Behold, the Paragons!

After bombing the bejesus out of them for a week, our Commander-in-Chief complained that they weren't playing by the rules when they seized three American soldiers. War is hell, Mr. President.

Years ago, I watched Mario Cuomo defend a U.S. military exploit by arguing that to do otherwise "would make us look foolish." I have always admired Governor Cuomo's oratorical skill and respected his intellectual horsepower--but, deadly force to avoid looking foolish? I once participated in a group exercise in which the women were required to assume the role of Tarzan, while the men portrayed Jane. I was made to look very foolish--we all were--and we survived; that was the point. Looking foolish is not lethal--an RPG up your ass is! Five of Them had been killed that day--five nameless, faceless Them who were as convinced of the rightness of their cause as we of ours; and who prayed to their god, as we to ours, for safekeeping and deliverance. How many American boys and girls, Mr. Cuomo, would you have been willing to sacrifice to avoid looking foolish? To me, on that night, you looked pretty foolish.

Our Defense Secretary blustered, "We'll show them we're not playing games!" But we are playing games--it's just that they're big-boy games instead of little-boy games--and the stakes are much higher.

After mistakenly bombing the Chinese embassy, the NATO commander affirmed his confidence in the target-selection process. He should have been stripped of his membership in the Flat Earth Society!

Want to know which companies profit most from (any) war? Watch to see where the wartime bureaucrats go to work when they leave office.