relations course, all sorts of neatly policy-wonky people were mad keen on the thought of Clark running for president, as were the duller bits of the US Democratic blogosphere. I did know the story about him and the pre-eyelid job, pre-Iraq version of General Sir Michael Jackson, which made me wonder, but then anybody can drop a bollock and that’s what a blind eye is for.
But, of course, Clark wrote a book, Waging Modern War. And I read it. And it turned out to be…something and nothing, Freakonomics or Airmiles with B-52s, probably not really worth publishing except of course as an instant presidential campaign job.
And perhaps I should have realised that, if the best idea anyone in a position of power in the US had was to find someone with more gold braid in the hope they wouldn’t be accused of being With The Terrorists, things were wrong in more subtle and serious ways than I had thought.