Commentary from the BBC’s defense analyst — The Pentagon’s special forces message: why would the US confirm that special forces are operating in Afghanistan, when the standard response to questions about such activities is to have no comment? Our bluster will get harder and harder to justify without evidence we are doing anything in the absence of an immediate objective for a conventional military strike. And when will military action commence? BBC

Let The Hague decide by Geoffrey Robertson, author of Crimes Against Humanity – The Struggle for Global Justice The Age

Islam gains place in U.S. military as ranks of Muslims grow: “…the military, which a decade ago barely acknowledged Muslims in its ranks, finds itself defending the faith.” Seattle Times

Enterprise Crew May Intervene in Earth Affairs “In Stationary Orbit (SatireWire.com) — Disturbed by ruthless terrorist attacks and talk of war, the crew of the starship Enterprise, which has been stealthily orbiting Earth since August, is reportedly torn over whether to violate Star Fleet’s Prime Directive and intervene in Earth affairs, or gather for drinks in the forward observation lounge and watch the planet go to shit.” satirewire [thanks, David!]

Anti-War Protests Underway in D.C.: “Demonstrators began a series of weekend rallies in the nation’s capital today, shifting from anti-globalization themes to anti-war protests after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.” Washington Post Recall, the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington scheduled for this weekened were cancelled in the wake of the attacks. The new intolerance of dissent in the air will be a challenge to the anti-globalization movement…

I know I’ve already blinked to an article named “Welcome to 1984” but, as the saying goes, it feels a whole like more like it does now than it ever used to. With no disrespect meant to the need to respond effectively to the 9-11 attacks, perusing the newsstand headlines about “Infinite Justice”, “Enduring Freedom”, “Eternal Vigilance” or whatever it is this week begins to have a surreal feel, already, of permanent war with an ill-defined moving target of an enemy, encouraging dispatches from an ever-changing front, constant catchphrases and buzzwords. To wit, Bloomberg reports that ‘…President George W. Bush said global cooperation to root out terrorism and “isolate” Afghanistan’s Taliban regime “is gaining momentum,” and vowed to use military, diplomatic, financial and legal means.’ Meanwhile, The New York Times displays: “President Says U.S. Is in ‘Hot Pursuit‘ of Terror Group“. <a href=”http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/29/gen.america.under.attack/index.html

“>CNN says, ” President Bush said Saturday that the American people’s “patience and resolve” will be tested in a methodical antiterrorist campaign, but “the cause of freedom will prevail.”

Maybe it’s just that he needs new speechwriters, an implication one might draw from some recent Time magazine commentary. Actually, my other, post-Orwellian, association, to all the sloganeering is the disturbing and hysterical 1988 John Carpenter film, They Live. Those of you who have seen it will probably immediately know what I mean.

“The post-Cold War era ended on September 11th,” quotes Joe Klein: Closework

The United States military has accumulated a storehouse of spectacularly lethal equipment, which it has been willing to use from great distances — perhaps too often — over the past decade; it is probably the most effective conventional-war fighting force in history. But the basic assumptions, the culture, of the military-intelligence complex seem suddenly anachronistic. The nexus of national-defense and intelligence agencies may be as unsuited for a long-term offensive anti-terrorist campaign as they were unprepared to defend New York and Washington against the aerial attacks of September 11th. “The history of the American military ever since Ulysses S. Grant has been about the use of mass and firepower and ‘redundancy’ — the application of overwhelming force,” said Larry K Smith, a defense strategist who was Counsellor to both Les Aspin and William Perry, the Secretaries of Defense during Bill Clinton’s first term. “Overwhelming force implies, almost by definition, a lack of precision. That won’t work now. What we’re going to need is a much greater emphasis on the concentrated application of street smarts. I call these sorts of operations ‘closework.’ They are extremely precise missions that are used when the results are absolutely crucial. They demand the very highest standards of intelligence, of training, of preparation, of timing and execution. We haven’t been particularly good at this in the past.”

Indeed, there seems to be near-unanimous agreement among experts: in the ten years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, almost every aspect of American national-security policy — from military operations to intelligence gathering, from border control to political leadership — has been marked by exactly the kind of institutional lassitude and bureaucratic arrogance that would inhibit the “closework” that Smith proposes. New Yorker

Klein goes on to point fingers (one of the things we’re going to see accelerating now that we’ve sustained our patriotic detente and comraderie about as long as might be expected, and 20-20 hindsight takes over), and largely at the Clinton administration’s unpreparedness. But, as Joshua Micah Marshall points out in his Talking Points ‘mezine’, this “makes you wonder, of course, why the only big foreign policy player (beside CIA Director George Tenet) the Bush administration kept on from the Clinton team was Richard Clarke, head of counter-terrorism at NSC.”

Land Of The Free? Arianna Huffington goes to bat for Bill Maher: ‘As you will see from today’s column, we need your help if we are to stop ABC from canceling “Politically Incorrect.” A small group of zealots have intentionally distorted comments made by Bill Maher, and succeeded in putting the show’s future in jeopardy. If you agree that we can simultaneously rally around the flag and allow dissent and free speech to flourish, please email ABC at netaudr@abc.com or visit www4.PetitionOnline.com/promaher/petition.html and sign the petition.’

Also, if you know anybody in the ABC or Disney hierarchy, please give them a call. This is not just about one show — it’s about avoiding the first step on a really dangerous slippery slope. Thank you so much.’