Alan Bock

It can be both enlightening and frightening to work for a daily newspaper, in that the necessity to listen to and respond to people who have thoughts about what you have written can offer fascinating insights into the thought processes of ordinary Americans. This was brought home to me recently after I did a piece … Continue reading “America the Frightened”

We can expect a weak, non-mandatory, strictly advisory resolution from the Senate next week declaring open dismay at President Bush’s latest bit of strategery in Iraq. This could be an important first step – depending on whether other significant steps follow – but even the Wall Street Journal recognizes that it is a bit of … Continue reading “Cart Before the Horse”

So what are we to make of all those apparently significant changes both in the Bush foreign policy team and his top military commanders? The question is whether he is clearing the decks for action or rearranging the deck chairs. Given that the Bushlet is supposed to unveil his latest strategy for the war in … Continue reading “Clearing Decks or Rearranging Deck Chairs?”

I happened to hear an old country classic today that somehow got me thinking about the New Year: Charlie Daniels’ "The Devil went down to Georgia." Here are the lyrics: The devil went down to Georgia He was looking for a soul to steal And he was in a bind ‘Cause he was way behind … Continue reading “Ends and Means in the New Year”

The war will still be around – and quite possibly expanding – next week. It’s Christmas again, and the phenomenon I whine about every year – that this country lacks an adequate peace culture – remains a problem. To be sure, there’s a more pronounced antiwar sentiment this year than last year. But the positive … Continue reading “Study War for Peace”

Well, our esteemed President has decided that he won’t make any adjustments, whether cosmetic or substantive, to his policy in Iraq until after the first of the year, so perhaps I’ll leave the topic alone for a while as well. Although it no doubt means more Americans and Iraqis will die for nothing much, it … Continue reading “Imperial Dreams”

What it looks like to me – and to some people in Houston a friend and I have talked to who are in a much better position to know firsthand – is that Daddy called on his old friend and consigliere to save Junior from himself. Jim Baker, impelled by friendship and other ties, saw … Continue reading “Nice Try, Daddy”

The meeting in Jordan between President Bush and Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki – unless the private discussions were a whole lot more frank and productive than it is reasonable to believe they probably were, based on public statements and background briefings – may stand one day as a symbol of the eternal fecklessness of … Continue reading “Sense and Stubbornness”

With the change in party control in Congress and with the Iraq Study Group co-chaired by Bush 41 Secretary of State (and all-around fixer) James Baker, most Americans expect at least a course correction in the Iraq war, if not necessarily the beginning of substantial troop withdrawals. Unfortunately, the debate has already become constricted, with … Continue reading “Withdrawal: Why Wait?”

Well, the election results Tuesday were almost universally interpreted as a referendum on the Iraq war, and Bush and the neocons got their heads handed to them. And as dramatic as the Democrats winning control of both houses of Congress was, the magnitude of the rejection of the administration and the Republicans was greater than … Continue reading “More Work Ahead”