Archive for August, 2026

Afghanistan:  From The Taliban To The Taliban.  Oh, And Happy Fifth Anniversary! (August 17, 2026)

Posted in Afghanistan, Corruption, War on August 17, 2026 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Snatching defeat not from the jaws of victory, but ripping defeat from the jaws of defeat.”

J          “Failure is not a bug, it is a feature.  It is the game plan.”

. . .

J          “And it is working.”

K          “This is the five year anniversary of another celebrated U.S. defeat.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Afghanistan: Free Friendlies; Impeach Biden (August 23, 2021) after the cowardly U.S. retreat from Afghanistan and the massive transfer of technology to unfriendly folks; a discussion of the ceaseless lies about Afghanistan at Afghanistan:  The Usual Lies And Liars.  Oh, And Happy I.F. Stone’s Birthday! (December 16, 2019); a discussion of the challenge of Afghanistan almost seventeen years ago at The Audacity of Afghanistan (Dec. 7, 2009); and a discussion of the challenge of Afghanistan almost nineteen years ago at Is Afghanistan On The Map? A Failure That Hasn’t Succeeded? (February 12, 2007).]

Bumper Stickers of the Week: 

“We’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off Iran.”  Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark stated shortly after the September 11 attacks after a Pentagon officer told him about a proposed U.S. military plan to remove governments in seven countries within five years

And Afghanistan for good measure.

. . .

Viet Nam:  LBJ’s ‘Nam;

Iraq:  Bush’s ‘Nam;

Afghanistan:  O’Bama’s and Biden’s ‘Nam

Iran:  Trump’s ‘Nam

. . .

When considering the reliability of information provided to you by the government of the United States of America, it is important that you recall and reflect:

They fibbed about Viet Nam.

They fibbed about Cambodia.

They fibbed about Laos.

They fibbed about Cuba.

They fibbed about El Salvador.

They fibbed about Nicaragua.

They fibbed about Guatemala.

They fibbed about Panama.

They fibbed about Honduras.                                                    

They fibbed about Venezuela.

They fibbed about Chile.

They fibbed about the Spanish-American War.

They fibbed about the Mexican War.

They fibbed about Pearl Harbor.

They fibbed about 9/11.

They fibbed about Osama bin Laden.

They fibbed about Afghanistan.

They fibbed about Kuwait.

They fibbed about Iraq.

They fibbed about Saddam Hussein.

They fibbed about Libya.

They fibbed about Muammar Gaddafi.

They are fibbing about Yemen.

They are fibbing about Somalia.

They are fibbing about Sudan.

They are fibbing about Syria.

They are fibbing about Palestine.

They are fibbing about Iran.

They are fibbing about Ukraine.

They are fibbing about Niger.

They are fibbing about the War on Terror.

They are fibbing.

They do not seem to be telling the truth.

Things really did not turn out so super in Nicaragua, Grenada, Panama, Haiti, Bosnia, Serbia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, but who is counting?

But who cares?

Wayne And Yoda.  Courage, Risk-Taking And Success:  Take A Shot. (August 10, 2026)

Posted in Courage, Graduation Advice, On [Traits/Characteristics] on August 10, 2026 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “He said the class was asked to write an essay on what they would try to do if they knew they would not fail.

. . .

K          “‘There is yes try.’  If you are paralyzed by the fear of not succeeding at something, you will never risk doing anything.  Courage, risk-taking, and seizing  and creating opportunities are critical to living a full and promising life.”

J        “Yoda’s comment does sound all macho and macha and bravado and bravada.  Confidence is also critical, yet it is ultimately inadequate.”

. . . 

J          “Keep it moving down the ice.”

K          “Miss a shot, yet never, ever miss taking a shot.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at On Courage and Truth (March 17, 2008), the examples set by the recipients of the Cameo In Courage Award, and Graduation Advice:  Exist And Resist (May 11, 2026) and Graduation Advice:  Do Something, Anything (Good) (May 12, 2025).]

Bumper Stickers of the Week: 

“Do.  Or do not do.  There is no try.”  Yoda 

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  Wayne Gretzky

Keep your stick on the ice

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.”  Hank Dave Thoreau

There was a very cautious man

Who never laughed or played

He never risked, he never tried.

He never sang or prayed.

And when he one day passed away

His insurance was denied,

For since he never really lived,

They claimed he never really died.

WW E / III:  Tick-Tock: TikTok.  The Soundtracks Of War.  Oh, And Happy Civic Holiday In Canada! (August 3, 2026)

Posted in Iran, Isreal, Treasuries, War, World War E, World War III on August 3, 2026 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “Time does its thing without any prompting or payment.  It comes, it goes.  Nature’s indifferent metronome.”

K          “And it is doing its thing.  With grave consequences for everyone and in particular for one team.”

. . .

K          “The Ukrainian attack on the Iranian ship melds and welds the wars into a web of destruction.”

J          “More agglutinating and coagulating, more digging and deepening.”

. . .

K          “Seems that Iran has let the others in the neighborhood know what targets it intends to hit.  And their neighbors know that Iran can do it and the U.S. can do desperately little about it.” 

J          “And then the neighbors must sell Treasuries to raise funds for reconstruction.”

. . .

K          “The U.S. has its hands full, quietly bailing out Japan to save the market for Treasuries.”

J          “The U.S. has its hands full everywhere.”

. . .

Bumper Stickers of the Week: 

When you are in a hole, . . . give some passing thought to curtailing the digging.

The Southeast Asian War Games (d.b.a. ‘Nam) had their soundtracks.  Today’s conflicts are no different:

Soundtrack for Iran:

“Time Is On My Side”  The Rolling Stones

. . .

Soundtracks for Israel and the United States:

“Nowhere to Run”  Martha and the Vandellas

“We Gotta Get Out of This Place”  The Animals  

“The Gambler” written by Don Schlitz and sung by Kenny Rogers.  (“You’ve got to know when to hold’em, know when to fold’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.  You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table, There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.”)

. . .

“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.”  An officer in U.S. Central Command’s intelligence branch wrote the message sent last Wednesday to a broad group of military analysts.